Skinimalism is exactly what it sounds like: Going minimum with skin care and make up products. 2020 saw a major shift in skin care with keywords like home skin care, skin care at home, and natural everyday makeup saw an increase of over 100% in the search engines. Grandma’s recipes for skin care were dug out, used, and published. The old age saying of ‘Less is More’ is what applied to the new skin care routine tips.
What does skinimalism include?
It basically means turning towards natural beauty doing things differently with less products. 2-3 good products can also help in keeping the skin healthy and breakout free. Skinimalism is not about clearing out your entire vanity, it is about observing and listening to your skin, figure out its needs and select the few products that will do the trick.
How can you practice skinimalism?
Simplified skin care routine during the pandemic and lockdown has actually given many benefits and you can adopt different approaches to get the flawless skin. The first step is to accept your skin, pores, blemishes, spots included and stop comparing with others. The second step is to consult your dermatologist to know your skin type. Dermatologist will guide you about the products that are disrupting the skin’s barrier and help you design skin care routine that is best for skin.
The new natural and minimal skin care does not hide your skin texture, pores, and complexion and lets the skin to breathe and feel enriched.
There are two main approaches to skinimalism
You can give your skin a complete break from all skin care products for a few days. This approach means that you don’t apply any cream, serum or moisturizer on the skin and let the skin healing take it’s natural course.
The second is that you stick to hybrid products that make the simple CTM (cleansing-toning-moisturizing) routine simpler.
Cleansing: Use a cleanser every morning and evening. This is important to get rid of the dirt. Make sure you use lukewarm water and massage the cleanser for 60 seconds to get rid of all the particles. For oily skin use a gel cleaner and for dry skin use a cream cleanser.
Select and use a toner based on your skin’s needs. If you have large pores use a pore tightening toner, and for dry skin use a hydrating toner. Depending on your skin’s needs you can use rose water or rice water as a toner too.
Moisturising: Never miss the step. This will hydrate your skin and fortify the skin barrier. For dry skin look for hyaluronic acid as an ingredient in the moisturisers, oily skins should opt for non-comedogenic moisturizer. Vitamin C moisturizer helps brightens the skin. Avoid moisturizer with mineral oils, paraben, and fragrance.
The third approach is to use fewer products that contain natural, cruelty free, simpler ingredients. DIY homemade skin packs, toners, scrubs are the norm in skinimalism.
You can choose to follow one skinimalism routine or mix and match the three approaches. Whatever be your choice don’t forget to use sunscreen for skin production. It will keep the wrinkles and fine lines away and protect from harmful UV rays.
When shopping look for multitasking products, for example the cleanser that can act as a makeup remover also, a tinted moisturizer hydrates the skin and acts as a primer too and a hydrating face mist will refresh and brighten your skin instantly.
Face Yoga for beauty from within
An important part of the skinimalism routine is to do exercises that help your skin. Look for face yoga exercises that involve exercising different facial muscles. For example, put a thumb under your chin and count to 10, do this for five sets, puff up your cheeks and let the air out by forming an ‘O’ with your lips etc.
Skinimalism Makeup
Yes! Skinimalism applies to makeup also. The trend is to learn to embrace imperfections and enjoy the unique beauty that we are. For the effortless chic looking natural look, your minimalistic makeup list will contain:
A good BB or CC cream to give the skin a soft dewy look
Invest in a good aloe vera facemask with vitamin C.
If you really want to use colour then stick to mascara and bold lip colours. Red for the lips, yellow for the eyes and nice pink for the cheeks are the trends right now.
Use tinted sunscreens instead of regular ones.
Embracing skinimalism does not mean that you will see the results overnight. Give your skin the time to adjust to the new you. Give your skin the pampering it deserves without overindulging and enjoy how your skin loves you back.
About the author: Dr. Rinky Kapoor, Consultant Dermatologist, Cosmetic Dermatologist & Dermato-Surgeon, The Esthetic Clinics