Last Call: Speed Racer Pads Are 20% Off Through the End of September

If there's one product our Nashville patients ask to restock more than anything else in the retail case, it's Speed Racer. It's been 20% off all month, and September is almost gone, which means this is genuinely the last call before that discount disappears. So before it does, here's the honest breakdown of what's actually in these pads, why they earn a permanent spot in so many routines, and why right now, specifically, is the moment to stock up.

What's Actually In Speed Racer Pads

Speed Racer is a pre-soaked exfoliating pad built around two acids that do different jobs: 2% salicylic acid and glycolic acid. That combination isn't an accident, and it isn't redundant either.

Salicylic acid is oil-soluble, which matters more than it sounds like it should. Because it can move through oil rather than just sitting on top of it, it gets down into the pore itself, where it breaks up the mix of dead skin cells and sebum that turns into a blackhead or a breakout in the first place. Clinical research on topical salicylic acid has shown meaningful improvement in facial acne with consistent use, which is exactly the congestion-clearing job it's doing here.¹ Glycolic acid, on the other hand, works at the surface. It's an alpha-hydroxy acid that loosens the bonds between dead skin cells, which speeds up how quickly your skin sheds them and reveals smoother texture underneath, and the mechanism behind that turnover effect is well documented in the dermatology literature.² Used together, one pad is clearing pores from the inside while the other is refining texture on the outside, rather than asking a single ingredient to do both jobs at once.

Why This Is Exactly the Skin Problem September Brings

We talk a lot about pigmentation showing up late in the season, but congestion is the other half of the post-summer story, and it's arguably the more immediate one. A Nashville summer means more sweat, more humidity, more sunscreen reapplied on top of makeup and the oil your skin was already producing, and all of that sits in your pores far more than it does in cooler, drier months. By the time September arrives, a lot of patients are dealing with texture that feels rougher, pores that look more visible, and breakouts in spots that never used to be a problem.

Speed Racer is built for exactly that mix. It's not treating a single stubborn blemish, it's addressing the layered buildup of a full season, which is why we see patients reaching for it hardest right around now, not in June when the congestion hasn't had time to accumulate yet.

How to Actually Use It

Speed Racer is designed to be swiped over clean skin, and depending on how your skin tolerates it, that can mean once daily up to three times a day. If you're new to it, start with once a day, typically in the morning, and give your skin a week or two to adjust before adding a second pass. These are genuinely active pads, not a gentle toner, so easing in matters more than it sounds like it should, especially if your skin runs on the sensitive or reactive side.

Once your skin has built tolerance, plenty of Nashville patients land on twice-daily use, or reserve it for mornings and pair it with a different active step at night. It takes about fifteen seconds, which is exactly why it tends to outlast more complicated routines. The patients who stick with it long-term are rarely the ones doing something elaborate. They're the ones who found the one low-effort step that actually moves the needle and kept doing it.

Pairing Speed Racer With the Rest of Your Routine

Speed Racer is formulated to hold its own, but how you combine it with everything else matters, especially heading into a season where a lot of patients are also layering in retinol or recovering from an in-office treatment.

If pigment is also part of what you're dealing with, alongside congestion, Speed Racer and Glow Getter, our kojic acid and arbutin brightening pad, can be used together. Most patients alternate rather than layering both at once, Speed Racer in the morning for pore maintenance and Glow Getter in the evening for tone, though some prefer the reverse. If retinol is already part of your nightly routine, you likely don't need to give it up, but stacking a strong retinol on the same night as an active exfoliating pad is often more than most skin barriers want to handle at once. If you're not sure how to sequence what you're currently using, that's a fast conversation to have at your next visit.

Speed Racer is also the at-home half of a bigger plan for a lot of our patients, not a standalone fix. Correcting real congestion, acne, or textural damage typically takes a series of treatments, often three to six sessions to start, followed by maintenance every three to four months to hold onto results. For patients working through that kind of plan with microneedling, a chemical peel, or BBL HERO, Speed Racer is what keeps pores clear and texture refined in between appointments, rather than letting buildup creep back in before the next visit.

Why the Next Few Days Actually Matter

We built this discount around the same logic as the rest of our September specials: this is the point in the year when a summer's worth of buildup is fully caught up with your skin, and it's the smartest window to get ahead of it before fall settles in and everyone's routine quietly resets around cooler weather and heavier products. Once the calendar flips to October, the price goes back to full, and a lot of patients tell us they wish they'd grabbed a second canister while it was 20% off. Consider this the actual last call.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Speed Racer different from a typical drugstore acne pad?

Speed Racer is formulated as part of our pharmaceutical-grade line, which means the active concentrations are set to be therapeutically meaningful rather than just listed on the label, and the product is manufactured under tighter purity and quality-control standards than most over-the-counter options. That generally translates to more consistent results batch to batch.

Can I use Speed Racer if I don't have active acne?

Yes. Plenty of patients use it purely for texture refinement, minimized pore appearance, or general post-summer congestion, even without visible breakouts. Its glycolic acid component works on surface texture regardless of whether acne is present.

Will Speed Racer help with acne scarring?

It can help with texture and mild post-acne marks left behind after breakouts, since the glycolic acid component supports smoother surface texture and more even tone over time. For deeper or more established acne scarring, a series of in-office treatments like microneedling or a chemical peel tends to deliver more noticeable correction, and Speed Racer works well as the maintenance step alongside that plan.

How long until I see a difference?

Many patients notice smoother texture and fewer new breakouts within a few weeks of consistent use. Deeper congestion that's built up over a full summer can take a bit longer to fully clear, generally in the range of six to eight weeks of regular use.

Is Speed Racer safe to use every day?

For most patients, yes, once their skin has built up tolerance. We recommend starting with once-daily use and increasing frequency gradually, and watching for any excessive dryness, redness, or stinging as a sign to scale back. If you have particularly reactive or compromised skin, mention it at your visit so we can help you sequence it appropriately.

Speed Racer pads are 20% off only through the end of September, and once October hits, this is back to full price. Book a consultation at hifinch.com to build your full plan, or DM us @hi_finch if you just want to grab a canister before the discount is gone.

References

1. Zheng Y, Wan M, Chen H, Ye C, Zhao Y, Yi J, Xia Y, Lai W. Clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of an antioxidant optimized 1.5% salicylic acid (SA) cream in the treatment of facial acne: an open, baseline-controlled clinical study. Skin Res Technol. 2013;19(2):125-130.
2. Karwal K, Mukovozov I. Topical AHA in Dermatology: Formulations, Mechanisms of Action, Efficacy, and Future Perspectives. Cosmetics. 2023;10(5):131.
3. Burns RL, Prevost-Blank PL, Lawry MA, Lawry TB, Faria DT, Fivenson DP. Glycolic acid peels for postinflammatory hyperpigmentation in black patients. A comparative study. Dermatol Surg. 1997;23(3):171-175.