If you ask Sean Garrette whether perfect skin exists, he’ll tell you that it doesn’t. “Maybe for like two people in the world,” the esthetician jokes. It’s easy to trust the advice of a person with damn-near flawless skin, which is one of the many reasons why Garrette has accumulated well over 86k followers on his Instagram.
It was Garette’s own skincare struggles that fueled him to become an esthetician. “Most of my life, I had no issues with my skin, but when I turned 21, my skin just kind of went out of whack,” he shares with Essence exclusively. “That really kind of made me hyper-focused on figuring out how to treat my skin which led me to my journey of studying skincare. I was so obsessed with trying to fix my own skin, that it kind of motivated me to help others.”
In his quest to help others, the famed esthetician has partnered with VERSED to create the Out of Sight Dark Spot Gel. “The ingredients that are in the Out of Sight Dark Spot Gel are unique to the market because most drugstore products usually don’t give you ingredients like this over the counter,” he explains. “It usually comes in the form of more expensive formulations. It has always been my mission to create a product for People of Color that was affordable and effective for the drugstore market because everyone deserves a good skincare routine, and VERSED was the best choice.”
Armed with a wealth of knowledge, Garrette explained that the spot treatment contains tranexamic acid, which is a super-powerful antioxidant that has the ability to treat discoloration while slowing down the formation of new dark spots. “The Kojic acid is also included to safely reduce dark spots without irritation,” he shares. “It’s slightly exfoliating your skin to aid the cell turnover in order to treat the dark spot, but it’s the licorice root extract that helps calm any redness that may come with a breakout and post breakouts.”
The one ingredient that excites Garrette about his collaboration is tranexamic acid. If you too are wondering what tranexamic acid is, we will let him explain. “I love tranexamic acid because it’s something that’s new on the market that is being used topically. It’s an antioxidant that’s naturally going to help brighten and strengthen the skin by targeting the discoloration in a way that other ingredients don’t on the market.”
Always one to keep his followers and clients informed, Garrette shared the best way to use the Out of Sight Dark Spot Gel. “This is a spa treatment so you can use it after cleansing and toning,” he tells us. “This is perfect if you’re someone who just had a breakout. Most of us kind of deal with that post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation that causes the discoloration, so we add just a pea-sized amount and tap into the skin where it is discolored.”
He recommends applying our favorite hyaluronic or hydrating serums and not forgetting to use a little sunscreen in the morning. “SPF is a really important component to making sure that you’re treating your dark spots and not making them worse.”
To help us de-myth the way that we apply our skin products, Garrette believes that massaging your skin is helpful to creating the radiance that we love to see. “It really depends on the texture and the formulation of the product, but I always massage it into the skin, and then I just gently press more for this gel.”
Garrette says that good hygiene and cleansing are a big part of keeping the dewy look that we want to achieve. “My mom taught me that moisturizing is key, and that is something that I gladly pass on to you.”
VERSED Out Of Sight Dark Spot Gel ($17) will be available on September 15 at www.versedskin.com.