Lumin Skin Review

About Lumin

Lumin is a Los Angeles-based skincare start-up that aims to give men an easy way to properly take care of their skin. Customers have the option to sign up for a subscription to make Lumin part of their daily routine. The skincare world is a tough one to break into but the brand has gained some solid traction so far. Lumin is featured in a number of leading publications including Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and Vogue.

This Lumin Skin review will take you through their past, products, promotions, and more to help you decide if Lumin can spruce up your skincare routine.

Overview of Lumin

Lumin is a recent start-up, founded in the summer of 2018 by Richard Hong and Darwish Gani. The company was born out of Hong’s struggles with acne in his youth. At the time, he was looking for solutions and came up empty. He found brands too focused on sales mode and the products ineffective. 

After a fruitless search, Hong turned to his sister for tips. She shared her own skincare routine using products from their native South Korea. This Lumin Skin review is thrilled to report it was a nice familial beginning. Siblings working together… If only it was that easy when we were young.

The idea behind Lumin skincare for men is to bring that improved experience to the skincare industry leaving aside the old challenges. Hong and Gani tested a number of products to see which gave the best results, then began manufacturing their own lines with the most effective ingredients. 

You can buy Lumin products individually, but if you don’t know where to start, there’s a short questionnaire to determine your skincare needs—like the one Hong received from his sister. Then you have the option to sign up for a subscription based on those needs. No wandering around the skincare aisle looking lost, those products get delivered to your door. 

Lumin grew very quickly, building a customer base in the hundreds of thousands worldwide in a little over a year. Hong and Gani noted the rapidly changing company in an Inc.com interview, but they’ve been careful to not outrun their ability to deliver quality products and customer service. They’ve done it all while encouraging men to ditch the old stigma around male skincare and pay more attention to the health of their skin.

Let’s take a look at the highlights of this Lumin Skin review:

Pros

• Wide range of skincare products targeting different problem areas
• Many customers leave a Lumin Skin review praise the effectiveness of the products 
• Customers can subscribe or purchase individual items
• Subscription process offers a personalized experience
• Priced reasonably for high-quality skincare (though more expensive than drugstore brands)

Cons

• Negative Lumin Skin reviews take issues with the cancellation process
• Lumin bottles tend to be small
• Lumin say that high demand is currently causing shipping delays

Lumin offers a number of products in their skincare line and a few more in the hair and body category. This Lumin Skin review can’t look at all of them, but we’ll cover:

1. Modern Bathroom Set
2. Advanced Repair Scalp Treatment
3. Charcoal Pore Strip
4. Age Management Set
5. Eye Puff Deflator

Lumin Modern Bathroom Set

The Lumin Modern Bathroom Set covers the essentials in 5 products: 

• Keratin Recovery Shampoo (individually $11 for 9.3 oz)
• Keratin Strengthening Conditioner ($11 for 3.4 oz)
• Clarifying Body Wash ($11 for 9.3 oz)
• Charcoal Cleanser ($12.80 for 1.7 oz)
• Moisturizing Balm ($23.20 for 1.7 oz)

The first three cover your showering needs while the latter two are all about skincare. The Keratin Shampoo and Conditioner one-two punch has the effect of strengthening hair follicles and keeping them in your head right where you want them to be. The Lumin Body Wash meanwhile focuses on ensuring your skin retains moisture and avoids breakouts thanks to a mixture containing tea tree oil and aloe vera.

The skin products each serve unique functions. The Charcoal Cleanser removes all the dirt and grime. The Moisturizing Balm relies on a combination of meadowfoam seed oil and a handful of extracts to hydrate your face. On Lumin’s Instagram page, there’s a before/after skincare picture of John Legend and his baby son, so the idea is that your face will be baby smooth.

The Modern Bathroom Set costs $59, representing a savings of $10 on buying each separately. If you’re into the whole Lumin system, it’s a good way to go.

Lumin Advanced Repair Scalp Treatment

The Advanced Repair Scalp Treatment is the only Hair and Body item absent from the Modern Bathroom Set. While the others give you the essentials, this is the Lumin equivalent of calling in the cavalry. Like the shampoo and conditioner, it helps with repairing the hair follicles but it also lends an extra hand to the scalp. 

Primarily, this comes from tea tree oil that prevents oil build-up on the scalp and fights fungal infections. The Advanced Repair Scalp Treatment costs $12 for a 1.7 oz bottle so it’s only a slight increase on buying the shampoo or conditioner if you want to bring in all the king’s horses.

Lumin Charcoal Pore Strip

The cavalry seems to be too weak even for the Charcoal Pore Strip. Lumin calls it a skincare torpedo. It’s a little more like waxing but for dirt and less painful. You put the strip over your nose and it digs deep into the pores to pull out all the dirt and impurities to prevent breakouts. 

This Lumin Skin review still finds the idea of a lump of coal doing the cleaning very funny but it’s a well-documented method by now. You can try out the Charcoal Pore Strip for $16 for 1 strip. Warning: you may get seriously grossed out by how much stuff comes out of your pores.

Lumin Age Management Set

Lumin’s Age Management Set gives you three tools:

• Moisturizing Balm (Individually $23.20 for 1.7 oz)
• Dark Circle Defense ($23.20 for 1 oz)
• Anti-Wrinkle Serum ($15.20)

This Lumin Skin review already touched upon the Moisturizing Balm and it’s really just to fight signs of aging by promoting healthy skin. The other two deal with the more concrete issues. 

The Dark Circle Defense explains itself pretty effectively. It contains niacinamide to strengthen skin and reduce inflammation, lemon extract to aid against environmental stress and restore an even skin tone, and caffeine for its antioxidant and inflammation reduction properties. The Anti-Wrinkle Serum turns to ascorbic acid to fight damage from pollution and sunrays, as well as hyaluronic acid for its hydrating capacities. 

Altogether, the set costs $52, with a savings of just under $10 compared to buying each separately. If you’re looking to pull out all the stops to keep your skin looking its youngest, the Age Management Set is your go-to.

Lumin Eye Puff Deflator

Waging war against a common symptom of tiredness, the Eye Puff Deflator conjures up the fantastic image of letting the air out of puffy eyes but it actually just relies on science. The niacinamide returns and is joined by the spa favourite, cucumber extract, for hydration and soothing, and green tea extract to fight inflammation. 

To apply, you simply rub the Eye Puff Deflator around your eyes using what is essentially a thicker lipstick container (that’s the best way to describe it for us dudes, anyway). It’s a quick and easy solution for $9.60 for a 0.18 oz bottle.

Lumin Membership

When you buy Lumin Skincare, it automatically signs you up for either a monthly or bi-monthly subscription (you can revert this to a one-time purchase before ordering if you prefer) and creates an account for you to manage your subscription. 

If you’re wondering how much is Lumin monthly? Subscriptions come with a 20% discount so there are some savings. Lumin subscription members do also get a few perks. Some of these include early access to new products and a Lumin Skin promo code as well as occasional free gifts.

Membership Sign Up

You can sign up using the aforementioned method of creating an account with an order, or you can sign up to receive news on new products, deals, events, etc. by going to the Let’s stay in touch box at the bottom left of the site.

Lumin Skin Reviews: What Do Customers Think?

It comes down to the question, is Lumin skincare good? Fortunately, customers who leave a Lumin Skin review either on their site, Amazon, or Reddit tend to praise the product’s quality. Skincare routines are a finicky subject, so it’s not uncommon to see people who didn’t have success. But there are certainly more who attest to Lumin’s ability to solve long standing issues with breakouts or acne, or just make their skin feel better.

Concerns that don’t cite ineffectiveness tend to fall into two camps. The first is cost. Lumin products are marginally above the price of the more common skincare products, which seems reasonable given their position as a more upscale brand but the issue is quantity. Lumin bottles just don’t hold that much so the answer to the question of how much does Lumin skin care cost? quickly goes from not much to a fair bit. 

The second issue that came up was difficulties with cancelling subscriptions. Some customers found Lumin would encourage other deals and this held up the process and sometimes led to another month being shipped before the cancellation went through.

Is Lumin Skincare Worth It?

As mentioned, skincare is finicky and it can take a while to find the right solution. Lumin seems like it’s worth a try if you’re looking to either up your skincare game or solve some frustrating issues. For those who need a little more though, there’s a number of people praising how much it helped them. However, at the price per bottle, it’s not accessible for everyone to incorporate into their routine. 

Lumin Promotions & Discounts 

This Lumin Skin review can’t find any active deals on the site right now but Lumin offers the permanent Lumin Heroes Program, which gives a Lumin Skin discount code to healthcare workers, firefighters and first responders, law enforcement, active military and veterans, and last but not least those work for non-profit organizations. 

There’s also a Lumin free trial where you receive a month for free and then are automatically signed up for the next installment of the subscription unless you cancel.

Where to Buy Lumin Skincare

You can buy select Lumin products through Amazon but the entire line is available only on their website, LuminSkin.com.

FAQ

How many times a day should I use Lumin?

Lumin recommends daily use for best results but it can vary depending on the product. Each one comes with an instruction card but if it gets lost, you can also consult the instructions online on the Ingredients page. Just scroll down beneath the photos of the ingredients.

How do I cancel my Lumin skin subscription?

To cancel a Lumin subscription, go to the support portal (Support – Contact Us under I need help!) and select I want to cancel my subscription and then follow the prompt to cancel. You do have the option of changing your subscription products or skipping a delivery too. 

Cancellations must be requested prior to order processing or you will be charged for that order.

What is Lumin’s Shipping Policy?

Lumin ships worldwide and offers free shipping on orders over $25. Costs for orders under $25 vary by destination. You are also on the hook for any taxes or duties incurred on international shipments. You’re given the expected shipping time frame upon checkout but the current expectation is 4-9 in the US and Southeast Asia, 5-10 in Europe, and 8-22 elsewhere. 

COVID-19 has impacted shipping times and Lumin says to give 4-8 days for orders to be processed before they are shipped. There are also currently restrictions on the countries Lumin can ship to as a result of COVID-19. 

There is no immediate information on tracking, but this Lumin Skin review guesses you will probably either receive a tracking number with your order or be able to track it through your account.

What is Lumin’s Return Policy?

You cannot return a free trial, or bulk order but for other unused and unopened items there is a 60-day return window. You are on the hook for the return postage whether or not a refund is issued upon return.

Make sure to take note of your tracking number, postal courier, and order number as these are all needed for the return form found in the support portal and filled out online. You can also find the Lumin return addresses in the same section of the support portal.

How to Contact Lumin

All Lumin customer service is done through the support portal accessed by clicking support at the bottom of the site.

You then click the Contact Us button and there are a number of categories where you can find more information and/or submit a question. It may take up to 48 hours for feedback due to COVID-19 related delays.

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Noah Stevens