Skin Script is a beauty brand that specializes in corrective skin care for all skin types and ethnicities, offering both retail and professional skin care products. The products were designed and developed under the direction of physicians and estheticians to create a unique skin care line to treat their clients’ top concerns.
In this review, we’ll give you all the details on the 10 best Skin Script products. We’ll also cover the product formulations, including the key ingredients in Skin Script products and the research that supports (or doesn’t support) their use in skincare. Lastly, we’ll share some Skin Script reviews so that you can get an idea of what customers really think of these products.
What Are The Top 10 Best Skin Script Products?
Skin Script offers cleansers, toners, serums, and moisturizers for most needs, whether that’s anti-aging, hyperpigmentation, rosacea, sensitive skin, or managing breakouts. Here’s the details on the top 10 best Skin Script Products.
Skin Script Glycolic and Retinol Pads
Struggling with hyperpigmentation, uneven skin tone, breakouts, or just dull, tired skin? If so, the Skin Script Glycolic and Retinol Pads could be your new favorite skin care product. These single-use pads are infused with a toner that’s designed to help with resurfacing and exfoliating skin while brightening and clarifying skin tone. The formula includes 4% arbutin, 3% kojic acid, 2% glycolic acid, and 1% retinol.
Both arbutin and kojic acid are tyrosinase inhibitors, which means they prevent the formation of melanin (pigment) by inhibiting the enzyme tyrosinase. This helps to even out the skin tone and reduce the appearance of dark spots.
Glycolic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) that deeply penetrates for even surface exfoliation, which helps refine skin texture and reduces breakouts. Last but certainly not least is the gold standard of anti-aging ingredients, retinol. Retinol is clinically proven to minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, improve uneven skin tone, restore skin firmness, and shrink the appearance of enlarged pores
Skin Script Raspberry Refining Cleanser
This foamy cleanser is formulated for those with oily and acne prone skin to help clarify, exfoliate, reduce oil, provide surface renewal and resurfacing, and lessen future breakouts. The formula combines glycolic acid with salicylic acid, a type of beta hydroxy acid (BHA) that penetrates deep into pores to clear away any excess oil, dirt, or other impurities that could lead to blemishes.
Skin Script Raspberry Refining Cleanser also includes botanical extracts to calm inflammation that often occurs with acne. Those extracts include yucca leaf extract to reduce irritation, raspberry fruit extract to provide astringent and anti-inflammatory properties, and beet root extract for its antioxidant properties.
Skin Script Glycolic Cleanser
Skin Script Glycolic Cleanser is a clinical strength 17% glycolic acid cleanser for oily and acneic skin types. This is a very high concentration of glycolic acid, which means irritation could occur since glycolic acid exfoliates the skin. One tip the brand offers is to mix the Glycolic Cleanser with a creamy cleanser and use it as a weekly mask.
For example, mix the Skin Script Glycolic Cleanser with the Pomegranate Antioxidant Cleanser if you have normal to dry skin, or mix it with the Charcoal Clay Cleanser if you have normal to oily skin. Leave this mixture on for 5 minutes as a mask whenever your pores need a deep clean.
Skin Script Cucumber Hydration Toner
Like many toners, Skin Script Cucumber Hydration Toner contains witch hazel as the highest concentration ingredient due its astringent properties. Witch hazel contains tannins that impart astringent properties, resulting in a constricting and drying effect when applied to the skin. They work by cross-linking with keratin proteins, creating an invisible film that can temporarily degrease skin, tighten and tone skin, and minimize the appearance of enlarged pores.
Unfortunately, Skin Script Cucumber Hydration Toner also contains a high concentration of denatured alcohol, which is known to cause skin dryness, irritation, and even disruption of the skin barrier. While denatured alcohol will immediately degrease the skin, it can actually dry out the skin so much that the skin will produce more oil over time to compensate for the dryness. This can lead to clogged pores and acne breakouts. Yikes!
Skin Script Green Tea Cleanser
This foaming cleanser is formulated for those with normal, combination, rosacea, and sensitive skin. Like most cleansers, the Skin Script Green Tea Citrus Cleanser contains surfactants as the primary ingredients. A surfactant molecule contains one end that is hydrophilic (attracted to water) and one end that is lipophilic (attracted to oil). This allows surfactants to attract and suspends oils, dirt, and other impurities that have accumulated on the skin and wash them away, leaving the skin clean.
The green tea leaf extract in this Skin Script cleanser may help with acne by inhibiting destructive bacteria growth while maintaining healthy bacteria colonies to prevent acne breakouts. Green tea leaf extract also contains a potent antioxidant called Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG). While EGCG is known to help protect the skin from free radicals, it’s better to use this ingredient in a leave-on product, such as The Ordinary Caffeine Solution + EGCG.
Skin Script Hydrating Moisturizer
Skin Script Hydrating Moisturizer is packed with nourishing emollients, such as shea butter, cocoa seed butter, rosehip oil, and squalane, just to name a few. These emollients give the moisturizer its rich, creamy texture, making it perfect for those with dry skin. Binding moisture to the skin will also help to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Skin Script Clarifying Toner Pads
Skin Script Clarifying Toner Pads mostly consist of witch hazel and denatured alcohol. Like we mentioned above, witch hazel functions as an astringent while alcohol temporarily degreases the skin. But remember that products with a high concentration of denatured alcohol are a big red flag! While the Skin Script Clarifying Toner Pads are popular because they provide temporary benefits, we think these could lead to problems when used long term!
Skin Script Pomegranate Antioxidant Creamy Cleanser
This Skin Script cleanser is a moderately rich, cream-based cleansing option for those with normal, dry, rosacea, and sensitive skin. Safflower and jojoba seed oil are the key ingredients in the formula. Using these oils in a cleanser helps to remove oily makeup and sebum because of the chemical principle called “like dissolves like.” Basically, this means that oils will dissolve other materials that have a similar chemical structure. In addition, the lipids in these oils help to restore the skin’s barrier function.
You may have guessed from the name that pomegranate extract is another key ingredient in the Skin Script Pomegranate Antioxidant Creamy Cleanser. The formula actually includes pomegranate bark extract, not pomegranate fruit or seed extract. The bark extract is an antibacterial clarifying cleansing agent with antioxidant properties.
Skin Script Charcoal Clay Cleanser
Just like the name suggests, charcoal powder is one of the key ingredients in this Skin Script cleanser. Charcoal powder is an extremely porous, purified powder that acts like a sponge attracting impurities and excess oil from the skin. Another ingredient that absorbs impurities is kaolin, a type of white clay. After being applied to the skin, kaolin helps remove excess oil and dead skin that can clog pores. Kaolin also has anti-inflammatory properties, which can help reduce redness and swelling around existing blemishes. When you wash off the Skin Script Charcoal Clay Cleanser, kaolin also functions as a gentle abrasive to exfoliate the skin.
Skin Script Mint Refining Toner
Like other Skin Script toners, the Mint Refining Toner mostly consists of the astringent witch hazel and the drying denatured alcohol, unfortunately. Another ingredient in this Skin Script toner that acts as an astringent is lemongrass oil. It reduces oiliness while temporarily minimizing the appearance of pores and tightening wrinkles. However, lemongrass oil contains volatile fragrance components like limonene and citral that can cause sensitivity when applied to skin.
What Are The Key Ingredients in Skin Script Products?
Skin Script products contain a variety of evidence-based ingredients, such as alpha hydroxy acids, salicylic acid, arbutin, kojic acid, green tea leaf extract, shea butter, and more.
Many products are formulated with clinical strengths of these ingredients. For example, the Skin Script Glycolic Cleanser includes 17% glycolic acid, which is much more than you’d find in most glycolic acid cleansers.
The only thing we don’t like about Skin Script products is that many formulas contain high concentrations of denatured alcohol. We already explained that this type of alcohol leads to temporary benefits by reducing excess oil on the skin.
But the long term consequences of using high concentrations of denatured alcohol on the skin have been proven in research studies. For example, a publication in the journal BBA Biomembranes states that alcohol can disrupt the lipids that make up the stratum corneum (the outermost layer of skin).
The stratum corneum is the skin’s barrier that helps to keep moisture in and keep things like allergens, bacteria, and irritants out. When the barrier is weakened by applying denatured alcohol to the skin, these intruders can pass through the top layer of skin, causing damage that ultimately leads to common skin conditions such as acne, rashes, sensitive skin, and even signs of aging.
This is why we recommend avoiding the Skin Script products that contain high concentrations of denatured alcohol!
Where to Buy Skin Script Products?
You can buy Skin Script products at artofskincare.com, as well as through estheticians (in person and online).
What is The Return Policy For Skin Script Products?
The Art of Skin Care return policy for Skin Script products states, “We hope that you love everything that you order, but if you are unhappy with any of the products that you receive, you may send them back within 30 days for an exact refund or a store credit + $10 extra*! Products must be less than 50% consumed. Shipping fees are nonrefundable.”
Is Skin Script Cruelty Free?
Yes, Skin Script is cruelty free.
Is Skin Script Vegan?
Skin Script offers many vegan products. However, the entire line cannot be considered vegan as some products contain milk derivatives, such as Goji Berry Yogurt Mask.
Skin Script Reviews
Skin Script reviews below are mixed. One person experienced a reaction and the other had no complaints.
Our Verdict
Overall, we think that some Skin Script products are better than others. We’d recommend avoiding the products that contain high concentrations of denatured alcohol.
Pros
- Products contain evidence-based ingredients (AHAs, BHA, retinol, kojic acid, etc.)
- Many positive Skin Script reviews
- Skin Script is cruelty free
Cons
- Some Skin Script products contain high concentrations of denatured alcohol
References:
BBA Biomembranes, May 2012, pages 1410-1419
Jessica Reavis Original review: Sep 26, 2019.
I went for a facial treatment and was advised to use skin script for my daily routine. I bought the Green Tea Citrus Cleanser, unfortunately after a few days of use I have had an allergic reaction all over my face and neck. I can’t figure out what the ingredient is that has caused such a reaction, perhaps a combination of the microdermabrasion / enzyme treatment I had beforehand could have caused a hype sensitive reaction. Never happened to me before when using a facial product though. The aesthetician has been very helpful in trying to get my skin back to health.