Skin in
the Game
A newsletter on skincare — buying guides, ingredient breakdowns, and SA retail intelligence. Data-grounded. No brand marketing. No guesswork.
◆ First issue · Mid 2026
A Buttondown newsletter on SA skincare — data-backed, honest, and free. Subscribe to get the first issue.
Coming up
The 8 best moisturisers for oily skin under R300 in SA
We pulled 400+ reviews from people with oily skin and surfaced the products that consistently top the charts — all locally available, all under R300.
Coming soonWe tracked 200 skincare products across SA retailers. Here's what we found.
The same CeraVe Moisturising Cream: R189 at Takealot, R249 at Woolworths. Across our tracker, the average spread between cheapest and most expensive retailer is R67.
Coming soonWhy your skin type matters more than star ratings
A 4.8-star moisturiser for dry skin is often useless — or actively bad — for oily, acne-prone skin. Here's why aggregate reviews fail you.
Coming soonK-Beauty in South Africa: what's actually available and where
Secret Skin, Glow Theory, Skinbeat, and Seoulful together stock 800+ K-Beauty products locally. We mapped coverage and price competitiveness.
Coming soonHow to read an INCI list (without a chemistry degree)
Ingredients list in descending concentration — but only above 1%. We break down what this means for your shopping decisions.
Coming soon