Senior Skin Therapist Rachael Forbes

Have you ever decided it's time to invest in your skin, but when it comes to choosing which products - it's a “WHAT DO I DO” type scenario?
You are not alone :-)

Skincare can get confusing very quickly.
One minute you are looking for a moisturiser, the next you have added several serums, eye products, exfoliants, a cleanser for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and you have no idea what to do with any of them. What order, what can I use or not use together. Am I actually doing the right things here?!?

The reality - a lot of people aren’t struggling with their skin because they’re not doing “enough” for their skin. Most of the time it’s the opposite - they are doing far too much, too quickly, without actually understanding what their skin needs.

A skincare routine that actually works doesn’t need to be complicated, it just needs to make sense for YOUR skin.

Let’s break things down, and arrange this step by step.

Firstly we need to understand what your skin is asking for, no guessing games here -

What is your skin consistently doing? Is it -
Tight and dry?
Oily but dehydrated?
Congested?
Reactive?
Breaking out hormonally?
Feeling rough and textured?
Sensitive and tight after cleansing?

Because treating the wrong concern is where we tend to go wrong. We end up creating more problems than we are solving.

So many of us think that we have oily skin, when actually we are dehydrated and overproducing oil to compensate. This is where we tend to reach for acne-based products when the barrier is actually impaired.

Routines should be based on what the skin is needing, not what is trending online.

Next we start introducing the basics

Before looking into active and targeted highly active products, we need to build a solid foundation so the skin is happy to be pushed when the time comes.

At minimum we should be introducing -
Gentle cleansing
Hydrating products
Moisturiser
SPF

These products alone are enough for the majority of clients to see improvement. The issue we see is that most skip the “supporting” products in a routine and jump straight into trying to correct.

Healthy happy skin responds better to treatment. Always.

Now you have your foundation built, what next?

Cleansing. I can’t reinforce how important this step is.

Cleansing should remove buildup, excess oil, makeup, SPF and debris without stripping the skin. If your skin feels squeaky clean, hot, tight, dry, sore…..there is a very good chance your cleanser is too harsh for your skin at this time. Over cleansing is one of the fastest ways to disrupt the skin barrier.

For beginners we should be looking at -
Gentle gel cleansers, occasionally cream cleansers for severely compromised barriers
Double cleansing when wearing makeup or SPF
Morning cleansing - do not skip this!

We should be feeling clean, not attacked after cleansing!

Now a non-negotiable! - Hydration!

This is one of the most ignored steps in a skincare routine.

To put it simply, hydrated skin functions better. It heals better, tolerates actives better and tends to be less reactive over time.

Hydration should always be incorporated if your skin is -
Oily
Congested
Acne prone
Sensitive
Barrier impaired

Dehydrated skin does often compensate, and it does this by producing more oil - when we strip this dysfunctional oil production we tend to see more issues arise.

Look out for ingredients like -
Hyaluronic acid
Panthenol
Glycerin
Centella Asiatica

Now we look at moisturising - your hydrator is NOT your moisturiser, it is the hydration we are putting into our skin BEFORE we reinforce it by adding a product to help retain it.

A good moisturiser will help to reinforce the skin barrier and prevent alllll of that amazing hydration we have just put on our skin from being lost to the environment around us.

Skipping it because you are oily or acne-prone won’t do any favours, it’ll encourage more imbalance long term.

The skin needs water and lipids to function properly.

Look for ingredients like -
Ceramides
Fatty acids
Cholesterol
Squalane

When you get the right moisturiser for you, the skin should feel comfortable and supported - not greasy and overloaded.

What next? We have our baseline sorted, your barrier is happy, and now we are ready to treat specific skin concerns…..

Let’s talk about adding in actives. Slowly.

This is where we get excited - moving onto the hard workers, how could we not, this is where we start to create real change in the skin, but let’s not get too excited, we didn’t come all this way to take a backwards slide….

We don’t need to grab multiple exfoliants, strong acids to use every day, layer retinol with everything or start our own shop at home and slap on 10 serums at a time.

More products does not equal better skin.

Let’s introduce one at a time, and give the skin a chance to adjust before adding more.

Some actives you have probably come across before are -
Niacinamide - barrier support, oil regulation, redness
Salicylic acid - congestion and breakouts
Vitamin C - antioxidant and pigmentation support
AHAs - surface exfoliation and brightening

But not every skin needs to be active. This is where skincare becomes customised to suit you and your skin needs.

Not sure what that is? Please reach out - let’s work it out together :-D

If you are serious about skincare, you need to be SERIOUS about daily SPF use.

You can have the best routine out, doing all the things, setting yourself up long term with the intention of keeping the skin stimulated and healthy for years to come, but if you aren’t using SPF - why are we bothering? If you aren’t protecting your skin from UV damage consistently, progress becomes much harder to maintain

SPF will help to -
Prevent pigmentation
Reduce inflammation
Protect collagen fibres
Support barrier function
Reduce premature ageing

SPF becomes especially important when using active ingredients - it’s not just a “summer” step, If you can grow a plant inside your home year round…. your skin is always being exposed to UV light….

When you get your routine right for your skin, don’t change it every 5 minutes - skin needs consistency.

One of the biggest mistakes we see is - products being switched too quickly.

Most skincare takes around -
4-6 weeks initial improvement
8-12 weeks for more visible change
Longer for concerns like pigmentation and very reduced skin barriers

If you keep changing up products, the skin is constantly trying to adapt and never has a chance to settle into a rhythm. Stable routines tend to outperform chaotic ones.

Before signing off I just wanted to put this out there - Listen to your skin!!!

Your skin will tell you when something is not working, It’ll tell you if it’s too much.

You’ll see responses such as-
Burning or stinging
Tightness
Increased redness
Sudden sensitivity
More inflamed breakouts
Flaking, irritated dry skin

We want your skincare to be supporting the skin, not constantly challenging it

It’s ok to be doing less for sometime, we may not feel we are initially achieving anything, but that often is what our skin really wants and needs.

Take the time to do this safely, and gently - your skin will thank you in the long run, and as a Skin Therapist who’s seen it all - So will I!!!