If your shelves are filled with serums, acids, creams, masks, and products that promise perfect skin, you're not alone. But according to experts, for healthy skin, your routine doesn't have to look like a beauty lab.
Today, many of us have a whole collection of skincare products in our bathrooms. And it's all too easy to feel like if we don't use the right serum, acid, cream, or mask, our skin will age prematurely, lose its radiance, and become wrinkled or blotchy.
But do we really need all these products to have healthy and beautiful skin? The short answer? No.
Beyond the basic products that help skin function properly, everything else is optional. “I would consider them nice to have, but not essential,” Dr. Saranya Wyles, a dermatologist and researcher specializing in skin longevity, told NPR.
This includes products that promise to brighten, smooth, freshen, or improve the appearance of the skin. Some ingredients can improve the appearance of the skin, but there is a clear limit to what a cosmetic product can do, because the skin is mainly influenced by diet, lifestyle, and genetics.
However, skin needs external support to maintain its protective barrier. And according to experts, the list of essential products is much shorter than we think.
Essentially, the basic routine includes only three products: a gentle cleanser, a moisturizer suitable for your skin type , and a broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 30.
Cleanser has a simple job: to remove dirt, sweat, makeup, and pollutants that accumulate on the skin throughout the day. Experts recommend a gentle, fragrance-free product with moisturizing ingredients so that it doesn't irritate the skin or strip away the natural oils that help maintain its barrier.
How often should you wash your face? Experts recommend washing every evening to remove all the dirt from the day. In the morning, it depends on your skin. If you slept with a clean face, maybe just a rinse with water is enough.
The second product is moisturizer. It is one of the most important elements of the routine, because it helps hydrate the skin and retain moisture.
According to cosmetic chemist Kelly Dobos, most moisturizers combine three types of ingredients: those that attract water to the skin, those that soften and smooth it, and those that "lock in" moisture so it doesn't evaporate quickly.
Moisturizers are often formulated for different skin needs, so it's important to understand whether your skin is dry, oily, combination, or sensitive. Also, skin type can change at different stages of life.
Unlike cleanser, moisturizer stays on your face and doesn't wash off right away. So it's not a bad idea to choose a product with ingredients that offer additional benefits, like antioxidants or retinols that help improve texture and tone.
The third product is sunscreen. Experts agree that the best thing you can do for your skin is to protect it from UV rays. Choose a broad-spectrum sunscreen that protects against both UVB and UVA rays. Both can contribute to skin cancer and the visible signs of aging.
The recommended minimum is SPF 30. If you stay outside, sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours.
If you use a multi-purpose product, such as a moisturizer that also contains SPF, you can use it without any problems. This simplifies the routine. But if you are outside, you still need to reapply it every two hours.
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You may be using your moisturizer incorrectly and not know it.
March 13, 11:23 -
