Going makeup free: tips to achieving this skincare goal.
When a new guest comes in for a facial I have them fill out an intake form to get to know them and their skin a little bit better. One of my questions on this form is “what is your #1 skin goal?”. A really popular answer is “to be able to feel good going makeup-free.” I love that this has become such a popular skincare goal; a makeup-free moment is just the best.
Of course, we don’t need perfect, super smooth, and totally even skin to feel good about showing off our fresh face but it does feel good to have our skin in tip-top condition! Here are all my best tips as an esthetician for your best most even-looking skin.
Massage your face.
Facial massage using your favorite facial oil, your hands, and/or a tool like a gua sha stone or facial roller promotes circulation, oxygen flow, and removal of toxic fluids. Committing to adding some facial massage to your daily or weekly skin care routine results in less redness, a more even-looking complexion, firmer feeling skin, and a radiant glow. Some people find it fun and relaxing to set aside 20-30 minutes a couple of times a week to perform a longer facial massage for themselves like the de-puffing facial massage in this video. Others find it better and more manageable to fit a 3-5 minute face massage routine into their day 4-6x a week.
These blogs will be helpful for you if you need a little guidance with face massage.
5 anti-aging gua sha moves you can add to your routine.
Find the right cleanser for your skin.
Your cleanser is one of the most important parts of your skincare routine. I have seen so many of my client’s skin improve after switching to a cleanser that better benefits their skin. If a cleanser is too harsh for your skin or contains sensitizing ingredients, your skin’s barrier can react by becoming unbalanced. When this barrier imbalance happens we will often see redness, small red bumps, dryness, or uneven texture. Also, serums and moisturizers don’t work the same on unbalanced skin vs. healthy skin. I personally believe and have experienced that most skin types do really well with a gentle daily cleanser; I recommend the BYBI milk melt cleanser to so many people. Even skin types with active breakouts react really well to a very gentle cleanser. If you have an overly oily skin type then you can benefit from a balancing gel cleanser or facial soap like the PCA facial wash or any of the scrub me facial treatment bars.
scrub me secret: I have SO many more cleanser recommendations in my blog posts “My daily skincare routine”, “8 complexion clearing tips from an esthetician.”, “Skincare words of wisdom.”, & “Tips to optimizing your at-home skincare routine.”
Be gentle with your exfoliants: less is more.
Exfoliating acids and products that speed up cell turnover like retinol, lactic acid, and glycolic acid are helpful for keeping dry skin cells away, smoothing tone/texture, and antiaging. But overuse of these products can cause flaky, red, very dry, and sometimes even broken-out skin. It’s really easy these days to overuse or use too many exfoliating products, mainly because so many skincare items contain some sort of exfoliation ingredient like lactic, glycolic, etc. I also see many of my clients with red, uneven, or sensitized skin because they are following online trends and recommendations that claim certain exfoliating products are the answer to all their skincare needs. We will talk more about this in tip #7.
scrub me secret: something I’ve noticed as an esthetician is that lately there are some products on the market that are marketed or talked about as a “toner” when really they are liquid exfoliating products. I see this happen with the “youth to the people” mandelic acid solution a lot. any liquid skincare product that contains any type of acid other than hyaluronic acid is not a toner it’s a liquid exfoliating solution. These products are very different and have different effects on the skin. Toners can be used daily or multiple times daily while exfoliating fluids should not be used as often. ALso, there is the issue of having an exfoliation fluid and thinking it’s a toner, not knowing it exfoliates your skin. I could do a whole blog on this.
Where I see the best success with exfoliation is to choose only 1 or 2 exfoliation products that you will use on your face 1-3x a week. Some skin types do really well with a well-formulated retinol serum like the one from PCA. Other more sensitive skin types benefit a lot from a physical facial scrub like scrub me antioxidant powder followed by really gentle lactic acid fluid like the one from BYBI. I also really like the Maya Chai refresh mint mask for a once-weekly exfoliation.
Incorporate a hydrating toner into your routine.
This is something easy you can do to upgrade your skincare routine to see clearer skin and a more even tone overall. One more step to going makeup-free! A hydrating toner is great for ALL skin types because it simply resets and hydrates your skin using mainly water. This H2O hydration plumps dry skin, soothes red skin, evens out oily skin, calms acneic skin, and resets sensitive skin. You’ll use a product like this after cleansing (you can use it in conjunction with other toners you may already have in your routine. just layer). You can also use this product throughout the day to refresh your skin, just put it in a cute little mist bottle and throw it in your bag.
In my blog post “Incorporating hydrating toners and hydrosols into your skincare routine.” I list some of my favorite hydrating toners.
Use daily SPF.
No matter what your lift style is and where you live using a daily SPF is something that is going to help keep your skin even and clear. UV damage from the actual sun causes pigmented spots and uneven skin tone, these damaging rays are coming through even when its cloudy. There are also damaging light rays that cause pigmentation (dark spots) and aging that come from our computers and fluorescent lighting. I talk about this more in my blog post “screen time and skin damage” Apply a non-pore clogging facial lotion with SPF 30+ on a daily basis will help you achieve the goal of feeling clear and even enough to go makeup-free.
SPF brands I like for facial sun protection are PCA and EltaMd.
scrub me secret: I love a tinted moisturizer with SPF. I like to have something really sheer on my skin so my natural skin/glow can show through but also something that gives me my daily sun protection plus a little dewy, smooth complexion. My go-to is to mix ILIA skin tint with some PCA weightless tinted SPF, I don’t know why I just love the combo.
Don’t pick at your face.
Picking at ingrown hairs, cystic pimples, blackheads, and whiteheads is something that most definitely affects how clear your skin looks. Pushing or picking at something on your face can make it more visible by creating swelling, raw skin, and sometimes even broken blood vessels. I know it’s hard to see or feel a blemish or an ingrown hair on your face but if you pick them you create a small wound that then needs to heal. This little wound usually ends up being a scab or a small red spot that lingers for longer than your breakout would.
Here is what you can do instead of picking:
✨Spot treat the spot with hydrocortisone if it’s really red and inflamed (think like a big pimple)
✨Spot treat with benzoyl peroxide spot treatment to kill bacteria
✨Spot treat with a sulfur-based spot treatment or clay if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
✨Spot treat every day and/or night until the blemish is gone
✨Let your esthetician take care of all your extractions.
Don’t follow ALL the trends.
Just because something works for someone else’s skin does not mean it will work the same for your skin. Now, this isn’t to say that you should never try a new TikTok trend or product suggestion from an online beauty guru but you definitely need to be mindful of what your personal skin needs and likes. I suggest trying to find online beauty and skincare accounts with influencers that have similar skin to yours. I also am more willing to trust someone if they actually use the product or beauty ritual often vs. just advertising it. Always check in with your esthetician or a trusted skincare professional before adding something new to your routine. Also, remember that it takes about 4-6 weeks to see progress from a new product so it’s best not to jump around from product to product. This constant switching up of products is not the recipe for clear skin.
scrub me secret:
A trend I LOVE: Gua sha! (did you all know I was going to say gua sha? 🤣) . Massaging your face with this kidney-shaped stone can be really beneficial for all types of skin. I also really like this trend because there is little room for damaging your skin or making things worse. If you use the search bar at the top of this blog and type in “gua” you’ll find all my gua sha posts and tutorials.
A trend I really DISLIKE: Everyone suggesting that everyone needs retinol for their skin. Retinol can be really helpful for some people, but it’s not a magic serum and no not everyone needs retinol. Retinol works aggressively to turn over cells which results in some collagen and elastin renewal, removal of dry skin cells, and lessening of cystic acne. Sounds great right? It is for those who can tolerate the skin sensitizing nature of retinol and in my experience, the majority of us are a bit sensitive to this product. This sensitivity can come from the combo of retinol and other items that are already in our routine or because your skin is too sensitive to handle retinol correctly. The reason I don’t love this trend is that so many online skincare accounts claim that retinol is this magic fix to all your skincare needs. If your skin doesn’t like the retinol it can actually make your skin problems a bit worse. Do your research before deciding on your skincare items.
You can read my blog post “Retinol alternatives” for more info.
Get facials regularly.
Getting a facial every 4-6 weeks is one of the best ways to have clear, glowing, radiant skin that you feel good about showing off with no makeup. A monthly or bi-monthly facial visit will ensure your pores stay clean and tight without you having to do any possibly damaging at-home blackhead or whitehead extractions. A facial also gives your skin a deeper level of softening and exfoliation so all the treatment masks and serums in the facial treatment room will work their best AND all the skincare items you use at home will work their best as well. As an esthetician, I also think my clients who come once a month have the best results because I am able to keep an eye on their faces and tweak their at-home skincare routine or customize their facial treatment based on what their skin needs at the current moment. Sometimes life and lifestyle changes like a move, new hobbies, stress, health issues, etc can change our skin and it’s nice to be able to have professional guidance. So get on a monthly facial routine with your favorite esthetician! It’s SO worth it.
If you’re in the Chicago area visit me for a facial consultation or a custom facial; I would love to have you in!