We’ve (all) been there? Your finely-tuned skincare routine has suddenly plateau’d. Now you look like you’re just slapping on any old cheap moisturiser, the products don’t get along any more (argh!) so what’s the answer?
If this is happening to you, here are six significant reasons your skincare’s not working (as well as it was). One quick tip here, if you’d rather switch brands totally, some of the British facialist brands are absolutely fantastic – Jane Scrivner, Sarah Chapman (Skinesis) and Emma Hardie are some of my personal favourites. Jane Scrivner’s Nourishing Balm is “the bomb” – if you love a rich, plant-rich balm for cleansing, this one doubles up as an overnight treatment. I can’t recommend it enough – it’s a skin changer. Liz Earle (even though she’s no longer heading up the brand) would fit the bill here, too.
Right – back to the 6:
Hormones (!) Pregnancy (and with it, increased HGC and progesterone), skin tags, itchy rashes, breakouts, new pigmentation, menopause, adult-onset acne…the list is pretty endless and sometimes hormones feel like those invisible dictators that just wreck our emotions, health and skin from within – when they’re out of balance. What to do? Because skincare products don’t adapt to skin changes, you’ll need to adapt your routine and switch out products.
Aloe vera-based formulas can help breakouts and rashes, while for post-menopausal skin loss of glow is often the biggest issue as skin looks alarmingly drier. Rosehip and argan oils are two good basics if this is happening to you and add in a good overnight mask or rich plant-based balm like Neal’s Yard Remedies Wild Rose Balm (suitable for all skins and a fab multi-tasker if ever there was one) for plumper looking skin at dawn.
NYR’S DO-EVERYTHING/ANYTIME/OVERNIGHT SKIN SAVIOUR
You’ve just hit a landmark birthday. Age. Collagen levels drop as we age but they fall of a cliff by the time you hit 50 – argh!! By 40, you’re probably already noticing your skin might be less invincible than you hoped it’d be. I still think brands are missing a HUGE gap in the market for age-targeted skincare launches, but ARK SKINCARE have been doing this for years, and do it well. Depending on your skin type, those lighter serums you loved, especially in summer, will feel like water off a duck’s back. Now’s the time to look for cutting-edge, powerful botanical formulas with potent antioxidant, nourishing or collagen (and therefore elastin) boosting ingredients like Vitamin C, seabuckthorn, omega 3, wild blueberries, niacinamide (Vit B3), and copper.
OSKIA’S BEDTIME BEAUTY BOOST powered by stem cell technology
And things like plant stem cells (like OSKIA’s award-winning Swiss Apple stem cell technology) and oxygen-infused products can help older skin, too (note – oxygen is a tough one to capture in skincare formulas but Swiss brand Karin Herzog’s Vita-Kombi 2 is one to try – the brand’s founder is Nobel prizewinner Dr Paul Herzog who found a way to seal the oxygen in the product until the moment it’s applied to skin).
And get the great skin-renewer, Retinol, onboard, if you haven’t already! (Side note: if you do mix and match, make sure each individual product doesn’t contain too much of the same ingredient as an overload with tip the balance and you could be stripping or saturating your skin instead of re-balancing it.)
Collagen supplements can help a lot too – one of my favourites is the Collagen Shots drink by Rejuvenated (and they also do a vegan version, good to know…)
How long has this been going on? Skin just seems to become immune to its “regime” after a while – how many months this is, varies, and while there’s no discernible reason why this happens as everything was going so well (!), view it as a chance to try other brands you’ve had your eye on – chances are you’ll find a new skincare star you actually prefer to your past love(s).
You’re not zone-targeting. If you’re a one product fits all person and rush out of the door in the morning after cleansing and moisturising, it might be time to properly target specific areas like the more delicate eye or above the mouth lip area (another bane of our existence when we get older!) In this year’s awards, we saw more zone-targeted treatments, including Hand Serums (Kiss The Moon do a fab “overnight hand treatment”) while Stellar Decolletage is the first neck, breast and decolletage brand to specifically formulate products for that whole zone.
STELLAR DECOLLETAGE, ONE OF OUR BEAUTY SHORTLIST AWARDS 2018 WINNERS
I don’t think there are enough products out yet for above-mouth wrinkles (thanks, hormones!) so there’s a gap in the market here, particularly for the over 50 demographic.
KISS THE MOON’S LOVE NIGHT CREAM FOR HANDS #theovernightsleeper
Sleep. The bane of the western world, lack of sleep, poor sleep quality and sleep apnea can wreck even the best skincare routine. This is when you need to fix the issue at the root – meditation before bed, switching off electronics (and, ideally Wi-Fi), taking sleep supplements (valerian, hops, lavender, passiflora – and magnesium, have worked well for me). Sorting problems by sharing them or facing them head on – they have an annoying knack of sabotaging your sleep and sleep deprivation is a downhill journey that affects everything from your mindset and emotions and hormones, to your skin. Ditto….STRESS!
Change of season, change of environment. The lovely light moisturiser that worked so well on a humid island will be out of its league in Arizona…the aircon and heating in the new office you just moved into can suck the moisture out of your skin like a hairdryer used backwards! One of the delights of changing seasons is the chance to return to your big loves from past seasons, or dip into new ones. I love a great facial oil in winter, but I’m not as into them in summer (when I’ll use an oil only as a treatment if I’ve had too much sun – something that happens rarely, these days, as sun is such a vicious skin-ager). Spanish brand Dafna’s Skincare launched Moisture – Light, after the success of their cult Moisture product, perfect for summer’s hotter days when your regular moisturiser feels too…”thick”.
Feel free to add your tips for upping your skincare game, in the comments below!