In my post on seasonal skincare tweaks (which you can read in full here ), I talked about some of the things I change up in my routine as fall gets into full swing. For example, replace a light moisturizer with a thicker moisturizer to prevent the drying effects of cold weather or central heating.
Perhaps the most important tip from that post was the advice to limit your intake of very potent and powerful active ingredients if your skin is sensitive. Powerful vitamin C serums, strong acid peels, advanced retinoids – put them on the back burner for a while until your face is strong enough to use them again. It could be in a week, it could be in a month, or it could never be. My general thought is that if your skin barrier is compromised and your face is feeling sensitive, dry, and tight, why, for lack of a better expression, would you rub salt into the wound? Why apply harsh exfoliants to skin that may already be over-exfoliated? Why force an emergency when the skin is already struggling to protect itself? Should I switch to repair mode?
It’s like having a bad flu and thinking, “I know what I need.” After an ice bath session, I drink eight double gin and tonics and take a boxercise class.
Or something.
There’s a momentary, or not-so-momentary, concern that things may be going a little too far when it comes to skin care strengths. While it’s great to have highly effective products readily available – products that don’t require a prescription and don’t cost hundreds of pounds – there are downsides to this new level of access. It defends people who buy it all and say, “Don’t use all this in one routine or it will literally catch fire on your face and fall off and you won’t be able to wear makeup for a year.” The fact is that no one does. .
Okay, I’m being relatively dramatic here, but I’ve amassed a few readily available skin care products in my arsenal, including acidic peel pads, weird vitamin C, and retinol in a not-especially-user-friendly formulation. It’s very easy to use as a facebreaker. Over the years that I’ve been writing about beauty, it feels like the concentration of certain active ingredients has visibly increased. You definitely need to be more careful when testing products than you were in the beginning.
(I mean, the fact that my face looks older might have something to do with that. Maybe I’m just tired of the daily this and that and the constant “Let’s try something new!” But let’s ignore that for a moment.)
So what if you want a highly effective product but don’t want the potential irritation? What if you want to stay away from paint stripper peel pads but still want something that gives a nice shine? Is it OK? Or what if your skin is permanently a little sensitive? Don’t like retinoids or vitamin C? This is most of my friends outside the beauty industry. You simply aren’t interested in using the absolute strongest thing available, you just want to keep your skin flat, and you know you still have a highly effective skin care routine. Is it okay to leave it? Is the box checked?
I have some suggestions. I have thoroughly tried the following products and feel that they are all very gentle on my delicate skin, yet without sacrificing potency or effectiveness. These are all products that I use regularly in my routine, whether my skin is delicate or not. I’m less of a fan of “blow your face out” skincare methods these days, preferring to keep things balanced. If you want to do a punchy routine and want to do it while wearing some very furry inflatable boxing gloves, this is a great bit to invest in.
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We talk about this a lot. A super gentle daily exfoliating liquid applied to skin after cleansing, formulated with a blend of alpha and beta hydroxy acids to brighten (AHA) and decongest (BHA) skin . The ingredients are “just right” balanced to maximize effectiveness and minimize irritation. If your skin often feels a little stinging when using peel pads, this is a great (and very affordable) replacement.
Click here for Placid Daily Exfoliant*.
If there’s one thing that annoys me, it’s the unfamiliar vitamin C serum. I’m generally pretty tolerant of retinoids, but if I slather on a vitamin C product that doesn’t suit my face, I get as irritated as a bear in a swarm of bees all day long.
There is no such problem with the highly sophisticated Skin Locks Serum ‘The Antioxidant’. Although the tolerable levels of vitamin C in the formula are high, there are smart ways to boost vitamin C and reduce the risk of irritation. That’s impressive. If you’ve invested in expensive high-performance anti-oxidant serums, but feel they aren’t right for your skin, this may be your chance.
Antioxidants are here*
If high-strength retinoids tend to send your skin into meltdowns of dryness and itchiness, be sure to introduce them very slowly. At first, it can be done every few days or once a week. If you still can’t seem to tolerate them, but still want to reap the benefits of a good retinol product, try a cream formulation instead of a serum. It turns out that the cream acts like a bit of a buffer. It’s like putting out a fire when it happens. I wish I could think of a more worry-free way to explain it. Ahaha.
I have been working incredibly well with RoC retinol products. Retinol Corexion Hydrating Cream (Gold Pot) is extremely moisturizing, so you will rarely feel dryness, tightness, or peeling. (If not used with caution, side effects common with retinoid use can occur.)
Click here for the Retinol Collection*.
You may be wondering why anyone would bother with retinoids, despite my bizarre warnings. They care about retinoids because they are widely considered the “gold standard” skin care ingredient that addresses (almost) all skin concerns. It has been widely proven to be effective for a variety of conditions, including fine lines, grooves, uneven tone, loss of firmness, and dullness. So if you’re not fussy about skincare at all, but want something that “really makes a difference,” this is a great thing to incorporate into your routine. Related to this, there are also the following:
Click here for Retinol + HPR*.
Some additional notes:
A brand that I really value when I have sensitive skin and want to be able to trust everything on their website is Pai. I fell in love with Pai products when I was still a model, and I couldn’t find a single eye cream that didn’t irritate the weird raw spot I always had under my left eye. It started with very few products and gradually expanded to include things like AHA masks and spot treatments, none of which left my skin feeling unsafe.
I currently have the real Vitamin C day cream. (In fact, it’s another great product for those who find vitamin C products a bit harsh!)
Introducing Pai C-2 Believe Moisturizer*.
Another current favorite that is subtly related to this article is Avenene Hyaluron Activ B3. Truly highly concentrated hydration in a gentle formula.
Click here for Hyaluronic Active B3 Serum*.
