Leading up to my wedding I knew one of the most important things I wanted was for my skin to look its best, no, flawless. It wasn't enough having the most incredible makeup artist (shoutout to Shannon O'Brien who made me look like a literal goddess) I wanted my skin to glow from underneath my makeup all its own. As we all know, nothing makes makeup look better than great skin. Cut to the latest Korean skincare product buzzing all over the beauty community, Hannacure. Hanacure had been on my radar for a few months, popping up on Katie Jane Hughes' feed, and apparently having cured Drew Barrymore's adult acne, for example. It seemed a rather terrifying-looking mask that resulted in disney princess level radiance. I decided to splurge and treat myself to the kit, which comes with four masks, and do a mask a week for the month leading up to the wedding. Lucky for me, while back-ordered when I went to purchase (it's insanely popular), it restocked just in time.
Inspired by the lotus flower which symbolizes purity and rebirth, Hanacure claims their product to be absolutely transformative. They describe their mask as being able to reduce pores, wrinkles, hyper-pigmentation, and to improve luminescence. Users have also discovered it works wonders on acne and acne scars, and subsequently swear by it. Hanacure's unique blend of botanicals and peptides along with their patented "CO2 OctoLift™" (see full list of ingredients here) seem to be bringing the results, and their Instagram is full of dozens of satisfied user selfies to boot.
The first time I did the mask was, unfortunately, an utter disaster. While the directions don't explicitly say to discontinue use of acids/retinoid products for a few days before using the mask I highly recommend doing so to avoid a similar fate I endured. I expected some tingling and redness, but the mask left my skin redder than a bad sunburn and feeling as though it had been whiplashed by artic winds. I reached out to the brand on instagram, explained my situation, and they advised me to stop using any acids or retinoids for two days before my next use. They even offered to check in with me after the second mask to make sure it went better. Reader, it went so much better once I heeded their advice - and the lovely human from Hanacure remembered to check in with me! She even sent me a extra mask to replace the first one which went so wrong, along with a hand written note wishing me well on my upcoming nuptials and she thanked me for using their product. A++ for customer service.
The mask itself is two parts, a liquid and a gel to be mixed together and applied with a brush - it's very enjoyable, you'll feel like a chemist, or a very fancy witch mixing potions. You are given enough to generously coat your face, neck, and back of hands (PSA: we should all be taking better care of our hands, they age very quickly). The most vital step of this mask (and the most difficult) is sitting still. Once dry, the mask literally lifts your skin and you look like a bit of a zombie. If you talk or move your face at all, the mask cracks and kind of rips away from your skin where you move which not only hurts (a lot) it also disrupts the process. My advice: throw it on, pop in your headphones, put on 30 minutes of your favorite calming music, and just be still. Washing it off is best done with warm water and a washcloth, as the mask doesn't dissolve off your face when wet, it needs to be gently rubbed off. Your skin will probably be a bit red afterwards which is normal and will subside. If you have dry skin, definitely follow with moisturizer.
A lot of people say their skin looks amazing-exclamation-point right after removing the mask but I didn't notice much change immediately. I usually found my skin looking better the next morning. After the third mask is when I really saw the changes. My pores appeared much smaller. (Now, I understand your pores are the size they are, there is no real way to "shrink" them, but I consider pores to be a bit like balloons - they can be filled and stretched, and this mask helps empty them so they can shrink back to their empty size.) The texture of my skin was much more even, my dry patches were healing significantly and I was experiencing fewer breakouts. Also, any product I used performed better - skincare and makeup alike. Most notably, my skin was retaining moisture more than ever and my oily t-zone was significantly less greasy, even 9 hours into the day. I was able to wear a lot less foundation and when I went without makeup my skin didn't look sallow or dull but awake and perky. My skin was well-balanced and overall, I felt it simply looked good. On my wedding day I felt radiant as all hell! (This would be a perfect place to insert a photo of my face from the day, but the photos aren't ready yet, and I really wanted to get this post written, so...sorry? I'll tag them on my instagram when they are ready.)
The hype is real and this product is absolutely worth investing in. It's been about three weeks since I last used the mask and my skin is sliding back to its old ways. Clearly, like anything, to reap the benefits of Hanacure, one must keep using Hanacure. The company themselves recommend to use it once or twice a week for a few months and then you can dial back use to just a few times a month. Someday when I'm rich, I'll do just that. Until then, I'll save my pennies so I can buy another 4-pack to use the month before my wedding reception next spring.
Has anyone else tried this yet? How did it go for you?
xx,
Claire