Skin care boosters are ultra-concentrated formulas designed to help you come up with the right concoction for your skin. Brand new in 2015, skin care boosters are now everywhere, formulated to be mixed in with your current moisturizer, treatment product, or serum, with purposes ranging from acne-fighting to anti-aging to skin-brightening.
On the one hand, skin care boosters are perfect for the DIY skin care fanatic who loves creating her own formulations (despite what dermatologists, cosmetic chemists, or other beauty experts may caution!) With the right combination, it is true that a skin care fanatic could transform any product into a one-of-a-kind multitasking potion that could never be found on the shelves of Sephora. And skin care boosters are innovative because they allow you to customize your skincare routine each and every time you use them. Because they mix into and “supercharge” the products you already love, you can tailor the strength of your treatment every time you use it, simply by adding more or fewer drops.
But on the other hand, skin care boosters aren’t meant to give you the power or the potency cosmetic chemists have at their disposal. And you can end up paying big bucks for very little benefit. So I’m not a huge fan at this time, but I’ll do the serums justice and give them all a fair review:
How to Add a Skin Care Booster to Your Routine
First up, you need to know how to add a skin care booster to your routine.
Morning:
- Step 1: Cleanse.
- Step 2: Apply toner or micellar water.
- Step 3: Apply serum, either alone or mixed with the skin care booster for skin care concerns (i.e., anti-aging, acne-fighting, brightness-increasing, etc).
- Step 4: Apply moisturizer, either alone or mixed with a skin care booster for moisturization.
- Step 5: If moisturizer does not have sunscreen, include a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30.
Evening:
- Step 1: Cleanse.
- Step 2: Apply toner or micellar water.
- Step 3: Apply serum, either alone or mixed with the skin care booster for skin care concerns (i.e., anti-aging, acne-fighting, brightness-increasing, etc).
- Step 4: Apply moisturizer, either alone or mixed with a skin care booster for moisturization.
What are the Best Skin Care Boosters?
Best for Age Spots and Hyperpigmentation: Skin Inc. My Daily Dose Custom Serum RELIEVE (Licorice Serum)
Licorice contains the active ingredient glabridin, which has significant effects in inhibiting melanogenesis (Pigment Cell Research). A serum like RELIEVE contains one of the highest concentrations of licorice I’ve found in a skin care product to date, and the lightweight, skin-penetrating water-and-glycol base should enable the ingredients to penetrate the skin well. Love it and highly recommend it for anyone with sun spots or other issues of hyperpigmentation!
By the way, this may also help with acne, eczema, and inflammation. Licorice also contains the chemical Licocachone A, which is believed to be an anti-inflammatory agent and to inhibit bacteria growth in foods (Tsukiyama, Katsura, Tokuriki, Kobayashi). A recent study with 30 test subjects found that a cream with 2% licorice concentration helped reduce the appearance of eczema (NYU Langone Medical Center), meaning it may be helpful in reducing rashes and mild skin irritation.
Ingredients: Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice), Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Camellia Sinensis Catechins, Algin, Carbomer, Alcaligenes Polysaccharides, Potassium Hydroxide, Polysorbate 80, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Cobalt Aluminum Oxide, Phenoxyethanol.
Best for Rosacea and Skin Redness: Cover Fx Custom Infusion Drops E+Chamomile
These drops are great because they create a nice, soothing, hydrating finish for anyone who has dry, irritated, reddened skin.
Vitamin E is definitely a superstar ingredient worth adding a few drops of into your routine! According to the journal Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, vitamin E is one of the naturally produced antioxidant substances that protects against skin’s exposure to UV and environmental exposures to ozone. In fact, according to the article, vitamin E has been identified as the “predominant lipid-soluble antioxidant” in murine (mouse) and human skin.
According to a second research study, this by Packer and Valacchi, vitamin E is produced in the sebum of the skin, so it comes from the pores of the skin. As such, vitamin E shows a characteristic gradient in the stratum corneum (uppermost layer of skin), with lower levels being found towards the outer stratum corneum layers.
On the other hand, chamomile works so well in soothing skin because it is a natural source of α-bisabolol, a substance that promotes wound healing and exhibits anti-inflammatory activity (Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society, 2010). Applying a few drops of Color Fx Custom Infusion Drops before bedtime is a great way to keep redness and irritation at bay, particularly if you are using stronger ingredients like concentrated retinoids or AHAs in your serum.
Best for Fighting Dull Skin: Philosophy Turbo Booster C Powder
Unlike the other skin care boosters, Philosophy Turbo Booster C Powder will give you a huge boost in your skin care results, if you use it properly. Philosophy Turbo Booster C Powder is 99.8% topical vitamin C powder, with the other 0.2% rounded out with amino acids, aloe, panthenol, zinc, and copper. Not too bad for a tiny tube!
There are three keys to using the powder. First, you want to keep it fresh. Never put Turbo Booster C Powder directly into a jar of moisturizer, or else you’re practically asking for it to get into contact with moisture and air and oxidize. Instead, only use what you need.
Second, you want to start with a small amount of powder, and work your way up. Vitamin C has the potential to burn your skin if you use concentrations of 25% or higher, and without a chemistry background, most people aren’t going to know what M/V (mass to volume) or V/V (volume to volume) concentration calculations mean, much less how to calculate them. So start small.
Third, you still want to use vitamin C in conjunction with vitamin E and coenzyme Q10 (AKA ubiquinone), since all three work in the same pathway and strengthen one another as network antioxidants.
Concerns I Have About Skin Care Boosters
1.) Skin care boosters are usually not as concentrated as they seem.
Cosmetic chemists have the ability to create products that could literally burn your skin off. But thanks to skin-conditioning agents, emollients, pH buffers, and a slew of other hydrators and soothers at their disposal, they generally create products that are effective and safe. (At least they do the vast majority of the time.)
The truth of the matter is, most companies don’t want to create products that give consumers a lot of power or potency, because then they would surely be facing a lawsuit. It takes years of schooling and training to become a cosmetic chemist for a reason, after all. So average skin care boosters don’t really do all that much.
Take, for instance, some popular boosters that claim to have 1% of an active ingredient. For example, if you add 1% retinol or licorice serum straight to your face, that has been documented in dermatological studies to have a result. But if you add a drop of a 1% retinol or licorice skin care booster to an equal-sized drop of serum, that’s 0.5% retinol, not 1%. And most people would be adding a drop or two of retinol booster to 3-4 times as many drops contained in a quarter-sized amount — that’s giving you a 0.25%-0.33% retinol serum. I personally would rather apply a separate retinol or licorice serum.
2.) Skin care boosters are generally not as inexpensive or value-add as they seem.
If skin care boosters were $10-20, it might be worth it. Get half of the efficacy for half of the cost!
But instead, the price is typically full-cost for less efficacy (on average). What you are paying for is the ability to create customized skin care. Yes, you can increase the number of drops you use, but it’ll cost you greatly. Generally skin care boosters are priced the same or higher than serums, and you’d be better off getting the concentrated skin care serums to begin with.
For instance, Paula’s Choice creates a 1% retinol booster, at $50 for 0.5 ounces. But Paula’s Choice 1% retinol serum is $55 for 1.0 ounces — that’s the same amount of moola for twice as much product! And considering you know you’re getting the full 1% dose with each use of the serum, whereas with the booster, my understanding is one drop of booster is 1% retinol, and it is diluted with your serum or moisturizer.
Bottom Line
If you’re a skin care fanatic, and you want to create custom skin care products, then skin care boosters may be a great route for you. They’re generally low-potency (except the Philosophy Turbo C), are safe and easy to use, and enable you to get the effects of many great ingredients without overloading your skin with formulation bases. Some of my favorites include Skin Inc. RELIEVE and Philosophy Turbo C.
On the other hand, skin care boosters are pretty expensive for what you’re getting. There is no guarantee on concentration, and they are sold in small quantities, so they don’t last very long. In terms of value, I think they’re kind of a bust.
Again, this is one place I’m on the fence. They’re good if you want a customized experience, but they’re not-so-great if you want to use proven concentrations of effective ingredients on your skin or optimize your budget.