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Post in Skincare Aware
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Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

I've been seeing a lot of blog posts and articles lately about reducing the amount of products in a skincare routine. So, I wanted to start a thread to see if anyone else (who, like me, has a dozen or more skincare products on rotation) is interested in this or already trying this. 

 

On one extreme, there's skin fasting (I found out about this on the Man Repeller blog), which is a theory that if you temporarily forgo skincare products except for, like, a cleanser to remove makeup, then your skin can breathe and detoxify.

 

Then there's skip care (I saw this in an Elle article), which, from what I gather, appears to involve paring down your skincare routine to only the items that work best on your skin.

 

Finally, I came across a post on Refinery29 today about a minimalist Scandinavian skincare routine, which honestly just sounds like a fairly normal skincare routine before the rise of K-beauty. The post quotes a dermatologist who states that the only products a person with fairly normal skin needs are an AHA/BHA cleanser, an antioxidant serum, a moisturizing SPF, and a retinol.

 

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Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

hmmm...I guess I've been doing this for years...lol. 😛

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

@txcatx I’ve been thinking about this thread  since you posted it and have actually given it a try! Initially my experiment started out because I had suddenly developed a sensitivity to something and I was trying to weed out potential suspects. I later realized it was not at all my skincare, but I did try skin fasting and slip care. For the record, I don’t wear a ton of makeup on a daily basis. The only complexion products I use regularly are a bit of concealer, and a dusting of powder to control oil. I do love my highlighters and blush though! 

 

My skin has been SO much happier and balanced since I cut out a lot of steps. It’s brighter, clearer and I’d like to say less reactive. That could also be because I was doing too much before, and isn’t really an issue with ingredients. 

 

Old routine:

- AM: cleanse, glycolic toner, OH truth serum, eye cream, moisturizer, spf.

- PM: makeup removal, cleanse, hydrating toner, eye cream, active of some sort (retinol 2x a week, derm topical 1x per week, lactic acid 2x per week, with 1 rest day after the derm cream because it was so drying), moisturizer, sleeping mask if necessary. I also Love my sheet and wash off masks! 

 

New current routine:

- AM: cleanse, eye cream, moisturizer, spf

- PM: makeup removal, rinse with water, hydrating toner, active (retinol 2x a week, derm cream 1x a week, vit c 3x a week and lactic acid 1x per week), moisturizer and sleeping mask if necessary.  I still do masking based on how my skin feels that day.

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

@cianni I'm glad this was successful for you! When I tried going minimalist with my skincare, I dried my skin out, and I didn't really feel like experimenting with a bunch of new-to-me products to find some that are more hydrating. Maybe someday, I'll break out all the samples I've been hoarding and try to find the right balance of products.

 

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

@txcatx my samples pile has grown right back up to its original size since 😂 I mostly realized that I don’t need toner and eye cream twice a day, and my skin and wallet are happy about that ! Hahaha

Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

Funny enough my mom, who uses nothing, just tried a sample of a face cream and enjoyed how her skin felt while using it. Now that the sample has run out she can notice a difference and says her skin doesn't feel as nice as when she was using the cream.

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

Skin fasting is a no-go with my rosacea. The last time I went off-script, it took my skin three weeks to fully recover! I need a simple and gentle routine that's chock-full of soothing, moisturizing, non-irritating ingredients. Currently I only use four products every day - cleanser, serum, AM sunscreen, night cream - plus a weekly BHA/enzyme peel followed by a soothing mask. While I love trying new products, I almost always come back to the same routine because it works. 

 

 

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

This week has been all bare minimum @txcatx. Cleanse, some toner, maybe a serum and moisturizer (and oil at night). No difference in my skin. Apparently I mask for the fun of it.

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

Yep @byme4u, so true!

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

It's been so interesting reading everyone's responses, especially regarding how your skin has reacted to skipping out on many or all products.

 

I'm going to give the minimalist skincare routine a try, especially since I have all the recommended products--a glycolic acid cleanser, vitamin C serum, a moisturizing sunscreen, and retinol serum--but I think I'm still going to need my eye cream and a moisturizer at night (especially after the cleanser and retinol!).

Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

@txcatx there's at least one day a week I only cleanse and moisturize. ( usually because I'm too tired to go full on routine) but it doesn't seem to bother my skin

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

@txcatx Oh boy, I've tried the skin fasting or "caveman regimen" and like others said, it worsened my skin. It only works on people who genetically have good, clear skin. Before my interest in skincare and makeup, I just washed my face with water or a cleanser and the cystic acne wouldn't go away. Skin is so much better now.

 

I think what people tend to forget is that genetics play a role in all of this. And that skincare has a luxury aspect to it. 

 

Just do what your skin needs, pamper it however you want, and know when to back off if your skin is irritated.

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

@txcatx , those are interesting blog posts and articles. I’ve done a temporary “skin fast” and have also tried to go minimalist with my skincare before and the results have not been pretty – to my eyes and to the eyes of others. My morning routine is fairly simple; my evening routine though has a lot more steps. 🙂 Everyone’s skin is different – my SIL’s skincare routine is the epitome of minimalism (and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much as a blemish on her skin) but I’ve found that my skin looks and feels better when I use more than just a few products.  

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

@txcatx   That's very interesting information.  Too many products, for me anyway, are not good for my skin.  It's good to keep my options open if my skin changes in any way, but otherwise the results are too harsh for me.

Unfortunately, I get lazy after awhile of keeping up with my skin care routine. When I do, if I go longer than one day without any serums or moisturizers, my skin condition regresses and I get rough patches very quickly.

 

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

I can resonate with others like I've dropped so much time and money into my skincare, I'm not really sold on the idea of fasting.  But, at the same time, I've been very frustrated with my skin.  It seems like anything and everything clogs my pores.  I also still have hormonal breakouts and stress breakouts.  It's the vicious cycle where my stress feeds into my skin and it's really messing with me.  So, a part of me wants to "fast" ( @WinglessOne , you can sell anything with the right buzzword/market-y name), but I don't think I could handle the outcome...like I think I would break out more.

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

Such a timely post for me, @txcatx.  After many years of no skincare - seriously I would just wash my face sporadically with soap, I ended up with a few spots of hyperpigmentation from when I pick at my occasional pimples.  And with age, my skin just isn’t as smooth as before.

 

Enter Sephora 2 years ago and with AHAs, sunscreen, exfoliants, facial oils, moisturisers, sheet masks and various serums such as retinols and vitamin C, my dark spots have lightened and my skin looked smoother but I seem to get pimples just a tad more frequently.  A few times a week I now just wash with face wash (first cleanse with an oil cleanser followed by a foaming one) and just go to bed.  No serums, no essences, no creams - partly because I’m tired and partly because I’ve been wondering if I’m overdoing all the skincare.  Not sure if this “skin fasting” is helping but it doesn’t seem to be happening hurting!

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

@txcatx Thank you for sharing. I tried skin fasting and it didn’t work for me. My skin got super angry and confused. 

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

@SportyGirly125, my skin responded the same way when I've done a skin fast, especially the super angry part. 😞

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

@itsfi I guess we just got to keep masking and spending money on skincare. 

 

Got to make our skin happy 😊 

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

Me too @SportyGirly125! And my skin has very expensive tastes 😂

Re: Skin Fasting, Skip Care, Minimalist Skincare

Hahaha @SportyGirly125! Yes, it's a must! LOL!

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