The bare minimum…

Lets talk about the bare minimum, as far as what products you should be carrying in your skincare routine. It’s easy to be persuaded on the products you *should* be using, since its being shoved down our throats every other scroll on social media. Here’s my take as a Licensed Esthetician.

Where we should all start: A simple cleanser. By simple, I mean zero active ingredients. Click here to know what active ingredients mean. A cleansers intended purpose is to remove any debris, makeup, sunscreen, oils, sweat, etc from the skin. Without active ingredients, you won’t be seeing a large impact, such as the removal of comedones or correcting pigmentation. That’s OK. At the very least, you’re making sure your pores aren’t getting clogged.  Generally speaking, anyone can benefit from a cleanser without active ingredients. Skin types that would benefit greatly from this type of cleanser are dry or sensitive. Dont know your skin type? Click here to find out. Personally, I skip cleansing my skin in the morning and work a double cleanse in during the evening. It is OK to use the same cleanser for your evening routine, especially if its without actives. Personal skincare routine recommendations can be created from me to you, by sending me an email so we can chat about it! Skinmotive@gmail.com

Pro tip: For most days, ill use Hale and hush’s Quite wash. When my skin is feeling too oily or I feel a breakout coming in, I reach for the BPO cleanser from PCA. You’re welcome.

Next, everyone should have a moisturizer. Yes, I intentionally skipped over the use of an exfoliant. From my experience in seeing so many faces in the treatment room, people have damaged skin barriers. The skin barrier is essentially like the protective enamel our teeth have. It’s a protective coating that helps keep our skin intact. People damage their skin barrier through various means; either through over-exposure to the sun, using the wrong exfoliants, or picking at their own skin. Moisturizers are needed to keep moisture in, this is known as transepidermal water loss. No more “tight” feeling. Since most people have a damaged barrier, I always suggest cutting exfoliants out of their routine, UNTIL I’ve managed to build/heal this.

Moisturizers come in various forms and meant for different skin types. Again, send me an email to receive a custom recommendation for moisturizer meant for you.

 Pro tip: I have normal/oily skin and love using Hale and Hushes Vital lipid lotion. I alternate with their saffron meristem cream, during the colder months.

Lastly, and arguably the most important step, is sunscreen. Ultra violet rays are responsible for breaking down and deteriorating the collagen and elastin in our skin (what keeps our skin from looking concaved and saggy). Not only that, but it exacerbates and enables hyperpigmentation in our skin. That is, the brown spots that we notice on older folks. As we age, our skin puts up less of a fight and therefore pigmentation issues are more common. Once you begin noticing these sun spots, wrinkles, or loss of collagen… there should be alarms going off in your mind. The sooner you prevent and address these concerns, the better. It becomes more difficult (and more expensive) to correct these issues, once they’ve taken full effect.

I made an Instagram post not long ago where I mentioned “Skincare without protection is obsolete”. There’s no point in investing in skincare or skincare treatments if you’re not going to protect it against the most damaging factor: the sun. You’re throwing your investments out the door, without using protection.

Theres a whole conversation as to which type of sunscreen one should use (between physical or chemical), and ill probably address that in another article. My answer: choose which ever one you’ll be consistent with. I will just say though, I advise using a sunscreen additional to the one that comes in foundation. Its OK, but we could do better.

Pro tip: My absolute favorite is the one by PCA. It leaves you with a dewy (“Shiny”) finish (I prefer this appearance). This one is even endorsed by the skin cancer foundation.

That’s it. Three products is what anyone can start with. I alternate between a few different cleansers and moisturizers based on a few factors (The climate as well as if I’m noticing breakouts). There’s products that can be incorporated later on, such as exfoliants and serums, but that comes once I trust my clients are consistent with the bare minimum, to start. I wouldn’t underestimate the results that are achieved with three products alone, especially if they’re of higher/professional quality. Most people, in person and online, can see that I have amazing skin (not to brag), but its mostly because im consistent with these three. I’ve shared my favorites with you all in this article.

If you’ve made it this far: congrats on having a mind that hasn’t been completely destroyed by doom-scrolling. As a win-win offer, I’d like to invite you to a free consultation so that I may suggest a skincare routine specific to YOUR skin, as well as a 10% off initial product order.

Skinmotive@gmail.com or visit www.skinmotive.co to schedule your service. The signature facial is one I recommend to first-timers.

Im here to help! If you have any questions or concerns, send me an email. 

All my best,

Nora Aguilar

How often facials are REALLY needed?

This is one of the most frequent questions I receive as an Esthetician. Almost immediately after a facial, I will get this question, without fail.

The answer is: it depends on the intention behind why you’re getting a facial in the first place.  Some folks show up mainly because one of the perks of getting a facial is decreasing stress. I don’t blame them- have you SEEN the ambiance I create at the studio?!!! Warm bed, dim lights, instrumental music, essential oils in the air, and the work of these magic hands! For these clients, once every 4-5 weeks seems to be ideal.

If a client is coming in to treat a specific skincare condition (i.e.; acne, wrinkles, pigmentation…) then I would increase the dosage of vitamin Skinmotive to about twice a month. I have access to products and ingredients at percentages that only a licensed professional may carry, so thats why its best to use facials as a power boost. Until we get you to a baseline level and match you with your customized skincare routine, your visits should be a little more frequent. Using your home care regiment that I intentionally curate for you should be used consistently. I pair clients with skincare brands like Hale and hush, PCA, Green envy and/or tools from Skinact as trusted brands to achieve results. Once clients reach their baseline level (by ACTUALLY being consistent with the skincare products I suggest), quarterly facials will suffice, or 4-8 weeks.

Because I love analogies: lets just say I, the licensed esthetician, am your personal trainer at the gym. Am I a necessity? Absolutely not. Will I have the knowledge and tools to transform your appearance and provide several avenues to achieve results? Absolutely. Like a gym trainer, we actively go over what works best for YOU. Your routine can be identical to someone else who may have similar goals, of course, but never the same. This is where my expertise comes in to play, however. I ask several questions that makes sure to include practical advice to achieve whatever skincare result you’d like. Yes, there may be a small investment at first, but thats the cost for QUALITY and DRIVEN RESULTS. The aforementioned skincare brands I carry are fairly inexpensive. I promise the efficacy is there. One of my star cleansers is from Hale and hush; Quiet wash (ONLY $24) not bad for professional skincare right? Its a fairly everyone- friendly product. Of course, I have suggestions with stronger surfactants in a cleanser, should I see the client needs. 

So….. you’ll see a gym trainer to get you up and running to get you familiar with your routine- then you carry the routine on your own time. The more you take care of your skin conditions, the less you’ll eventually have to visit the treatment room. 

My overall goal as a licensed esthetician is not only help clients get the skin/appearance of their dreams, but its also to educate clients so they feel confident on their own. This way, clients ONLY come visit the treatment room because they just want a nice, relaxing facial experience. Seriously, the ambiance is incredible; read the reviews, yall

Thank you guys for reading :) 

Nora Aguilar

Entrepreneur, licensed professional, mental health advocate, owner of Skinmotive