Summer Fridays Soft Reset AHA Exfoliating Solution: 2 Month Review
If you’re also someone who is a complete sucker for cute packaging when it comes to skincare, you’re probably familiar with Summer Fridays. Last year, they came out with their first toner— the Soft Reset AHA Exfoliating Solution. I was sent a bottle in a press mailer, and finally got around to trying it at the start of the year. At this point, I’ve been using it for 2 months so let’s review!
I reviewed their Vitamin C serum a year ago, and if you’re curious about my all time favorite exfoliator— read all about it here!
Price & Availability
$54.00 for 100mL via Sephora, Space NK, Cult Beauty, Revolve, & Net-A-Porter
Ingredients
Water/Aqua/Eau, Lactic Acid, Propanediol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Glycolic Acid, Niacinamide, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Citrate, Phenoxyethanol, Citric Acid, Acer Saccharum (Sugar Maple) Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Saccharum Officinarum (Sugarcane) Extract/Saccharum Officinarum/Extrait De Canne À Sucre, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Xanthan Gum, Caprylyl Glycol, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Ascorbyl Glucoside
Star Ingredients
Lactic Acid + Glycolic Acid: two AHA chemical exfoliants which help get rid of dead skin cells, help stimulate collagen production, and are ace at fading scarring, acne, discoloration, etc. I talked about three different types of chemical exfoliants in a recent Instagram post here! According to the space NK product page— it contains 16% (!!!) acid, which is really strong. It’s definitely one of the stronger exfoliating toners out there.
Niacinamide: I wrote this post on niacinamide way back when in 2016, aaaand 5 years later it is still one of my favorite skincare ingredients. It’s soothing, brightening, helps with inflammation, provides anti-aging benefits, and is an all around powerhouse. It’s no wonder it’s only been gaining in popularity over time.
Sodium Hyaluronate: Hydration, hydration, hydration!
Glycerin: An underrated humectant that helps hydrate and balance skin.
Plus aloe, chamomile extract, and green tea leaf extract which are all great at soothing skin.
Packaging
If there’s one thing Summer Fridays gets right every time, it’s creating absolutely beautiful packaging 😍 It’s a frosted glass bottle with a screw on cap. I had the bottle lying down in a drawer for a week, and it didn’t leak.
Scent
While this does not contain synthetic fragrance, it does contain citrus extracts (different from essential oils.)
Results
Some relevant background on my skin, it’s pretty dry and dehydrated at the moment due to winter and staying indoors 99% off the time with the heat on blast. While using this, I did not have any other AHA products in my routines. I would say I used this on average about 2x a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. Method of application? Applied with a cotton pad onto dry skin right after cleansing. I would say my skin is also pretty tolerant to exfoliation but can sometimes be sensitized from glycolic acid (depends on the product & how strong it is.)
90% of the time I would use this, I would get the slightest burning (insert Regé-Jean Page “buuurn for you” meme here) sensation after every single use. The only time there was no stinging is when I would use a hydrating mask beforehand. I’m going to assume it’s from the glycolic acid cause I had similar reactions to Krave’s Kale-Lalu-yAHA toner and Farmacy’s honeymoon glow serum, which also prominently feature glycolic acid in their formulas. This is a completely personal experience and does not mean it’s a bad product, just something my skin didn’t love. Because the stinging wasn’t too bad, I continued using it so I could right a review.
When using a chemical exfoliant, I want it to minimize my acne, fade my scarring, give my skin an overall glow, and keep my pores clean while also NOT stripping my skin of all moisture. I would give this toner a 5/10 on fulfilling those expectations. It did a pretty good job at minimizing my acne as I haven’t had any major breakouts, even while on my period. My acne scars are fading nicely (although the results have not been as dramatic when compared to other toners), and my skin didn’t feel stripped after using this. But where I think this fell flat for me is on the overall glow factor and how my pores look.
As this only contains AHAs, I don’t think it did the best job at clearing up congestion on my nose and on the apples of my cheeks. Those are the spots where my pores are the largest, and BHAs come in handy at minimizing them.
At the end of the day, this just didn’t do it for me. After trying dozens of different chemical exfoliants over the past 6+ years, I’ve learned my skin does well with a mix of acids— gimme some AHAs, PHAs, and BHAs. While I could technically get all those ingredients in multiple products, why do that when all-in-one products exist? And work better than using 2-3 separate products?
I read somewhere that the product was formulated without BHAs so expectant moms could use it (note: I am not a doctor and have never been pregnant, so please please please check with your own OB before using any sort of topicals when pregnant.) If that’s the case, I totally see why they made it this way. But as a non-pregnant person, I’m going to be sticking to my AHA/PHA/BHA blend toners.
My two favorites are Biologique Recherche’s P50V, which I reviewed in 2019, and Deviant Skincare’s Gentle Resurfacing Liquid, which I will be reviewing very soon!
And if I were looking for a toner with only AHAs at Sephora, I think I would pick up the Youth to the People Kombucha Toner (reviewed here) over this Summer Fridays one, as I found it gentler on my skin but delivering similar results. Plus it’s cheaper and a better value overall.
