True Radical Honesty From Our Community

Prepping your skin for an awesome night’s sleep is super important – and good news, you don’t need to sweat over it…

Quality skin isn’t solely about what you do in the morning and consequently what you see throughout the day. Of course, an effective morning routine that includes gentle cleansing, moisturizing, treating and protecting your skin is essential and, without it, your complexion would be a far cry from what it is today.

However, what your skin gets up to overnight, and what you do to help or hinder this, is just as important. Maybe even more so. 

While you sleep, your skin kickstarts a whole plethora of damage limitation processes. Not only does blood flow increase to nourish and revitalize the skin, but collagen and elastin production accelerates to boost cell renewal and help keep your skin strong, supple and firm. Your body’s natural antioxidant system also revs up to counteract damage from the slings and arrows of everyday life. Think pollution, UV radiation, sweating, irritants – all of which hit your skin hard while you’re awake. This means your poor, delicate skin needs a serious amount of recovery time if it’s going to look, feel and perform at the top of its game.

Enter the power of a good night’s sleep.

Research shows that people who get regular, quality sleep (around eight hours is the sweet spot) have much better skin than those who sleep less, like five hours. This is because short-sleepers miss out on precious time to allow their skin’s overnight restoration activities to do their magic.

Don’t be like those people. Get. Your. Sleep.

In order to get the most out of your invaluable hours of sleep, it’s vital to start your skin off right. And how do you go about that? Well, you must cleanse away the sins of the day for starters, then it's important to amp up hydration; boost those antioxidants, and protect and nourish your barrier function. Sounds complicated? Ha, that’s where you’re wrong. In fact, the simplest night time skincare routine is often the most effective. Read on for five easy steps for nailing your skin's best beauty sleep ever…

1. The Non-Negotiable Cleanse

Newsflash: cleansing before bed is way more important than a morning cleanse. Think about it, by the end of the day you’ve been awake for a good 16 hours and in this time your skin has been subjected to all manner of aggressors including dirt, pollution, sweat and makeup. Do you really want to leave all that grime on your skin overnight? No way! Not only does this stop your skin from functioning properly, but it’ll also reduce the efficacy of any other skincare product you might apply afterwards.

Whatever your skin type and product preference, the golden rule is to cleanse your skin thoroughly but gently, using a mild formulation and avoiding harsh cleansing agents like sodium lauryl sulfate. Use warm, not hot water to help protect your barrier function; massage your cleanser all over your face and neck for at least a minute, and remember to rinse thoroughly then gently pat dry with a clean towel. Our current go-to is our new Tea Tree Super Cleanser+ but we have three incredible cleansers to choose from right here.

2. The Speedy Spritz That Speaks Volumes

Toner doesn’t have it easy. Some people hate it, others just can’t be bothered. But the thing is, toner is an extremely simple step that can really turn up your bedtime skincare routine an extra notch. Take our Ocean Minerals Super Toner, for example. Not only does it require zero effort (remove lid, spritz on skin, done) but it’s packed with minerals, vitamins, peptides and nourishing ingredients that finish off your cleanse to the nth degree and prepare your skin for the next steps in your routine. Fancy boosting cell turnover, hydration and strengthening your skin in, literally, seconds? It’s a no brainer, right?

3. The Restoration Project

Remember that whole rejuvenation process we spoke of earlier? Well, if you want to give your skin a little nudge in the right direction, you have to get on board with a treatment serum. The exact formulation you choose will obviously depend on your skin type and needs (vitamin C for brightening, hyaluronic acid for hydration etc.) but if you want to stick with the number one ingredient for overnight skin restoration, look no further than retinol.

Retinol’s secret is its ability to ‘communicate’ with your skin at a cellular level, accelerating the production of collagen and elastin, improving cell turnover and being an overall demon at strengthening your skin while increasing elasticity and refining everything from lines and wrinkles to dark spots and acne breakouts.

Retinol is often advised for night time use only as it's pretty potent stuff. It also reacts to sunlight, becoming less effective unless you protect your skin extremely well. So bed time is the best time, people!

Try our Retinol Facial Serum for a fabulous overnight skin revamp, but remember to go slow, applying it just two or three times a week to begin with.

4. The Treatment For Your Eyes

If you’ve ever had a rough night’s sleep you’ll know that the skin around your eyes is the first area to give the game away. How so? Because it’s thinner, more delicate and contains fewer sebaceous glands than the rest of your face so it becomes dry and shows up fine lines and wrinkles lightning fast.

A lack of sleep also causes the blood vessels under the skin to dilate which increases blood retention and creates dark circles. And we're not done yet. An abundance of cortisol in your system (the stress hormone that goes awry if you don’t get enough sleep) also changes the balance of salts in your body which makes it retain water and can result in swelling under your eyes. Hello puffy eye bags!

The moral of this story? Get your zzzs and help the skin around your eyes look after itself by applying a targeted treatment before bed. We love Hyaluronic Acid Eye Cream which blends HA with vitamin C to hydrate and brighten dark circles, plus vitamin B5 to strengthen and moisturize.

5. The Moisture Lock-In

Sure, your regular moisturizer will do a decent job of locking in hydration and keeping your barrier function ticking along nicely as you sleep. But is ‘decent’ good enough? We don’t think so. Instead, do the best for your skin by applying a targeted night cream that boasts all the ingredients your skin could possibly need to replenish moisture and support its overnight renewal system.

Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream is an awesome way to end your night time routine and will have your skin looking incredible the next morning. Chock full of supportive ingredients like vitamin C, vitamin B5, MSM and aloe it’s the ideal formulation for the night shift. Plus it seals moisture into your skin to help replace that which is lost as you sleep (which is way more than in the daytime, btw!). Oh, and it feels amazing to apply. Yeah yeah, we know that’s not the most important thing in a skincare product, but it’s important to us.

And we know it’s just as important to you!

Always figured that dry skin and dehydrated skin were one and the same? Easy mistake. But one that can totally ruin your skin’s mojo…

Skin types, nuances, niggles and concerns are easy to get in a jumble. Because we’re all human, after all. But the problem is if you don’t understand the skin type or condition you’re dealing with, how are you supposed to, well, deal with it?

Dry and dehydrated skin are classic cases in point. If you look at the words ‘dry’ and ‘dehydrated’ it’s easy to see why they appear to be the same things. But on the contrary: dry and dehydrated skin are their own individual beasts and they sometimes need to be dealt with quite differently.

Here’s what we know…

What Is Dry Skin?

Just like oily, normal or combination skin, dry skin is the type you were born with. Sure, it can change slightly over the years as your skin ages and matures, but your skin type is your skin type. End of story.

Skin types are all based on one thing: sebum. Sebum is a complex mix of oils and lipids that’s produced by your skin’s sebaceous glands. Still with us? Good because sebum is super important for the health of your skin. It not only locks in moisture to keep your complexion soft and supple, but it also helps protects your skin from external aggressors like pollution, UV radiation and toxins. As we said, super important.

Everybody’s skin is different and produces sebum at its own individual rate. And this is all determined by your genes. If your skin is fairly balanced then you have that elusive normal skin. Jealous, much? If your sebaceous glands are crazy-active and produce more sebum than your skin needs, you have oily skin. Maybe yours produces more in certain areas (the infamous t-zone) than others? Then it’s known as combination skin.

And, then there’s dry skin which is lacking in sebum thanks to having fewer sebaceous glands and therefore less available sebum to nourish, moisturize and protect your skin.

How To Tell If You Have Dry Skin

Dry skin can occur anywhere on your face and body, and it often feels tight, itchy and uncomfortable. It may also be prone to flaking or cracking and feels kind of rough when you run your fingers over the surface. More fun news: dry skin often gets worse thanks to things like extreme weather conditions, emotional stress, certains meds, poor skincare choices and, surprise, surprise, the aging process.

3 Tips For Dry Skin

You can’t change the skin you were born with, but you can offer dry skin help when help is definitely needed. Here’s how…

1. Make Moisturizer The Biggest Deal Ever

Moisturizers that are rich in occlusive ingredients are the best bet for dry skin. Occlusives and emollients help seal cracks on the skin's surface, and they add a protective layer over your barrier function, making up for the lack of sebum your skin naturally produces.

Look out for rich creams that contain ingredients like cocoa butter, shea butter, jojoba oil and coconut oil. And moisturize after EVERY cleanse. No arguments. A great choice for you? Our Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream which is packed with botanical oils and cocoa butter.

2. Avoid Alcohol

In your skincare that is, not in your glass.

Cetyl and stearyl alcohols are totally fine, but certain alcohols like isopropyl alcohol and alcohol denat are extremely drying on your skin, stripping away sebum (which you don’t have enough of in the first place!) and seriously upsetting your barrier function. Cleansers, in particular often contain nasty alcohols but avoid them at all costs. Choose our NEW Soothing Cleansing Milk instead. No regrets.

3. Be Gentle With Actives

Vitamin C, retinol, glycolic acid and salicylic acid are all great but if you have seriously dry skin, you need to be careful not to overload your skin with powerful ingredients that have the potential to strip away what oils your skin does – or in your case, does not – have.

Niacinamide is a great alternative antioxidant for dry, sensitive skin. You could also try our Vitamin C Facial Serum (after patch testing first, of course). This awesome serum contains sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP), a much gentler form of vitamin C.

What Is Dehydrated Skin?

In the opposite corner, we have dehydrated skin which first up, is NOT a skin type, but a condition – normally a temporary one. Small mercies, right?

Dehydrated skin has nothing to do with your skin’s level of sebum, but is all about its water content. Healthy skin should contain around 64 percent water to maintain optimum elasticity, strength, volume and moisturization. And your skin has a very smart protective layer called its barrier function, which helps keep all this moisture in. When your barrier function becomes compromised, however, thanks to harsh cleansing, over-exfoliation, poor sleep, a cruddy diet or a lack of moisturization, moisture starts to escape more than it should. And therein lies the perfect recipe for dehydrated skin.

How To Tell If You Have Dehydrated Skin

No matter if your skin is oily, combination, dry or normal, it can still be dehydrated. Dehydration may feel tight like dry skin, but if it feels both oily and dry at the same time, chances are it’s actually dehydrated, rather than dry.

Dehydration will make your skin look duller than normal and any fine lines or wrinkles will appear more prominent thanks to the lack of water keeping your skin full and healthy-looking. You may also notice dark circles around your eyes or more frequent breakouts. Joy.

3 Tips For Dehydrated Skin

Dehydrated skin still requires gentle moisturization to help seal in water but there are a few extra things to also bear in mind…

1. Go Big On Humectants

Humectants are to dehydrated skin what jelly is to PB – priceless. Humectants are skincare ingredients that work like water magnets, luring it to your skin’s surface to seriously increase your skin’s moisture content.

Hyaluronic acid is the obvious show-stopper, but glycerin and aloe vera are also seriously good. Try our Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum before moisturizing day and night and take it one step further with Hyaluronic Acid Eye Cream to help deal with dehydration around the eye area at the same time.

2. Exfoliate, But Be Kind

Dehydration and dull skin often go hand-in-hand so make sure your skin is turning over efficiently – because it’s super important. Gently exfoliate with a facial scrub once or twice a week, or try Ocean Minerals Super Toner daily. This toning treatment contains glycolic acid, an effective alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) that dissolves the ‘glue’ which binds dead skin cells together at the skin’s surface. By doing so, this helps your skin renew and revitalize itself quicker and, well, much better.

3. Avoid Hot Showers

Long, scorching showers are very dehydrating for your poor skin. Hot water breaks down your barrier function, stripping away essential moisture AND sebum which can encourage dryness as well as dehydration. Very uncool. Ha, literally.

Stick to lukewarm showers and always moisturize after getting your skin wet – preferably while your skin is still damp to seal in as much moisture as possible.

It’s true, those little added extras can make the world of difference to the look, feel and health of your skin.

What’s your secret to skin success? Are you a basic cleanse, moisturize, sunscreen and done kind of person? Or do you prefer to lavish your skin with as much time, care and attention as possible?

We know that most people sit in the former camp, preferring to keep their skincare routine simple and effective without the hassle of hour-long stints in the bathroom.

And that’s OK. Simple skincare is often the best type of skincare – especially if you have sensitive skin that totally freaks out if it’s overloaded with too many lotions and potions. However, while sticking with the essentials is all well and good, you could be missing out on some incredible formulations that offer amazing results for the state of your skin. Both in the short- and long-term.

Three such products that often get looked over – and even bad-mouthed by certain skincare sceptics – are toner, serum and the most controversial of all, eye cream. And sure, your skin can survive without them. But is ‘basic survival’ what you really want for your skin?

We don’t know about you, but we prefer to do the best we can for our skin. Of course, overloading it with too many active ingredients or piling on serum after serum is never going to give you skin to die for, but adding in a few choice extras that are curated to help your skin be its best self? Very smart indeed.

Here’s why toner, serum and eye cream might be the exact products your skin has been looking for…

1. Toner

Toner used to be up there with cleanser and moisturizer as one of your three basic skincare steps. Until it wasn’t. Thanks to skin-stripping, alcohol-laced formulations (hello 1980s!) that sucked all the life out of your complexion and left oily skin even oilier and dry skin gasping for breath, toning lotions quickly fell out of favor.

Now, we don’t know about you, but we think that’s a real disservice, because the right toner can actually be an essential step in certain skincare routines.

What Toners Do

The basic role of a toner is to help remove any lingering traces of makeup and other debris left behind after cleansing. And to prepare your skin for the next stage in your skincare routine. But that’s not all, often packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and other skin-loving ingredients, toners are also able to help balance, brighten, firm and clarify your skin. Some toning treatments may even contain alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) like glycolic acid and lactic acid which help to gently exfoliate your skin and improve texture and tone without too much irritation. Big win.

Does Your Skin Need Toner?

Oily, combination or acne-prone skin types will definitely benefit from the right kind of toner as certain ingredients like witch hazel and salicylic acid can work wonders for minimizing enlarged pores and reducing oil production. Similarly, other toners that are formulated specifically for dry or sensitive skin may contain soothing or calming ingredients like rose water or aloe vera – both of which are awesome for helping to reduce redness, irritation and flaking skin.

The key – no matter your skin type – is to avoid strong, synthetic fragrances and harsh, drying alcohols like isopropyl alcohol or alcohol denat. Instead, look for hydrating ingredients like glycerin and hyaluronic acid which are always a great shout for adding much-needed moisture to all skin types.

Try: We have two toners that are great for almost all skin types. Ocean Minerals Super Toner is the brightening, clarifying must-try, while Rose Water Refreshing Facial Toner contains just one special ingredient (pure Moroccan rose water) and is the queen of calming and soothing.  

2. Facial Serum

You might have noticed we’re big fans of facial serums here at TruSkin. And we will never apologize for that. Why do we love them so much? Because serums are absolutely integral for targeting the things you don’t love about your skin. Be it discoloration, dullness, pesky pores or sagging skin, there’s a serum out there that might just change your life…

What Serums Do

Serums are light, fast-absorbing, gel- or liquid-based products, applied after cleansing and toning, and before moisturizing. Unlike regular moisturizers that create a thin, protective layer over the surface of your skin to help lock in hydration, serums are made of much smaller molecules which means they absorb deeper into your skin to more effectively target your specific concerns.

Due to their molecular structure, serums don’t often seal water into your skin (which is why you should always apply moisturizer on top), but instead they use potent, active ingredients to get other important jobs done. Retinol is a big favorite in the serum world, as are tea tree oil, exfoliating acids, hyaluronic acid, MSM and peptides.

Does Your Skin Need A Facial Serum?

Yes! Serums contain the highest concentrations of active ingredients so if you’re looking to address concerns like poor texture, breakouts, dullness, hyperpigmentation, wrinkles or dehydration, you must include a serum in your skincare life. No arguments.

The one thing to remember, however, is that serums can be potent business, so you should always patch test any new product before use. Our regular serums are all recommended for daily use while our super serum are recommended to use 2-3x per week. However, it’s also wise to think about introducing one just a few times a week to begin with. Then you can move onto daily use as your skin acclimates to all that good stuff.

Try: Whether you’re looking to say goodbye to dull skin with our award-winning Vitamin C Facial Serum or to big up hydration with our Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum, our line-up of seven effective facial serums has something for everyone. If you looking for a multi-tasking wonder-kid, however, one that checks all the boxes, try our new Multi-Vitamin Facial Serum +.

3. Eye Cream

The question of ‘do you really need an eye cream?’ is one we get asked a lot. And the answer is… well, it depends. Does the skin around your eyes give you grief? Do you have excessive dryness, puffiness and/or dark circles in this particular area? Then yes, you probably could benefit from a specific treatment for your eyes. But if it’s seems OK, truckin’ along, minding its own business, then maybe a good, lightweight moisturizer is enough.

What Eye Creams Do

Eye creams are similar to face moisturizers in texture and functionality, but they have some fundamental differences. You see, the skin around your eyes is slightly different to the rest of your face. It’s thinner, more delicate and contains fewer sebaceous glands making it more prone to dryness and the visible signs of aging.

Because of these key differences, eye creams are usually lighter and gentler than face creams in order to avoid overloading the skin. They also contain specific ingredients to target those undereye concerns that don’t affect the rest of your face. Bags and dark circles being the main culprits, of course.

Does Your Skin Need Eye Cream?

Concerned with lines, wrinkles, dark circles, puffiness or crepiness around your eyes? Then an eye cream is exactly what your skin needs. Ingredients to look out for include hyaluronic acid for hydration; peptides to target lines and wrinkles; caffeine for de-puffing; cucumber for cooling and brightening, and licorice extract which is great for helping to relieve redness and dark circles.

Just remember, when it comes to any topical eye treatment, less is always more. A tiny amount (the size of a small pearl) should be more than enough for both eyes. And always use a gentle touch to dab the product around the eye area before moisturizing.

Try: Peptide Eye Gel and Hyaluronic Acid Eye Cream are both fabulous choices for the skin around your eyes. We love Peptide Eye Gel for dealing with the signs of aging then go to HA Eye Cream when we’re in need of some extra hydration. But the choice, of course, is always yours!

The connection between your periods and your skin is very real. Here’s what you need to know…

Breakouts, dryness, dull skin and sensitivities are just some of the skin woes that can hit you hard during your menstrual cycle. Heck, you might even experience them all at some point during the month. Sigh.

So, what’s the deal with all these skin irregularities and what can you do to get ahead of the game? We take a look at exactly what happens to your skin before, during and after your period. And, if you’re interested, we’re also handing out advice for what to do to beat those ‘big three’ hormones – estrogen, progesterone and testosterone – at their own game. After all, the one thing we can say about your menstrual cycle is that it’s predictable (most of the time, anyway)…

Phase 1: Menstruation

What’s Going On: During your period, your reproductive hormones are at an all-time low as your cycle resets itself for another round. A lack of estrogen, in particular, has a powerful effect on what happens to your skin during this time, reducing collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid production and leading to dry and dull-looking skin. Sebum production also decreases which does nothing but exacerbate dryness. Furthermore, tired, period skin has a tendency to highlight things like fine lines and wrinkles because it lacks hydration, volume and support from those important proteins and moisture-binding components.

Your Action Plan: Thanks to your skin’s reduction of natural hyaluronic acid, moisturization and hydration are particularly important during this time of the month. If your skin is really feeling it, try stepping it up to a richer moisturizer than norm – one that’s high in ceramides and occlusive ingredients like botanical oils and/or shea butter. Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream is a particular favorite of ours and thanks to its added boost of vitamin C it'll help inject a little glow back into your skin – not literally of course, no needles are required here!

It's also worth applying a hydrating serum underneath your moisturizer to build up your skin’s supply of moisture. We love Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum which blends nature’s super-hydrator, hyaluronic acid, with healing aloe, soothing vitamin E and brightening vitamin C. Literally everything your skin needs right now.

Phase 2: The Week After Your Period

What’s Going On: Enjoy this time, friends, because these are the glory days when estrogen levels start to increase at the end of your period and before you ovulate. The positive effects of estrogen on the skin have been widely studied and research shows that it bears a huge relevance to the thickness, strength and suppleness of your skin. In a good way, that is! Basically, estrogen kicks collagen production back into gear and rejuvenates the skin’s barrier function meaning better moisture retention (read glowy skin), accelerated healing (bye bye stubborn pimples) and healthier, clearer pores (ditto!).

Your Action Plan: Your skin is likely to be behaving itself pretty well right now so let it shine by going makeup free. It’s also strong and at its most hardy which means it’s going to be less prone to sensitivities and irritation. This makes it a great time to introduce a new product into your regimen or to try amping up your retinol usage.

Another way to maximize your gorgeous glow? Up your exfoliation to two or three times a week to further stimulate collagen production and cellular turnover. Try Ocean Minerals Super Toner after cleansing and before applying serum. This active toning spray contains glycolic acid to gently break down the bonds between dead skin cells so they shed naturally. No scrubbing required.

Phase 3: The In-Between Stage

What’s Going On: After a few more 'awesome skin days' during ovulation you go into the second half of your cycle when estrogen starts to dwindle and progesterone rises. Progesterone causes your metabolism to drop which can make you feel super sluggish and prone to eat more crappy food! Also, a decrease in estrogen tips the balance in favor of testosterone – which stays pretty constant throughout your cycle. This imbalance nudges your sebaceous glands to produce more sebum so watch out for oilier-than-normal skin during this time.

Your Action Plan: This mid-point in your cycle is a great time to prepare your skin for what’s coming next (in other words, more oil!) by deep cleaning your pores, balancing sebum and detoxifying your skin. Try a weekly face mask to draw out impurities and make sure you cleanse thoroughly, twice daily and always after exercising. Try Charcoal Clarifying Cleanser which makes for the perfect skin detox without drying out your skin.

Phase 4: The Days Before Your Next Period

What’s Going On: This is when things start to get serious as you enter major PMS territory. Estrogen and progesterone levels significantly dip during the last few days of your cycle throwing your hormones totally out of whack and allowing testosterone to completely take over. This hormonal imbalance not only triggers a whole load of unwanted sebum on the surface of your skin but it also increases inflammation, makes your moods go all over the place and increases stress. Too much oil can get blocked in your pores which, when coupled with inflammation, makes this time of the month a prime time for hormonal acne.

Your Action Plan: First up, try not to allow this short – although it feels like forever – period get to you. Acne is the most common skin condition in the US with an estimated 50 million people being affected at any given time. So don’t get stressed, get even by taking care to prevent breakouts before they strike. Avoid rich, oily skincare and makeup formulations, and stick to balancing, non-comedogenic products that help keep your pores clear. But this doesn’t mean throwing everything you can at your skin. Harsh ingredients or a barrage of products will just irritate and flare-up your skin even more. Remember, gentle is always best.

It’s also wise to make sure your routine includes plenty of soothing, anti-inflammatory ingredients like aloe, tea tree oil, green tea, MSM and witch hazel. Our tea tree range is ideal for this time of the month.

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.

Try: Soothing Cleansing Milk

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.

Try: Tea Tree Super Cleanser+

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.

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

There are tons of ways to make your moisturizing routine work harder for your skin. And if it’s doing a better job, your skin will look way healthier because of it. 

When it comes to your daily skincare routine, applying cleanser, toner and moisturizer is kind of second nature. But if you’ve become somewhat slap dash with the way in which you use your favorite products – ‘squeeze bottle, shove on skin, done’ –  you’re doing your skin a serious disservice.

Moisturizer, in particular, deserves a little (don’t worry, it’s just a little) care and attention. From the product you use to how and when you apply it, a few tweaks here and there can make the world of difference.

Read on for seven ways to make your moisturizer go that extra mile. With very little effort on your behalf!

Invest In The Right Formulation For Your Skin

Understanding your skin type and knowing how to enhance, balance and complement it is super important when choosing moisturizer. So, first make sure you know your skin type as well as what your skin’s doing right now. Then you can invest accordingly with lighter formulations if your skin is oily, for example, or something richer if it’s feeling dry and parched.

The golden rule for superior moisturizing is to ensure your formulation includes a blend of multi-functioning ingredients that not only draw water into your skin (humectants like hyaluronic acid, glycerin and aloe) but also seal all that moisture in. These include emollients like jojoba oil or shea butter which are lighter and ideal for combination or oily skin; or occlusives which are richer, heavier and include the likes of cocoa butter, olive oil and petroleum jelly.

Apply Moisturizer To Damp Skin

Being a speed demon with your moisturizer? Priceless. Don’t get us wrong, however, by this we don’t mean slapping it on in sixty seconds flat. Instead, this is all about applying it quick smart after the previous step in your routine.

Your skin basically needs water to remain soft, radiant and healthy, so one of the most important things you can do is to use whatever moisture you can get. This means that if you’re a simple cleanser and moisturizer person, you should always apply your moisturizer after cleansing while your skin is still damp. And if you like to tone? Ditto, get your moisturizer on your skin pronto while your toner is still damp on the surface of your skin.

Moisturize AFTER Applying Serum

Serum is an important step for anyone hoping to target skin concerns like dehydration, aging, dark spots or dull skin, but it MUST be applied before your moisturizer, never afterwards.

If you’re into your serums then a) good on you, we love you for that, and b) ensure you apply yours to damp skin after cleansing and toning, but before moisturizing. Serums have a smaller molecular size than moisturizer which means they sink in super fast and don’t require you to wait before applying moisturizer. However, this does mean they have to be applied before moisturizer, otherwise they simply won’t work.

Use The Correct Amount Of Moisturizer

Often wondered how much moisturizer to use? Well, it’s actually quite simple – read the instructions on the packaging! Sure, it’s easy to fall into the trap of applying tons of moisturizer to dry skin, or applying the smallest amount to oily skin, but this shouldn’t be necessary if you’re buying the right product for your skin type.

Most moisturizers will tell you how much is a good amount to use and it’s usually around the size of a dime. Of course, some people have smaller or larger faces than others, so obviously a little leeway is fine, but roughly stick to the directed amount and you won’t waste unnecessary product where it’s not needed.

Massage As You Moisturize

OK, so you don’t need to be the best masseuse in the world in order to reap rewards from your moisturizing routine. But a little hands-on action is an incredible way to improve blood flow to the skin which brings oxygen and nutrients to the surface while helping to flush away nasty toxins.

And all it takes is an extra minute or so. You can manage that, right?

Simply use the pads of your fingers and palms of your hands to work the moisturizer into your skin using circular, upwards movements. Avoid tugging and pulling at your skin (that is a definite no-go area), however. The key is to be fairly firm, but gentle at the same time. We know that sounds bit like a contradiction in terms but hopefully you get where we’re coming from?

Moisturize Morning & Night No Matter What

Moisturizing needs to be done twice daily, after every time you cleanse your skin. This is important because it helps replace natural oils and water that get lost during the cleansing process, ensuring your skin remains healthy and constantly moisturized day and night.

Fun fact: moisturizing before bed is arguably more important than applying it in the morning. How so? Because skin typically produces less sebum at night.

Finally, Don’t Ignore Your Neck

A common moisturizing habit is to treat your face like royalty but completely forget about your poor neck. Big mistake. The skin on your neck actually contains fewer sebaceous glands than your face which means it produces way less sebum to keep it naturally moisturized. When you combine this with the face that your neck is exposed to things like sun damage and pollution just as much as your face, it’s no wonder it becomes dry, dehydrated and ages up lightning fast.

The moral of the story? Treat the skin on your neck with the same amount of TLC as your face. This means cleansing and moisturizing twice a day and, of course, applying SPF every morning.

And that's the least you can do.