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The Overwhelm Issue
How many of us have a bulging skincare cabinet, heaving with new lotions, potions and viral 'must-haves? How many of us cannot resist a gorgeous new serum promising smoother skin and a youthful glow? I bet it’s most of us. And who can blame us when we have 24-7 exposure to the latest trends, innovations and skincare drops? But skin is not a trend, and the sooner it’s cared for as our body’s biggest organ rather than an experimental canvas, the closer we will get to the healthy, radiant skin we crave.
The cost — both financial and emotional — of maintaining complex multi-step routines has become unsustainable: we are potentially not only damaging our bank balances but our skin health too. Dermatologists unanimously agree that a simplified, consistent routine is far superior for long-term results and that more products do not equal better skin.
Know Who to Trust
A key part of avoiding overload is considering who you are listening to. With our feeds constantly flooded with skinfluencers — many of whom have no formal qualifications in skin or science — it is critical to filter out the noise and focus on the experts. Many online sources often encourage multi-step routines to promote products, so if your skin is reactive or sensitised by too much skincare you need to listen to qualified experts endorsing a pared-back, barrier-first approach.
There are some excellent, highly qualified dermatologists and trusted experts to turn to —including the 30+ years of accumulated expertise and wisdom of our Founder Caroline Hirons — a self-confessed hater of ‘trends’ whose sage advice has always been skin-first and science-driven.
Confusion and Chaos
Skin that is constantly stimulated will soon protest, and when it is overwhelmed with too many products it struggles to work at its best. Skin is a barrier not a sponge and will only function optimally when it can use and absorb the right products in the right amounts.
In recent years the explosion of online skincare content and social media confusion has led to chaotic routines that can do more harm than good, and in the quest for “perfect” skin many people have thrown everything at their faces without really knowing what products are doing or what they are for. Put simply, we are using way too much skincare, and the irritation many people assume is part of routine ‘progression’ is in fact a signal that the skin is struggling to cope.
Sensitivity Reduces Efficacy
When the skin becomes irritated or compromised, even fantastically formulated products can struggle to deliver their usual results. Inflammation disrupts normal skin function, making it harder for it to respond efficiently to treatment.
As a result, products that previously worked well may suddenly appear ineffective. This is often mistaken for a problem with the product itself, when the real issue is that the skin is no longer in an optimal state to benefit from those ingredients.
It’s vital to take a step back, really look at the ingredients in your products, and avoid pushing the skin barrier past its limit with an overload of concentrated actives. You need to be mindful of what you are using and why — as the barrier can become weakened due to an accumulation of product over weeks and months, rather that showing its irritation or inflammation straight away. Sometimes it’s not the ingredient itself that’s the problem, but the cumulative overload of irritation that throws skin off balance.
Aggravating Actives
Active skincare is without doubt the most sophisticated and efficacious it has ever been. However, modern formulations are often far more active that people realise and are only needed to target specific concerns. Use multiple products a.m and p.m that all have concentrated actives and you are soon well on your way to a broken barrier, not better results. And once the barrier is compromised, nothing will work well until you have treated the sensitivity and its regained its strength. It can take weeks to repair it once the damage is done, even months for longer-term damage.
The Reactive Reset
We’ve never had more products, more conflicting opinions or more pressure to keep skin looking youthful, so it’s hardly surprising that in recent years, skin issues such as perioral dermatitis have risen dramatically. Skincare may have become the beauty lover's candy shop, but when it comes to what overwhelmed skin needs, the smartest thing you can do is strip everything right back to the barrier-building basics.
Think gentle cleanser, moisturiser and sunscreen, only use lukewarm water and very soft washcloths (or splash off only) and maintain this simplicity for a good 2 weeks. You can support repair with use of an at-home LED mask (red light therapy) and also enlist the expertise of a great facialist to help get things back on track. A skin expert will know exactly what to do and how to restore overwhelmed skin.
Click here to locate your nearest Skin Rocks Facialist
Boring is Best
Barrier-supporting, fragrance-free formulas are your best bet while the skin barrier recovers. Once any redness, inflammation or stinging has subsided and skin is calm, you can slowly introduce some gentle anti-inflammatory ingredients such as azelaic acid and soothing hydrators such as urea, squalane, panthenol, centella asiatica (cica), glycerine and hyaluronic acid (always apply HA to damp skin and layer under a moisturiser or it can have the opposite effect).
Your skin cells are held together by a waxy mortar of lipids including ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids, so these are great ingredients to look out for. Do not make the mistake of going straight back in with your strongest actives —wait until your skin is fully healed before reintroducing retinoids, tretinoin, vitamin C or acids, and only reintroduce one active at a time (for example, use one for a week or two before moving on to the next, and if necessary, opt for gentler versions (i.e. swap retinol for a retinaldehyde or AHAs for PHAs).
Do not fall into the trap of thinking that a switch to ‘natural’ or ‘clean’ products will aggravate sensitised skin any less. The misleading fearmongery around ‘toxic’ skincare that’s so prevalent on social media is fallacious. Essential oils for example are ‘natural’ but highly irritating, and everything (even water) is a chemical. Stick to the expert-recommended basics.
Buy Less, Buy Better
When it comes to a healthy skin barrier, prevention is always better than cure. To streamline and simply your routine, focus on a tight edit of exceptional products and look to multitasking formulations to max out the benefits from fewer products. The buy less, buy better philosophy is embedded into the Skin Rocks range as we always strive to create efficacious, high-performance products that give you the most bang for your buck. If you can do more with fewer products (and in less time), the average person is far more likely to maintain the consistency and restraint needed for beautiful healthy skin in the long term.
For example, the Skin Rocks Cream Cleanser is a beautifully gentle barrier-replenishing cleanser that doubles up as a 10-minute leave-on mask, our Amplifier is a deeply hydrating essence and performance-enhancing product in one, and our Antioxidant Serum shields the skin from damaging free radicals caused by pollution and UV rays, bolsters your skin's defences, amplifies skin’s radiance and reduces the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation and uneven skin texture.
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Consider using an occlusive balm
Unlike cleansing balms, barrier balms are designed to act as a protective shield and seal in moisture. They often contain occlusive ingredients and are the products people often use when 'slugging'. These products won't be for everyone (if you are breakout-prone or oily, this won't be for you), but they can be great to apply over dry patches or use at the end of your evening routine (please keep in mind that it is crucial to still use other hydrating products underneath your balm, as the main purpose of a balm is to keep the moisture in rather than add it). Oskia, Votary and Dermatica all do good ones.
Words by Nicky Connors - Team Skin Rocks
Qualifications - Beauty Industry Professional, 25 years | BA (Hons 1st) English | Beauty Writer | Copy Editor | HND Specialist Makeup.
