When it comes to skincare, most of us have become so accustomed to buying a whole range of products simply because marketers have led us to believe that we need them.
However, your skin doesn’t actually need a whole range of lotions and potions to reveal its best self – it simply needs active ingredients that work.
Forget about all those ‘hope in a jar’ remedies or 10-step routines and remember that your skin is a natural organism that works hard to repair itself. Biologi’s Dermal Specialist Lucy Macdougald reveals the steps you can drop from your beauty routine in 2022.
Whacky sheet masks
There are a range of sheet masks on the market that claim to do a myriad of things and unfortunately many are simply a fad that don’t actually work.
Gold sheet masks are a great example of things – ones claiming to be infused with “gold” (these also come in their silver counterpart and are marketed as a luxury sheet mask).
Let’s start with the really obvious – infused with a metal. Infusing any type of skincare formula with a metal such as gold is impossible because metals do not absorb into the skin.
So, what you’re getting is simply an expensive (or worse – cheap and nasty) formula of product that will sit on top of the skin. It might provide a placebo effect where it feels as though it has done something, but without penetrating the skin cells you’re not going to get very good results.
Plumping devices
Touted as ‘natural alternatives to Botox’, plumping devices are intended to give you a more youthful and plump appearance. Usually focusing on the lip area, these devices essentially suck at your skin causing it to swell the area.
My advice is to steer clear of these types of devices as they are aggravating the skin and will cause bruising and inflammation. You are basically causing trauma to the skin and that is never a good thing.
The best way to naturally plump your skin is with lots of water in your diet and a natural serum that contains a high potency of actives.
Layering skincare ingredients
Layering skincare products became a trend that surged these past couple of years thanks to 10-step routines or K-Beauty.
Thankfully however we’re now seeing a move towards great skin trends like Skin Fasting. Skin Fasting is a trend that proves that less really is more when it comes to your skin. It focusses on minimising your skincare products down to those key multi-purpose products that will get you results.
Oftentimes people apply a complicated routine on their skin but never stop to check what products are effective and reveal positive results.
Some skincare ingredients don’t actually ‘like’ each other and unless you have a thorough knowledge in chemistry, you risk adverse skin reactions when layering skincare products. For example, applying a Glycolic Acid to remove dead skin cells, then applying a product with Salicylic Acid – This can cause major reactions to the skin by stripping the epidermis.
Another common example is applying retinol and hydroxy acids together – they also both possess potentially irritating side effects when used on their own, but especially when combined.
Both retinols and hydroxy acids are incredibly harsh on the skin, so they cause even more detriment when used together.
What’s more, sometimes layering skincare ingredients can render them useless. A great example of this is using Vitamin C and then layering it with AHAs or BHAs – this simply destabilises the Vitamin C and renders it useless.
Be sure to do thorough research before you layer any products, or better yet, strip your routine back to cleanser, exfoliator (once or twice a week) a multi-purpose serum, a nourishing oil and high protection sunscreen.
Over cleansing
Ok, so cleansing your skin is an incredibly important step in your routine however there are times when you can be confident about skipping the over cleanse (or regular cleanse for that matter).
For example, if you’ve done your double cleanse in the evening, you can simply splash your face with some warm water in the morning or use a gentle cleanser like Biologi’s Bc Refresh Cleanser.
Many people don’t realise that over-cleansing can actually cause detriment to the skin by stripping it of its natural oils.
An important tip to remember – tight skin is never a good thing!
In fact, by now we should all know that the tight feeling is actually dehydration, telling us our skin is unhappy. Also try to avoid cleansers that rely on synthetic surfactants to create the foam because this can also strip the skin.
Toners
Toners used to be an incredibly popular skincare product in the 80’s and 90’s however they are absolutely not necessary for skin health.
Nowadays they really are just a nice to have or an added step in your routine (or another expense that you do not need)!
Toners were originally developed to remove soap scum from the face when some soaps combined with hard water left a residue after cleansing.
These days however most people use a non-soap cleanser and would prefer to use non-alcohol-based products.
Boob masks
A relatively new concept in the beauty realm, boob masks were invented to try to prevent and reduce fine lines and wrinkles in the décolletage area or to get really specific, to avoid wrinkly boobs.
They’re also meant to hydrate and smooth the skin and result in more supple and luscious skin in that area. Whilst these types of masks might provide some temporary results, it has to be said that these are only temporary.
The unfortunate truth for these types of areas on the body is that you’re fighting a losing battle against gravity. Lotions and potions on the area might provide some temporary hydration but they can’t beat gravity and will likely have very little effect.
Day cream, night cream, mists, moisturisers
The key to getting incredible skincare results is finding a hard-working serum that can replace all the unnecessary steps in your routine.
The truth is, you do not need a day cream, a night cream, a mist or a moisturiser if your serum is doing its job. My advice is to introduce a serum that contains a high percentage of active ingredients whilst trying to avoid products laden with ingredients like silicones and sulphites.
Ultimately you want a serum that will do a few things at once – hydrate, radiate, reduce blemishes, target fine lines and protect the skin.
Biologi’s Bd Face Luminosity Serum was created with this purpose in mind – not only does it detoxify the skin, it moisturises, helps blemishes, reduces fine lines, nourishes and protects the cells.
Biologi is unique because it offers a world first in skincare – 100 per cent active organic plant extract serums that change the skin on a cellular level.
So what that means is that rather than sitting on top of your skin and giving the appearance that it’s working, it actually gets into your cells and works hard to rejuvenate it.
