The 3 Essential Products You Need To Have In Your Skincare Routine

Sometimes, it’s all about going back to the basics.

With an innumerable amount of skincare products out on the market today, it sure is fun to try and experiment, especially if you’re searching for the perfect skincare routine. With new product innovations, trends and superstar ingredients coming out year after year (like the trending 10-step Korean skincare beauty routine), the available options can leave you a little bit overwhelmed.

So what is it that the skin really needs? Do we have to subscribe to every skincare product type that’s being touted as the next big miracle in the industry? Do we really need to have 10 types of skincare products on our bathroom vanity to have the ideal skin?

Of course not! While it doesn’t hurt to have a ton of different skincare product types that help target different areas of concern for your skin, professionals have trimmed the list down to the basics. For your skin to be healthy and well-maintained, here are the 4 essential products you really should have for an effective skincare routine:

1. Cleanser

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Start off your skincare routine with a gentle cleanser that’s suited to your skin type. Whether you’re the type to wear makeup daily or you like to keep your face bare for a more natural look, cleansing your face is an essential step you shouldn’t skip.

2. Moisturizer

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Hydration is important if you want to prevent skin issues. Dry and itchy skin, dermatitis, acne, inflammation and skin irritations can actually be avoided by religiously applying moisturizer right after the cleansing step. It will help your skin look soft and supple, prevents the formation of fine lines and wrinkles and helps improve your skin’s texture and appearance. It’s important to note that your moisturizer should be suited to your particular skin type.

3. Sunscreen

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Arguably the most essential part of any skincare routine, a high protection sunscreen (SPF 30 or above) is a non-negotiable item. It’s the single most effective way to prevent the dreaded skin cancer or to have prematurely aged skin, age spots or leathery-looking skin!

 Your skin is all set with just these 3 essential products, but you can always supplement with more as you see fit. Serums, exfoliators, anti-aging creams, facial masks or acne spot treatments, the list can get quite big! In the end, going right back down to the absolute bare-bones essentials makes your skin healthy with a lot less effort, time and money!

Top 4 Skincare Trends To Hit Before 2022

Trends come and go but when it comes to the skincare industry, you can only expect goodness for your skin. From hero ingredients to new innovations, the skincare industry never fails to deliver what’s best for our skin health.

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And so, here are 4 of the top skincare trends to hit 2021 that’ll most likely be here to stay:

Skinimalism

A play on the term minimalism, skinimalism is all about going back to the basics. With all that’s happening out there since the pandemic started, practicality in all things rose to the top of our lists. And that includes costly skincare products. But scrimping on costly products doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice a healthy, glowing skin complexion either!

Skinimalism focuses on the essentials, the minimum number of skincare products possible to bring out optimum skin results. It is aimed at simplifying with an effective skincare routine rather than having a complex cocktail of skincare products that can possibly damage and disrupt the skin’s PH balance, which often results in a host of skin issues.

Microbiome-Focused Skincare Products

This year saw the rise of microbiome-friendly skincare products that experts see as gaining more traction in the foreseeable future. Microbiome skincare is essentially those products infused with probiotics that add bacteria - the good kind! - to support and maintain the skin’s barrier and optimum health. Be it in a restorative cream, a serum, or a moisturizer, you can expect probiotics to play a huge role, ingredient-wise!

Blue Light Protection

Because we’ve been spending a great deal of our time in front of our laptops or phones this year, we’ve also seen the rise of products that aim to protect your skin from blue light. Also known as high energy visible (HEV) light and can also be found along the sun’s UV rays, blue light is emitted from our screens and can cause similar damage as UV light in terms of photo-aging.

This year saw key ingredients such Niacinamide and minerals with high iron oxide levels become heroes as they are effective at fighting and blocking out the dreaded blue light.

De-Stressing Skincare

We can all agree that stress has seriously taken over our collective lives as we’ve been all forced to stay indoors during the pandemic. This year, we’ve seen an uptick in the number of skincare products launched that aim to eliminate the effects of stressors on our skin and maintain a healthy skin barrier. Products with ingredients such as hydration superstar hyaluronic acid and barrier-loving ceramides are key to de-stressing your skin, as they help repair and restore the skin’s first line of defense. 

As you can see, most of these skincare trends aim to deal with the effects the pandemic has on our daily lives, and ultimately, on our skin. Which trend are you most interested in trying out?