2020 was all about multi-step, expensive and influencer-inspired skincare routines. However, most of us underestimated the damage an unnecessarily long skincare routine can cause. Loading your skin up with chemicals can further aggravate sensitive skin, acne, inflammation, discolouration, and dryness.
2021 has so far been all about Skinimalism— minimalism for your skin, and it makes complete sense why this trend has taken the internet by storm.
How can you become a Skinamlist?
1) Re-examine your skincare routine
The necessary steps you should have in your routine are cleansing, moisturising, and applying sunscreen! Use these three steps as a guideline for your routine, and add more steps if need be. There’s absolutely no benefit of aimlessly applying serums and creams without knowing what aspect of your skin you want to target.
2) Read ingredient lists
Before buying any product for your skin take a close look at the ingredients list. Any product that claims to be “All-natural” and doesn’t list the ingredients at the back is bad news! Once you’ve read the list, research any product that has the word acid attached to it. Salicylic aid, glycolic acid, hyaluronic acid, and azelaic acid are common actives in beauty products, but using products that have these ingredients without knowing their effect can be detrimental.
3) Replace single-ingredient products
Over the past two years, serums with one-ingredient became extremely popular, but this increased the confusion of layering and combining single-ingredient products. Investing in products that are formulated with a few active ingredients, gives your skin the benefit of all the ingredients without the risk of incorrectly combing one-ingredient products.
4) Remind yourself that social media is not reality
It’s easy to fall into the trap of products that we see on a celebrity’s Instagram pages and youtube channels. When you find yourself tempted to impulse-buy skincare that your favourite celebrity is recommending, remind yourself that they are being sponsored huge sums of money to endorse that product!
5) Remember that real skin has flaws, spots, bumps, texture, marks, and acne!
