I hope I get corrected to hell and back because I like learning about better skincare, so pipe up if you're an expert. Or PM me and I'll edit if you don't wanna look like you're calling me out but it's fine either way.
This is basically a PSA to go read the fantastic Leona Lewis thread called Let's Talk About Skincare - it will change much of what you think about skincare if you've just been buying your average drugstore brand or worse, those special Men's Brand skin regimens that are scented or cooling.
Now I'm no expert - unlike some of the good folk in the OP of the thread listed above - but I do have some go to points of info. Much of this I've come to from hearing the good sir Leona so if you want the scientific info in depth, again I beg you to go to the thread linked above.
First off: many brands in drugstores for men and women are dyed, perfumed, offer scrubs, and have alcohol.
This is all trash.
Scrubs and brushes for skin? Turns out they cause microscopic irritation and tears in healthy skin. So skip them. They're just aging you and filling fish with plastic beads. The better skincare brands don't even sell scrubs, like CeraVe or Paula's Choice. More on how you can shed dead skin the smart way in the skincare thread. Exfoliation rocks when done chemically with BHA/AHA in moderation, but physical exfoliation is often troubling. So skip the physical motion of scrubbing your skin.
Next up? Dyes. You just don't need them, and good news is the better skincare brands don't even use them.
Closely related but more rampant: fragrance. Fragrance is an irritant. It's just setting you back. Hence why, again, the better skincare companies don't even sell products with fragrance. This is not to say you can't buy from brands if they offer a good fragrance free product in addition to some crappy products. But if you bought some Sephora or Neutrogena with fragrance or scrubs? You done bad.
Alcohol: there's varying types. Some are just fatty alcohols that help make products sit better or have better texture and that's fine. But many have straight up Alcohol, Alcohol Denat., or ethanol - IRRITANTS. Often products like masks and toners use shitty alcohol. Watch out!
And lastly fuck cooling effects. Menthol is a weird mix of the above that has no benefit and just irritates your skin.
So check your bottle and throw it in the trash! It's probably some men's brand claiming it was designed just for masculine little you and smells like it too! Or it's a scrub and is fucking you up!
Easy to find in North America brands to live by (that don't break any of the above rules ever to my knowledge):
Paula's Choice
CeraVe
The Ordinary
Curology
Now go to the thread I linked!
EDIT: Are y'all not using SPF? That's like the number one skincare must. Again, go to the thread linked above.
This is basically a PSA to go read the fantastic Leona Lewis thread called Let's Talk About Skincare - it will change much of what you think about skincare if you've just been buying your average drugstore brand or worse, those special Men's Brand skin regimens that are scented or cooling.
Now I'm no expert - unlike some of the good folk in the OP of the thread listed above - but I do have some go to points of info. Much of this I've come to from hearing the good sir Leona so if you want the scientific info in depth, again I beg you to go to the thread linked above.
First off: many brands in drugstores for men and women are dyed, perfumed, offer scrubs, and have alcohol.
This is all trash.
Scrubs and brushes for skin? Turns out they cause microscopic irritation and tears in healthy skin. So skip them. They're just aging you and filling fish with plastic beads. The better skincare brands don't even sell scrubs, like CeraVe or Paula's Choice. More on how you can shed dead skin the smart way in the skincare thread. Exfoliation rocks when done chemically with BHA/AHA in moderation, but physical exfoliation is often troubling. So skip the physical motion of scrubbing your skin.
Next up? Dyes. You just don't need them, and good news is the better skincare brands don't even use them.
Closely related but more rampant: fragrance. Fragrance is an irritant. It's just setting you back. Hence why, again, the better skincare companies don't even sell products with fragrance. This is not to say you can't buy from brands if they offer a good fragrance free product in addition to some crappy products. But if you bought some Sephora or Neutrogena with fragrance or scrubs? You done bad.
Alcohol: there's varying types. Some are just fatty alcohols that help make products sit better or have better texture and that's fine. But many have straight up Alcohol, Alcohol Denat., or ethanol - IRRITANTS. Often products like masks and toners use shitty alcohol. Watch out!
And lastly fuck cooling effects. Menthol is a weird mix of the above that has no benefit and just irritates your skin.
So check your bottle and throw it in the trash! It's probably some men's brand claiming it was designed just for masculine little you and smells like it too! Or it's a scrub and is fucking you up!
Easy to find in North America brands to live by (that don't break any of the above rules ever to my knowledge):
Paula's Choice
CeraVe
The Ordinary
Curology
Now go to the thread I linked!
EDIT: Are y'all not using SPF? That's like the number one skincare must. Again, go to the thread linked above.
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