Having ADHD means your brain does not reliably execute routines. You know you should do the thing. You intend to do the thing. But the sequence of actions required to do the thing — open the cabinet, unscrew the cap, apply the product, close the cabinet — contains too many decision points, and at any of them your brain can derail. The result is not laziness. It is a fundamental mismatch between how the product expects to be used and how an ADHD brain actually operates.
Most skincare products are designed for the ideal user: the person who never forgets, who follows every step, who waits the recommended 15 minutes between layers. That person may not exist, but products are optimised for them anyway. Designing for ADHD means designing for the actual user: the person using the product at 11 PM when exhausted, in a hotel bathroom at 6 AM jet-lagged, or rushing out the door late for a meeting.
The design changes when you accept that the user will skip steps. The product must work even when applied inconsistently. Each application must be independently effective — not dependent on the preceding step. The product must be stored visibly (not in a cabinet), opened with one hand, and applied in under 10 seconds. Every friction point removed increases the probability of long-term compliance.
Multi-step routines are the enemy of ADHD compliance. Each additional step is not just another product — it is another opportunity for the sequence to break. If the routine requires five steps, and the user reliably completes three, they are missing 40% of their intended active dose every day. A single-step protocol with imperfect compliance still delivers 100% of the active dose every time it is used — which is more often, because there is less friction.
The product features designed for ADHD — single pump, no wait time, visible packaging, no multiple products — are not compromises. They are optimisations that make the product more effective for everyone. A product that removes friction for an ADHD brain also removes friction for a neurotypical brain that is simply tired, busy, or distracted. Good product design for the extreme case is good design for all cases.