True Radical Honesty From Our Community

Realistic skincare goals are the bomb. Because there’s always room for improvement when it comes to the look and feel of your skin.

Let’s get one thing clear. Striving for skin perfection is not something we subscribe to here at TruSkin. Better skin? Sure. But perfect skin? Hell no. In fact, does that even exist outside Hollywood movies and retouched glossy magazine covers? Probably not.

That being said, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve what you’ve been blessed with. That’s just human nature. Whether you’re done with your dull, lackluster skin or totally over your monthly breakouts, these are the kind of skin issues we can get on board with. Because wanting better things for your skin is realistic. It’s also attainable – especially when you’re armed with the right tools and a side of skincare knowhow.

On that note, read on for five of the most common skin goals – plus how to flip them into reality…

Skincare Goal #1: Glowing Skin

Dull skin that lacks radiance hits us all at some point. And whether it’s a temporary, day-after-the-night-before blip or a more long-term grievance, dull skin is usually related to one big issue: dehydration.

Dehydration can be a problem for any skin type – dry or oily – and it happens when your skin isn’t retaining enough moisture. Not to be confused with dry skin, which lacks sebum, dehydration occurs thanks to things like cold weather, stress, a lack of sleep, poor skincare choices and surprise, surprise, sun damage. Basically anything that screws up your barrier function and compromises your skin's ability to hold onto water.

But dehydration isn’t the only reason your skin might look kind of sad. Poor cellular turnover can also be an issue. Healthy, adult skin has a turnover rate of around 28 days (give or take) but as you age, this gets longer as your skin cells become sluggish and dead ones hang around longer than necessary.

To help get your glow back, we recommend two important things. First, increase your skin’s moisture levels by applying a hydrating serum twice daily. Try one that contains ingredients like hyaluronic acid or aloe vera. We love Hyaluronic Acid Serum when our skin is feeling thirsty.

Second up, add a little gentle exfoliation into your skincare routine. Our Charcoal Clarifying Cleanser is a great choice because it contains citric acid, a chemical exfoliator that helps dissolve the bonds that bind dead skin cells together.

Skincare Goal #2: Smaller-Looking Pores

Pores are kind of annoying, we agree. But they’re actually super important for your skin to function so don’t give them too much of a hard time, OK?

Your body has two types of pores: those that produce sebum (oil) and others than produce sweat. Oil-producing pores are tiny little openings found at the top of your hair follicles where they release sebum to moisturize and soften the skin. 

This may sound innocent, but the problem starts when your sebaceous glands produce too much sebum than your skin really needs, causing your pores to stretch and become blocked. This is very common for oily and combination skin types, but here’s the thing – your pore size is determined by genetics which means that, no matter what you do, you can’t physically shrink them. However, there are many things you CAN do to help strengthen and firm your skin, and simultaneously help keep your pores in decent shape.

Keeping your skin clean and your pores clear of excess oils, makeup, sunscreen and the like is your most important play, but don't go too nuts. Gentle is the key. Try our new Tea Tree Super Cleanser+, followed by Ocean Minerals Super Toner for a pore-kicking cleansing routine that won’t strip your skin completely dry.  

Skincare Goal #3: Less Visible Wrinkles

As the most common signs of aging, fine lines and wrinkles are a bugbear we all have to face at some point. And while it’s easy to say, ‘don’t worry about them,’ it’s much harder to actually put that into practice.

Lines and wrinkles usually appear on and around areas of the face that experience repeated muscle movement. This is because repetitive motions like laughing, frowning and smiling cause weaknesses and dips in the skin which, as your skin matures and it loses valuable proteins, don’t bounce back like they used to.

Once wrinkles start to set-in, they’re pretty tricky to eradicate with skincare products alone, but the best way to keep them at a minimum is to look after your collagen levels. And this is where the mighty retinol steps in.

Retinol is the gold-standard of skincare because it actually ‘communicates’ with your skin at a cellular level, encouraging it to rev up collagen and elastin production, accelerate cell turnover and neutralize skin-damaging free radicals. Pretty good stuff.

Try applying our awesome Retinol Facial Serum nightly (after patch testing, of course) to improve the appearance of your fine lines and wrinkles – and to help stop new ones from forming!

Skincare Goal #4: Fewer Breakouts

Pimples, spots, zits, breakouts, whatever you call them, welcome they are not. So annoying, then, that acne is the most common skin condition in the US and affects around 50 million of us every darn year!

Acne rears its ugly head (pun absolutely intended) when your pores get blocked up with an excess of sebum that mixes with dead skin cells and bacteria. Thanks to genetics, you’re either susceptible to acne, or you’re not. But plenty of other triggers can contribute to the frequency and severity of your breakouts. Hormones – yeah those again – are a major trigger, as is stress.

Obviously you can’t miraculously change your genetic makeup but there are plenty of skincare ingredients and helpful tricks for treating and controlling your breakouts. Our absolute go-to is Tea Tree Super Serum+ which combines tea tree oil with salicylic acid and niacinamide to create a powerful, yet gentle way to balance your skin and deal with unwanted pimples. Tea tree is one of the best ingredients for acne as its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial AND way less irritating than things like benzoyl peroxide. What’s more you only need to apply it two or three times a week to see experience visible results.

Skincare Goal #5: A More Even Skin Tone

Fed up with dark spots that are totally killing your skin’s mojo? Dark spots, aka hyperpigmentation, appear when your skin produces too much melanin which is the pigment that gives it its color. The three main triggers are your hormones; skin trauma like a bite, burn or pimple; or the sun.

We like to blame the sun for all manner of things where the skin is concerned. But this is totally legit for it really does have a lot to answer for. Dark spots included. Even if the sun wasn’t the original trigger, the sun makes any dark spot so much worse in the long run.

This is why protecting your skin from the sun’s evil rays is the single most important thing you can do for dark spots and patchy skin. Broad-spectrum sunscreen is a must (hi there SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C) but don’t dismiss antioxidants, either, which have a very clever way of neutralizing free radical damage and shielding your skin from cumulative photodamage. Our go-to is always vitamin C which not only protects your skin from damage but also helps to fade the appearance of uneven skin that’s already come and bitten you on the butt! Try our classic Vitamin C Facial Serum twice daily, swapping it out for Vitamin C Super Serum+ two or three times a week, to really hit dark spots where it hurts.

Bloated, puffy skin is no fun for anyone. But it doesn’t have to ruin your day. Just get ahead of the game with some deft lifestyle habits and smart skincare moves.

We’re sure you’ve been there; woken up with a bloated or puffy feeling to your face that certainly wasn’t there the night before. What is that all about? All you’ve done is gone to bed… right? Well, actually you might have had a few too many wines with dinner, or perhaps not had the best night’s sleep. But still: unfair.

The good news is that, more often than not, puffy skin is a temporary bugbear – unless some other underlying condition is at play, of course, in which case it’s always wise to seek professional help.

If you're well aware that your puffy skin is self-inflicted, however, here’s what you need to know about might be its cause, plus what to do about it…

What Causes Facial Puffiness?

A puffy face is usually thanks to a build-up of excess fluids just below the surface of your skin. This happens when an imbalance of water causes fluids to leak through your blood vessels and into your skin. And don’t worry, we know that all sounds pretty horrific, but it’s totally harmless.

So, what triggers this fluid retention in your skin? Well, it can be due to any number of reasons, but the usual suspects are mostly to blame – aka emotional stress, a lack of sleep, poor diet choices, your hormones and alcohol.

5 Effective Ways To De-Puff Your Face

The good news is there are some pretty easy fixes for facial puffiness – some of which will gift you with almost-immediate results. Scroll on for five of our favorites...

1. Try A Daily Facial Massage

Massaging your face is one of the best ways to not only up your glow factor in an instant, but to help reduce swelling. If you spend just three or four minutes massaging your skin during your morning cleanse, for example, you'll instantly boost circulation and accelerate lymphatic drainage which helps remove toxins and fluid build-up. Simply use the pads of your fingers to work your cleanser all over damp skin, then press your fingers into the brow area and slide them up in circular motions to your forehead. Repeat this a few times, before moving down to your cheeks, working from each side of your nose, out towards the hairline. Again, do this a few times, then continue with the same motion around your chin and jawline. To finish, smooth your fingertips up your neck.

You could also try a gua sha stone to help sculpt your skin and reduce unwanted puffiness. Gua sha stones are flat, smooth crystals made from jade or rose quartz which you place flat against your skin and gently glide around the contours of your face. They're awesome for encouraging the transportation of excess fluids and toxins from the tissues in your skin.

Whatever you go for, try to give your face a quick massage every morning. Trust us, you'll start to notice a real difference almost immediately.

2. Enjoy The Chill Factor

Cold temperatures are incredible for constricting your blood vessels and helping to reduce puffiness and inflammation. But, while TikTok might have you believe that iced facials are the future, we’re not sure that dunking your face in a bowl of iced water for as long as you can bear it, and repeating this teeth-chattering process for 10 whole minutes is such a good idea! In fact, it can cause facial redness and irritation if you’re not careful, so we’d strongly advise against it.

Instead, try a final rinse with cool water after cleansing or keep your moisturizer in the fridge to help de-puff your skin at the end of your morning routine. You can even keep facial massage tools like a gua sha stone or jade roller in the fridge for extra de-puffing powers. And if your eyes are showing the most signs of puffiness? Lie back with a couple of cold teaspoons or slices of cucumber over each eye. It’s amazing how effective some of those old beauty tricks are!

3. Drink More Water

Since fluid retention is the issur here, it makes sense to drink plenty of water every day. The simple fact is that by keeping your body hydrated you will reduce the need for your tissues to hold on to fluids so much. It’s just common sense. And science. 

Experts agree that an average adult requires between 2.7 and 3.7 liters of fluid a day. However, it’s worth remembering that not all of this needs to come from glugging pure water. Certain foods like watermelon, cucumber, tomatoes and spinach contain a ton of water and drinks like milk, unsweetened fruit juices and caffeine-free teas all count towards you daily intake and are just a beneficial as water.

4. Embrace A Great Facial Serum

When it comes to what goes on your skin, there are some awesome ingredients out there to help keep your skin hydrated while reducing inflammation and puffiness. Green tea, for example, is a pretty good one, as are caffeine, peptides and, our current favorites, electrolytes.

Electrolytes are essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium which, when dissolved in water, conduct electricity – which is where the name comes from. Electrolytes are vital for your health as they keep your body hydrated and balanced while aiding in tissue repair and regulating nerve and muscle function. When it comes to skincare, topical electrolytes have the same moisture-quenching benefits. Their electoral charge helps drive water into the skin while simultaneously giving energy to other active ingredients to help deliver them to exactly where they’re needed. The result? Healthier, more hydrated skin. Bingo!

Try applying our new Multi-Vitamin Facial Serum daily. It's chock full of vitamins, minerals and electrolytes to help keep your skin at its optimal best. You could even use a cold jade roller or some ice globes to supercharge the ingredients and further reduce swelling. But you don't have to – it's a wonder serum even without the extra help!

5. Assess Your Lifestyle Habits

Finally, think about some of your lifestyle habits and how they might be contributing to any facial bloating. Alcohol, for starters, can be terribly dehydrated for your skin so keep that in check whenever you can – or try alternating booze with glasses of water. This is a great trick and also makes hangovers much easier to bear!

A high-sodium diet is another reason your body will hang on to extra fluids so cut down on salty snacks and avoid cooking with salt. In fact, try to limit yourself to no more than 2,000 milligrams a day.

Finally, too much stress and very little sleep can be hell on your skin, causing your levels of cortisol (aptly named the stress hormone!) to sky rocket.

And cortisol is a known culprit for triggering puffy, inflamed skin. Say no more...

Whether your skin is too oily or too dry, balancing your sebum is a major step towards healthier skin.

Sebum can be a real headache. Some of you might have too much of it, making your skin oily and annoyingly shiny. The rest of you might not have enough, causing your skin to be dry and maybe even a bit itchy. If only we could all have exactly the right amount to make our skin seem, well, normal.

Ha, normal. If only that were so easy. While normal skin is a type, just as much as dry, oily and combination, we’re not convinced that many people are actually blessed with normal skin. Know someone? Then lucky you/them.

For the rest of us, our skin type is all down to how much sebum is produced at a cellular level. Oily skin produces excessive amounts which can cause blocked pores, breakouts and excess shine; combination skin has too much in some areas and not enough in others resulting in potential pimples in the T-zone and dryness elsewhere (the worst of both worlds, some might say); while dry skin doesn’t produce enough sebum, making it sensitive, itchy, flaky and tight.

The truth is, you can’t change the skin type you were born with – because, genes – however, your sebum levels can be controlled (to a degree) by smart lifestyle habits and a good skincare routine.

So let’s delve deeper into the world of sebum, shall we?

What Is Sebum?

Sebum is a slightly yellow, clear, oily lipid that’s produced by the sebaceous glands in your skin’s dermis – the layer underneath the epidermis. Sebum is composed mostly of fatty acids, squalene, wax esters, glycerol and cholesterol and it reaches the surface of your skin via hair follicles. This is why most of it is concentrated on your face, scalp and genital area. The only area of your skin where you won’t find sebum to some degree? On the palms of your hands and soles of your feet because, surprise surprise, these are the only parts of your body that don’t have hair.

Why Sebum Is So Important For Healthy Skin

Although sebum can be super annoying because it rarely behaves itself, it’s actually extremely important in maintaining happy, healthy skin. Not only does it keep your skin lubricated and moisturized by sealing in hydration and preventing transepidermal water loss (TEWL) but another important function is to help protect your skin from UV damage. It does this by transporting antioxidants to the surface of your skin. Smart stuff, right? Sebum also keeps your skin’s pH level in check and has antibacterial qualities which is extremely important for fighting infection and reducing inflammation.

5 Tricks For Regulating Your Sebum Levels

The amount of sebum your skin produces is mainly influenced by genetics. However, your age, hormones, skincare regime, diet, stress levels and the climate in which you live all play an important role in helping to maintain balance. So, while you can’t change your genes or stop Father Time, there are many other ways to take charge. Read on for four of the most effective ones…

1. Cleanse Regularly, But Gently

Start off right with an effective cleansing routine and your levels of sebum stand a much better chance of being balanced and more controlled.

But what is the right cleansing routine? Well, your choice of formulation depends on your skin type. But whether you go for a lightweight gel or a rich, creamy lotion like our new Soothing Cleansing Milk, know that the kinder your cleanser is to your skin, the better this will be for your sebaceous glands. It’s tempting to go for a super astringent product to reduce excess oil, for example, but anything that’s too drying will cause your sebaceous glands to go into overdrive, thus making your skin even oilier in the long run.

Cleanse twice daily, for sure, but keep your products free of synthetic fragrance, harsh preservatives and strong detergents like sodium lauryl sulfate. Your sebum levels will really thank you for it.

2. Choose The Right Moisturizer

Hydrating your skin with serums that contain water magnets like glycerin and hyaluronic acid is vital because these draw water to the skin’s surface and help to reduce dehydration. However, to truly help balance sebum, your choice of moisturizer is far more important.

If your skin is lacking in sebum, your job is to help prevent further dryness by embracing rich moisturizers that contain occlusive ingredients like shea butter, cocoa butter and botanical oils. These help create a seal over the skin’s surface to stop moisture from escaping. Oh, and we love Vitamin C Brightening Moisturizer in case you were wondering.

On the other hand, skin that has sebum coming out of its ears (not literally, of course!) should avoid heavy oils and butters because they can block the pores and encourage breakouts. Instead, you want to stick with emollient ingredients like vitamin E that help smooth the skin and regulate hyperactive sebaceous glands.

3. Eat Right

Eating a balanced diet isn’t just about keeping your weight in check and your health at an optimum. It can also have profound effects on your skin. Certain studies show that foods high in sugar or refined carbs, for example, accelerate a hormone called IGF-1 whose role it is to promote growth and yes, you’ve guessed it, stimulate sebum production. Similarly, trans fats have been linked to inflammation in the skin, which also overstimulates the sebaceous glands and results in excess oil.

Healthy fats, on the other hand, like omega-3s found in nuts, seeds, oily fish and avocados, are awesome for helping to regulate sebum production while improving the fatty acid composition in your skin and strengthening your skin’s barrier function.

Whatever your skin type, its best to limit your intake of sugar, processed carbs and nasty old trans fats, while upping your fill of omega-3s and brightly colored fruit and veggies which are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants for all-round healthier skin.

4. Be More Zen

Stress. Even the sound of that word can increase your levels of emotional anxiety. And it’s true that chronic levels of stress play havoc with your hormones. But how do hormones affect the skin specifically? When your stress levels are high your body produces more adrenaline and cortisol (the ‘stress’ hormone). Cortisol is well-known for screwing up your skin’s barrier function, thus causing inflammation and really messing with sebum production.

The killer blow is that this can go one of two ways. If your skin is dry in the first place, it’ll probably get even drier. Whereas if you have oily skin, this depletion of natural oils on the surface of your skin will stimulate your sebaceous glands to produce even more oil. Can’t. Win.

We get that reducing stress is easier said than done, but try introducing a little me-time into your daily schedule to address your emotional anxieties and take five. Go for a walk, do some yoga, even just read a book for 15 minutes. It’s amazing how concentrating on you for a moment can help ease your mind.

Oh, and make sure to get plenty of sleep. We can’t stress that enough. No pun intended.

How can you tell if your skin is living its best, healthiest life? Well first up you need to know what healthy skin truly means. Let’s get on that…

While it doesn’t pump blood around your body or enable you to breathe, your skin is just as important as your heart and lungs. It regulates your body’s internal fluids and temperature, protects you from everything the world throws at you and enables you to sense important things like heat and pain. It’s also the biggest organ you have and the only one you can actually see, so it figures that looking after your skin and helping it be as healthy as possible should be a top priority.

We spend our lives talking about healthy skin but it occurred to us recently that perhaps not everyone understands what the term ‘healthy skin’ really means. What words come to your mind when you think about healthy skin? Radiant? Fresh? Soft? Zit-Free? Well, you wouldn’t be wrong because these are all strong indications that your skin is in good shape. In fact, there are three important questions to ask yourself when thinking about the health of your skin. 

Does your skin feel fairly smooth to the touch? Does it have an all-over, even skin tone? And does it feel comfortable and well-moisturized?
 
These are the fundamental basics for healthy skin: smoothness, evenness and a comfy, moisturized surface. Of course, your skin doesn’t have to be perfect to be healthy (whose is?) but if it’s way off on any one of these factors, something is clearly not quite right and it might be time to take a look at some of your skincare and lifestyle habits.

4 Simple Ways To Improve The Health Of Your Skin

1. Cleanse & Moisturize Twice Daily

Keeping your skin clean and moisturized are the absolute basics of great skincare. Cleansing ensures things like sweat, makeup, oil, dirt and bacteria don’t get left around for too long at the surface of your skin where they can block up your pores, causing irritation and acne breakouts. But as awesome as cleansing is, it can compromise the skin’s protective barrier function which plays an important role in keeping irritants out and moisture in. This means that what you do following your cleansing routine is just as important as the cleansing itself. And whatever that may entail, moisturizing should be your number one priority – no matter your skin type.

To nail an effective cleansing and moisturizing routine that balances your skin and avoids harsh ingredients that can upset your barrier function, try our new Soothing Cleansing Milk morning, night and always after exercising. Skin a little on the oily side? Then Tea Tree Super Cleanser + might be better for you because this gets to work on excess oils without stripping the skin.

Cleanse with lukewarm, never hot water, rinse thoroughly and don’t over dry your skin afterwards. Simply pat it with a soft, clean towel then moisturize straight away while your skin is still damp to help lock in extra water. We love Vitamin C Brightening Moisturizer in the daytime and Deep Hydration Night Cream before bed.

2. Don’t Smoke

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, smoking speeds up the aging process like nobody’s business. You see tobacco contains thousands of toxins, chemicals and harmful substances that are not only terrible for your entire body, but truly do affect the health of your skin. Smoking decreases blood flow to the surface which starves it of essential oxygen and nutrients. Furthermore, it increases inflammation, upsets your healing process and completely compromises your skin’s collagen and elastin supplies which inevitably results in premature lines, wrinkles and sagging skin.

Smoking has also been shown to worsen skin conditions like psoriasis. Plus it smells real bad, ruins your fingernails, stains your teeth and, well, there’s just no point.

3. Eat Well, Sleep More, Stress Less

Practising sensible lifestyle habits might not seem important when it comes to the health of your complexion, but far from it. Stress, for starters, can be terrible for your skin because it overloads your body with cortisol which can trigger inflammation, acne, oiliness, dehydration, irritation and all sorts of other skin woes. Poor sleep is another skin no-no because this precious time is when your skin heals and rejuvenates itself ready to face another day. And your diet? Well, sugar, salt, refined carbs, alcohol and processed meats are fine in moderation, but overload your body with too much bad stuff and not enough of the good and you’re asking for skin trouble.

Thankfully the solutions are pretty simple. Eat plenty of antioxidant-rich fresh fruit and veggies, try to get into a rhythm of seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night, and practice some daily de-stressing tricks to help clear and calm your mind. This can be anything from 10-minutes of yoga each morning to reading a book before bed. Just set out some time for yourself each day to do something you enjoy and you’ll be amazed at the difference in your mental wellness. And hopefully, your skin!

4. Shun The Sun (And Yes, That Includes Tanning Beds!)

It’s no secret that UV radiation is the single most damaging thing you can subject your skin to. So don’t. UV rays trigger erratic melanin and cause an overload of free radicals in your skin which completely screw up your collagen and elastin supplies. And all this is a one-way ticket to fine lines, wrinkles, poor texture and an uneven skin tone.

A lifetime of exposing your skin to UV radiation – whether at the beach, in the park or on a tanning bed – also increases your risk of developing skin cancer. In fact, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation having just five sunburns throughout your life doubles your risk of developing melanoma.

In bright sunshine always wear a wide-brimmed hat and a good pair of sunnies to protect your face, neck and eyes, and cover up with protective clothing – especially if you’re planning to be out in the midday sun. Most importantly, get into the habit of using a broad-spectrum sunscreen like our fabulous SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C every morning without fail.

And if you really can’t live without tanned skin? Then fake it with some self-tanning lotion. It’ll save your skin a lot of unhealthy heartache in the long run.

PS: Healthy skin is a real blessing, and good skincare and lifestyle practices aren’t always enough. Ask anyone who suffers with chronic skin conditions like acne, psoriasis, rosacea and eczema and they will firmly attest to this. So, if you’re in a real pickle with your skin right now and are experiencing excessive redness that won’t go away; inflammation; itchy skin; painful pimples and/or dry, flaky patches, these are all signs that something’s not right. Our advice? Visit a skin specialist pronto to find out what’s going on.

Treating your skin with active ingredients and potent formulations is all well and good, but when does vigilant skincare become too much for your skin to cope with? 

There are some incredible ingredients in skincare that have been trusted for decades to bring visible benefits to your precious skin. Retinol, vitamin C and glycolic acid are just three powerhouses that come to mind, all of which work hard to bring awesome, skin-changing results to the table.

But here’s the thing. Yes, these ingredients are fabulous and yes, when used correctly they can truly transform average skin into great skin – with regular use and a little side of patience, of course. However, there’s that certain something called ‘too much of a good thing.’ And when it comes to potent skincare, that 'thing' can turn into some real issues for your skin.

The main problem with overstimulating your skin is that your barrier function becomes compromised. Not sure what that means? Well, your skin’s barrier function is its uppermost layer (aka the stratum corneum) and it’s extremely important as it’s your body’s first line of defense from the outside world, keeping crucial moisture in and nasty irritants out. 

When your barrier function is strong and working efficiently, it keeps your skin healthy, soft and supple. But if it gets screwed up – which can easily happen when you throw too many skincare ingredients at it – it’s unable to do its job properly. And this is where things start to go awry.

Read on for the most common signs you're working your barrier function too hard. And that it's unhappy as a consequence…

Your Skin Is Totally Breaking Out

Acne breakouts occur when overactive sebaceous glands produce an excessive amount of sebum (oil). This sebum then gets stuck in your pores where it mixes with bacteria and dead skin cells and results in a nasty old blockage. If this ‘plug’ of debris becomes inflamed it becomes a full-on zit, if not, it will usually result in a white or blackhead. None of which are welcome, if we’re honest.

Breakouts are generally thanks to your genes which determine your skin type and amount of oil your skin produces. However, certain factors can trigger the frequency, duration or angriness of your flare-ups. And overstimulating your skin is right up there with things like stress and your hormones.

The biggest offenders, in our opinion, are super astringent products that suck your skin dry and do no good whatsoever. Of course, it’s tempting to apply drying ingredients like harsh alcohols, and kick-ass surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate to oily skin because it feels like the right thing to do. Mistake. This move just encourages your sebaceous glands to produce even more oil to try to counteract the dryness you’re enforcing on your poor complexion.

On the flipside, you don’t want to over-moisturize your skin, either. Certain ingredients in moisturizers will block your pores and trigger breakouts with lightning speed. These are called occlusives and include things like heavy oils and butters. So avoid these at all times – and that includes makeup as well as skincare.

Do This: Stick with a light, gentle moisturizing product like Vitamin C Brightening Moisturizer, combined with a balancing cleanser, gentle toner and a soothing facial serum like Tea Tree Super Serum+.

Your Face Looks Red & Feels A Bit Irritated

Other than the obvious conditions like eczema and rosacea – which are jobs for a dermatologist, btw ­– your skincare routine can be a major trigger of redness and inflammation.

And one of the most common offenders? Exfoliation. Exfoliating your skin can feel like pure joy and, when done gently and not too often, it’s a great way to boost cellular turnover, encourage collagen production and make your skin look and feel glowy and healthy. But, and this is a pretty big but, exfoliating your skin too often and with a super heavy hand weakens your barrier function and strips away all of those important ceramides, fatty acids and essential nutrients from the surface of your skin. Frankly, this is the perfect recipe for irritation and facial redness.

If you’re guilty of exfoliating more than once or twice a week and have noticed your skin becoming more sensitized than normal, you need to rein it in posthaste.

Do This: Either reduce your frequency or switch to a milder formulation. Better yet, do both. We love our Ocean Minerals Super Toner which contains gentle chemical exfoliators to break down dead skin cells. Try this two or three times a week and see how you go. You can always move to daily as your skin calms down.

Dryness Has Become A Real Thing

Similar to your likelihood of getting acne, dry skin is something you’re born with. The good news, however, is that dryness can be controlled and balanced with the right skincare routine that concentrates on nurturing your skin and replacing the oils your skin often fails to product of its own accord.

Then there’s the wrong skincare routine – and this can have equally as profound results. Just not the ones you were hoping for.

What do we mean by the ‘wrong’ skincare routine. Well, for dry skin types, you have to avoid anything that’s going to exacerbate your dryness. And the biggest no-no for you? Potent cleansers that are big on sulfates, synthetic fragrances, parabens and harsh alcohol like ethanol and alcohol denat. Ingredients like oatmeal, rice milk, aloe vera and chamomile are way better friends for dry skin as they help nourish and protect your skin’s barrier function. Which, as you’ve probably realized by now, is the most important thing for reducing irritation and minimizing sensitivities.

Also, you really have to be careful with retinol because, while it’s the darling of skincare ingredients, retinol can be tricky to get right. Too much, too often can make dry skin conditions so much worse – especially if you go in like a bull in a china shop, not patch testing first, or applying it too frequently.

Do This: If you’ve recently started a new retinol product, pare it back immediately, reducing how often you apply to once or twice a week until your dryness improves. You should also swap your cleanser for something that'll nourish and protect your barrier function. Our new Soothing Cleansing Milk is literally made for dry, sensitive skin, since you asked. 

Your Skin Feels Tight, Itchy & Uncomfortable

Even oily or combination skin can feel tight and uncomfortable sometimes. And this is generally down to dehydration.

Quick refresher: dry skin is a skin type that's thanks to an absence of oils, whereas dehydration is more of a condition and due to a lack of water in the skin. Alongside cold weather conditions, pollution, stress and medications, one of the main causes of dehydration is over-exfoliation or over-stimulation with active skincare ingredients. How so? Because these break down your skin’s barrier function making it unable to effectively retain water.

Thankfully, dehydration is a temporary issue and one that can most definitely be dealt with. You just need to figure out what you’re doing that’s causing your dehydrated skin and work on that first and foremost. Chronic use of highly potent ingredients like prescription retinoids, for example, can be major offenders, as can overexposure to the sun. Then you need to manipulate your skincare routine to ensure it’s working hard to boost water in the epidermis while simultaneously reducing moisture loss from the surface of your skin.

Do This: Simplify your routine and introduce a daily hydrating serum that helps amp up your skin's moisture content. Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum is a great addition and ideal for sensitized skin. Just remember, you must always apply moisturizer on top to seal in hydration. You could also try our awesome new Multi-Vitamin Facial Serum which combines everything you need for a healthier barrier function – minus the irritation.

Want to help look after the world you live in and do your bit to reduce climate change? Then why not kick things off with a rethink of your beauty and skincare habits?

Climate change is something we must all try harder to overcome. But that doesn’t mean you have to overhaul your entire lifestyle and live a completely sustainable, zero-waste existence. Because, in all honesty, for most us, that’s almost impossible.

Instead, we believe small steps are the best way forward. After all, switching up a few lifestyle and purchasing habits present you with a much smaller mountain to climb. And this is way easier to maintain than trying (and often failing) to go full-on eco-warrior.

Ready to try harder with your skincare routine? Then here are 10 ways to be more beauty conscious.

Because it’s the least you can do, right?

1. Don’t Throw Away Half-Used Products

While it can be tempting to chuck out half-used products in your bathroom cabinet and makeup bag and start all over again, this is extremely counter-productive. There are good products in there so make sure you use up everything you have before investing in replacements. Just the simple act of buying stuff you don’t need is one of the most eco-unfriendly habits you can get into. So there you go.

Fallen out of love with that pink lipstick you bought last year? Then why not ask a friend or family member if they want it? Or maybe post a few unwanted beauty items to your local Buy Nothing Facebook group.

2. Buy Less

While we’re on the subject of purchasing, think about your product line-up and what you actually use on a regular basis. Do you really need seven facial serums, for example? Or different cleansers for day and night? Probably not. Try to hone things down by simplifying your routine and investing in multi-use products. Our Multi-Vitamin Facial Serum, for example, is an awesome treatment that works like an oral multivitamin… but for your skin! Great for protecting, hydrating, strengthening and enhancing it’s a real beauty for offering up everything your skin needs to stay healthy 24/7.

3. Invest In Reusable Cotton Rounds

Sorry, but single-use cotton rounds are the worst. Sure, cotton grows on trees and is a renewable source, but cotton rounds require a huge amount of water, chemicals and deforestation to produce.  Not only that but they cannot be recycled so they end up in landfills where they can take up to 12 months to decompose – even longer if they contain plastic (many do, btw!) which basically never breaks down.

Instead of buying such wasteful products, buy only organic, 100 percent cotton rounds or, better still, switch to more eco-friendly cotton pads that can be washed and reused time and time again. Amazon has plenty to choose from, right here.

4. Reduce Your Water Consumption

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the average American adult uses around 82 gallons of water a day. Sounds like a lot? That’s because it is. 

To reduce your water consumption, never leave the faucet running when you’re brushing your teeth, shaving or washing your face. It may seem easier to just leave it on the whole time but it’s totally unnecessary and wastes around eight gallons a day. Eesh!

Also, minimize your shower time. Showers use around two gallons of water every minute meaning if you were to slim yours down from 10 minutes to eight, you’d save more than 100 gallons of water every month.

5. Use Home-Grown Formulations 

Has it ever crossed your mind how many thousands of miles some of your favorite products have travelled in order to beautify your skin? K-Beauty skincare, for example, is all well and good, but the distance from Korea to the US is just over 6,500 miles. And that equates to a massive amount of fuel and air pollution just to moisturize your face.

The solution? Simple. Stick with home-produced beauty formulations to help reduce your carbon footprint. What was that? Oh yes, all TruSkin products are formulated and bottled in the US. 

6. Switch Out Bottles For Bars

Back in the day, soaps and cleansing bars were the only way to clean your skin. Yes, they were over-fragranced and often very drying but they did have one thing going for them – they weren’t packaged in wasteful plastic.

Understandably, beauty bars fell out of favor sometime in the ‘80s when liquid shower gels and fancy hand washes started to grace our homes. But the good news is, they’re back. And they’re way better than before. Nowadays you can wash both your hair and body with awesome cleansing bars that feel great and are chock full of incredible ingredients that do the job and won’t make your skin and hair feel like they’ve been sucked of all life.

Bars also contain less water (check) are usually packaged in paper or cardboard (check) and last way longer than shampoos and shower gels (check, check, check!).

7. Recycle As Much As You Can

Instead of throwing all of your empties in the trash, check to see if they’re recyclable. Cardboard boxes and glass bottles (literally all of our serums, in a nutshell!) are the most eco-friendly types of packaging and can be recycled just about anywhere. But even plastic bottles and caps are accepted at some local programs so always check before you chuck.

8. Avoid The Ingredient Nasties

If you want to ensure what you put on your face and body doesn’t effect marine life steer clear of parabens and oxybenzone. Parabens help preserve beauty products that contain a significant amount of water (think shampoo and cleanser), but they’ve been detected in surface waters, corals and fish and they have the potential to be extremely harmful to all of the above.

Similarly, oxybenzone, a common UV filter used in sunscreen, is thought to increase coral bleaching and may even cause genetic damage to marine organisms.

When you add all this to the fact that both of these ingredients are common skin irritants, they should really have no place in anyone’s beauty regimen.

Done. Buy TruSkin and you won’t have to worry about either of them coming anywhere near your skin. We use much cleaner preservatives like sodium benzoate and ethylhexylglycerin across all of our products. And for sunscreen? We stick with reef-safe and super skin-friendly zinc oxide in SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen.

9. Stop Buying Single-Use Wipes

Cleansing wipes might be super convenient and just about acceptable when you’re in a pinch and have nothing else at hand. But honestly, they kind of suck at what they do – aka cleaning your skin. Plus, they suck even more for the environment. Not only are they packaged in soft plastic pouches (red flag right there!), but did you know the average cleansing wipe takes a whopping 100 years to decompose? Woah. This is because, according to the FDA, most wipes contain a whole host of ingredients like polyester, polypropylene, preservatives and rayon fibers – most of which aren’t biodegradable.

Just don’t go there. Instead, do better by sticking with proper cleansing products like our Charcoal, Vitamin C or Tea Tree cleansers.

10. Say No To Animal Testing

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), animal products are the key cause of climate change due to the amount of water, land and energy animals require to be farmed, killed, processed and transported. Meanwhile, research shows that around 110 million animals suffer and die each year through experimentation, medical training, chemical, drug, food and cosmetics testing.

If, like us, this appalls you, next time you’re buying skincare, makeup or cosmetics, make sure to go for products that say a big fat no to animal testing. How to do this without having companies pull the wool over your eyes? Look for the Leaping Bunny logo which is the only internationally recognized symbol that guarantees no animal tests were carried out in the development of any product displaying the logo. We’re proud to be Leaping Bunny approved across the board. Oh yes!