a day ago
Why Summer Fridays' K-Beauty Exfoliator Is a Game Changer for Smooth Skin
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Of all the calendars on my phone—friend group outings, looming work deadlines, the never-ending birthday alerts—none strikes fear in my heart like the one tracking my period. Every month, I peek, cringe, and slam it shut, knowing that in a matter of days, I'll be wrestling with cramps, fatigue, and the hormonal breakout parade that takes residence along my cheeks and chin.
But here I am, nine days out, and my skin is suspiciously calm—smooth, bright, almost as if she's on vacation instead of gearing up for battle. The plot twist? An unlikely skin care recruit I slipped into my routine at the eleventh hour turned out to be the reset my skin didn't know it needed.
I've long relied on Summer Fridays to keep my lips plush (Mint is my ride-or-die) and my post-flight face hydrated. But now? I'm convinced their new exfoliating pads might be the perfect sidekick because nothing pairs better with glossy lips and a juicy, plumped-up visage than skin that's nearly poreless, even-toned, and fully unbothered. After all, that is the Cali-cool brand's ethos—ease, bliss, and luxury, just like the flexible workday perk it's named after. Now, imagine a product that blends that breezy California edge with the innovation and radiance of beauty's most popular skin care capital. Summer Fridays' last launch took us to the tropics with a guava-inspired balm. With its latest offering, we're off to Korea.
'It's true that Korea is one of the global leaders in skin innovation. As we started to develop a product like this, we wanted to really focus on prevention, but also on gentleness,' explains Kendall Johnson, senior director of product development and packaging at Summer Fridays. 'Korea marries science and sensorial formulations. As we started to work with a specific Korean lab, we were able to find that perfect balance between effective exfoliation and daily comfort in the pad.'
Hydration is Summer Fridays' love language. From lip balms laced with shea and murumuru seed butters to hyaluronic acid-rich formulas like the Jet Lag Mask + Moisturizer, Deep Hydration Serum, and Skin Soothing Hydration Mist, the brand has built an empire on moisture. Then came the corrective era—vitamin C, retinol, and firming eye serums—proof that Summer Fridays could do more than quench skin's thirst. The Gentle Reset Daily Exfoliating Pads ($42) sit right in the middle: a marriage of correction and hydration 'without compromise,' says co-founder Lauren Ireland.
Safe for all skin types, it's tailored for sensitive skin. Each double-sided pad sits in a blend of glycolic, lactic, and mandelic acids—exfoliation's all-stars—tempered with PHA gluconolactone, aloe water, and glycerin to keep irritation in check.
'Glycolic, lactic, mandelic—all of these ingredients are effective and give you the full chemical exfoliation experience, but they're a little smaller in size in molecular weight, so that they can be a little bit harsher on the skin. The PHA gluconolactone is a much larger molecule, which still gives you that chemical exfoliation, but it's a little less harsh at the same time, so you still get those results,' Johnson adds.
As someone with acne-prone skin, I've long loved Korean toner pads for their conditioning abilities—especially when my weekly retinol, clindamycin, and benzoyl peroxide rotation leaves my skin a bit dry. Still, they've never made a real dent in the evidence of my pimple-picking past. These pads were different; they're deceptively potent—never stinging or peeling my skin—and ultra calming. Unlike the balms, there's no smell, just a chic suede-textured box that houses 30 individually wrapped pads—smart for travel and even smarter for consistency.
'Every pad delivers the same results,' co-founder Marianna Hewitt notes. 'With jars, the top pads can dry out and leave only the bottom pads soaked, so you don't get the same experience with every pad. [Gentle Reset Daily Exfoliating Pads] ensure that youre skin is getting the same amount of juice each time and perfect for on-the-go use.'
One side is textured, the other smooth—my acne-prone skin prefers the grit for a satisfying degunking. Post-use, my face looks like I just had a deep-cleansing facial—minus the redness or bumps manual exfoliation often causes. With these, you get exfoliation and glow all in one step without ever leaving your home.
By day four, the glow was still there, but the breakouts weren't. The rogue cheek spot I'd been battling for weeks was noticeably lighter. One week in, my skin feels like it's finally on my side—supple, smooth, and almost smug about it. Not to mention my makeup routine shrank to a dab of concealer, powder, blush, and done. My mornings are easier, and my period calendar feels a little less ominous. At a recent work meeting, I walked in to a chorus of publicists saying, 'Your skin looks amazing.' Call it vanity, but for me, that's the ultimate litmus test of a product's success. And over a week later, the compliments haven't stopped.
