The best tips for skincare is always growing with new information, studies and products. Here are our 3 current skincare tips that are super simple but can keep you grounded in the ever changing industry.
1. Your skin concerns are more important than your skin type
Did you know your skin type changes from season to season or month to month sometimes, especially if you have constantly changing hormones and periods. Although it can be important to get to know your skin type so you have an idea of the type of texture that would work with your skin (ie light or gel moisturisers for oilier skin, thicker more emollient moisturisers for dry skin), just like we need to have different clothes to suit different environments the same is with our skincare.
This is why we think it's best to focus on your particular skin concerns when choosing and using skincare as the products that may be great for your skin type, still might not be what you need.
There are some great ingredients that can help with hyperpigmentation and acne scars which are more commonly found in products for oily skin, but what if your skin is dry and you only use products made for dry skin? You could be missing out on some amazing benefits that could make all the difference.
2. Hydration, hydration, hydration!
We don't mean by drinking tons of water as this doesn't make the difference we think it does apart from keeping our body more hydrated overall. We mean making hydrating products the base of your skincare routine.
The skin has many different functions. It helps us to eliminate toxins, helps us regulate our temperature and also acts as a layer to protect our insides and our body from things that can harm us in our environment.
Skin lacking in hydration can be a problem for both naturally oilier skin and drier skin. It's a universal issue which drives home our first tip even more. Without enough daily hydration skin can overcompensate on either side of the coin, throwing off the balance even more by over producing oil to make up for the dryness or feeling even more tight and looking more dull.
"In order for the skin to protect our bodies from UV radiation, microorganisms and toxic agents, it must be kept adequately hydrated. Hydrated skin will remain flexible and allow our protective barrier to remain intact. If skin is broken, environmental factors can damage our bodies and cause exacerbated water loss, feeding a cyclical pattern of more damage due to further dehydration."
To improve hydration choose products that are skin soothing and contain humectants that will draw in more water to skin. Don't forget to boost the hydration capabilities of the product using an occlusive layer on top with products that contain waxes, butters, petrolatum or fatty alcohol like stearic acid. Our Green Gold Balm is perfect for this
3. Keep it simple
If you're new to skincare the best thing you can do at first is to keep it simple. Have you ever brought and tried multiple products at once and they worked amazingly but you didn't actually know which one had the effect, even worse if you had a reaction. We've been there!
When you're just starting to get an understanding of what works and what doesn't work for your skin we recommend testing and replacing one product at once. Skincare is ultimately trial and error and as fans of minimalism, slower product consumption and multipurpose products, being more conscious in what you use can help save you money in the long run. Once you have your base skincare routine including a cleanser, moisturiser and spf and you're confident it works for you (after testing for at least a month), then if you feel you want to add more targeted products to your routine then at least you have something to properly compare to, to understand what actives, serums, toners etc are truly making a worthy difference.
Comment below some of your current favourite skincare tips.
We'd love to hear what you think.