An Introduction to The Skincare Diary Series
We are living in a sea of products as new brands just keep multiplying by the season. The convenience of using social media has allowed a bombardment of photogenic beauty shelves, product reviews, launches and promotions coming our way for as often as we are on the platform. We can be deluded by brand promises or influencers' holy grails, we are enchanted by what we see.. we imagine how these delicious texture and scent will soothe our skin and uplift our spirit, how these star ingredients can dissolve some of our problems away. It may definitely be easier if we just stick to the truly tried and tested but our desire to venture into new territory is fun, it is a passion for some including mine. It seems like we do not want to block off the noises.
Green-beauty was my first true venture into the beauty world, I did not switch from what some would call "toxic" products. Truthfully, green-beauty will always have a special place in my heart and it will continue to be my priority when I look for products. However, the factor that a product must be fully natural is not a non-negotiable for me. What is non-negotiable is the health of our skin and body, the well-being of our mental health and the respect we have for our budget. None of that should suffer to let our desire take over in excess. There is a handful of non-natural brands out there that are vegan and cruelty-free like Dr Sam Bunting, Jordan Samuel Skin and Krave Beauty who passionately share their well-established expertise, sound knowledge and extensive research to raise awareness for safe skincare practice. No-frill dermatologist brand like Cerave, whose cleanser and moisturizer are the only products my brother religiously uses, is expected to be vegan in North America by 2021 since their cholesterol ingredient is still derived from sheep's wool. I believe it's because of us, as consumers, who demand for beauty without compromise. Green-beauty should not be about how non-toxic the products are but the fact that most independent brands who harness plant power attentively listen to customers and their skin stories, formulate with knowledge and responsibility while adopting sustainable practice that does not harm any species (human, plant, animal) and environment, accept that mother nature is boss and take good care of their employees and suppliers well-being. Green/clean beauty trend is an increasingly popular movement that causes the actual term to become more subtle and confusing. Green-beauty, first and foremost, is about transparency. When you think about that, there's only a handful of brands that fit into the definition.
Following my post written at the end of 2018 on having a gentle care for the skin, I want to continue to share some basic keys that I have learnt. I have normal to dry/dehydrated skin that is blemish prone with easily offended skin. I used to try and review a lot of beauty products in the past, but I had my dilemma. I loved doing it but my skin suffered because I felt like I needed to catch up all the time. I realized that at the end of the day, being my own reader, most of the magic is never contained within the bottles but within the practice. How patient, consistent and careful we are to attend to our skin because misusing products not as intended or using too much / too often can cause damage to skin barrier. We are born with different skin type and concern, we all have different ways to deal with our skin. However, learning basic knowledge before playing may help us a long way.. 🍒
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| The beautiful balm texture of Aftershow Treatment Cleanser by Jordan Samuel Skin |
This skincare diary series is inspired by just that. I'm not an expert or professional, I base my writing on my own research and experience. I will only be recommending products that are vegan/vegetarian-friendly and cruelty-free but you will mostly find products within natural beauty category. I have made a spreadsheet for products that I have tried, I will be continuing to update it if I try anything new. Remember, no product is one size fits all. I wrote this skincare diary as a reminder for me, but I hope that it can help some of you too. Thank you very much for reading. Jump onto the spreadsheet and read on the following post 💛
Topic 1: Finding cleansers
First and foremost, a cleanser must serve its purpose that is to cleanse the skin from daily grime (dirt, oil, bacteria), make-up and sunscreen without disturbing skin's natural mantle. It does not matter if you do not care about skincare but one must have a cleanser (even my husband uses his body wash to wash his face, how it does not irritate his skin I have no idea, obviously I do not recommend 😊 but it works for him). Cleansing is actually my favorite step in skincare regime because nothing is as satisfying as rinsing problems away right? (wishful thinking).
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| An example of a cleanser with low lather. This one is Indie Lee Brightening Cleanser |
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| different types of cleansers from gel, balm, oil, lotion |
A facial cleanser will also prepare the skin with a clean canvas before we put on toner / serum / moisturizer / sunscreen on top. Imagine if the skin is not properly cleansed, how can products that will follow work on their mission properly? Not cleansing properly can further congest and irritate the skin.
When choosing a cleanser, the PH should ideally be within skin's slightly acidic environment ~ range of 4.0 to 6.5. Choose cleansers that claims to have a balanced PH ranging from 5.0 to 6.0. Too acidic or too alkaline may compromise the skin's natural function as a barrier from environmental conditions in the long run. Forget the squeaky-clean feeling concept that has been previously sold to us that strip off our natural lipid and oil content. There is a few standard types of cleansers you can choose from; gel, milk, cream, balm, oil and I would not call add-water-to-powder suitable as a daily cleanser. This is fun because this means that there is already a cleanser out there for every skin type and concern that will motivate you to cleanse the skin!
The 5 factors to think about when finding a cleanser
💭 Choose according to your skin type: Choose a cleanser texture according to your skin type e.g: gel is not necessarily drying but if you have dry/dehydrated skin, you may benefit more from using milk/lotion/cream cleanser. If you prefer gel, find a cleanser with low lather that contains gentle surfactant that make the cleansers water-soluble such as coco-betaine and decyl glucoside (PS: these are the two most common ones but there are other gentle surfactants). I love Sensatia gel cleanser and many also enjoy Dr Sam and Indie Lee. Foam is better suited for normal to oily skin but can still be mild and soft, if it piques your interest, look into Madara or Graydon. Milk/lotion can be beneficial for all skin type except very oily and most rinse well with water. I thoroughly enjoy Derma-E for all skin type and Fitglow for drier skin. If you have truly dry/dehydrated skin or you just wish for a more spa-like experience, look for oil, cream or balm form. Some oil cleansers are formulated with other type of mild surfactant for easier removal such as ones from Marie Veronique, One Love Organics and my mother's favorite Moss Revele. On the other hand, cream cleansers from Pai and MV Organics which already have a long-standing history of ovations, need to be coupled with a face cloth because they do not have any surfactant to make them water-soluble. Rather, the cream will grip into the dirt and grime on dry skin before you introduce water during the face-cloth method. For balm, I enjoy JSS treatment cleanser which goes from balm to oil and he offers version with and without fruit acids. This one is also best to rinse clean with a damp face cloth.
💭 Dealing with sensitivity, blemishes or other skin concerns: For sensitivity, If you are not sure what triggers your redness or flare-up, find a cleanser with the shortest possible list of ingredients, no / gentle surfactants and free from actives and possible irritants (fragrance, e.o and botanical extracts that you are unfamilar with). I really recommend Derma-E Sensitive (milk), Sensatia (gel), JSS Aftershow Treatment sensitive (balm) and ones that I have not tried.. Dr Sam Flawless (gel), Marie Veronique Pure + E.O Free (oil) and Deviant Cleansing Concentrate (balm). I find them to be underwhelming-ly simple in a good way. However, it is always best to talk to your trusted dermatologist if you suffer from any sensitivity or conditions like rosacea, eczema and mallasezia. During dermatologist visit, you can ask their opinion on products that you have been interested in. If blemish and/or dullness is your primary concern and hyper-sensitivity is not a big issue, having a cleanser with added AHA, BHA acid and/or fruit enzymes can help, such as JSS Matinee, Little Alchemist Wild Apple & Mint and Yuli Halcyon.
💭 Using heavy make-up/waterproof sunscreen: Heavy make-up and water-proof sunscreen are meant to stay on the skin no matter what. I'm sorry not sorry 😛 but there is no shortcut except to double-cleanse or unless you change your make-up habit into using products to be non-waterproof or with lighter coverage. The concept of double-cleanse simply means to wash your face twice, yup two rounds of cleansing. You can have one cleanser that you use twice, or two different types. The first round of cleansing is to banish stubborn make-up and sunscreen. I find cream, oil and balm can effortlessly remove heavy make-up and waterproof sunscreen without aggressively tugging or rubbing the skin. Treat your skin like delicate baby skin and use soft face cloth (read: not just any cloth) to wipe away (micro-fibre: 1, 2 - bamboo: 1, 2 - others: 1). Broken record alert, I thoroughly enjoy JSS Aftershow Treatment balm-to-oil cleansers and OLO Vitamin B Enzyme oil cleanser. The previously mentioned cream cleansers are also great options. If you miss the easiness of micellar water.. Absolution, Moss and Odacité are good options for a simple, quick and light first-cleanse. Purchase and use reusable cotton rounds with the micellar water. So yeah, what face wipes?
Note: when wiping away with face cloth, ensure to dampen the cloth with lukewarm water - not cold or hot to avoid any risk of damaging capillaries and skin barrier or exacerbate surface dryness.
💭 Budget-friendliness: You can definitely save budget in cleansers by using pure, raw & organic olive, grapeseed or sunflower oil from your kitchen as a first-cleanser / sole cleanser as long as you rinse it very thoroughly with damp face cloth (they're multi-tasker btw). For second-step cleanser, I certainly love the budget-friendly options from Derma-E (widely available in Wholefoods and Sprouts) and Sensatia Botanicals because they are basic cleansers that simply do the job and can suit a range of skin type. I have tried most of Sensatia's gel cleansers and I enjoy their Unscented one the most and then Cleopatra Rose comes second as they are so non-drying! It is a company based in Bali, Indonesia, they are affordable line and ship worldwide. Personally, I think there's no need to invest a lot in a cleanser that goes down the drain for as long as it does its main job description properly.
💭 Time is the essence: Choose gel or milk cleanser that can be rinsed clean with simply water but using damp face cloth method can also save time to remove everything with ease and softness. My budget-friendly favorites which also happen to be my can't-live-without cleansers, can remove the daily grime and non-waterproof sunscreen as well. In the morning, I like to simply splash my face with water and massage with fingertips. Of course, if you need to cleanse, choose a super light cleanser.
It is mandatory that all of us wear sunscreen every single day, rain or shine and there is also some of us who will use make-up daily. Everyday, our skin is also challenged by the daily grime of life from sweat to pollution which makes cleansing incredibly important. Like Jordan Samuel Skin has said... cleansing is 50% of your whole skin regime! I would love to know how you choose to cleanse your skin and if you have any extra tips as well to inspire. Talk to you in the next post 🍎
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