Light Summer Hydration for Oily Skin | Medicube Zero Pore Moisture Sun Serum Review

We’ve talked at length before about Medicube – they are a revolutionary skincare brand that loves to test science and ask ‘what’s next?’ Their Zero Pore lineage has been around helping balance oily skin and reduce pore appearance. Our pores grow in size as we get older (another fun fact of life), but they can also be damaged due to sun exposure, acne or even skincare products (i.e. overly oily products causing pores to expand). It’s natural in oily skin types to have larger and more pores, so it’s important to treat them kindly with gentle cleansing and lightweight moisture. 

This gentle and lightweight moisture was the idea behind Medicube’s Zero Pore line - with a variety of products to kindly cleanse and refresh pores, blended with botanical extracts to help shrink and tighten pore appearance. It’s the boon to oily skin to help balance your daily routine for clearer, calmer skin. So, is it worth switching to a Zero Pore Sun Serum for your daily protection? Does it cause acne? We test it out for you! 

As always, let’s analyze what they put in the bottle for us. It contains a variety of emollients blended with UV filters to create a creamy base with SPF+50 protection – along with preservatives and humectants. Otherwise we have a variety of calming vitamins and botanical extracts as advertised: 

Niacinamide: brightening vitamin B3 that helps lift dark spots and even skin tone for more radiant skin (a favourite in K-Beauty products). 

White Mulberry leaf: soothing herbal extract that helps lighten skin and reduce dark spots, for clearer and more even skin tone. 

Ivy extract: healing remedy that helps boost natural cell healing for stronger, clearer and more uniform skin texture. Good for healing old acne spots and irritated skin. 

Allantoin: deeply moisturizing agent that helps regenerate skin barrier. Gently exfoliates away dead skin cells to help balance sebum and create softer skin. 

Panthenol: soothing vitamin B5 that helps nourish and calm irritated skin, to promote stronger and clearer skin. Great for all skin types. 

Eucalyptus oil: deeply calming extract that promotes cell healing and helps cleanse pores for clearer, brighter skin tone.

Eggplant extract: this is a common one in K-Beauty – it's rich in polyphenols to help reduce oxidative stress of skin, improve cell healing and helps boost general health. 

Jojoba oil: helps moisturize skin without triggering acne; also supporting natural collagen and hyaluronic acid growth. 

Agave extract: soothes redness, swelling, itching and pain, whilst reducing bacteria on skin surface to prevent acne spots. 

Turmeric: deeply soothing extract that helps calm damaged skin, boost healing and rich in antioxidants to extend ongoing healing and protection from environmental damage. 

Citronella oil: antimicrobial extract that soothes acne and irritation, whilst also having astringent properties to tighten and tone skin (leading to reduced pore size). 

Hyaluronic acid (different weights and derivatives): water humectant that acts as a magnet to draw moisture into skin barrier. Allows for longer-lasting hydration, glassy-skin appearance and another staple of K-Beauty. This sun serum has 8 different types of hyaluronic acid. 

Chemical Sunscreens (UV Filters): Ethylhexyl Triazone, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Methylene Bis-Benzotriazolyl Tetramethylbutylphenol, Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate 

These 4 sun filters are incredibly powerful at protecting against UV damage and offer broad-spectrum protection against both UVA and UVB. The first 3 are safe for all use with low absorption deep into skin and a good safety profile – however the 4th (DHHB) has been shown to break down in chlorine.  

It’s stabilized by the other 3, but I wouldn’t recommend using this sunscreen to go swimming in a chlorinated pool. It has an excellent safety profile for daily use and for all other activities – but the reactions with chlorine is still being studied and it can form volatile chemicals which spread in the pool. 

This is a lightweight, soothing sun cream that is hydrating enough that it would be safe for dry skin types – but most beneficial for oily/combination skin types. It’s not recommended in pregnancy, however, to use chemical sunscreens as the safety profile for babies is not great (most importantly in first trimester and during breast-feeding). Additionally, this is not highly recommended for swimming activities; so be sure to select a ‘reef safe’ sunscreen for your beach/pool/water park fun!

I have oily/acne-prone skin and always find it hard to remember to put on a sunscreen every day. Due to the oily nature of sunscreen, I’m often left feeling overly oily and shiny (making a matte sunstick my favourite choice to follow up). I was looking for a new sunscreen to provide lightweight protection, without causing break outs and gentle enough that I could use it everyday! 

Enter – Zero Pore Sun Serum. I added it to my routine at the end of every morning. It has a very light, baby-blue serum that is cooling when you add it. It absorbs instantly and has absolutely zero cast – making it lighter and clearer than a moisturizer would be! It makes it super easy to wear under make-up and does have a nourishing moisturizing feel. It’s definitely a high-quality sun serum that forms a great base of protection (with a good sun stick touch up if you are in direct sun!) When you first apply, it does leave a ‘shiny’ finish – which I was first concerned about – but this dries away and leaves your skin feeling matte and looking calm. 

After two weeks of use, it helped gently moisturize my face and keep things feeling balanced. Also, there was no acne flaring (which is common with sunscreen) - solidifying this sun serum as a great addition even in acne-prone skin. Using it everyday also helped reduce general redness in my face (showing it was doing its job well) and I felt more motivation to put on my daily sunscreen. It worked well with both a BB cream test and foundation cushion - as long as I layered it well. 

This is generally a really nice sun serum for oily skin types – with a great balance of protection, moisture and pore care. It’s so lightweight that it just slots into your routine with ease. It’s great under make-up (no pilling when prepared well) or has a nice finish of its own (once the shine dries) so you can head out with confident sun protection!

Looking for innovative new skincare? Shop the vast range of Medicube on Arktastic - for hydration, pore care, acne and more!