Lumen's Top Skincare Tips
You don't need expensive products or a 15-step skincare regimen to have good skin. It is enough to cleanse and moisturize. Anything else is extra: an exfoliant helps with smoothing the skin and removing dead skin cells. A toner helps balance PH and tighten the skin. Sunscreen protects your skin from sun damage. Serums can add a boost of moisture, or help targeted areas in targeted ways (evening out skintone, lightening dark spots, etc) based on your needs. Vitamin C brightens your complexion and also helps your sunscreen become more potent. Retinols help regenerate the skin by encouraging cell turnover, thus improving fine lines and wrinkles, and so on... All of these things help improve your skin, but they are not essential.
Use sunscreen regardless of your skin color. You can vary the SPF depending on the season, using SPF50 for summer, and reverting to SPF30 for the other seasons, but try to protect your skin. An important thing to note is that you don't need to slather yourself in sunscreen all day every day even indoors; just be responsible with your use of it, ie. if you know you'll be spending more than 15-30 min outside, put a little something on. Avoid extremes, balance is best.
No, using sunscreen doesn't interfere with your vitamin D absorption, according to dermatologists.
No, you don't need to cleanse twice a day. It is enough to cleanse once at night to remove the build-up from the day. Doing so again in the morning only strips your skin of its natural oils, which might cause more issues (oily skin/sebum, dry skin etc).
Chemical exfoliants (gently exfoliating the skin) are better for the skin than physical ones (which can cause tears in the skin after long-term use).
Aloe vera gel is great for soothing irritated skin, sunburns, as well as generally helping regenerate the skin barrier.
Treatments like chemical peels and dermabrasions are best to be scheduled outside of the hottest season (autumn or winter is best) - as it is regenerating, the skin is more sensitive and the sun can cause more damage.
Acids can be very beneficial for the skin (lactic acid, salicylic acid, etc), but you should be very attentive with how you use them! It's not an area where you should DIY with mix-and-match approach to see what works, I've heard many stories of people getting burns, inflammations and irritation because they were using too many acids, essentially destroying the skin's barrier. My rule of thumb is stick to one product, and if I need something more I will do some research + ask my dermatologist to confirm if the product is suitable for my skin & needs - or the other way around, depending on the situation.
If you find something that works for you, stick to it. You don't have to keep switching up products because that's the trendy skincare thing to do. No, your skin doesn't "get used to it and stop responding", that's not how skin works.
Even in skincare, less is more. Overexfoliating, overcleansing, using too many acids and products in general can cause more issues than if you have a simple cleanse+moisturize routine.
When trying out new products, try to test 1 product at a time, by integrating it into your routine. That way you can tell if it's working for you or not. If you test multiple new products, you won't be able to tell which one is working for you or not.
Staying hydrated shows in your skin's health, we all know this. Drink at least 1-2 liters of water every day. It flushes out the toxins and really does give you that glow!
Drinking green tea regularly is also great for clearing your skin. I like to start my mornings with 1-2 cups of green tea or black tea every day.
Moderation and an open mind will help you in skincare too. If you're passionate about natural skincare and organic ingredients, don't be wary of anything that contains "chemicals". It's good to be open minded, educate yourself and understand the many options out there and how they can benefit you.
On the same subject - if you're strict on dermatologically-tested, scientifically-proven professional skincare products, it's okay to experiment with natural ingredients too. It's a false belief that every oil is bad or will congest your skin, or that essential oils are all irritants and whatnot. Each has special qualities and attributes, hence why it's important to do your research before trying them out according to their respective instructions.
There's no such thing as perfect skin, don't be fooled by all the filters which are so standard on social media. Everyone has pores, everyone has some scars or dark spots or congested pores at some point. Just take care of your skin, do what you can, and be confident as you are! The secret to good skin is not in luxury creams, 30 step routines, complicated rituals and expensive facials. The secret is simply a combination of selfcare + selflove. Love your skin, treat it with care, and honor it by being confident in it.
