Lori Harvey introduced her debut skin-care line — SKN By LH — at the end of October 2021, and like most celebrity skincare brands, it sold out fast.
The inspiration for the 5-piece skincare line came from Lori’s history of skin issues like rosacea, sensitivity, and acne. She told Vogue, “My skin was constantly going through it. So after using, like, 20 different products on my face at one time, I felt like there had to be a simpler way for me to get my skin looking the way I wanted it to.”
We like that simplicity was considered to be a priority when creating the SKN By LH line, but we still have to evaluate the product formulations to see whether or not they’re worth trying out. Below we’ll give you all the details on the SKN By LH products, including the key ingredients and the research that supports (or doesn’t support) their use in skincare. Let’s get started!
Who is Lori Harvey?
If you aren’t into pop culture, you may be wondering, “Who is Lori Harvey?”. Lori is the step-daughter of TV personality Steve Harvey. She’s most well known as a model and influencer on Instagram.
What Are The Best SKN By LH Products?
SKN By LH launched with a 5-step system that includes a cleanser, toner, serum, eye cream, and moisturizer. Here’s the details on each product:
SKN By LH Goji Berry Cleanser
This is a rich, foaming cleanser that cleans the skin while also moisturizing. Like most cleansers, the key ingredients are surfactants, such as cocamidopropyl betaine, coco-glucoside, and cocoyl methyl glucamide.
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 suspend oils, dirt, and other impurities that have accumulated on the skin and wash them away, leaving the skin clean.
The formula also includes antioxidants like vitamin C, goji berry, and pomegranate fruit extract. Antioxidants are excellent skin care ingredients, but they work better when used in a leave-on product, such as a serum or moisturizer.
The SKN By LH cleanser is said to be gentle enough for all skin types, but we have to point out that there’s several irritants in the formula. One is the surfactant cocamidopropyl betaine. According to the EWG, cocamidopropyl betaine has been associated with irritation and allergic contact dermatitis.
The formula is also packed with fragrant essential oils, such as orange peel oil, bergamot oil, lemon peel oil, and many more. These ingredients have the potential to cause skin sensitivity reactions.
Bottom Line: A basic foaming cleanser that uses surfactants to clear away makeup and impurities, but keep in mind there’s several irritants in the formula.
SKN By LH White Tea Toner
The SKN By LH toner hydrates, tones, and clarifies skin while also removing impurities to complete the cleansing ritual. The formula includes a high concentration of rose flower water, which not only offers a light, sweet scent, it also functions as an astringent and provides a temporary cooling and toning effect.
There are also high concentrations of humectants in this toner, such as glycerin and panthenol (pro-vitamin B5). Humectants are able to draw moisture into the upper layers of skin, thereby improving skin hydration and giving you a more plump complexion.
To further increase the skin’s hydration, the brand included AcquaCell, a natural complex combining watermelon rind extract, lentil extract, and apple extract.
Watermelon rind is one of nature’s few materials to contain citrulline. Citrulline is essential to the functioning of filaggrin which forms a critical part of the skin’s own water-based moisturizing complex. The lentil extract contains vitamin B5 and trisaccharides. The apple starch is a source of polysaccharides, sodium lactate, and sodium PCA. All of these ingredients work together to increase skin hydration.
Bottom Line: A hydrating toner that combines rose flower water, humectants, and AcquaCell to hydrate, tone, and soothe the skin.
SKN By LH Vitamin C Serum
Rather than using pure vitamin C (ascorbic acid), the brand chose to use ascorbyl glucoside in the SKN By LH Vitamin C Serum since it offers much better stability.
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that protects your skin from environmental free radical damage while also helping to fade dark spots, even out skin tone, and increase radiance. As if that wasn’t enough, research suggests that when vitamin C is applied to the skin, it significantly reverses aging-related structural changes by influencing collagen and elastin synthesis.
The serum also includes pea extract, which offers skin-lightening, skin-smoothing, and anti-aging properties. Skin cells treated with pea extract produce less melanin, leading to brighter skin.
There are a few more beneficial ingredients in this formula, such as niacinamide, gotu kola (cica) extract, and vitamin E. However, these ingredients are present in pretty low concentrations.
We know this because they are listed after xanthan gum on the ingredient list. Xanthan gum is a thickener that is generally used at a concentration of 1%, but as little as 0.1% can be used in many applications. This means you’re getting less than 1% of these ingredients!
Bottom Line: A vitamin C serum that protects skin from free radicals while also helping to fade dark spots, even out skin tone, and increase radiance and firmness.
SKN By LH Peptide Eye Complex
This anti-aging eye cream has a lightweight, creamy texture that melts into the skin and absorbs quickly without leaving any greasy residue. It’s formulated to combat the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, puffiness, dark circles, and crow’s feet.
The formula features an excellent blend of key ingredients, such as palmitoyl tripeptide-5, niacinamide, vitamin C, and sodium hyaluronate.
Palmitoyl tripeptide-5 (also known as SYN-COLL) is a patented, synthetic tripeptide that helps slow down the skin aging process. Specifically, it’s claimed to protect and boost collagen while also improving skin texture. The result? Firmer, more youthful-looking skin.
Plus, the inclusion of sodium hyaluronate, the salt form of hyaluronic acid, will help to hydrate skin, thereby reducing dryness and also giving the skin around the eyes a more plump, youthful look.
Bottom Line: A lightweight eye cream that helps to brighten skin and reduce signs of aging with palmitoyl tripeptide-5, niacinamide, vitamin C, and sodium hyaluronate.
SKN By LH Niacinamide Cream
Just as the name suggests, the brand’s Niacinamide Cream features niacinamide, which is one of our favorite skincare ingredients.
Scientifically speaking, niacinamide is the amide form of vitamin B3 (niacin). It plays an important role in cellular metabolism, and it’s a potent antioxidant. But let’s talk about the benefits you can expect from niacinamide because there’s a lot!
According to a publication in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, niacinamide can repair the skin barrier and improve skin moisture, as well as reduce inflammation, blotchiness, hyperpigmentation, and wrinkling.
An added bonus is that niacinamide helps to reduce and prevent acne because of its antimicrobial and sebostatic effects, meaning it can help protect against the bacteria that cause acne while also helping to reduce oil production.
The only drawback is the jar packaging compromises the stability of niacinamide (and other antioxidant ingredients) reducing its potency every time you open the jar.
Bottom Line: A facial moisturizer that provides many benefits — like moisturizing, reducing inflammation, and brightening your complexion — thanks to the multi-tasking ingredient niacinamide.
What Are The Key Ingredients in SKN By LH Products?
As you can probably tell from our introductions to the SKN By LH products in the last section, this brand focuses on using evidence-based ingredients in their products, including:
- Niacinamide
- Peptides
- Sodium Hyaluronate (Hyaluronic Acid)
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
All of these ingredients have research to support their benefits when applied to the skin.
You’ll also find plenty of naturally-derived ingredients in the SKN By LH products, such as goji berry, white tea, pea, aloe vera, shea butter, and more.
However, we noticed that a few of the SKN By LH products contain fragrant essential oils, which can be a problem due to the potential to cause contact allergies, skin irritation, and even skin damage.
In fact, according to a 2016 publication in the scholarly journal Dermatitis, nearly 80 essential oils have caused contact allergy. This is because all fragrance ingredients (whether natural or synthetic) impart scent through a volatile reaction, and this natural reaction almost always causes a sensitizing reaction on the skin.
Even if you don’t have a full-blown reaction to the ingredient, the damage may still be occurring every day. Ultimately, this can cause mild problems for your skin in the short term and worse problems in the long term.
How Much Do SKN By LH Products Cost?
SKN By LH skincare products are mid-range in terms of cost; they aren’t cheap but they are ridiculously expensive. For example, the White Tea Toner costs $35 USD for 5 fl oz, while the Niacinamide Cream costs $38 USD for 1.69 fl oz.
Where to Buy SKN By LH Products?
SKN By LH Products are sold exclusively on the brand’s website (sknbylh.com).
What is The SKN By LH Return Policy?
There is no return policy on the brand’s website (sknbylh.com).
Is SKN By LH Cruelty-Free?
Yes, SKN By LH is cruelty-free.
Is SKN By LH Vegan?
Yes, all SKN By LH products are vegan.
SKN By LH Reviews
Unfortunately, this brand does not display SKN By LH reviews on their website. Since this is such a new brand we weren’t able to find any SKN By LH reviews on Google either.
Our Verdict
Overall, we think that SKN By LH products are formulated well with evidence-based ingredients, although it’s hard to say how well these products perform since the brand does not display reviews on their website.
Pros
- Formulas include evidence-based ingredients (niacinamide, vitamin C, peptides, etc.)
- SKN By LH is cruelty-free
Cons
- The brand does not display SKN By LH reviews on their website
- Some products contain fragrant essential oils, which could lead to skin sensitivity reactions
References:
EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Database “Cocamidopropyl Betaine”
de Groot AC, Schmidt E. Essential Oils, Part IV: Contact Allergy. Dermatitis. 2016;27(4):170-175. doi:10.1097/DER.0000000000000197
Nutrients. 2017 Aug; 9(8): 866.
J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2010 Feb; 3(2): 22–41
