The skin game changer: A super serum

Known as CAIS to its devotees, Niod Copper Amino Isolate Serum 2:1 is one of those rare products that has earned a cult following and superstar status based entirely on word of mouth. The reason being, quite simply, is that it works – soothing, calming and resolving a range of problems on an equally impressive variety of skin types, making your skin more resilient to all that daily life has to throw at it.

Found in almost every cell of the body, copper has a role in wound healing, immunity and anti-inflammatory responses, which, wouldn’t you know it, declines with age. Somewhat confusingly, though, CAIS doesn’t actually contain copper, but a peptide that amplifies the action of the copper in your skin in order to turbocharge its natural regenerating and repair processes. It boosts your collagen, too, but that’s not a unique benefit. What makes CAIS different from the rest is how quickly it can turn around a problematic complexion – just five days seems to do it. There are very few products that all four members of the PORTER beauty team swear by, but we each use it for our separate issues: from calming rosacea-red cheeks, to nourishing dry, sometimes-sensitive skin and stopping random breakouts in their tracks. And if you’re lucky enough to have good skin already, CAIS makes it look perceptibly better.

CAIS is potent, so it’s worth keeping it in the refrigerator to ensure it stays that way. But once you’ve mixed the activator and serum together, it’s all pretty simple. Apply it onto just-cleansed skin, waiting for a minute first to avoid sensitivity if you cleanse using vitamin C or anything acid-based. And don’t be put off by the cobalt hue of the metallic-scented liquid (it’s like blue water) – it sinks easily and invisibly into skin, so you can layer it under any other products you use.

Even if you don’t use this super serum every day, keep it on hand as your skin 911 to help speed up the healing process as and when needed. In-the-know facialists even use it to soothe skin after micro-needling treatments.