10 Ways To Improve Your Skin With Zero Effort
Say hello to better skin… minus the hard work.
Hands up if you want to be furnished with 10 tips for better skin. Goes without saying, right? And what about if we tell you that every single one of the following skincare tips requires almost no effort on your behalf? Then we’ll just stop talking and get on with it, shall we?
1. Listen To Your Skin
Paying attention to your skin is super important. Sure, you might have oily skin, but as you age, sebum production slows down so the products you used five years ago won’t be the best idea for your current needs. Similarly, things like dehydration, dark spots, fine lines and hormonal breakouts can become more of a thing during certain times of the month or as your skin matures. Watch out for signs that your skin is asking for help. It’s much easier – and way more effective – to act sooner rather than later.
2. Use Fewer Products
This might sound kinda weird coming from a skincare company, but don’t buy every single product you can get your hands on and throw them at your skin all at once. Your skin does not need five treatment serums. It just doesn’t. Overloading your skin with tons of active ingredients is too much for most skin types and can make it irritated, red and downright sad. Instead, stick with a simple routine that includes the most important stuff – aka cleanser, toner (optional), an eye treatment, serum, moisturizer and sunscreen.
Also, if you're looking for a genius-like serum that feeds your skin with 11 plant-derived vitamins, minerals, electrolytes and almost everything else your skin needs, look no further than our new Multi-Vitamin Facial Serum.
3. Always Patch Test New Skincare
Buying a new product and diving in head first without a second thought for potential skin repercussions is never a good idea. In fact it’s a bad one. You should always patch test new formulations because you never know if there’s an ingredient in there that might react with your skin. This is especially important for products that contain potent, active ingredients like retinoids or exfoliating acids. Never has the phrase ‘it’s better to be safe than sorry’ rung more true. And dealing with skin reactions after the event will cause you much more heartache in the long-term.
4. Layer Your Skincare Correctly
While we don’t recommend layering hundreds of products on top of each other (see #2, above!), the few you do use should always be applied in the correct order.
Of course, cleanser goes first, followed by toner but what’s next? We get that it can seem confusing, but the main rule is that your thinnest, more liquid-like products should always be applied first, before the more heavy-hitters. Otherwise, the thicker, heavier products will get in the way. This means that after toning comes serum, your eye treatment, moisturizer and then sunscreen. No matter how lightweight your sunscreen is, this always comes last.
5. Wear Sunscreen Inside, Outside & All Year Long
We say this a lot. And we will continue to do so. Because it’s the single, most important product you can use to protect your skin from the sun’s nasty UV rays.
The fact is simple: UV radiation is a beast and it causes premature aging, sunburn, and worst of all, skin cancer. It’s also present all year long, and can penetrate through clouds, windows, the lot. So while sunscreen might seem like an ‘extra’ step in your skincare routine, it’s not. It’s basic and it’s needed.
Get into the habit of making SPF30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C the final step in your morning regime and sooner or later it will become the norm. And your skin will thank you for it. Majorly.
6. Find What Works… & Stick With It
Consistency is one of the most important words when it comes to your skincare routine. Of course, adapting the products you use to suit the seasons and your skin’s needs is essential, but once you find a regime that’s effective, try to stick to it. This not only helps prevent potential irritation but also allows your products to do the best job they can. Retinol, for example, is a very complex ingredient that needs to be applied regularly for a good few months before you’ll start to see results. Be patient, persistent and it’ll be well worth it.
7. Keep Your Hands Off Your Face
Touching your face is something we all do without really thinking about it. And this subconscious act might seem completely harmless but, no matter how often you wash your hands, there’ll always be bacteria, oils and other debris lurking on them. Now ask us this: do you really want to transfer all that nasty stuff to the delicate skin on your face? Especially knowing that it can trigger breakouts?
Thought not.
8. Go To Bed Earlier
It’s called beauty sleep for a reason: getting your zzzs every night is up there with sun protection and good cleansing as one of the most important ways to boost the health of your skin.
When you’re asleep blood flow to the skin increases which nourishes it with valuable nutrients; cell turnover accelerates to bring fresh, healthy skin cells to the surface, and collagen production revs up big time. All good stuff, we think you’ll agree. Not only that but when you DON’T get enough sleep, stress hormones kick in which wreck the skin’s ability to heal and regenerate. Disaster.
Try to go to bed at a decent hour every night to get your eight hours in and ensure you start the night off right by cleansing and treating your skin before turning in. We love Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream.
9. Moisturize While Your Skin Is Damp
We know you'll have heard this one before. But do you actually put it into practice?… Probably not. Well, let’s start from hereon in shall we? After all, dampness on the surface of your skin is free moisture – and your skin can never have enough of that.
After cleansing, showering or bathing, pat your skin with a towel until it’s ‘almost’ dry then slather moisturizer all over to lock in any water that’s left over. Instant hydration right there.
10. Clean Your Makeup Brushes More Often
Just a couple of minutes is all it takes to gently shampoo your makeup brushes. But this swift habit can be vital for reducing breakouts as it keeps bacteria, sweat, oil and ‘old’ makeup out of your pores.
Really can’t be bothered to clean your entire brush collection every week? Fair enough, then at least do your foundation, blusher, bronzer or concealer brushes as they're the ones that are most likely to touch your skin.
Deal? Deal.
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![Chemical Vs Physical Exfoliation: Which Is Best?]()
When something as important as exfoliation comes in two completely different guises, how do you know which is best? Read on for a complete breakdown of the highs and lows of both chemical and physical exfoliation…
Exfoliation is one of the simplest, most effective skincare habits for transforming dull, sad skin into the brightest, healthiest-looking skin of your life. It works hard to smooth out annoyingly bumpy skin texture, reduce the frequency of pesky breakouts, decrease excess oil, and even minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
But exfoliation is often plagued by contradictions and it can be hard to navigate the facts. Should you or should you not exfoliate every day? Are scrubs better than exfoliating masks? Or is the opposite correct?
Of course, the truth usually depends on your skin type and its current condition (because, yes these are two very separate things), but one thing’s for sure, exfoliation takes on two very different forms. And it’s important you know what’s what so you can make the right decision about what’s right for you and your skin.
Before we go any further, however, let’s have a quick refresh on the basics. As you know, skin renews itself every day, shedding millions of cells as it produces fresher ones deeper below the surface. This process is called desquamation and it’s a pretty efficient way of keeping your skin fresh, healthy, moisturized and well protected from the slings and arrows of daily life. Like most good things in life, though, this process slows down as you age, allowing dead skin cells to hang around at the surface and encouraging dryness, dehydration, blocked pores and the formation of lines, wrinkles and other visible signs of aging.
The good news is that exfoliation – both physical and chemical – is here to save the day, sloughing off dead skin cells (as well as other nasties like grime, pollution, makeup and excess oil), boosting circulation, accelerating cell turnover and helping to keep your skin’s barrier function ticking along nicely. Technically, both physical and chemical exfoliation do the same thing. But they work in completely different ways.
So first up, let’s take a look at the most ‘classic’ and well-known form of exfoliation: the physical kind.
What Is Physical Exfoliation?
Physical exfoliation is the one you’ll be most used to. Remember those scrubs you made as an enthusiastic teenager that contained all manner of kitchen ingredients like mashed banana, oatmeal and yogurt? Well, thanks to the oatmeal, that’s a physical exfoliant right there.
Physical exfoliants are abrasives and basically include anything that requires some kind of manual force or motion in order to remove dead cells from the surface of your skin. Face scrubs, which contain grainy elements like sand, sugar, salt and fruit seeds, are the most obvious choice, but mitts, loofahs and cleansing brushes also fit into the same camp.
Then there are the professional treatments like microdermabrasion and dermaplaning. If you’re not acquainted with these, microdermabrasion works by combining microcrystals with a vacuum suction to exfoliate dead skin cells and stimulate collagen production. Dermaplaning, meanwhile, employs a tiny razor to gently shave the skin’s surface. This helps remove peach fuzz, but is also helps get rid of the upper-most layer of dead skin cells as an extra bonus.
Is Physical Exfoliation For You?
When used carefully, gently and not too often (two or three times a week is usually the sweet spot), physical exfoliation can be a great addition to any skincare routine.
We find they’re particularly great for:
* Improving poor skin texture
* Oily skin
* Boosting circulation
* A truly deep clean
* Instantly brighter skinIn? Then Try: Our brand new Vitamin C Gentle Face Scrub which we’re super excited about. Abrasive without being too hard on your complexion, this delicious scrub harnesses our favorite type of vitamin C, sodium ascorbyl phosphate, alongside antioxidant-rich yuzu lemon (which is also naturally chock-full of vitamin C) to work on dull, lifeless-looking skin fast.
All this combines with the smoothness of Bora Bora white sand which is no ordinary sand. Ultra-fine, it's extremely gentle on the skin to help promote cell turnover and remove rough, dead skin cells without the irritation often experienced with inferior face scrubs. Add in some soothing, hydrating aloe and all this makes for the ideal twice weekly scrub in a nutshell. Although, fyi, no nutshells were used in the making of this scrub. Nutshells do not have a smooth, uniform shape which makes them notorious for creating micro-tears on the surface of your skin. And we do not want that for you.
What Is Chemical Exfoliation?
Instead of using physical movement to boost cellular turnover, chemical exfoliants use topical ingredients (usually acids) to dissolve and break down the bonds between dead skin cells so they slough away more efficiently. Again, there are skincare products you can use at home, but also professional treatments like chemical peels can offer very powerful results.
Most at-home chemical exfoliants use AHAs, BHAs or PHAs as a means to get the job done.
Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) are water-soluble chemical compounds that are usually extracted from fruit or milk sugars. Glycolic acid is probably the most well-known AHA because it has a very low molecular weight which makes it very good at penetrating the skin. Sometimes, too good if your skin errs towards the sensitive side. And this is where lactic acid comes into its own. Lactic acid has a larger molecular size than its glycolic cousin which makes it way gentler and more readily tolerated by sensitive skin.
Unlike their water-soluble AHA cousins, beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) are oil-soluble substances which means they’re able to cut through the lipid layers between your skin cells to penetrate into your pores and exfoliate your skin on a much deeper level. As well as being darn good at exfoliating your skin, BHAs also target and reduce excess sebum to clear and brighten the skin – that’s a big deal for anyone struggling with oily, inflamed or acne-prone skin, btw. Examples of BHAs? Frankly there’s only one worth mentioning, salicylic acid which has been studied for decades and proven to not only target pores and increase cell turnover, but to offer incredible antibacterial and anti-inflammatory benefits.
Last, but not least, you have poly hydroxy acids (PHAs). Much newer to the exfoliation scene, PHAs are a new generation of water-soluble AHAs with all the benefits… but with less of the side-effects. The reason for their gentle nature is that they’re formulated with multiple strands, so they have a larger molecular size and are therefore unable to penetrate the deeper layers of your skin. Instead, they work exclusively on the skin’s surface to boost cell renewal without irritating your complexion. They’re basically your go-to if you have super-sensitive skin but are concerned about the visible signs of aging. Main players include gluconolactone (sometimes referred to as gluconic acid) and lactobionic acid which is an oxidized form of lactose and extracted from cow’s milk.
Is Chemical Exfoliation For You?
Just like their abrasive co-workers, chemical exfoliants work for all skin types as long as you patch test them first and use them as often (or as little!) as your skin allows.
They’re specifically good for…
* Sensitive skin
* Targeting dark spots
* Acne-prone skin
* Fine lines and wrinkles
* Enlarged poresIn? Then Try: 6% AHA, BHA + PCA Liquid Exfoliant which, as the name suggests, combines all three chemical exfoliants (and vitamin C, of course!) to gently but powerfully boost cell regeneration and promote brighter, younger-looking skin. Simply apply it to cleansed skin before your serum and moisturizer for a daily glow-getting fix and watch your skin continue to get better and better.
Chemical Vs Physical Exfoliation: Which Is Best?
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