cover art by @corelens on canva

I have been a skincare lover and aspiring #skintellectual for many years and in that time I've had to both learn and unlearn a lot. Living in the age of social media has made lots of information [and misinformation] much more accessible than it has been in the past so consider this blog post your curated guide to what you ACTUALLY need to know about embarking on a skincare journey.

BARRIER REPAIR OVER EVERYTHING

For context, I am prone to hyperpigmentation, get semi-frequent breakouts and my skin type is combination/ oily depending on the day. Like many others with similar complaints, I spent many years punishing my skin or trying to will it into obedience. We have long been taught to dry out breakouts or to try every active ingredient possible – usually at the same time – all to make acne submit. Not only is that the opposite of what you should do, but that's also how you end up creating more problems for yourself. The thing that has made the biggest and most positive impact on my skin is taking care of it instead of punishing it. Adopting this philosophy means I now cringe anytime someone suggests using toothpaste on a pimple and I try to limit myself to only one treatment active per routine. I hardly ever use exfoliating products both morning and night and I will not use one if I am using a retinoid in that routine. In my current 6-step night routine, only one of those steps is a treatment [tretinoin], the other 5 steps are there to cleanse, nourish, calm and hydrate my skin.

The thing is, the symptoms of a damaged skin barrier may resemble breakouts/ acne which creates a very vicious cycle. Barrier damage is most commonly caused by stripping the skin of its natural oils through the use of harsh cleansers, acne treatments and chemical exfoliants. This damage leads to water loss which leaves your skin dehydrated and irritated. A tell-tale sign of damage is stinging, burning and sensitivity even with the application of nonactive products such as moisturisers and hydrating toners. You can also experience rashes, redness, itching, inflammation, scaly texture and acne. Once barrier damage has been reversed, your skin is healthy enough to be better able to heal itself from any breakouts or inflammation.

LIGHTWEIGHT LAYERS OF HYDRATION

Working on the foundations we just built – one of the ways I maintain my skin barrier is through prioritising hydration. My skin tends to be oily so I have a dislike for products that leave me feeling greasy, especially during the daytime. To maintain hydration without getting any heaviness I recently started using multiple layers (at least 3) of a hydrating essence or toner at different stages of my routine. I first saw this tip being shared by aesthetician Nay (@labeautyologist) and was reminded of it again by skincare scientist Hannah English (@ms_hannah_e). Doing this means I can maintain hydration and plumpness in my skin whilst avoiding the feeling of heavy or greasy products on my face. The key to aiding absorption is to gently press your subsequent layers into the skin with your hands instead of rubbing them around. This tip has saved my skin this winter but I will be hydrating this way all year round because I have noticed such a positive change in the health of my skin. Try it twice a day for a week and you'll never go back.

Keep in mind that exfoliating toners are not recommended for use in this way. What you want to look for are hydrating and calming products.

Some of my favourites include the following; Fenty Skin Fat Water Milky Toner Essence, Fenty Beauty Fat Water Toner Essence, I'm From Mugwort Essence, Klairs Supple Preparation Toner and the Laneige Crem Skin Refiner Toner and Moisturiser as pictured below.

SUNSCREEN IS YOUR BEST FRIEND

Raise your hand if you are a melanated person who was told they didn't need sunscreen. 🙋🏾‍♀️

I sincerely hope I am not the first person to tell you this but everyone needs a little help when it comes to sun protection. No matter the skin tone. Funnily enough, this myth was not the only barrier that presented itself regarding my sunscreen use. The other one was white cast [thank you mineral sunscreens]. I am educated enough now to know what ingredients to look for in sunscreen to ensure that the product I end up with is not only one that I can but also one that I enjoy using. [Hint: opt for organic or chemical filters to avoid that white or purple cast]. We are all now aware that wearing SPF helps protect against sun damage, skin cancer and premature aging. It's a little less known however that sunscreen can be the secret to treating skincare issues like hyperpigmentation and rosacea. Not only that, sunscreen is the only skincare step that can prevent cancer so please do not take this lightly. No matter your skin type, sunscreen will be the key to you achieving your skin goals and it should not be neglected. I am also trying to get better at reapplying my sunscreens when I leave the house and at the end of the day before I drive home from work. I am not yet as consistent with the reapplication but hey, I'm only human.

Some of my holy grail sunscreens are pictured below and they include: Beauty of Joseon’s Relief Sun, La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios Invisible Fluid, Ultra Violette’s Queen Screen and Supreme Screen, Sonny and Felix’s Nude-E Suncreen

ALWAYS DOUBLE CLEANSE AT NIGHT

Double cleansing refers to the action of not just washing your face twice but using an oily/ balmy cleanser first and then following up with a water-based cleanser. The first cleanser is vital to help break down not only makeup but also sunscreen and dead skin cells. This allows the second cleanse to clean much deeper into your pores. Your skin is somewhat of a magnet for airborne bacteria and pollution. All of these if not washed away properly could potentially contribute to premature ageing, pigmentation, and breakouts. Ever since I started double cleansing at night, regardless of whether I had worn makeup or not, I have noticed a reduction in new breakouts and that my products seem to sink in a little better instead of just sitting on my skin. As an oily-skinned individual, I can also appreciate that using an oil cleanser first allows me to get off some of that excess sebum that my skin has produced throughout the day.

If you don't have the time or energy for an oil cleanse before your water-based or gel cleanser, that's where hydrating micellar or cleansing waters come into play. If you were going to suggest face wipes, I understand that they are better than nothing, but I simply cannot endorse them. You do you though.

PRIORITISE YOUR ACTIVES / SIMPLIFY YOUR ROUTINE

I am guilty of getting excited about new products and just adding them into my routine without considering swapping something else out. I also can sometimes be a little impatient with my skincare and try to use multiple strong actives all at once to avoid having to prioritise my skin concerns. In the past, I have been guilty of having retinoids and chemical exfoliants in the same routine. Yikes. To reiterate what I was saying in the barrier repair section of this post, trying to force your skin into submission with harsh treatments is how you create more problems for yourself. My solution for this problem is to first prioritise your skin concerns. Write down what you would like to achieve with your skincare then order those goals based on what is the most important to you at the moment. You can always re-evaluate and reprioritise later but I've found that having a clear idea of my skin goals helps with narrowing down which actives I want to focus on. This will also help you simplify your routine which is a positive.

Most skincare active ingredients do not have a single mode of action which means that 9 times out of 10, you can still work on multiple skin goals through the use of a single active. At the moment, I use a custom prescription tretinoin cream* on alternate nights, use a hydrating mask twice a week and use a peeling solution up to twice a week depending on the state of my skin.

*This is not me recommending a prescription product, more sharing what I am currently using. to know more about how suitable this would be for you, please speak/ direct your questions to a dermatologist or your doctor.

SLUGGING

Slugging is the new trending term for the decades-old practice of finishing off your evening skincare routine with a very thick oil/ petroleum/panthenol-based product. The practice leaves your face as slimy as slug mucus (hence the name). The name isn't entirely pleasant but trust me when I say that the way your skin will feel the morning after is. Petroleum jelly-based products like Vaseline are the products most commonly used for slugging due to their occlusive properties. An occlusive ingredient provides a protective seal over the top layers of the skin's surface to help prevent loss of hydration into the environment. This barrier works both ways and will also help keep environmental irritants from entering the skin. Slugging, therefore, helps keep all that moisture that you just applied in, and it creates the perfect environment for your skin to repair itself. You only need to apply a pea-sized amount of product and you can get an even layer on your entire face. Using a tretinoin cream made my skin a little more prone to dryness, especially during winter so I started slugging every night or every other night. I also make sure to focus the product on the areas of my face that are a little more prone to dryness like my under eyes, eyelids, corners of the mouth and the folds around my nose.

Like with every skincare trend or generalised piece of advice, it’s important to decide if slugging is right for you before jumping straight in. For those of us that can be acne prone, slugging or creating an occlusive barrier may lead to more build-up and clogged pores which would worsen acne. In cases like this, non-comedogenic or non-petroleum-based options are recommended. Additionally, whilst slugging can assist with repairing your skin from the effects of retinol, it shouldn’t be done in the same routine as that can increase the risk of irritation. If we’re following the trend of skin cycling, slugging is to be done on recovery days 3 and 4 not during active days 1 and 2.

Products that would be appropriate for slugging include the following; Avene Cicalfate+, CeraVe Healing Ointment, Dermeze Treatment Ointment, Vaseline, La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5

SEEK OUT THE ADVICE OF PROFESSIONALS

There is a huge accessibility barrier when it comes to dermatologists and skincare experts in Australia. Appointments, consultations and treatments are beyond what can be considered affordable for the majority of the population. Social media however has provided a new avenue through which a lot of these professionals and their knowledge can be made more available. Making an effort to follow professionals on your social media accounts is a simple, cost-free and easy way to expand your skincare knowledge and boost your exposure to professional advice. The advice is not personalised and they will always disclaim that they are not there to be your personal doctor/ aesthetician/ medical professional but these individuals are doing great work when it comes to educating the masses. I believe it's important to have sound knowledge to fall back to especially in an avenue like skincare where influencers and celebrity marketing will try to convince you that only their products are the ones that are worth anything. As a fellow health professional with a social media platform [though it's relatively small], I find it refreshing to listen to advice from people whose goal I know is not to make a profit or self-promotion but instead to fight the misinformation that is so prevalent in our society.

Some of my favourites that deserve multiple shoutouts: Nayamka a.k.a. La Beautyologist, Hannah English, Dr Michelle Wong [Lab Muffin Beauty Science], Dr Muneeb Shah of @Doctorly, Dr Shereene Idris, Dr Caroline Robinson, Dr Samantha Ellis, Dr Shammi Theesan, Dr Sandra Lee a.k.a. Dr Pimple Popper and Dr Sam Bunting to name a few [or A LOT].

So, there you have it. These are the seven skincare philosophies and practices that I believe have been the key to the health of my skin. If you weren't sure about where to start with your skincare journey, I hope this provides a good guideline as to what you should focus on. With those points in mind, I'll also leave you with this, skincare doesn't have to be a burden or an expensive endeavour. It is a form of self-care from which enjoyment should be derived. If your skincare feels like a chore or is breaking the bank, it may be time to cull some steps and go back to basics. The best skincare routine is the one you enjoy and the one you'll actually be able to commit to. All you really need is a cleanser, a moisturiser and an SPF. Everything else is just like toppings on an already good sundae.

for the skincare nerds among us;

ELLE UK | How To Double Cleanse Your Skin - Everything You Need To Know

Byrdie | How to Tell if Your Skin Barrier Is Damaged

Glamour | What Is Your Skin Barrier and Why Is Everyone Talking About It? 

Byrdie | "Slugging" Is the Skincare Trend Going Viral on Reddit

Who What Wear | Skincare Slugging Is Going Viral, But a Derm Warns About These Dos and Don'ts

Cosmopolitan | Can We Trust the Influencer Dermatologist?

Byrdie | Dermatologists Are the New Influencers