Guaranteed Ways To Breathe New Life Into Tired Skin
The holiday season is over, so now's the time to say goodbye to dull, exhausted-looking skin and hello to a brand new year.
December is known for many things – cold, blustery weather; chestnuts roasting on an open fire (although who even does that!) and panic shopping for holiday gifts to name just a few. It’s a great time of year for most of us, but when it comes to your skin? Well, not so much. In fact, boozy parties and sleepless nights can ruin your skin’s mojo. So, now the festive fun is over, the last thing you want to be stuck with is sleepy skin that looks and feels as tuckered out as you feel.
While nothing beats the magical powers of eight hours of beauty sleep, there are plenty of ways to put a pep in your complexion’s step. Here are five of our utmost faves. And no, finishing off your cleansing routine with blasts of freezing cold water is not one of them. Because that’s downright torture at this time of year. And we’re not quite that mean…
1. Exfoliate Your Skin
Dead, dulling skin cells can really pile up if you’ve had little to no zzzs and your skin has lost out on its vital regeneration time. Couple this with too much partying (read salty snacks and Prosecco) and it’s no wonder the festive season goes hand-in-hand with burnt-out skin.
The best way to amp up cell turnover and improve radiance is to exfoliate your skin. And exfoliation comes in two forms: physical and chemical.
Physical exfoliation includes all the obvious stuff like face scrubs, cleansing brushes and loofahs – basically anything that requires some kind of physical movement in order for it to work.
Chemical exfoliation is just as good as physical exfoliation, and can actually be a much better choice if you have sensitive skin that gets easily irritated by abrasive scrubs and the like. Chemical exfoliators are products that contain some kind of ingredient (usually acids like glycolic, salicylic or lactic) that help loosen the bonds between skin cells to encourage them to naturally slough away more efficiently. They don't require pressure or massage, they just do the job as par for the course. Clever, right?
Try our Vitamin C Super Serum+ which not only contains salicylic acid, but antioxidants galore. Apply it to cleansed, dry skin before moisturizing to help get your party glow on.
2. Get Your Daily Vitamin C Fix
Speaking of antioxidants, they’re vital at this time of year (and any time of year for that matter. Antioxidants work by nixing free radicals caused by stress, a less-than-ideal diet, alcohol and exposure to things like pollution and cigarette smoke.
Most experts agree that the absolute queen of skincare antioxidants is vitamin C. Why’s it so great? Ha, how long have you got? Seriously though, in a nutshell, vitamin C has not only been proven to slow aging by working on free radical-induced wrinkles, but it accelerates collagen production and is a bit of show-off when it comes to warding off dull, tired-looking skin. How so? Because it inhibits wayward melanin production which is what causes dark spots and patchy skin. So, there you go.
Apply Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream to cleansed skin before hitting the sack to promote healthier, brighter skin as you sleep – no effort required. Got to love that, right?
3. Exercise More
An hour at the gym is not only good for your abs and pecs, but it stimulates blood flow to your skin, providing oxygen and nutrients to your cells and helping to give your complexion a fabulously healthy glow. And if gym sessions aren’t your jam, don’t fret because anything that gets you moving and your heart rate up will take care of business nicely. A brisk walk, Zumba class, even dancing around the kitchen… all good.
4. Stay Away From Smoking (And Smokers!)
You know smoking’s bad for you. We know you know that. But let’s just have a refresher course on just how tragic it is for your skin, shall we?
There are over 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, many of which destroy your collagen and elastin fibers, which, as you know, are the key players when it comes to maintaining awesome skin. Cue lines, wrinkles, puffiness and an uneven skin tone. Nicotine, in particular, causes your blood vessels to constrict, reducing blood flow and depriving your skin of all the oxygen and nutrients it needs to stay bright and healthy-looking. And yes, secondhand smoke is just as damaging to your skin, maybe even more so, because the levels of nasties like nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide and nitric oxide are at least double the numbers found in firsthand smoke. Mic. Drop.
If you ever find yourself surrounded by a bunch of smokers, counteract the damaging effects of all those collagen-destroying enzymes by applying products that contain proven ingredients to increase collagen production in your skin. Things like vitamin C, retinol, MSM and peptides are the mutt’s nuts for this. In steps Retinol Facial Serum...
5. Try Your Hands At Facial Massage
There’s nothing better for waking up your skin in the morning than by giving yourself a two-minute facial massage as you cleanse. And honestly, a few minutes is all it takes to majorly boost your circulation and encourage toxin drainage.
Apply Vitamin C Brightening Cleanser to damp skin and work it all over your face and neck, using the pads of your fingers. Sweep your fingers down your nose a few times, across your cheeks from the center outwards, up and around your forehead, then from the middle of your chin out towards your ears. Finish with your neck, using the palms of your hands to perform light strokes from the base of your neck up to your jawline.
More About This Article
Georgia Gould
Georgia is an award-winning beauty writer who has been in the business for over 20 years. British-born, she began her career as a magazine beauty editor in London before moving to San Francisco, CA in 2012 where she now continues her love as a freelance writer and editor. As well as her editorial work, Georgia has created content for many high-profile beauty brands, including Clarins, L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Simple and TRESemmé. Her passions include retinol (obviously), golfing, skiing and walking her beloved Schnauzer, Dave.
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Tired, stressed out skin can be a real party pooper. So get ahead of the game and up the skincare love with these simple beauty hacks.
Are you guilty of neglecting your skin during the party season? OK, so maybe ‘neglect’ is too strong a word. But if you’re already experiencing beat up skin that looks like it needs a fortnight in the Caribbean, chances are your skin is feeling the burn of one late night too many.
The holiday season can be stressful enough, however, so why add to your woes by putting your skin under so much pressure that it repays you with a whole bunch of unwanted holiday gifts like redness, dry patches, pimples and dullness? If you ask us, that’s just one stress too much.
We say a big ‘NO’ to stressed, partied out skin. Not by declining all the invitations. Heck no! But with the following skin-loving hacks that require zero effort (check) but offer maximum pay-out (check).
1. Double Cleanse Before Bed
Our motto is that if your cleanser doesn’t feel like it’s doing a good enough job on its own, then you need to think about the formulation you’re using. However, like all good rules in life, this motto is made to be broken! And during these times double cleansing can be a real lifesaver.
At this time of year you’re likely to be wearing more makeup, more often thanks to a crazy social calendar. Not only that but the combination of late nights, more booze, less sleep and more rich food is going to quickly make your skin feel and look super tired. And this is when problems quickly arise. If you’re a rosacea or eczema sufferer, for example, flare-ups will occur lightning fast. If you have oily skin, on the other hand, your sebaceous glands can go wild, producing more oil than ever and possibly leaving you with breakouts just when you don’t need them. You see where we’re going here…
One of the best ways to keep your skin under control during the holidays is to treat yourself to a pre-bedtime double cleanse. As you sleep, your skin goes into full recharge mode, regenerating new skin cells and repairing environmental damage. But how can it successfully do this when it’s covered in makeup and grime? The short answer is that it can’t. Instead, it’ll punish you with poor, rough texture; dull, dry skin and dark, puffy bags under your eyes.
Double cleansing can take on many forms but it basically means cleaning your skin twice to remove both oil-based debris (makeup, sebum and sunscreen) and water-based grime like sweat. Your first port of call is to massage some kind of oil-based cleanser into your skin to remove the oil-based surface debris. Then you wash with a cream, gel or lotion to finish cleansing and treat your skin according to your skin type or concerns. It’s a fairly simple process – although a little lengthier than regular cleansing – but in times of need it can work wonders for your skin and pores. Just remember, it's unlikely to be necessary every night, and stay away from overly harsh, perfumed or alcohol-heavy products. Keep it gentle with our range of awesome cleansing giants.
2. Laugh In the Face Of Free Rads
When you’re putting your body under more stress than normal, free radicals like to have a wild party of their own!
But what are free radicals? Well, without getting too sciencey on you, free radicals are unstable, highly reactive atoms or molecules that form in your skin when it’s subject to things like sun damage, pollution, alcohol, stress or a poor diet. Due to their unstable nature, free radicals seek out electrons from other, unsuspecting molecules in your skin to try and stabilize themselves. This is bad news because it creates even more free radicals, leading to what's known in the skincare biz as oxidative stress. This is probably all you need to know about those little free radical devils but needless to say, oxidative stress can cause serious damage to all the good stuff in your skin – namely collagen and elastin.
The good news is that antioxidants are able to donate electrons to free radicals to neutralize them and stop them screwing up the other, more important components in your skin. Your body has its own, hard-working antioxidant defense system but (isn't there always a but?!) aging weakens it. No surprises there! This means there inevitably comes a time when your skin needs help from other sources like an antioxidant-rich diet or topical antioxidants in your skincare routine such as vitamin C, niacinamide, green tea and vitamin E.
Our party season go-to is Vitamin C Super Serum+. And the best news is you only need to use it two or three times a week for awesome results. We suggest you get on board, immediately!
3. Layer Up With Hydration
Dehydration is an absolute b*tch for letting your skin down, making it look dull and feel horrible. Of course, a little amount of dehydration is a given if you’re a fan of overdoing the G&Ts and don’t counteract it with plenty of water. So try to sip on H20 as much as possible.
Just as importantly for helping to curb dehydrated skin is to apply products that draw water to the surface layers. Our favorite humectants (the water magnets of the skincare world) are hyaluronic acid, glycerin and aloe so keep your skin in good supply of these through twice daily use of treatment serums and good quality moisturizers.
We have many superpowered serums like Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum which is incredible for pumping up moisture, but we also love Multi-Vitamin Facial Serum which is one of the finest for boosting radiance and uplifting a gloomy, dehydrated complexion.
4. Perk Up Tired Eyes
What’s the first area of your skin to, without fail, give the partying game away? The skin around your eyes. The reason for this is that the skin here is slightly different to the rest of your face. It contains fewer sebaceous glands (cue dryness) and is around ten times thinner which makes it way more susceptible to the visible signs of tiredness and premature aging. Also, thanks to its natural thinness, underlying tissue and blood vessels become more prominent when you’re tired, causing shadows and dark circles.
But that’s not all. The skin around your eyes also contains a limited amount of fat and muscle which means collagen and elastin are even more important for maintaining strength and support. When your collagen and elastin become compromised thanks to too much partying, basically the poor skin around your eyes stands no chance of remaining its best.
So what can you do about pooped-out peepers? First, try to get early nights whenever you can. Obvs. Drink plenty of water day and night to reduce dehydration, and always keep a fabulous eye treatment in your refrigerator to apply morning and night to cleansed skin. Our new Depuffing Longevity Eye Cream is a real hero, or you could try Peptide Eye Gel which works like a dream on tired eyes.
5. Exoliate A Tad More Than Normal
Exfoliating too much can send your skin into a state of frenzy, but if you have strong skin and you feel like it needs a bit of a kick in the booty, a little extra exfoliation can work wonders.
If you like to use a scrub, try exfoliating once more a week during the party season, or try our new AHA, BHA and PHA Liquid Exfoliant which contains glycolic and salicylic acids as well as a gentle hydrating exfoliant called gluconolactone. It’s super effective yet gentle enough to use every day. Can we get an Auld Lang Syne for that?!
6. Feed Your Skin From The Inside
Finally, while you’re putting all manner of salty snacks and sweet treats down your throat, remember to save some room for plenty of good, nutritious foods. Fresh fruit and veggies are a given in any healthy diet, but also up your intake of lean protein and omega-3 fatty acids to help regulate oil production and nourish your skin. You’ll find omega-3s in things like oily fish, seafood, nuts and seeds.
While we’re on the subject of looking after your skin from the inside, now’s also a great time to try our new Collagen Boosting Skin Supplement which helps to promote quality natural collagen production while improving hydration and fighting off those naughty free radicals.
It’s the perfect antidote to living the good life ;)
HolidaysSkin-Saving Beauty Hacks To Take You Through The Party Season
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Knowing how to switch things up to get your skin ready for the day as opposed to ready for bed? Life-changing. Well, skin-changing at the very least.
There’s something to be said for nailing a consistent skincare routine. However, it’s not always easy to find your perfect product match. In fact, it requires much nurturing and tweaking – often over many years – to get your routine exactly where you want it. Whether you prefer to keep things basic or like to go all-out with every potion you can get your hands on, skincare is a very personal thing. But there are some fundamentals that every successful regime should abide by.
One of these is the importance of variation. And by this we don’t mean owning 75 moisturizers and just as many facial serums that you switch out more often than your underwear. Because, frankly, this is not the kind of consistency skin strives for. No, by variation we mean having a few different products in your arsenal that are tailored to your skin’s needs as they change from AM to PM.
Often brushed off as marketing hype, morning and night time skincare is, in fact, quite different. Do you really need separate cleansers, toners, eye treatments and exfoliators for morning and night? Absolutely not. These products are important, for sure, but they can definitely remain the same, no matter what time of day they’re being used. However, other products require a little thoughtful adjustment so they’re able to offer exactly what your skin needs as it transitions from day to night.
Never quite sure how to approach your morning and bedtime skincare routines? Then read on for the three most important products you need for each of these skinfluential times of day.
Your Morning Skincare Routine
Life often gets in the way of awesome skin. Things like emotional stress, pollution, the sun, your diet, they all have their own ways of upsetting the health of your skin and throwing things way off whack. This means your morning skincare routine must, most important of all, set your skin up for a daily battle against everything life throws at you.
Morning Skincare Musts
1. Environmental Protection
So, life. As awesome as it is, it batters your skin with daily aggressors that encourage the formation of free radicals. Free radicals are few and far between at night when you’re asleep, but during daylight hours, they can overrun your skin, compromising your collagen supplies, screwing up your elastin and even messing with your DNA. This is seriously bad news for the health of your skin as it can accelerate fine lines and wrinkles as well as other skin peskies like dark spots, sagging, dullness and poor texture and tone.
Keeping your skin protected from free radicals, therefore, should be an absolute priority for your morning routine. And the best way to do this? With an antioxidant facial serum. Unlike other skincare ingredients, antioxidants work hard to neutralize free radicals, allowing your skin to go about its business without the risk of damage from things like the sun and environmental pollution.
Topical antioxidants include the likes of vitamin E, niacinamide and green tea but the real biggie is vitamin C – something we know rather a lot about, here at TruSkin HQ! Universally loved and clinically-proven to nix free radicals in the bud while also brightening the skin, we think of it as a non-negotiable morning essential. You should, too. So try our fan-favorite Vitamin C Facial Serum and get on that, this second.
2. Hydration
As well as to protect itself from the outside world, your skin’s other main job is to keep itself hydrated and moisturised all day so that its barrier function remains in optimum condition. Your skin’s barrier function is what keeps toxins and pollution out and moisture in so it’s vital to moisturize daily to keep it strong and in great working order. Otherwise, you’re asking for trouble in the way of dehydration, dryness, breakouts and potential irritation.
We believe daily moisturizing should be about lightweight formulations that you can layer without overloading your skin. Look out for serums that harness ingredients like hyaluronic acid and aloe vera which help to draw moisture into the skin’s top layers. Then follow with a light lotion that locks all that moisture in. We love the winning combination of Niacinamide Facial Serum followed by Firming Collagen Day Lotion which is deeply moisturizing but light enough for everyday wear.
3. And The Most Important Product Of All: SPF
Of course, sunscreen is futile before bed, but your morning skincare routine is nothing without SPF. You just can’t ignore the fact that the sun is the biggest skin ager and responsible for somewhere between 80 and 90 percent of external skin aging.
If you want to ward off fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots and sagging skin for as long as humanly possible you need to apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen every morning – rain or shine. Broad-spectrum formulations protect your skin from both UVA and UVB so that’s important to look out for on your product labels. Also, make sure to go with nothing below SPF 30 and stick with mineral formulations that are much kinder to your skin. Our SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C checks all those boxes, so no probs there.
Your Bedtime Skincare Routine
As your body and brain go into rest mode, your skin goes into reset mode. Your environment has completely changed and gone are all the elements that have been going at your skin all day long. This makes night time the best time for your skin to heal and rejuvenate itself, ready to do it again tomorrow.
Bedtime Skincare Musts
1. Thorough Cleansing
Cleansing your skin is essential, morning and night, but at night time, after subjecting your skin to a whole day of sweat, makeup, oil, sunscreen, dirt, pollution and, well you get the picture, cleansing is everything.
Your product choices are down to you and your skin type, but always stick with gentle formulations that are free of harsh ingredients like sulfates and parabens. Sure, effective cleansing is important, but you don’t want to strip your skin completely dry or irritate your delicate barrier function. Our current favorite is our Soothing Cleansing Milk but, like we said, the ball is in your court.
When cleansing, take your time to thoroughly massage your skin to remove all traces of daily grime, and use lukewarm (never hot!) water to rinse well.
Double cleansing can also be a good idea before bed – especially if you like to wear a good amount of makeup during the day or are prone to oily skin that feels pretty dirty by the evening. And double cleansing is exactly what it sounds like. First, you use an oil-based cleanser to remove makeup and sunscreen, then you followed this with a water-based formulation to wash away other surface debris and help target your skin type or concerns.
2. Rejuvenation & Repair
Unlike the rest of your body which takes a well-deserved break as you sleep, night time is when your skin gets busy. All the excitement from the day shifts your skin into regeneration mode, repairing damage and preparing it for the next day. During this time blood flow increases, collagen production accelerates, cell turnover doubles and your skin’s natural antioxidant system amps up. It’s like a well-oiled machine that really kicks into gear as the rest of you catches your zzzs.
The products you choose to help all this move along seamlessly are endless, so it’s really a matter of choice. Do you want to help target fine lines and wrinkles as you sleep? Then Retinol Facial Serum might be the one for you. Perhaps you want to concentrate on looking after your collagen? In which case, Smoothing Collagen Serum has your name on it. Then there’s Peptide Facial Serum which strengthens and protects your barrier function to help your skin rejuvenate.
We know they all sound amazing (and that’s because they are!) but try to resist applying more than one at a time. Helping your skin during the overnight regeneration process is great. Overloading it with too many actives? Not so much.
3. Deep Moisturization
Did you know, your skin produces less sebum while you’re asleep? Well, now you do. And hopefully this also makes you better understand the importance of deeper, more intense moisturizing at night.
You might, like us, hate the feeling of heavy creams during the daytime but there’s no better feeling than slathering your face (and neck, of course!) in a beautifully intense moisturizing cream that will nourish your skin and have you waking up with a soft, plump complexion.
Our Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream is perfect for the job. It has that extra sprinkling of vitamin C to add a bit of antioxidant prowess to the party. Plus, it contains aloe to hydrate and our favorite beautifying compound, MSM to soothe, strengthen, firm and revitalize your skin. No effort required.
We love that for you.
Skincare RoutineWhy Your Morning & Bedtime Skincare Routines Should Be Different
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Are social media skincare hacks harmful or helpful? To follow, our thoughts on five of the latest beauty fads doing the rounds…
Isn’t social media awesome? Well, it is, until it isn’t. You see, the problem with giving everyone a voice and a platform on which to share their skincare routines and DIY beauty hacks is that not ‘everyone’ is an expert. In fact, most people are far from it. Of course, there are plenty of fabulous makeup artists, dermatologists, plastic surgeons and aestheticians you can follow across Instagram, YouTube and TikTok and a lot of them have incredible advice to offer. There’s also a lot to be said for things like Facebook Groups where, if you struggle with chronic skin issues, you can connect, learn and find solace from others with similar concerns.
But then there’s all the other 'stuff' from people who have so much to say… about things they don’t know that much about. And this is the kind of information that can do more harm than good. This is why we’ve sifted through some of the most recent viral skincare fads you might want to be wary of. Instead, read on for the real truth about how best to take care of your skin.
1. Slugging
What Is Slugging?
Skin slugging might sound gross, but it’s become a huge deal on TikTok, with its hashtag currently notching up around 1.5 billion views.
Not to be confused with most people’s least favorite mollusk, slugging involves smearing a thick layer of petroleum jelly all over your skin as the last step in your nightly skincare routine. Do so and you’re guaranteed to wake up with the softest, most moisturized skin ever. So they reckon, anyway.
Is Slugging Good For Your Skin?
This trend started gaining momentum almost two years ago, but it will not go away. Therefore there has to be something in it, right? Well, petroleum jelly is an occlusive ingredient that creates a seal over your skin to help lock in moisture. So, sure, it will definitely stop water from evaporating from the surface of your skin as you sleep, we’ll give you that. However, petroleum jelly has no hydrating qualities. At all. This means it doesn’t really moisturize your skin, it just stops any moisture that’s already present from escaping from the surface of your skin.
Not only that but petroleum jelly creates a barrier over your pores, completely blocking them and causing no end of problems for oily skin types. Namely, breakouts like you will never believe.
Much Better Advice?
Rather than slathering your skin with what is essentially just ‘grease,’ you’re much better off applying night cream to not only lock in moisture but to help hydrate and feed your complexion with skin-loving ingredients like antioxidants, ceramides, peptides and/or vitamins and minerals.
Our Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream is a great bet or why not try the combo of our new Rejuvenating Longevity Serum and Renewing Longevity Moisturizing Cream?
2. Potatoes For PimplesWhat's It All About?
Dealing with acne can be a real struggle. Especially when you reach adulthood when you were promised your skin would be so much clearer. But it’s not common to be plagued by breakouts as you get older. In fact, research shows that around 25 percent of American women in their 40s suffer from some kind of acne.
It’s no wonder, therefore, that there are so many short-term hacks for dealing with pimples. Back in the day it was toothpaste and nail varnish remover (gasp!). Now it’s slices of raw potatoes. The idea is that you tape a small slice over your spot to make it magically disappear. Some TikTokers have even resorted to rubbing the whole darn thing over their skin.
Are Potatoes Good For Your Skin?
Don’t get us wrong, we love a potato as much as the next person. But on our dinner plates, not taped to our faces. So, why has this acne hack become such a thing? Ha, your guess is as good as ours but the main draw is that potatoes have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which are both known to help reduce redness and unwanted pigmentation.
They also contain exfoliating and oil-reducing properties and feel nice and cool on the skin which is a big deal when you have a big, throbbing red zit on your chin. So maybe, just maybe, they might offer some short-term benefits. But little more than that.
Much Better Advice?
If you’re an acne sufferer, you’ll understand that short-term fixes are all well and good but, in truth, it’s all about the long-term. This is why we prefer to treat and control breakouts with smart skincare that’s been specifically (and safely!) formulated for the job. Products that contain science-led and dermatologically-tested ingredients like salicylic acid, tea tree oil and AHAs are going to offer your skin way better benefits than a bag of your best russets. Sorry, but they just will.
3. Sunscreen Contouring
What Is Sunscreen Contouring?
If we had to choose just one viral beauty trend that gets our blood boiling the most, it would be sunscreen contouring. Stupid at best, downright dangerous at worst, sunscreen contouring is when you apply sunscreen to select areas of your face and body only, in order to intentionally create tan lines for a contoured effect.
Some people have taken to applying a lower SPF to areas of their face they want to tan more, and a higher SPF to those they want to remain pale and ‘highlighted’ but either way, this is bad news.
Is Sunscreen Contouring Good For Your Skin?
Absolutely not. Not even slightly. The sun is responsible for almost 90 percent of skin aging, accelerating the formation of fine lines, wrinkles, sagging and dark spots. This means it’s absolutely essential to protect ALL exposed skin to the damaging effects of UV radiation. Because tan skin = damaged skin. End of story. Not only that, but c’mon people, skin cancer.
Much Better Advice?
First, in order to truly protect your skin from the damaging effects of the sun, you need to apply SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen every day to all areas of exposed skin. The alternatives are just not worth it. And if you do want to create contours on your face and body such as highlighting your cheekbones, sculpting your nose or defining your abs, stick with a self-tanning lotion or makeup. Easy. And way less damaging.
4. Lemon Juice As Toner
What's It All About?
Pure lemon juice. As toner. Simple as that.
Yes, lemons are astringent, yes they’re packed with vitamin C and yes, vitamin C is awesome for the look, feel and health of your skin. But when life gives you lemons, do not squeeze out their juice and use it to tone or brighten your face.
Is Lemon Juice Good For Your Skin?
Citric acid can be an incredible ingredient in many topical skincare treatments, offering great antioxidant qualities and helping to fight environmental skin damage. However, skincare products are formulated in certain ways and use very specific concentrations of ingredients in order to help benefit your skin without causing irritation. Pure lemon juice, however? The opposite. Applying it in its pure form can seriously irritate your skin, screwing up your barrier function and causing long-term issues with hyperpigmentation and sensitivities. It can even burn your skin if you’re not careful.
Keep yours for the G&Ts and leave lemon skincare cocktailing to the pros, OK?
Much Better Advice?
Get your fix of vitamin C from a facial serum that contains sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP) which is a gentle and very effective form. Our Vitamin C Facial Serum is always a big favorite but we also have the mighty Vitamin C Super Serum + which really amps up your glow factor. We like to use it twice a week, alternating between this and the OG.
5. Face Taping
What Is Face Taping?
This cheeky little trick has been used by Hollywood’s finest for decades so sorry, TikTok-ers, but you did not invent this one. Also known as wrinkle taping, the idea behind it is that you strategically place sticky tape on your face, usually overnight, to lift the skin, reduce muscle movement and therefore reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It’s most often used under the eyes, at the edges of the cheeks, over the forehead or across the chest area.
You can also use face tape to provide an immediately lifting effect, keeping it on for an event, for example, whilst camouflaging it with heavy makeup.
Is Face Taping Good For Your Skin?
As an immediate wrinkle-reducer and skin-smoother, face taping is actually pretty effective. But it’s a very short-term fix and takes a lot of clever makeup artistry to cover the tape and make it look natural.
As an overnight solution however? Yeah, we’re not convinced. For one thing, the glue that’s used on the tape can be super irritating for some skin types, especially if it’s used under the eyes where your skin is thin and extremely delicate. And for another, leaving the tape on for long periods of time can clog your pores and encourage breakouts. The phrase, ‘out of the frying pan, into the fire,’ comes to mind.
Much Better Advice?
Two words: effective skincare. Cleansing and exfoliating regularly, treating your skin with daily antioxidants, applying sunscreen daily and using age-defying ingredients like retinol, bakuchiol, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C? So much better than silly old face tape that might be OK for ten minutes but will do no good in the long-term.
Try our new Smoothing Collagen Serum, Firming Collagen Day Lotion and Collagen Boosting Skin Supplement which are great for healthily preventing premature aging.
Skincare TipsGood Or Bad? 5 TikTok Skincare Trends – Dissected
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PSA: pair vitamin C with other effective skincare ingredients and it becomes next-level good.
Vitamin C is basically our middle name here at TruSkin. Don’t get us wrong, we love any skincare ingredient that offers real-life benefits to your skin that you can actually see and feel. Retinol is one of the first that comes to mind, but also bakuchiol, its plant-derived cousin has also become a permanent fixture in our daily routines.
However, there’s something about vitamin C that makes it hard to beat. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that’s been proven to fight environmental stressors and thus protect your skin from all the damage that comes from exposure to things like smoking, pollution and, quelle surprise, UV radiation. It’s also known to inhibit a certain enzyme in your skin called tyrosinase which helps keeps melanin under control and reduces your likelihood of developing sun-related dark spots and an uneven skin tone. And if you’re worried about the potency of pure vitamin C on your skin? Don’t be. L-ascorbic acid (the pure stuff) packs a pretty mean punch, for sure, but there are many kinder-to-skin derivatives out there, including our favorite, sodium ascorbyl phosphate which is gentle, but oh-so-mighty.
All this is great, but one of our absolute favorite things about vitamin C is that it partners so well with other true greats. So which ones are worth your time? We’ve rounded up the vitamin C pairings we believe are pretty unbeatable.
Vitamin C + Vitamin E: The Ultimate Antioxidant Duo
As skincare couples go, vitamin C and vitamin E are an unbeatable little double act. You know that phrase, ‘you complete me’? That's these two, in a nutshell.
C and E are both potent antioxidants and proven to neutralize damaging free radicals which form in the skin when it’s exposed to environmental nasties. This helps reduce oxidative stress, slowing down cell damage and thus helping to preserve important proteins in your skin like collagen and elastin. As you know, these are super important to keep your skin strong, soft, clear and youthful-looking.
Of course, vitamin C does a pretty good job of this on its own, but if you combine it with vitamin E you automatically amp up both of their superpowers with zero effort at all. You see, vitamin E strengthens and accelerates vitamin C's protective abilities by preserving its stability and efficacy. Meanwhile, C stops E’s age-fighting powers from depleting as it fights off those free radical bad guys.
Vitamin E is also great at soothing and hydrating the skin as an extra bonus. Together, they're the ultimate fighting champions.
Vitamin C + Sunscreen: Great Alone… Even Better Together
As we’ve drummed into you by now, sunscreen is the number one way to fight off external skin aging, reducing your likelihood of developing everything from lines and wrinkles through to dull skin, sagging and dark spots. Any broad-spectrum sunscreen that has a decent SPF of at least 30 is going to effectively shield your skin from sun damage. No arguments there. However, there’s one way to make your sunscreen work even better. And that’s by pairing it up with vitamin C.
Studies show that vitamin C makes sunscreen work harder by neutralizing more free radicals than sunscreen is able to do on its own. It’s also thought to help your sunscreen absorb more UV radiation.
The truth is that sunscreen is only able to shield your skin from around 50 percent of the number of free radicals caused by the sun. And not only that, but even the most highly protective sunscreens that boast SPFs of staggering numbers can only protect your skin from around 98 percent of UV radiation. This means a certain number of UV rays are always going to sneak through. Ditto free radicals.
C to the rescue. And how!
Try: SPF 30 Sunscreen with Vitamin C
Vitamin C + Hyaluronic Acid: The Hydrating Power Couple
Vitamin C plays pretty well with most skin types – especially if you stick with the skin-loving sodium ascorbyl phosphate – but still, everyone’s skin has different levels of sensitivities so irritation can never be counted out.
So, what’s a great way to reduce your chances of flaring up? By ensuring your skin’s barrier function is strong and well hydrated. Of course, gentle cleansing and moisturizing is key, but another effective trick for rehydrating your skin is to couple your vitamin C with the master of moisture: hyaluronic acid.
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a type of polymer that acts as a powerful lubricant and humectant. More technical jargon, we know, but humectants are water-loving components that suck in moisture and hold onto it like a sponge. They’re essential for keeping the skin hydrated, plump and smooth and, as humectants go, HA is kind of a big deal. Just one gram of the stuff can hold up to six liters of water.
HA is very gentle on the skin and works like a dream with most other skincare ingredients, especially vitamin C whose anti-aging and texture-enhancing abilities get enhanced like nobody’s business by the powers of HA. HA can also counteract any sensitivities or dryness you might experience from vitamin C. Major plus points.
Vitamin C + MSM: The Collagen Protectors
It upsets us that MSM isn’t center stage like vitamin C and retinol, but hey, not everyone can be the leading lady, right? But don’t let that fool you because, just like any great movie, the supporting actors are just as important. Often even more so. And MSM is all that… and then some.
Not familiar with the powers of MSM? Well, to quote its full name, methylsulfonylmethane is a natural-occurring form of sulfur that’s often referred to as the ‘beauty’ or ‘healing’ mineral. Does it deserve such a nickname? Absolutely. Its inherent ability to encourage blood flow, fight inflammation and boost collagen makes it a total whizz-kid for the skin. Simple as. It also works darn hard to fight environmental damage by helping to enforce your body’s natural defense system, so there’s also that.
In skincare, vitamin C helps your skin to readily absorb MSM, doubling up their combined collagen love and working extra hard to fight off the visible signs of premature aging.
Try: Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream
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