Are You Using The Right Cleanser?
We’re not going to lie to you, nailing the exact cleansing routine for your skin's needs isn’t easy. But once you’ve crushed the basics, the rest should fall into place…
Cleansing: not the most exciting part of your skincare routine is it? Especially when you weigh it up against all the other good stuff like applying face serum or feeling smug as you smooth on your sunscreen every morning. But the thing is, cleansing is one of, if not the most important acts you can do to your skin. Without a clean slate, the rest of your skincare routine is pretty useless. Not to mention what you do to your poor old pores if you leave them clogged up with hours or even days (eek!) of oil, sweat, makeup, pollution and goodness-knows-what other kinds of gunk and crud. We can’t think of a better way to subject your skin to a whole life of blocked pores, major irritation and continual acne breakouts.
And we doubt any of these are high up on your skin’s priority list.
OK, so cleansing twice daily is important, you get that, right? Good. Now, there are a few other things you should know...
First up is that treating your skin with the utmost of care is a major deal. And you can nail this by switching out scorching hot water for lukewarm water, while using gentle massage with your hands and fingers as you wash your face. And your drying technique? Yeah about that. First up, don’t use any old hand towel that’s been sat in the bathroom for weeks. Instead invest in a ‘yours only’ cotton face towel and wash it with your laundry at least every other day to avoid spreading bacteria all over your precious visage.
Finally, and possibly most importantly, is the cleansing product you use. The overriding rule here is that whatever your skin type, you must always choose the most gentle, kind-to-skin ingredients you can find. You may think that stripping your oily skin with super powerful, astringent formulations is going to nix your excess oil and have you glowing with the perfect skin in seconds. But this is a mistake and will make matters ten times worse. Guaranteed.
Whatever your skin’s wants and needs, we suggest avoiding potent surfactants like sodium laureth sulfate (SLS) and sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) as they can screw up your barrier function and leave your skin open to everything from itching and dryness to breakouts and redness. Nobody needs those in their life and there are plenty of other ingredients out there to gently cleanse your skin without causing as much upset.
Speaking of which, here’s what ingredients to look out for depending on your skin type and condition…
What You Need If Your Skin Is Dry Or Sensitive
Dry skin and pesky sensitivities often come hand in hand since dry skin lacks the natural oils it needs to keep it naturally protected and lubricated. So what does dry skin look for in its perfect cleanser? Well, one thing you definitely don’t need are potent ingredients (here’s looking at you SLS!) that will strip your skin even further and do the very thing you don’t want. Instead, look for cleansers that are high on moisturization and low in potent active ingredients.
Humectants and emollients are the real friends here because they attract much-needed moisture to the surface of the skin and then help to keep it there.
Awesome Ingredients To Look Out For: Hyaluronic acid, glycerin, aloe, vitamin E, oat milk, rice milk, jojoba oil and shea butter.
Where To Turn If Your Skin Is Oily Or Acne-Prone
While it’s tempting to go all-out with drying alcohols, sulfates and potent, bacteria-busting ingredients like benzoyl peroxide, you're way better off erring towards a gentler approach to cleansing oily or problematic skin. Yes, you want to balance sebum production by using non-pore-clogging ingredients but if you strip your skin right back, your sebaceous glands just end up working harder and producing more and more oil to counteract all that dryness.
Our BFF for oily, acne-prone skin is tea tree oil which not only helps tame sebum, but also works hard to fight bacteria and reduce inflammation with less irritation and side effects than benzoyl peroxide.
Awesome Ingredients To Look Out For: Tea tree oil, salicylic acid, witch hazel, MSM, niacinamide and retinol.
What To Choose If You Have Combination Skin
Combination skin is the most common and arguably the trickiest skin type to manage – oily in some places, dry in others, what’s THAT about? – so the key is to choose lightweight, pH-balanced and non-comedogenic formulations to help bring harmony to your skin. Try to avoid skin-triggering ingredients like sulfates, parabens and synthetic fragrance, and definitely don’t use soap as this will make both your oiliness and dryness so much worse.
A fan favorite for combination skin is activated coconut charcoal which gently but effectively draws out toxins and excess oils to help clear out your pores and purify the skin. And don’t forget to use toner which is a real friend for combination skin.
Awesome Ingredients To Look Out For: Charcoal, ylang ylang oil, reishi mushroom, aloe vera, hyaluronic acid, squalene and peptides.
Try: Charcoal Clarifying Cleanser
What Dull, Tired Skin Can Rely On
Most of us can relate to skin that needs a kick up the butt every now and again. We’re talking dullness, poor texture, uneven skin tone and, well, you know the drill. Whatever your skin type, a lack of radiance get us all. Sounds familiar? Then brightening cleansers are where it’s at. And look no further than vitamin C.
Vitamin C is one of the most trusted ingredients in skincare thanks to its whizz-bang antioxidant qualities that help fight oxidative stress due to things like environmental pollution, UV radiation, stress, zero sleep and a poor diet. Vitamin C also helps inhibit melanin production which is great news if your skin tone is all over the place and needs help. It’s a veritable go-to for dull, tired skin. And if you’re one of those lucky few with ‘normal’ skin that’s pretty darn balanced most of the time? This is also a great cleansing choice for you.
Awesome Ingredients To Look Out For: Sodium ascorbyl phosphate (vitamin C), vitamin E, retinol, aloe vera, kojic acid, glycolic acid, lactic acid and rosehip oil.
Try: Vitamin C Brightening Cleanser
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![What Is Salicylic Acid And Does Your Skin Need It?]()
Salicylic acid is right up there with glycolic acid for exfoliating your skin. But it also has an extra string in its bow. Listen up, oily skin folks, this one’s for you…
Salicylic acid is one of those ingredients that truly delivers. Forget your snail mucus and 24k gold flakes because they simply don’t live up to the hype. Along with skincare greats like retinol and vitamin C, however, salicylic acid does exactly what it sets out to do. And frankly, that’s all you can ask from a skincare ingredient, is it not?
If you’re not sure what salicylic acid is all about, not a problem, that’s what we’re here for.
So, read on for everything we know about salicylic acid: glycolic acid’s equally as effective, but really quite different cousin…
What Is Salicylic Acid, Exactly?
You’ve heard of AHAs and BHAs, right? Well, salicylic acid sits in the BHA camp. In fact, it’s really the only BHA you need to know about being the single most common BHA used in skincare and cosmetics.
BHAs, or beta-hydroxy acids are fat-soluble chemical exfoliants that break down the bonds between your skin cells to encourage them to slough away more efficiently. Physical scrubs have the same effect, but they use physical pressure alongside grains or textured surfaces to exfoliate your skin. Chemical exfoliants just harness the powers of acids like salicylic to do the same job, improving cellular turnover as a major part of the deal.
Salicylic acid, in particular, is extracted from the bark of willow trees and has amazing exfoliating benefits. But there’s more. It also has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial qualities (take that, pimples!) and, because it’s fat-soluble, it has an uncanny knack of penetrating into your pores and getting to work on your sebaceous glands. And that’s a big plus if you have super oily skin you find hard to control…
The Benefits Of Salicylic Acid In Skincare
Exfoliants are a crucial part of a healthy skincare routine. Not only do they boost cell turnover to help give you a smoother, softer and brighter complexion, but they also work hard to improve collagen synthesis. And as you mature, that’s really important since collagen degradation becomes a huge deal as you hit your 30s and beyond.
As we mentioned, however, salicylic acid differs to other water-soluble chemical exfoliants like glycolic, citric and lactic acids. And that’s because it’s fat-soluble which allows it to go deeper below the skin’s surface, penetrating through the lipid layers to really get into the pores. We mean no disrespect to the AHAs of the world, of course, because they’re incredible at what they do – which is to exfoliate at a more surface level. But, if you have oily skin or have trouble with breakouts, blackheads or blocked pores, salicylic acid can offer so much more.
Salicylic acid is almost unbeatable at preventing your pores from becoming clogged with dead skin cells and excess sebum, AND it gently exfoliates your skin by loosening the bonds that hold together those tough, outer layers of dead skin cells. This not only improves the tone and texture of your complexion almost immediately, but it stimulates collagen production helping to stave off premature lines and wrinkles as time goes by.
To summarize, the key benefits of salicylic acid are…
* Exfoliates the skin and removes dead skin cells* Improves cellular turnover* Balances and controls excess sebum* Detoxifies pores* Reduces acne breakouts* Calms inflammation5 Ways To Make Salicylic Acid Work For You
Like most active ingredients, salicylic acid must be given the respect it deserves. Here’s how to use it wisely and effectively...
1. Always Patch Test Salicylic Acid First
Most salicylic acid treatments are well-tolerated by all skin types and safe for daily use. However, there’s always a chance your skin could freak out by this potent, active ingredient, so patch test any new product before applying it regularly. And yes, we know patch testing sounds like a bit of a headache, but it’s really easy and will only delay your product use by a day or so... but it can save your skin a whole lotta pain.
To patch test your product, apply a small amount to a discreet area of your skin (we like to do it behind an ear). Then leave it for 24-48 hours to check for any negative reactions. Most likely, your skin will be fine other than mild redness or tingling which is to be expected with any active product. However, if you experience anything like burning, discomfort, swelling or itching, stop use immediately – this product is not a good fit for you.
2. Listen To Your Skin To Get Your Routine Right
Once you know you’re safe to use your salicylic acid formulation without any negative reactions, introduce it slowly into your routine. Your skin might be strong enough to take it every day… then again, it might not. Start with once a week and then build on that after a couple of weeks as your skin acclimates. And remember to always read the labels of your products as not all serums are built to be used daily, anyway!
Our Vitamin C Super Serum+, for example, is packed with potent ingredients and combines salicylic acid with other skin superheroes like retinol and vitamin C. Because of this we recommend you apply it just two or three times a week for the best results.
3. Get The Most From Salicylic Acid By Using A Leave-On Treatment
Salicylic acid can be used in pretty much any skincare formulation, from cleansers and toners, through to exfoliants, serums and moisturizers. To really maximize its benefits, however, we believe that leave-on products offer far superior results to anything you’re going to wash down the plughole. It’s common sense, right?
On that note, try our 6% AHA, BHA + PHA Liquid Exfoliant which is everything for brighter, clearer, smoother-looking skin. Apply it to clean skin, before your serum and moisturizer.
4. Combine It With Tea Tree Oil
Our Tea Tree Super Serum+ blends salicylic acid with tea tree oil to really hit breakouts from all angles.
Tea tree oil is extracted from the leaves of the Australian tea tree and it has awesome anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial benefits making it a shoo-in for helping to calm facial redness at a surface level. Meanwhile, salicylic acid goes deeper to improve cell turnover and help remove excess oil and dirt that can block your pores in the first place. Together they’re truly dynamite. What’s more, our serum has been crafted to be as gentle as possible while still providing all the benefits you could ever want.
As we said, dynamite.
5. Use Sunscreen Every Morning
All experts agree (us, dermatologists, the FDA, need we go on?) that salicylic acid must be used in conjunction with a broad-spectrum sunscreen in order to help protect the skin and avoid sensitivities to UV radiation. It’s basically non-negotiable, so make sure sunscreen is as much a part of your morning routine as cleaning your teeth and brushing your hair.
We like to keep our SPF30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C right there on the shelf next to our serums and eye cream. That way, we never forget.
What Is Salicylic Acid And Does Your Skin Need It?
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