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
