Sunscreen is the most important aspect of your skin-care regimen, no doubt. It is emphasised that including sunscreen in your daily routine is vital to prevent the impact of cancer-causing UV radiation. The sun is accountable for 90% of the apparent changes in the skin, especially considering that we reside in Malaysia, a hot temperature nation. 

Having said that, when speaking of traditional sunscreen lotions, some of us encounter a few concerns like white casts, stickiness, and unpleasant odours. All of that might aggravate sensitive complexions, making sunscreen stick as the suitable option to liquids. They’re known as practical compactness, which makes them a must-have for every travel beauty bag.

‘’What’s worse is that the importance of re-applying sunscreen is unknown to most Malaysians as there is a lack of awareness. The other reason is that most Malaysians find it to be inconvenient to re-apply sunscreen as they need to use their hands every 2-3hours.’’ said Fathin Zulaikha, the founder of Malaysia’s first sunscreen stick brand, Kyut Skin.  

Awarded as the Promising Business under Skincare Products by Bumiputra Business Excellence Awards, Beauty Insider decided to reach out to Fathin and discuss her SPF-centric stick brand and the stroy behind Kyut Skin, also noted as Malaysia’s first sunscreen stick. 

Learn more about Kyut Skin and the brand by reading on.

Source: Kyut Skin

Tell us about your journey with Kyut Skin, and how did that come about?

In 2019, after returning from a charity trip from Pakistan, our mother faced a really bad sunburn that caused her face to suffer from severe hyperpigmentation. We went to consult with a local dermatologist and learned the importance of wearing and most importantly re-applying sunscreen. This was the A-ha moment for us as there are limited choices of sunscreen brands in Malaysia. 

Flashing back to our trip to Korea in 2015, that was our first encounter and discovery of the existence of sunscreen sticks. Koreans are prominent for their skincare products and they take their skincare routine very seriously. This leads to a competitive and innovative market in its skincare industry. Upon trying and using various types of sunscreen, we noticed that there is a big gap in sunscreen quality and options in Malaysia compared to Korea. What’s worse is that the importance of re-applying sunscreen is unknown to most as there is a lack of awareness on the importance of re-applying your sunscreen throughout the day. The other reason is that most Malaysians find it to be inconvenient as they will need to reapply their sunscreen every 2-3 hours. 

However my sister and I do believe that if there are options where the sunscreen is not sticky, heavy feeling and convenient to use, Malaysians will find joy in applying sunscreen. So that’s how we decided to develop a sunscreen brand that could help combat these problems. Hence the birth of Malaysia’s first sunscreen stick brand.

Source: Kyut Skin

What makes Kyut Skin different from other sunscreen brands?

Definitely the concept and the variety of our sunscreen. We want to be the brand that provides a variety of high quality sunscreen that is infused with skincare benefits. So when people use our sunscreen products, not only they will be protected from the harsh UVA and UVB, but they will also benefit from the ingredients that we used that are rich with skincare benefits such as hydration, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory. 

Tell us more about Kyut Skin, how was the process of choosing and incorporating ingredients into your brand?

During the product formulation and development, we worked closely with our Korean research and innovation team to decide and ensure that our ingredients will provide the best benefits to our consumers and are suitable for our products. For our first product, we decided to include Jojoba oil, Rosehip oil and Sunflower seed oil as our hero ingredients which carry various skincare benefits for our users.

Walk us through your everyday skincare routine

I love to experience different types of skincare regime such as the “15 step skincare routines”. But I realised that by doing so, I am actually drowning my face with too many products. So now I only focus on the main basic steps of skincare which serves to clean, treat and protect my skin. 

On a daily basis, I clean my face with the use of a cleanser and water, applying skin serum, moisturiser and sunscreen that I will reapply every 2-3 hours. At night I will always clean my face with a double cleansing method.

Source: Kyut Skin

In your opinion, what is the most underrated skincare practice?

Most definitely the way you apply your sunscreen and the frequency that you should be reapplying them. I tend to see some people only rely on the SPF from their makeup which leads to insufficient protection from the sun. 

Applying sunscreen actually filters the UV from your skin. With only applying sunscreen once during the day and hoping that your face is being protected from the harsh UV exposure, is a misconception that needs to be addressed. Always remember to wear your sunscreen correctly with the correct amount and frequency.

Congratulations on being named Promising Business in Skincare Products from Bumiputra Business Excellence Awards! We believe that this is a milestone accomplishment for Kyut Skin. How did you feel on reaching this achievement?

We are very excited, honoured and blessed to be receiving this award since we are a startup brand. This drives us to work harder and smarter to achieve more accomplishments for the brand in the future and to spread the brand awareness to as many people that we can reach. We hope that one day, our products will be well known throughout the world and this award is our stepping stone in achieving this dream!

Source: Kyut Skin

What do you hope your customer feels when wearing the sunscreen?

Our motto is good skin, good life, we want our Kyuties (consumers) to actually feel good about their skin when wearing our sunscreen. We want them to feel comfortable and actually enjoy wearing and reapplying sunscreen.

What’s next for Kyut Skin and Fathin herself?

As for Kyut Skin, we want to expand more for next year. We are currently developing and innovating for our next sunscreen product that we are expecting to launch next year. We want Kyut Skin to be a worldwide sunscreen brand. 

As for myself and my sister, personally I want to grow more in the business industry especially in the beauty and skincare world. I realised that starting out in the business world on our own requires us to keep learning and gaining more knowledge in order to expand it. I would love to develop myself and work to the best of my abilities to achieve more for Kyut Skin.

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