This is intense: My experience using the Drunk Elephant Sukari Babyfacial

The Drunk Elephant Sukari Babyfacial ($80 or about P4,000) first caught my attention when I read that it's Sephora's fastest-moving product. I have never heard of Drunk Elephant before, but surely, if it's such a best-seller, it's worth trying out? For the sake of research, I had my friend buy one for me while she was in the US some months back. I didn't really ~read~ the product description all that well so I only found out that this is a 25% AHA and 2% BHA mask when I got the box. Yikes.

In case you don't know, a 27% acid mask is pretty intense. Brands like COSRX and The Ordinary would have acids with 7-10% concentration; the famous Pixi Glow Tonic only has 5%, but this still delivers a sting. These brands recommend introducing the acids slowly into your routine. With Drunk Elephant, they recommend using their other products for at least a month before trying the Sukari Babyfacial.

I've been using a 5% glycolic acid cream regularly (you'll find out which one soon!) so I was pretty confident in trying the Sukari Babyfacial immediately. It was an...experience. My face stung like nobody's business and I instantly tasted the super sour flavor of this acid - it kind of creeps into your mouth even if you avoid the area. It sucked the first five to seven minutes, but by the 20-minute mark my skin became used to the sting. Don't forget to keep this acid away from your eyes! I washed it off afterwards and went straight to sleep. (Drunk Elephant recommends using the Marula Oil afterwards - a free tube comes with the box - but I haven't tried it yet.)

When I woke up, my skin looked normal. The next day, I had a lot of micropeeling around my nose and chin! This continued for a couple more days. My skin looked blah and dull during that time, and my foundations looked like crap on top.

The texture is pasty and a little bit gritty. I use about 3-4 pumps per application, which sounds like a lot, but one pump delivers only a small amount of product. It has a light sour scent but I don't find it unpleasant nor overwhelming.

When the peeling was done though, the glow, my friends, is real. My skin texture was considerably smoother and minor blemishes were just GONE. Blackheads were less too! That's the magic of such a strong acid. Exfoliating with AHA and BHA is really one of the best ways to get rid of spots and bad texture. However, you should NOT use this product if you have fresh acne or open wounds on your face. 

I thought I broke out with the Sukari Babyfacial the second time I used it, but it turns out I was just allergic to something in my environment. These days it has been helping me deal with my blemishes in rotation with the La Mer The Brilliance Mask and that 5% glycolic cream I was talking about. I use it only once every two or three weeks for deeper exfoliation. It really works but apply it with caution; if you're not used to acids, I'm afraid this may be too much for your skin.

To summarize, here's what you can expect from the Drunk Elephant Sukari Babyfacial:

• Glycolic acid is #2 in the ingredients list after water, so yes, it stings like a bitch. Only apply it if your skin is already familiar with acids. Leave it on for only 20 minutes then wash it off thoroughly. You may use a facial oil afterwards to keep skin from drying out too much. 
• Use this only at night; the acid concentration is too high for the day and your skin will be photosensitive while it's peeling. Use sunscreen everyday!
• Results are great: brighter skin, faded blemishes, less blackheads, and smoother skin texture especially around the nose and mouth. Exfoliation is like magic, really. Just don't overdo it. Drunk Elephant says you can use the Sukari Babyfacial every week, but I personally find this frequency too much for me; I would use it only every 2-3 weeks, and keep to my 5% acid cream for more regular usage.

Would I buy the Drunk Elephant Sukari Babyfacial again? Hmm, maybe. I love how truly effective it is and I can see why it's so popular at Sephora, but at the same time it is not the most pleasant thing to use. I would prefer acids with less concentration only because my skin doesn't look *as bad* during the micropeeling stage. In any case, it will take me forever to finish up this 50ml bottle. A very small amount goes a long way.

What do you think of using a 27% acid mask on your face? Would you dare?