Back to School: The Basics of Skincare

If you’re a regular here, or on our social media (or you hang around both, yay!), you’ll know that we love talking about skincare. It’s totally our bag, and we adore how much you all love it too. Looking after our skin is something that we’re passionate about, and we know you are too.

We might talk about the impact of stress and hormones on our skin or go into great detail on vitamin D, sunlight and our skin . We might even talk at length about how food allergies can have an effect on the health of our skin . (Actually, there’s no “might” about it, we have spoken about all of those things, if you’re interested.)

But what about the basics of keeping our skin healthy? You know, the simple cleansing and moisturising? Because unless we get those right, is there any point thinking about anything else?

Probably not.

So we thought we’d strip things back a little bit for this article, and go old school - the basics of skincare and how to get them ‘spot’ on.

Skincare 1.0

Much like painting a wall that needs an undercoat (I know this now, after painting a ‘virgin’ wooden fence with no undercoat - it took four layers of actual paint, but that’s a whole other story…), our skin also needs a good base.

I’m not even talking about concealers and colour correctors, I’m talking about way before those.

Cleansing away dirt , makeup and other debris, quenching our skin's thirst with moisturiser and protecting it from the sun - these are the absolute basics that our skin needs every day (twice a day when it comes to cleansing and moisturising).

Get the basics right, and we stand the best chance of healthy, clear, non irritated, happy skin. Because often, less is more, and if we have sensitive skin, this can be especially true. Stripping back to the basics of what our skin needs can help to reduce skin sensitivity and irritation.

The Importance of Keeping Our Skin Clean

Did you know that removing makeup and cleansing the skin aren't necessarily the same thing? Some skincare products are designed to remove makeup, whilst others are designed to remove dirt and debris. Others, like the Sönd Rebalance and Reset Cream Cleanser , are designed to helpfully do both.

This all down to the differences between oil and water. Makeup tends to be oil based, which requires an oil based cleanser, that contains a surfactant , to melt away the makeup and lift it away from the skin. Incidentally, a lot of the dirt on our skin is also oil based, due to the presence of sebum, the natural oil produced by the skin.

So using a makeup remover, or a creamy cleanser such as ours designed to remove makeup, will also remove oily dirt.

But that’s not all the grime that’s present on our skin that needs to be removed. Sweat and environmental pollutants and toxins are also present and need to be removed. And that’s when a water based cleanser comes in, which effectively removes all this unwanted debris resting comfortably on our skin.

This is the premise of double cleansing, and if you’d like to learn more, we wrote about it in our article - Double Cleansing: Why. What. When. How .

Luckily, with a cleanser like ours, it's all done in one easy step.

Cleansing the skin after a long day removes makeup along with all the dirt, sweat, oil, bacteria, dead skin cells and pollution that’s built up over the course of the day. But cleansing in the morning is just as important, to remove the oil and sweat that’s built up overnight.

If we leave all this junk on our skin, it can block our pores. Blocked pores can only take so much before they become irritated, leading to blackheads, spots, acne breakouts and inflamed skin.

The Benefits of Keeping Our Skin Well Moisturised

Once we’ve cleansed our skin, even with a gentle creamy cleanser, our skin will be crying out for moisture. Water and the most gentle of cleansers will remove oil from the skin. We might see this oil as our matte skin enemy, but without it, our skin would feel tight, irritated and dry.

So replenishing the lost moisture -giving skin oils with a decent moisturiser is key.

A little side note on hydrated skin, which is different from moisturised skin . Hydrated skin is skin that’s holding enough water in its cells, helping to keep it looking plump and glowy. This comes from drinking enough water (and certain skincare ingredients such as hyaluronic acid).

This is different from moisturised skin, which is achieved by applying the right moisturisers. However, dehydrated (that with a lack of water) or dry skin (that with a lack of moisturising elements) will both appear the same - parched, dull and ageing.

Our skin needs to be moisturised after each cleanse - so once in the morning, and once again before bed. Daytime and night time moisturisers tend to be different, with those meant for during the day being lighter so that they promote less shine and those meant for overnight being heavier and full of ingredients that enrich the skin as we sleep and the skin repairs itself.

Here at Sönd, our Calming Hydration Day Cream is a great all-rounder for all skin types, even the most sensitive. Enriched with shea butter, pomegranate and our uniquely alkalising silica salt blend, it keeps the skin happily hydrated all day.

The perfect accompaniment is the matching night cream, and our Overnight Replenishment Night Cream is packed with nourishing argan, coconut and hemp oils.

Both will help to calm irritation and redness, as well as support the needs of unhappy, acne prone or stressed out skin.

Why We Need to Keep Our Skin Protected From Too Much Sunlight

So, that’s the cleansing and moisturising sorted, what about the sun protection? In the early development stages of our skincare products, we decided to keep SPFs out of all our formulations.

We wrote about the reasons why in our article, SPFs: Should We Wear them Every Day ? In a nutshell, we believe that using an SPF is an individual choice due to their potential links with skin allergies, fertility problems and the environment . So we left them out, and if you’d like to add one to your skincare routine, you can!

If you decide not to, then it’s important to take other measures to protect your skin from the sun . These include wearing good quality sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat and avoiding direct sunlight when the sun is at its hottest - from 11am to 3pm between the months of March and October.

Other sun protection steps include wearing loose, long sleeved clothing and seeking out shady spots. And most definitely stay hydrated! This won’t protect you from sunburn, but it will help you avoid dehydration.

Sunburn and sun damage will cause blisters and red skin. But on top of that, already sensitive or stressed out skin will become even more so.

Skincare Basics From Sönd

The basics of skincare are pretty simple - cleanse, moisturise and protect from the sun. But as with many of the basics, sometimes a lesson to refresh ourselves is well needed.

Then, once your skin has graduated from the basics and you’ve found a routine that works for you, then you can introduce more skincare products, such as a toner or a serum , one by one.

References

https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/face-washing-how-to

https://www.healthline.com/health/cosmetic-safety/healthy-facial-moisturizers

https://www.allure.com/story/dry-vs-dehydrated-skin-whats-the-difference

https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/the-trouble-with-sunscreen-chemicals/

https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment/2019/05/what-sunscreens-are-best-you-and-planet

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/sunscreen-and-sun-safety/