As a woman in her late 40s, I grew up with the simplest of skincare routines, mostly washing my face with water and nothing else as a teen. Clinique face soap came later - but I certainly wouldn’t be tempted to use it now, nor would recommend it to my teen kids. Nobody talked about skincare when I was a child and teenager, nor did we consider ourselves to be experts in skincare - we didn’t talk about skin at all, rather we played games outside, had notebooks with questions we asked out friends to answer, raced boys on our bikes, collected stamps, postcards, badges, pop or rock star posters & small palm-like calendars, and enjoyed digital freedom, as there was no social media then. Thank god! Modern kids are born into the world willingly putting iPads into their hands and by the time they become teens, they consider themselves to be experts in many things, including skincare.
Based on my own life and beauty experience thus far, I believe that simple is best. You don’t need complicated skincare routines, nor too many products. You don’t need to double cleanse - that is, if you have a good, effective cleanser in the first place. A new beauty product might not be better than the ‘old’ one that works for your skin. There are new trends on TikTok, endless stream of celebrity beauty brands, but are we better off and wiser thanks to it all? I would dare to say not necessarily.
The secret to effective skincare routine is knowing your skin and using the products that address your needs. The only way to get there is through trial and error. And yes, you will waste some money because some products won’t produce visible results and might even make your skin look and feel worse. Not because they are bad products, but simply because they don’t work for you. When people ask me for advice, I can only share my own experience and always add that there is not a single product or beauty brand that works for everyone. Skincare routine is as individual, as your DNA and unfortunately none of us are born with the user manual that includes things like best food for us, best exercise routine or best skincare. We need to put time and effort to figure this out by ourselves. Below are a few wisdoms that are a fact, rather than fiction and if you find this useful, then I might make such posts a more regular thing. And if not, then you will have some practical advice that will hopefully save you some money and benefit your skin as well.
Don’t buy into marketing claims - they are often misleading. More products doesn’t mean better skincare routine. Brand X isn’t necessarily better than brand Y. In fact, using too many products will mess up your skin, so exercise caution.
Cleansing is important, especially in the evening, but a wrong product can negatively impact your skin’s natural defences. Your skin shouldn’t feel dry, tight, red, itchy or uncomfortable after cleansing your face.
If you are buying a cream with diamond dust/gold/silver or caviar extracts, then make sure you check the INCI list and verify that your cream also doesn’t contain ingredients like vitamin C or retinol - which are scientifically proven to have the positive effect on your skin. You deserve to know where product’s efficacy truly comes from, rather than be sold a ‘luxurious’ product with a very ‘basic’ formula.
Your skin can get used to products, so it’s not a bad idea to rotate products. Same applies to seasons - ‘lighter’ formulas work better in warmer months of the year and cold months call for thicker, more nourishing formulas.
Serum isn’t necessarily more effective than a moisturiser - even though many brands tend to make such claims. What matters is the ingredients, concentration and synergy of ingredients.
If you have wrinkles around the eyes, your face moisturiser or serum might be as effective on treating the eye area, as it is for the rest of your face. Again, it comes down to ingredients.
Face masks are very popular, but does keeping something on your face for 5, 15 or 30 minutes deliver more efficacy than your night moisturiser for example? Sometimes it does, as you can use higher concentration in a face mask than in a moisturiser. But don’t buy single use masks for £1 - bad for the environment, not effective for your skin.
The more you will cover up your skin with make-up, instead of looking to solve your skin’s problems - acne, rosacea, sensitivity - the worse the problem will get.
If you use home peels, make sure they don’t contain microplastics that will go down the drain, pollute the waterways and end up in fish you might end up eating for lunch or dinner.
One of the most important ingredients in skincare is humectant. Drink plenty of water, but make sure you have glycerin in your skincare. Your skin, young or older, will thank you for it.
Whatever you apply to your skin should support it, rather than mess it up. Retonol is a firm ‘no’ for young skin, neither should medical treatments be self-administered nor bought over the counter without doctor’s advice.
SPF is a must during warmer months, make sure you use a combination of UVA & UVB. However personally I don’t apply SPF in winter when the UV radiation is low in the country I live in and I spend a lot of time indoors.
All beauty products have environmental impact, so please be cautious when buying from beauty brands with ‘sustainable’ claims or ethos. Brands overproduce, we overconsume - that’s sadly the fact that we can all do something positive about.
I am not a fan of ‘clean beauty” or “anti-ageing’ formulas. This type of terminology is both vague and negative. Clean is good, if you wash your hands thoroughly when you come home, however over cleaning your hands will make them too dry, so the best thing is clarity of intention and balance. In the same way, age is a privilege and while passing of time and gravity impact our looks and body’s physical attributes, aging has multiple benefits too. Priority should be on keeping yourself healthy, fit and looking your best within your genetic dispositions. I also think it’s wrong to reduce women to hormones and equate hitting 40 or 50 with menopause. We are complex creatures, thank god for that and we shouldn’t be reduced to just our hormones. Keeping them balanced is important, implying we are less attractive as we age is NOT.
State of our gut health is reflected in our skin. Intestinal disbalance can lead to skin conditions like acne or eczema. So do keep an eye on the amount of sugar you or your even your baby/child are consuming, as so many foods we buy in the shops contain too much sugar and salt in relation to the daily amount we should be consuming in order for it to be good, rather than bad, for us.
Stress impacts not just your body, but your skin too. Scent can contribute to calming our minds and bodies down, but just because skincare smells good doesn’t mean your body stress level is going to be reduced because of it. Address the root and cause, rather than look for a temporary beauty bandaid.
What do you think of the points above? What guides your own skincare choices? Do you have any brands that you can rely on giving you personalised advice that is then reflected in your skin, when you use the products? My Substack is a dialogue between us, so don’t be shy with sharing your thoughts .)
A sensible list (of reminders) Galina. There is a reason why dermatologists are seeing a rise in 'allergies' especially amongst millenials. It's easy - and tempting! - to over complicate things. I like to keep things simple and seasonal too, and pay attention to what I'm putting in (as well as on) my body.
Thank you Monique, glad you found the list sensibly useful. Sometimes dermatologists, due to affiliation with certain brands, don't exactly help their patients, especially younger ones. I am actually puzzled why so many mothers now take their children to the dermatologist, rather than checking that their children use age-appropriate skincare in the first place. Our generation was luckier in that respect, as there were very few products and our skin was absolutely fine.
Your approach to skin and bodycare is a smart one, simplicity and paying attention to seasons and your own's skin signals is best