Regular readers will know that I am a skincare fanatic. I am particularly interested in the recent trends in skincare where we are seeing brands that are transparent when it comes to ingredient list and they have affordable products e.g. The Ordinary and The Inkey List. I was introduced to the SKIN functional skincare brand by @Glamology_ZA who commented how much it resembled The Ordinary and I was immediately intrigued.
About the brand
This is what they say on the website: SKIN functional is a range of products expertly formulated using optimal concentrations of effective and trusted ingredients to restore and maintain skin’s ideal functioning. The brand was created to demystify skincare jargon and misinformation to deliver honourable skintelligence. Equipped with skintelligence, you can confidently adapt your skincare program to your everchanging skin needs.
Each product contains ingredients that have earned the right to be there, leaving no room for redundancy. Delivering potent treatments that bring you everything your skin needs with reproducible results.
Product range
SKIN functional currently stocks 16 products in their range. There is a variey of products that are targeted at exfoliation, hydration and anti-ageing. Unlike The Ordinary and The Inkey List, the products here have names such as: Smoothing Gel, Exfoliation Facial, Texture and Blemish Tonic etc. The brand does a good job of explaining the product benefits and the type of skin types it is suited for.
What I bought & buying experience
After being excited about the brand, I decided to put it to the test and try out some products. I bought the Hydration Juice (2% hyaluronic acid and 4% B5) and the Vitamin A (0.5% Retinol). I paid a total of R530 including shipping – there was a 20% off promotion at the time of purchase. What mostly impressed me was how quickly my product was shipping – within 30 minutes of paying for it, I received a message that it was shipped. I placed the order on a Friday and I received it on Monday morning. My order also arrived with a guide of how to use the products that I bought over and above the instructions on the packaging.
The prices
The prices for most of their products are in the R200 to R290 range with 2 products retailing for R485 and R550. For comparison, I used the hyaluronic acid product from The Ordinary (R133), The Inkey List (R136) and SKIN functional (R230). The brand is obviously pricier than the others but when you consider that they are local, they ship very quickly and you don’t have to worry about custom fees – it is worth the higher price in my opinion.
JULY 2020 UPDATE I’ve filmed a review of the products after using them for nearly 3 months.
Let me know if you’ll be buying anything from SKIN functional
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Thank you for bringing this brand to my attention! I’ve been doing some research and quite a few products are fungal acne safe and that’s something I’ve been struggling to find in the South African market !! Will definitely place an order soon
You’re welcome! I was quite happy to find out about this brand. It’s nice to have such products from an SA company
This is exciting news to me. I hope this means more single-ingridient/concern products become the norm and a little more accessible to the rest of us.
Any updates on these products’ effects?
Hi Camilla,
The hydrator has been working well for me, my skin loves hyaluronic acid. It’s gonna take a bit longer to see the effects of the retinol.
Hi Lungi. Thank you for this review. I have been looking for a great product to help with pigmentation. A dermatologist recommended The Ordinary and I’d like to find out where you purchase yours. In the meantime I will be buying this.Thanks once again
Hi Bongeka, I’m happy you enjoyed the post. I buy The Ordinary products from Cult Beauty in the UK. However, there’s a lot of issues with South African customs and international shipping at the moment, people’s packages are stuck so I wouldn’t advise that you buy from there at the moment. Check again in a month or so.
Hi thanks for this article. A couple of questions and I can’t seem to find out anymore info on the company.Who are the brains behind it. What are their qualifications in the beauty industry eg dermatologists.. How long has it been around.. They just don’t seem to give themselves credentials which is important for me.. I use Ordinary at the mo plus another Aussie brand. On their sites there is every detail about the brand giving themselves credibility..
Hi Sharon, those are valid concerns that you have. Before writing this article I did reach out to the brand with a few questions regarding their origin story, however I did not get a response in time for the article and till now.
Hi,lungi ,would like more information about Skin Functional also information about cult beauty, website also how does customs work,
Hi Melisha, what’s the exact information you need about SkinFunctional? CultBeauty is a UK based makeup and skincare online shop. They ship to South Africa using courier.
Customs fees is a tax charged by SARS on South Africans who import/buy products from overseas. You’re more likely to pay customs if your order is worth more than R500. I’m not 100% sure about how the custom fees get calculated, sometimes you don’t pay them and sometimes they’re up to 50% of your order