Back to Basics
What do we mean when we say back to basics? When it comes to your skincare, let’s think about the very basic parts of your ritual - cleansing, moisturizing & protecting - from a Corneotherapeutic reproach. It all comes down to your barrier defense systems when working towards healthy skin.
Is your skin always a little red or pink? Is it tight or does it always feel a little dry? Does it look dull? Does it feel a little rough or is it flakey? It might be time to do an elimination diet for your skin and strip everything back to the bare basics for a month or 2. Not only does this mean paring back multiple products but it also means making sure those staples are not full of barrier damaging ingredients. Let’s dive in!
When I say The Basics I’m serious. I mean keeping things exceptionally simple, cleansing, moisturizing, and protecting (SPF). Here’s an example…
Morning Ritual
Hot Washcloth to refresh the skin (you can hang this up to use for your evening routine)
Lotion/Mist
Moisturizer
Sunscreen
Evening Ritual
Double Cleanse
Lotion/Mist
Moisturizer
Facial Oil (optional)
I’m going to talk through the evening facial and then touch on what’s left in the morning.
Cleansing
The first place that often is the culprit for a disrupted barrier is cleansing. Now, you might remember from the post on ingredients that we spoke about surface-acting agents - surfactants and emulsifiers, and where they are most commonly found is in cleansers.
Some of the biggest culprits involved when it comes to ingredients are that they don’t biodegrade in the skin which disrupts the barrier and causes a cascade of inflammatory effects that come after that so I want you to take a look at the back of your cleanser and I want you to send me a picture of it and I’m gonna let you know right away if that cleanser needs to be replaced or if you’re good to go. Remember what we’re looking for is good packaging, low preservatives, biodegradable ingredients no dyes, no or low fragrances (cleansers are washed off so this is where a little fragrance isn’t too bad), and no silicons which you may or may not find in a cleansing product. I am of the mindset that you only really need to cleanse your skin once a day and that should be in the evening before bed because we want to get all of the pollution from the day off the skin, sweat, muck and, because everybody should be wearing sunscreen daily, sunscreen and, for those of us that wear makeup, make up. Commonly referred to as a double cleanse.
Your first cleanse is with oil or a creamy cleanser that will be able to take care of all of the pollution/sunscreen/makeup and then your second wind is your true cleanse. It's going to gently cleanse your skin and prep it for your lovely bedtime products.
So! Many of you know, being my clients, that I love starting my evening cleansing with a Jojoba oil cleanse. Jojoba is great for most skin types. Technically not an oil, Jojoba is actually a liquid wax ester and it’s really similar in composition to your skin's natural sebum so it tends to be one of those oils that play nicely with everybody’s skin and also has a really good shelf life - it doesn’t oxidize easily. It’s my top pick to use for oil cleansing so much so that I bottled it, Violet Hour Skin’s Pure Jojoba is gorgeous - cold-pressed, unrefined, liquid gold. However, if you have really dry skin or if your barrier is super compromised oil cleansing may disrupt it even further. In that case, I recommend a well-formulated creamy cleanser to double cleanse your face and you would do that in exactly the same way so let’s break down oil cleansing a little. My pick is dermaviduals DMS Cleansing Milk, think rich but silky with no filmy residue - it’s an incredible makeup remover too.
We start our first cleanse, pre-cleanse or oil cleanse (all interchangeable terms) with a dry face and dry hands. There is no need to remove your makeup before, that’s going to be taken care of with this cleanse. You want to use enough oil for your face, neck, and décolleté and enough so that your cleanse remains slick for the duration of your oil cleanse.
In science, like attracts like and we use this principle when we oil cleanse. The little waxy plugs in your pores, especially around the nose, chin, and forehead are made up of dead skin cells and sebum. They oxidize on the surface and appear anywhere from yellow to black AND THEY ARE A COMPLETELY NORMAL PART OF SKIN.
The oil, friction, and warmth that comes from the friction, all work together to start to liquify the edges of those plugs and reduce, dissolve or remove them so you do want to focus your attention on these areas. You want to aim for 2-5 minutes. I do this with my eyes shut, I stay present and I become intentional with my breath - it’s a lovely time to relax and enjoy the moment.
To remove the oil/cleanser, I highly recommend using a washcloth soaked and then wrung out with hot water. I fold mine in ½ and ½ again, lengthways so that I can hold the ends and wring it out without burning my fingers. You want to wave it a bit so that it’s not scalding then put your face up towards the ceiling, press it gently into your face, allowing the steam to warm your face then once it has cooled, gently wipe off the oil/cleanser from your face, neck and décolleté.
A note on oil cleansers & cleansing balms - I’m not a massive fan because the ones that turn milk and wash off do so because of emulsifiers aaaannnd… if they’re using an emulsifier that is not biodegradable in the skin (ie - the cheaper ones) these guys can work to dry out your skin further so you need to be careful of the emulsifying ingredients - make sure that they are not causing further problems. If you like a balm, O Cosmedics have just released their Nourishing Cleansing Balm last year and it truly is divine, balm to oil to milk and super easy to travel with. Chef’s Kiss!
My take on micellar waters and cleansing wipes (which are usually doused in micellar water). A big fat no. Micelles are ultra-concentrated surfactants and are extremely disruptive to your barrier. It’s only in a massive pinch that I can condone a makeup wipe very occasionally and definitely not daily. Your first cleanse does the job of makeup remover so it’s not a product that’s needed in your arsenal.
Your second cleanse can be done quickly with water and a gentle cleanser. Again it’s those pesky surfactants that you need to be careful of in your cleansers. Look for Lauryl Glucoside, disodium cocoyl glutamate or coco-glucoside for gentle surfactants that will biodegrade and not cause issues with your barrier. I love dermaviduals Total Cleansing Cream and so does my eczema-prone skin - it doubles as a body wash too, keeping my shower way less cluttered. On that note, if you’re doing your second cleanse in the shower like me, make sure the water isn’t crazy hot or if it is, turn down the heat at the end to wash your face.
Because we’ve cleansed so well in the evening, you don’t need a full cleanse in the morning. A simple refresh with a hot washcloth or splash of water will suffice. You’re just gently removing a little product residue, some excess sebum, and a little sweat.
Lotion/Mist
This step preps your skin for your moisturizer by aiding in penetration and providing additional hydration. When you do add in serums, it’s sandwiched between each layer of skincare. This is the first step I use with my clients’ skin to begin treating any skin conditions they have. When we’re in this “back to basics” phase of skincare, it’s important not to overload the skin but to give it what it needs to rebuild its barrier function. It’s optional but recommended. Avoid acid or alcohol-based toners and most astringent toners.
Moisturizer
Your moisturizer is more than likely an emulsion - a mix of oil and water which means that it will contain an emulsifying agent and here is where it can get problematic, it’s also likely to be the product in your lineup that might contain petrolatum, mineral oil, and silicones, in addition to colors, fragrance, and high levels of preservatives if not packaged in an airtight container. In other words the equivalent of processed foods that you put and leave on your skin for hours each day. Think about it - there are better options out there and I want to help you keep your skincare diet as clean as your actual diet - I know so many of you are great with what you eat!
Your skin, the outermost layer, the stratum corneum, is a combination of specific chemicals and ideally, you want a combination of these in your moisturizer. Most commonly, cholesterol, squalene, ceramides, triglycerides, free fatty acids, wax esters & phospholipids. Now that I’ve gotten technical, let’s see if I can break it down for you…
We all know that oil sits on top of water and this is a simplified description of how your skin stays hydrated - it seals in the water by having a fortified barrier that features an even film on the surface, your acid mantle; well-formed and healthy outer cells, the corneocytes; and a well-distributed and even mortar between the cell “bricks” that are formed during the cell’s journey, the lipid bilayers.
In a barrier-compromised skin, these lippidy layers of defense are not robust and water is lost so focusing only on “hydrating” ingredients is a bandaid solution. Unfortunately, many common skincare products deplete these defenses leading to a cycle of dehydration, inflammation, and, eventually, hyperpigmentation. Which, in turn, can put your sebum production into overdrive - trying to replenish your acid mantle which makes you feel oily and you then back away from moisturizers with oils and butter meaning that you never quite replenish your ceramides, free fatty acids, and cholesterols to prevent the water loss. They may also contain ingredients that try to create a false barrier, occlusive agents. These can inhibit cell to cell communication and make your skin less effective at protecting itself and again, does nothing to replenish those missing components.
On top of this, the emulsifiers used, if not biodegradable in the skin, will continue to bind water and oil, washing what little lipids you have left, out of there when you add water.
SO! A well-formulated moisturizer will, like your skin, have a combination of water and oil (lipids) that are skin-identical ingredients, that biodegrade in your skin, don’t cause the “wash out” effect, and don’t cause unnecessary inflammation.
In the evening you can add a facial oil in addition to your moisturizer or pick a heavier moisturizer if you feel like you need a little more weight.
Our dermaviduals DMS Base Cream High Classic is perfect for getting your barrier back on track. Want to see the ingredient list?
Aqua, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Pentylene Glycol, Hydrogenated Phosphatidylcholine, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Glycerin, Ceramide NP, Squalane
That’s it. It’s beautifully simple and 100% biodegradable in the skin filled with all the things that make your skin and barrier happy little vegemites!
Want to know if your moisturizer passes the test? Send me a picture of your ingredient list and I’ll let you know!
Protection
When it comes to slowing down premature aging, sunscreen is the first line of defense. There’s much debate about mineral vs chemical but my bottom line is to find an SPF 30 or higher, check the ingredients to make sure that they are caring for your skin (our blog post on ingredients to look out for is HERE), and find something you like and use it every day! At Violet Hour Skin, we adore MOTHER SPF, not only for the beautifully simple (only 9 ingredients!) formula but also because they’re a damn good bunch - their manufacturing is 100% solar-powered, and their tubes are recycled post-consumer waste and recyclable. It’s reef & baby safe, cruelty-free, vegan, and feels amazing on!
So are you going to do a reset? Your skin will thank you!
Next post we’re going to do our ABC’s and talk about vitamins and skin which is where we get to add in those skin-strengthening ingredients!