Holy Snails Shark Sauce

I am pretty sure that my skin just hates niacinamide (or anything good I try to use on it) to be honest. I'm pretty sure that this made my skin break out, but c'est la vie. That being said, my PIE seemed to fade noticeably even in a couple of days, so if you're not sensitive to any of the ingredients in this, I fully recommend trying it! I also tried The Ordinary niacinamide, and my skin didn't like that either. To use a term that I've seen other people use, this formula is much more "cosmetically elegant", and doesn't pill up like TO one does, and didn't make my skin dry. It helped my skin feel nice and supple. I bought honey shark, and liked that it had propolis and manuka honey in it. Maybe I'll try it again at some point...

I just finished my first bottle of this and I love it! I am going to try The Ordinary Niacinamide next, but if that one is a fail, I'm going to return to this. I'm 1/2 Asian and as a result, I am susceptible to sun damage and hyperpigmentation. I also have large pores, oil and some lines (I'm over 40.) This did not irritate my skin at all, sinks in immediately, and smells like nothing. It's just a lightweight gel. I used two drops every night all over my face. The Ordinary has twice the Niacinamide, but doesn't have the other ingredients that this has, so it may not work as well, but we shall see. I would not hesitate to repurchase this product. Just for reference, my night time skincare routine is: oil cleanse, foaming cleanse, tone, Vitamin C serum, Niacinamide serum, moisturizer, eye cream, and lash serum. I have been doing this for about 6 months and I can now wear very lightweight foundations and my skin looks great.

I've been lucky enough to have fairly clear skin for most of my life, except around 13-15 yrs of age. Fast forward to the ripe old age of 35 and after having a baby and some significant postpartum complications and a boatload of drugs, my face broke out in the worst way I've ever experienced. At one point I counted 36 zits around my mouth/chin at one time and even if I *DO NOT TOUCH* them at all, I get major PIH. I'm about NC40 and the pigmentation is severe. In the past, whenever I did get the odd hormonal acne, my PIH would take over a year to fade and have had spots last two years. After spending considerable time on r/SkincareAddiction, I came up with a routine that included Shark Sauce in the AM and PM. 1 bottle (~2 months later) my PIH has faded significantly!! Even a couple lingering spots from the year before are now completely gone!! It's difficult to say exactly how much of the effect is solely due to shark sauce since I'm using several products, however I was using my entire routine, minus shark sauce, for a month prior and hadn't noticed any huge effects so I'm confident in saying it has made a very large difference. My current routine is
AM: COSRX low pH cleanser, MISSHA time intensive essence, Shark Sauce, TO 10% azelaic acid on chin, A'pieu pureblock sunscreen
PM: DHC deep cleansing oil, COSRX low pH cleanser, Paula's Choice 2% BHA liquid, Shark Sauce, Kate Somerville antibac lotion on any existing acne, Paula's Choice radiance renewal mask.
I love how moisturizing shark sauce is and how quickly it sinks into my skin. It is fairly scentless to me and goes on completely clear. The packaging is a bit basic, but who cares if it keeps the cost down. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether stability of the ingredients would be improved with an opaque bottle. In any case, Shark Sauce is absolutely remaining a staple product in my routine and on mornings/evenings when I don't have time for my full routine, Shark Sauce is an absolute must for me.

Sad to give this a negative review because I really do admire the brand and what the founder/formulator does, but this just doesn't work for me. I was lucky enough to purchase a sample from someone off Asian Beauty Exchange on Reddit some time ago and I was suuuuuper excited to try it because 1. The ingredients list looks bomb and so well thought out, and 2. The rave reviews!

Sadly, my skin's PIH doesn't seem to improve much with niacinamide (not just with this, but other products that contain niacinamde). I do believe it has other benefits though so I don't mind... but this also broke me out!! After a lot of thought and reflection, I realise that fermented skincare is a trigger for me after all. No hate on the product. Some of its ingredients just don't work for me. I do know the brand has a version without the fermented extracts in it called Holy Snail Water and that I'd love to try sometime in the future!

I use this every night on my face and neck. The texture is slightly runny but applies just fine to me. Doesn't feel greasy or heavy to me, so it's great during the summer. If you do use too much, however, your face will be sticky. A little pea size amount goes a long away.

As for performance, this is what I really like. After two weeks of use I already noticed a difference in my skin texture. My face feels and looks smoother and even, is less oily at the end of the day, and feels plumper. Not "bouncy," nor anything fantasmic. But I can't stop feeling my face because it's the best it's been ever since I can remember. My dark circles and undereye wrinkles seem less apparent as well. I've already repurchased to ensure that I'm not without it since I'm running low.

I have always liked this. I sometimes use Stratia Rewind though as it cheaper and I can use more. But this has elegance. I wanted to draw attention to the Sauce du Mois mothly versions that are a few dollars more. So $33 vis $28. I have the Honey Shark Sauce with manuka honey, propolis and royal jelly added to the regular formula. Shark sauce has niacinamide and licorice and N-Acetylglucosamine, which works really well to brighten and as anti aging anti-oxidants. It has green tean and hyaluronic acid as well. This version has a lovely texture. Comes out like a light gel and feels rich but goes in fast. If you have ever used Scinic AIO Honey it's not sticky like that but gives your skin that boos of moisture like that. Manunka honey has acties, so that really attracted me. You see regular honey often. There are 12 versions and some available all the time like this.



Honey Shark Sauce: Distilled Water, Sea Kelp Bioferment, Niacinamide, Licorice Root Extract, Manuka Honey Extract, Royal Jelly Extract, Propolis Extract, N-Acetylglucosamine, Sodium Lactate, Panthenol, Glycerin, Green Tea Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Disodium EDTA

I've used Shark Sauce for 6 days now. I use one drop of Shark Sauce on each cheek, nose, forehead, and chin (so 5 drops in total every night and morning). It's done more for the red post-acne pigmentation on my cheeks than any other products in such a short period of time.

Sensation
It sinks in very quickly and the film-formers makes your skin feel soft and smooth to touch. If you use a lot of Shark Sauce, however, your skin might feel sticky. The stickiness should go away eventually; patting lightly will speed up the process. There's never any stinging or redness, and the gel consistency spreads easily.

Effect on red post-acne pigmentation
I've had a cluster of post-acne red marks on my left cheek and a few red dots on my right cheek for nearly a year now. Sometimes they look fiercer, especially after washing my face or moisturising. After 6 days of continuous use, the pigmentation has reduced in size significantly and also lessened in how 'red' they look, as if the wound is becoming less deep.

The incredible thing about Shark Sauce is not just that it reduces deep hyper-pigmentation, but the speed with which it reduces hyper-pigmentation. I could see the marks getting less deep and smaller over the week.

I had used Elizabeth Arden Advanced Ceramide Time Capsules for nearly 4 months before getting a sample of Shark Sauce. The EA capsules have delivered results, to an extent. They reduced some of my red hyper-pigmentation, but after a few months' use, the serum seem to hit a bottleneck. It still moisturised, but it wasn't reducing the hyper-pigmentation further.

Shark Sauce did more to reduce the size and lessen the intensity of the red hyper-pigmentation in 6 days then EA Ceramide Time Capsules did in 4 months.

I had also began using La Mer Creme de La Mer at the same time I began using Holy Snails's Shark Sauce and Snowbang Essence. This is my speculation based on how my skin feels after the application of each product and the ingredients of each product, but I think Shark Sauce made the greatest effect in reducing the hyper-pigmentation. La Mer did incredibly good work for my skin's moisture barrier and chapping, but I think it's the 5% Niacinamide and 3% N-Acetyl Glucosamine in Shark Sauce that's reducing the pigmentation.

I love Holy Snails, and love that the products are thoughtfully formulated, and geared toward real results. Unfortunately for me, Shark Sauce didn't work for my skin. Although I sampled before I bought the full size, the issues I had didn't become apparent until I started using it more regularly. My main problem was sensitivity to ingredients, and I suspect it is the hyaluronic acid. Otherwise, I quite liked the gel texture, which spread easily and dried quickly. It didn't pill under other skin care steps, and had no scent. Holy Snails now has a product called Holy Snail Water which is a more fluid version of Shark Sauce but without the irritating ingredients. Initial sampling was positive, so I may switch to Holy Snail Water instead. As for the Shark Sauce, I used the rest on my hands, and it worked very well at improving skin tone. In my opinion, the Holy Snails products are among the best for delivering controlled and clinically active levels of niacinamide without tons of other non-essential or harmful ingredients, and for that I will be forever loyal.

I stumbled upon Shark Sauce while looking for something that has a high amount of niacinamide and licorice root extract. I suffer from acne and seborrheic dermatitis, and these two ingredients have a lot of research showing their efficacy to reduce irritation, and while they're fairly common in skincare products nowadays, their concentrations are not disclosed and are likely to be a small fraction of what's been used in the clinical studies. It was only after looking into Shark Sauce more that I noticed it has quite a following on the skincare forums on reddit, with a lot of positive reviews, so I decided to get a sample.

At first I didn't want to like this serum as much as I do, given the price, but my skin seems so thankful for having added it into my routine, that I was compelled to purchase a full size bottle. It quickly managed to calm my sensitive skin, and does an excellent job of both lightening hyperpigmentation (thanks to its inclusion of niacinamide and n-acetyl glucosamine, which work synergistically, as well as the licorice root), and treating acne (presumably thanks to its inclusion of a fairly high amount of green tea extract and sodium lactate). It has also helped to calm the redness from my seborrheic dermatitis.

I've come to realise that the fairly high price is worth it in this case, for several reasons:

1.) It is a highly concentrated serum, so a little goes a long way. It comes in the same kind of plastic bottle used for e-juice, which might feel cheap but surprisingly works well because it means I can be very exact with the amount I dispense for every use (2 drops in the morning, 5 drops in the evening). Also, the texture of the serum has just enough viscosity that it won't run through your fingers, so I never feel like I'm wasting product, unlike some runnier serums that I've tried.
2.) The small business that makes it is very upfront about the concentrations of the ingredients, to the extent that you could even make something similar yourself at home if you have any interest in DIY. That level of transparency is rare in the skincare industry and I am happy to support it.
3.) Most skincare products have been sitting on a shelf or in a warehouse for a long time before you start using it, and a lot of big skincare companies aren't exactly upfront about their products' expiry dates, even though skincare products do indeed expire. The fresher it is, the better, particularly when it comes to products that contain botanical extracts and antioxidants. When I order a bottle of Shark Sauce I know it's coming from a fresh batch. On that note, it's wise to keep this in the fridge and use it within 8 months.
4.) As said earlier, using it made a difference in my skin. This was noticeable after just a week of use, which is impressive to me. Most other serums I've tried made me wonder if they indeed had any effect at all, or were just an unnecessary step.

Even the 5ml sample bottle lasts much longer than one would expect, so I definitely recommend at least giving it a shot.

Niacinamide is my jam. Not only does my skin look better with it but it helps reduce irritation from retinoids. I was getting it from my PM moisturizer but I needed to start using something more emollient for winter. Instead of looking for another moisturizer with niacinamide I decided to add this serum because of all the hype on reddit and because the ingredients are simple and known to be effective.

It has 5% niacinamide and other goodies that are known for skin brightening. My skin has better clarity and texture since I added this to my routine.

Its fragrance-free and all the ingredients in it have a known function.

I follow the Asian skincare philosophy that it's better to use several products, each with a main powerful active, instead of using all-in-one products. I use this as part of my night routine after my first essence (Cosrx Whiting Power which also has some niacinamide) but before Adapalene (Differin). I finish with a moisturizer.

As a huge plus, Holy Snails has excellent customer service. My order shipped out quickly and I was notified of its status several steps of the way.