Stop overthinking skin care. What's essential and what's hype
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What makes skincare routines feel overwhelming?
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Brands create a lot of noise in the skincare space. Like you can't just go to the store and buy a simple moisturizer. There's a dozen different choices, it seems, from every single brand. And just to figure out what you need for your skin, you have to wade through it all. It's super confusing and complicated.
Hey, it's Mariel Segarra. And today we're talking about skincare and how it's actually not as complicated as many brands make it seem. Kelly Walsh is a health journalist who also reports on wellness and lifestyle topics. And she has been deep in the weeds reporting a special newsletter series for LifeGit about skincare. Kelly, welcome to the show.
Hey, thanks for having me. What was your relationship to skincare before you started reporting on this? Um, I used a gentle cleanser because my skin can be sensitive, a moisturizer, and then sun protection in the form of sunscreen, you know, ridiculously big hats and scarves and sometimes long sleeves. And then a few years ago, I started using a vitamin C serum because I'd heard it was good for brightening skin and mine was starting to look dull. And I think it helped, but it's expensive. The truth is I didn't feel very savvy about skincare and I actually had some FOMO around it. Like I'd see these other women in their 50s and they would have this bright, dewy, shiny, buoyant skin and I'd be like, what do they know that I don't?
What are they using? So every once in a while, I'd go down the rabbit hole and I'd buy some new product and usually I'd stop using it after a few weeks because either I didn't like the way it felt or I didn't think it was making a difference. When I started this series, I discovered I had 10 different skincare products and only used four of them.
Wow. Okay, yeah, the rest were just sitting there on the shelf. Yeah, the skincare graveyard. So for the newsletter, you talked to a bunch of skincare experts, dermatologists, researchers, and it sounds like you got a lot more confident in your skincare routine.
You know, it turns out I was doing pretty well by my skin. Who knew, right? I'm still using those core products and I'm keeping the Pricey Vitamin C Serum. And I recently started using a lactic acid serum for gentle exfoliation, but the jury's still out on that one. So the main takeaway for me from reporting this series is that I know what my skin needs now and what it doesn't. And I think a
On this episode of Life Kit, Kelly's going to share with us what she's learned about skincare. So to start off, it sounds like there are two major claims that skincare products make. And one is that they'll improve the health of your skin. And the other is that they'll improve the appearance of your skin. Let's start with health. What does it actually mean to have healthy skin?
You know, we've been convinced that we need to do a lot more for skin than we really do. It's not that difficult to keep your skin healthy and functioning throughout our lives. But along with the rest of our body, skin still ages, and that's the catch. Now, to be clear, there are products and treatments that will combat the signs of aging. And I do think that's what many of us are after, but they aren't necessarily or only about having healthier skin.
How did the guest's skincare routine evolve over time?
Here's what New York dermatologist Michelle Henry has to say about this.
I think we are getting to a place where our aesthetic goals are kind of beyond what healthy skin is. So just because you don't have glass skin doesn't mean your skin's not healthy. Just because you don't have wrinkle-free, rosy skin does not mean it's not healthy, right? Just because you have large pores does not mean it's unhealthy. So it is important to categorize what is aesthetic and what is truly the health of your skin. And healthy skin is comfortable, functional skin.
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