Skinimalism: Simplify Your Skincare for Better Results
The goal is caring for your skin without over-treating it
I don’t always connect with new trends to trendy new words, but when I heard the word “Skinimalism”, I thought, Has this been the word I’ve been missing all my life?
Skinimalism: A Simpler Path to Radiant, Healthy Skin
What Is Skinimalism?
Skinimalism is minimalism + skincare. This means minimizing the amount of products you use in your skincare routine, as well as aiming to use items that contain fewer known harmful chemicals and additives. Skinimalism is about focusing on the quality of your products and the effectiveness of your skincare routine vs. the quantity of items and treatments.
Scrub me secret: Scrub me literally is skinimalism. I aim to use minimal, quality, and effective ingredients in my skincare items and seek products that follow the same philosophy. In the treatment room, I choose the right services for my clients that I know will benefit them without stressing their skin out. I guide my skincare clients to have a skincare routine built from items that target their skincare concerns and deter them from using too much. If I could have trademarked “skinimalism” 10 years ago, I would have!
How I Practice Skinimalism in My Daily Routine
Being an esthetician, it can be easy to get carried away with products in my skincare routine. I want to test things for my clients, and I’m learning and hearing about new products and product lines almost daily. But what helps me keep my skincare routine and ingredients I put on my skin as minimal as I can is the fact that I am very intentional about the skincare I choose. Before purchasing a skincare product, I ask myself Is there a place in my current routine for this? And are these ingredients beneficial for my skin?
This is my checklist I go through when checking out a new skincare item ⤵️
✔️ Do the ingredients look safe for my skin and body
✔️Does this product have functions that help me achieve my skincare goals?
✔️Is this product superior to others in its same category?
✔️Is there a place for this in my skincare routine right now? (If the answer is no and I really love the ingredients of the product, I put it on a list and save it for later when I have room for it, like when I need to replace a moisturizer or mask, etc.)
✔️Does this product look like it will make me and my skin happy?
scrub me secret: I’m a big fan of multipurpose stuff! Especially while traveling. Hydrating toner that’s also an anti-redness item? Yes please. Creamy peptide serum that I can also use under my eyes? I’m all about it. Facial oil with antioxidants that can double as a pre-cleanse as well as an evening moisturizer. YES. And multipurpose balm is my all-time favorite.
How to Simplify Your Skincare Routine (Without Losing Effectiveness)
scrub me secret: the very first step is to look at your skincare product’s ingredients and toss anything that has known harmful chemicals. Our skin is our largest organ, and what we put on it will make its way into our internal body. The more conscious we can be of decreasing our toxic load, the better for our long-term health. This blog post has helpful info on how to decode your product ingredient label. EWG.org is also a great site.
These are our ideal goals for a skincare routine ⤵️
Morning (AM) - Refresh, balance, and protect
Refresh your skin by cleansing only if needed, like if you had an AM workout or if you sweat a lot in your sleep. You should have a refreshing toner in your skincare routine. Most people do great with a hydrating or rose water-based toner. For those with a very high oil production, a slightly more astringent toner will work. Products with AHAs above 5% and high percentages of BHA (1.5-2%) do not count as toners to me, they should be classified as liquid exfoliants. That being said, don’t choose a product like that for the toning and refreshing step. Using the right kind of toner will refresh and balance your skin. Lastly, and most importantly, we need to protect our skin during the day. Vitamin C plays a huge role in protecting our skin from damaging and skin-aging free radicals that come from the sun and pollution. To me, a well-formulated vitamin C serum is a must-have. Then SPF is always last, I like one that also doubles as a facial moisturizer.
There you have it! A skincare skinimalism routine that is 4 steps tops. You can add an eye cream, additional hydrating or peptide serum, or tinted SPF over your other SPF if you wish.
Nighttime (PM) - Cleanse, treat, hydrate/heal
Every nighttime skincare routine starts with a cleanser. If you want the absolute best cleanse, do a double cleanse. Double cleansing is where you use a facial oil or cleansing balm to break down and remove SPF, pollution debris, makeup, mascara, etc. Remove the balm or oil with a cotton pad, tissue, or clean cloth. THEN, use your facial cleanser to clean your pores. After cleansing, treat your skin with products that contain ingredients that will help you reach or maintain your specific skincare goals. What do I mean by this? Thoughtfully choose 1-3 items like serum, spot treatment, exfoliant, or mask that benefit your skin. For example, my skin needed extra hydration, and I’m concerned with keeping it firm and wrinkle-free, so I chose a hydrating serum and a peptide serum. Someone with dullness and concerns of random breakouts might choose an AHA fluid and a BHA or clay spot treatment. Someone with acne and concerns about lines and wrinkles might choose a retinol, a peptide serum, and an acne spot treatment. There are thousands of combinations of options. As an esthetician, I help my clients choose the best treatment items all the time. The main goal is to think about your skin’s needs and carefully choose items based on that. Lastly, we hydrate and heal using facial cream and/or facial oil, depending on your skin type and how much hydration and moisture it needs.
Now that we have these ideal goals in mind, review your skincare routine and skincare products and decide if there are items that you have that are unnecessary, redundant, or bad for your skin. You should have no more than 6 steps in your AM/PM routine.
Multipurpose Skincare Products That Do More With Less
Multipurpose items are the perfect way to reduce the number of skincare items you have!
Multipurpose Balm
This moisturizing, waxy balm works wonders for healing chapped lips, damaged cuticles, dry patches of skin, superficial cuts/scrapes.
It also doubles as a strengthening and protecting balm for your brows and lashes. You can comb this into your brows to tame them and your lashes to define them, or just use it as a nighttime repair treatment.
scrub me secret: I’m not sure that this is a big secret but i simply cannot live without the multipurpose balm. I use it for my lips, CUTICLES, when my nose is chapped, to tame my eyebrows, and i comb it into my lashes sometimes at night to help them grow. I bring it with me everywhere!
Firming, Moisturizing, SPF 50
This Cosmedix peptide rich SPF checks off multitple boxes in your AM skincare routine. This product gives you your SPF defense for the day while also acting as a hydrating and firming facial lotion.
I’m definitely going to pick this one up after I finished with my current hydrating SPF.
Multifunctional Mask
This cacao mask is so enriched with powerful antioxidants and plant-based nutrients that it makes it perfect for treating multiple different skin concerns.
When applied all over the face and neck it delivers important nutrients to the skin while also helping the you produce better circulation. This revives dull skin and helps prevents loss of collagen and elasticity.
I also love using this mask as a spot treatment for both active breakouts and breakouts that have been extracted but are healing. Since this mask has detoxifying, anti-bacterial, and deeply healing properties its excellent for treating breakouts.
Lastly, I have found this mask to be a great treatment for sunburnt skin. Applying this to areas where there is sunburn can reduce the freeradical damage from the sun and heal your skin more quickly.
Redness Reducing, Hydrating Toner
For those of you who struggle with red or inflamed skin or inflamed areas of acne this CBD toner from Ology Essentials is going to give you multiple different benefits.
Topical CBD greatly reduces visible redness in the skin and sooting aloe in this product also helps to calm. This toner also contains Hyaluronic acid, a hydration binding ingredient, so it checks off the boxes of added hydrating while also reducing redness and inflammation.
scrub me secret: I wouldn’t say I’m a makeup junkie but I do like to use makeup items that have skincare benefits. I love items that can highlight my beauty, give a small amount of coverage, and make me feel more confident while also providing skincare benefits.
Makeup for the Skinimalist: Less Coverage, More Confidence
Makeup items that have benefits for our skin, brows, and lashes!
Brow Growth Tinted Gel
This tinted brow gel not only gives the perfect, natural definition it also contains castor oil, vitamin B5, and trieptides that work to repair and strengthen your brow hairs.
Treating your brows with strengthening and conditioning ingredients vs. toxic chemicals can helps your hairs grow.
This brow tint comes in many colors you can choose from.
Lash Growth Mascara
Even if this mascara didn’t have a lash lengthening tri-peptide in it I would probably still repurchase it just because of the way it easily separates and lengthens my lashes!
Multitask with this mascara by helping your lashes grow while you wear it. Extra points for removing your mascara with a facial oil or cleansing balm instead of a makeup wipe.
Miracle Beauty Balm
This beauty balm is the definition of multipurpose! This moisturizing product comes in different colors you can use as blush, bronzer, highlight, lip tint, eye shadow, or whatever else you desire.
A little goes a long way and makes your skin look fabulous and glowing! The best part is that it's made from jojoba and other non-pore clogging, skin softens oils.
Face Powder with SPF
Tinted moisturizer is such an obvious makeup item for a skinimalism makeup routine. So instead I wanted to highlight this light/medium coverage SPF powder from Color Science.
This very easy to apply and travel friendly powder has an SPF of 50. It easily mattifyes unwanted shine or oiliness and gives your skin natural coverage.
This is the perfect item to have with you at all times! You never know when you’re going to need a little coverage, or sun protection, or both.
Color Balancing Moisturizing Primer
I’m not a big fan of makeup primers because I feel like they can trap in bacteria and debris in your pores that will make you break out later. Also, i’ve never found one that I like the results of.
This color balancing cream from Indie Lee is such a perfect item to put under your regular SPF, tinted SPF, or makeup. This face cream contains Tiger Grass and other botanical extracts that combat the appearance of redness immediately. Niacinamide works to reduce red, pink, or brown pigment and glycerin softens skin without clogging pores.
Ingredient Minimalism: scrub me’s Commitment to Clean & Simple Formulas
Creating skincare items using ingredients that are beneficial for the overall health of our skin and body is my mission for scrub me™. When I choose a skincare item as an esthetician, I carefully choose products with a list of beneficial ingredients. Like ingredients rich in vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids, natural antibacterials, hydrators, and circulation-stimulating factors. Because I make and seek out skincare items with these beneficial ingredients, and I avoid the harmful chemical/red flag ingredients, the products I produce and also purchase end up having fewer ingredients vs. some commercial skincare and mass-produced products.
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