Skinimalism: Get started with a simple skincare routine that works

Skincare trends come and go and most of us end up on the bandwagon for fear of missing out. But the trend of layering product upon product onto your skin from a shelfie packed with toners, moisturisers, masks, serums, cleansers, and treatments, has left many facing the problem of skin that’s showing telltale signs of being over-treated.

When you overload your skin with lots of similar ingredients, or when you overuse active ingredients, two things happen:

• Your skin effectively forgets how to fend for itself; it becomes dependent on ingredients to make it function. Skin is an organ that starts off knowing what to do to protect you. The goal of skincare is to get it back to this place of knowing.
• Overuse of active ingredients, especially acids and exfoliants, sensitises the skin leaving it tight, red, and feeling over processed.

Skinimalism is a less-is-more skincare ethos that says: give your skin what it needs to be its healthiest self. No more. No less.

Step 1: Pair your routine back to the basics

To get started with a skinimalistic routine, the first step is to eliminate unnecessary products from your routine. Throw out expired products and get rid of  products that aren’t working for you.

Once you have a clean slate, it’s time to review the basics:

• Do you have a hydrating, soap-free cleansing solution?
• A lightweight daily moisturiser?
• An in-date spf that you trust?

These are your skincare basics – don’t compromise on them, but there’s no need to overthink it either. Choose clean formulations that are nourishing, gentle, and targeted to address common issues like fine lines and wrinkles, dry skin, and inflammation.

Step  2: Add ingredients that treat your specific skin concern

Recently, people have adopted a more-is-more mentality to skincare, heaping products on top of each other and ending up not really knowing what’s working for them and what’s not.

Focus your skincare on the actual skin problems you’re experiencing.

Just because you can use a serum, mask, toner and cream in an effort to achieve a perfect appearance, doesn’t mean you should. The hard reality is that there is no such thing as perfect skin. Skin changes with the seasons, hormones, environmental factors, lifestyle habits, and age.

When it comes to skincare, cleansing, moisturising and applying sunscreen are the essentials. Once you’ve got these steps down, you can introduce additional products based on your specific skincare concerns. 

For example, if dryness is your main problem, you might add a hyaluronic serum to lock in moisture; for dull skin, a vitamin c serum; for dark circles, an eye cream formulated with peptides; for ageing concerns, a retinol night oil. Focus on your issues one at a time to figure out what ingredients work for you.

New skincare ingredients launch every day at a pace that’s hard to keep up with. Which makes building a skinimalist skincare routine daunting. Start with a shelfie clean-out, get the basics right, and then add in only what you need one product at a time.

Top Tip: [The Best Sellers Kit] contains 4 products that are the cornerstone of a great basic routine. It’s a great place to start if you’re feeling overwhelmed.