Skinimalism: Back to the Basics

For years mainstream media has encouraged us to use the best foundation, cover every pore and every flaw. But this was never my style. A little mascara and lip balm and out the door. As I got older I started to embrace multi-use products that I could swipe on the lips, cheeks and lid for a quick monochromatic look. Never did I master a dramatic winged eyeliner or the art of contouring myself from here to Kim Kardashian. It just never appealed to me.

Sooner or later the focus turned from makeup to skin care. We were encouraged to take care of our skin instead of hiding behind makeup. GREAT! I can get on board with that!

Then came the 10 step skin care routine. Cleanser, essence, serum, oil, moisturizer, eye cream, SPF… all at the expense of out boyfriends’ counter space. ANDDDDD we’re back to square one. More, more, more.

Skinimalism: Back to the Basics

Well, you can imagine my excitement the last few year when “less is more” really started to gain some momentum in beauty and skin care. Throw in a global pandemic where no one can leave the house and I think this whole movement has culminated into what people way trendier than me are calling: Skinimalism.

Skinimalism is the art of keeping it simple in our skin and beauty routines. The funny thing is, us Dermatology professionals have been preaching this for years. You can’t scrub your acne away, you can’t mist away your wrinkles. What you can do is let YOUR skin shine through while using a few products that are proven to make it better.

Here, I’ve broken down a simple but SUPER effective skin care routine for those of you who are ready to embrace this trend head on! Not into a 3-step routine? Use this to get your unenthusiastic partner to take care of their skin! They can’t argue with just 3 products morning and night!

Our morning skin care routine has one primary purpose: to protect. UV exposure and pollution wreak havoc on our skin creating free radicals that age us. The entire purpose of your morning regimen, I would argue, is to mitigate this free radical damage as MUCH as possible.

AM:

1. Cleanse. We have options here. Below I’m going to link a few of my favorite gentle cleansers, perfect for the skinimalist. But if you’re looking to amp it up and pick an “active” cleanser with ingredients that will really do some work on the skin (improve acne, skin texture, hyperpigmentation) check out this blog post!

2. Moisturize. Keep it simple here. If you’re dry, choose a lotion to cream formulation? Oily? Opt for a gel or gel cream formulation. There are SO many amazing moisturizers out there and here are just a few! And because we’re keeping our regimen to only 3 steps, I picked moisturizers that pack a little punch with good for you ingredients!

3. SPF. Here’s where the exciting part comes in. Most experts, myself included, would recommend an antioxidant in your morning regimen. Antioxidants work to keep free radicals calm so they can’t make too much of a mess. Companies have gotten smart and formulated SPF products WITH these antioxidants in them! Science is so cool! Studies also show that antioxidants and SPF work synergistically (they’re better together!)

PM:

Your evening routine can also be kept relatively symptom yet very effective.

1. Cleanse. If you choose a gentle cleanser for morning, you can use that here, too! If you chose to amp up your morning cleanser with something more active from this blog post, choose a gentle cleanse for your evening cleanse to avoid irritation.
2. Moisturize and Reverse. To keep things simply for our skinimalists, choose a moisturizer with a retinol already mixed in for maximum hydration and anti-aging!

So, as we embark on 2021 and embrace this new life let’s take a breathe and get back to the basics. What do you think? Are you on board with the “skinimalism” trend?

Want easy skinimalist beauty tutorials? Check out my Instagram Reels where I share tons of “5-Minute Face” routines!

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