Skincare Guide

This is a must-do morning and night, to remove grime, sebum and micro-organisms from your face. Done properly, it can improve the barrier of your skin which is key for problem skin. Here's our guide to Cleansing 101.

• Use a 10 cent piece size of cleanser (usually 1-2 squirts of product)

• Apply to your face with warm water (if using a gel cleanser, create a light lather first in your hands). Hot water will strip your skin of natural oils and leave you with facial redness; cold water won't remove all of the grime.

• As long as you don't have overly sensitive skin, a double cleanse is recommended at the end of the day. The first cleanse removes makeup and product whilst the second cleanse removes the deeper, dirtier particles. This is essential if you wear makeup throughout the day.

• Choose a cleanser consistency suited for your skin. Gel cleansers (such as our Regulate Enzymatic Cleanser and Renew Antioxidant Cleanser) are recommended for oily to combination type skin. Milky cleansers (found in our Restore Botanical Cream Cleanser) are designed for dry and more sensitive skin types.

You can always switch up your cleansers as the seasons change as well - I love to use my Antioxidant Gel Cleanser most of the time but from Autumn through Winter I add in additional support with my Cream Cleanser as my skin starts to become drier. Your products should change in response to your skin and environment changing. This is also why our cleansers are larger than usual - they are catered to last about a season.

Another must-do in your skin care arsenal. Moisturisers hydrate the skin, help maintain elasticity and improve skin texture. Yes, please! Moisturisers are applied morning and night, after cleansing and serums. Remember to wait five minutes after your serum application before using moisturiser. Use a 10 cent sized piece (or 1 pump of product) and apply it over your face (avoiding the delicate eye area), neck and décolletage.

What type of moisturiser is best suited to your skin type? The secret is in the ingredients.

• If you have dry, mature and dehydrated skin, look for Hyaluronic Acid which is hydrating and moisturising, assists in the production of collagen, and helps the skin to look plump, smooth, and hydrated. Our Restore and Renew ranges are suited to this.

• If you have mature, polluted & ageing skin, look for antioxidant ingredients. Antioxidants such as dark berries (bilberries, goji berries), mangosteen and wheat grass are great for healing damaged skin and preventing future ageing. Our Renew range is best for this.

• If you have oily and acne-prone skin, look for botanics such as White Willow Bark, Pineapple and Papaya, which all work to gently exfoliate, remove dead skin cells and even clear pores in the case of White Willow Bark. Our Regulate range is best for this.

This is a beauty essential to achieve glowing skin year-round. But...in the case of exfoliating, less is more! This is particularly relevant if you have oily skin, because the more you exfoliate your skin, the more impaired your skin barrier can become. When this happens, your sebaceous glands produce more oil, and the acne cycle continues.

The type of exfoliant you use is also extremely important. Steer clear of harsh, irritating agents that 'scrub' your skin. Once again, it comes back to adversely impairing the skin barrier, as opposed to helping the epidermis to gently remove dead skin cells.

This is why we've introduced our fine crystal exfoliating powder - a dynamic product that provides wonderful, yet gentle exfoliation. Simply mix a small quantity into your favourite cleanser and apply in circular motions on wet skin (she's a multi-tasker as well!). For a bespoke approach, simply alter the ratio of crystals to cleanser to create a lighter or more intensive scrub. I recommend a pinky fingernail size of powder and for exfoliation to be done once a fortnight at the most provided your skin can tolerate it.

Exfoliation is avoided on areas of skin that are damaged, broken or irritated.

Over-exfoliation is one of the biggest contributors to skin barrier breakdown. This is why you won’t see any harsh exfoliants in our ingredient listing.

Serums are applied to damp skin after cleansing and before moisturising. Serums are like a beauty chameleon - you can choose one depending on what your specific skin requirements are for the day / month / season. They contain a high concentration of active ingredients, and have a small molecular size compared to a moisturiser. This means they penetrate deeply, getting to the deeper dermal layers where the majority of the skin's cells are located.

Serums are ideal for all skin types - the trick is to choose one that meets your skin's needs:

• If you need help restoring your skin, choose our Vitamin Serum A. Retinoids are powerful antioxidants that improve skin health whilst counteracting and improving sun damage and acne. They do this by improving cellular turnover, which can also lead to a small purging effect in the first 6 weeks of use if using a stronger retinoid. We use a weaker retinoid called retinyl palmitate, as it doesn’t cause the same kind of irritation as stronger retinoids and retinols. Vitamin A also helps with premature ageing, working to regenerate skin, increasing elasticity and reversing photodamage. In our opinion, it should be introduced around the late 20’s and can support the skin forever.

• If you need help regulating your skin (hello oily or combination skin), go for our Vitamin Serum B. Niacinamide is a type of B vitamin which helps to balance oil flow, whilst reducing pore size and improving uneven skin tone. It’s a big help to the skin barrier, and our go-to recommendation for blemish prone skin.

• If you want to brighten your complexion, opt for our Vitamin Serum C. Vitamin C is involved in collagen production whilst also protecting against breakdown, so is a must for optimal skin health. Due to its potent antioxidant properties, it's also considered our number 1 ingredient for getting that glow.

• If you need hydration, go for our favourite Moisture Intensive Serum. This is a higher concentration of Hyaluronic Acid than is in our moisturisers to give an extra oomph to dry, mature and dehydrated skin. My favourite use for this or our Ancient Oil Elixir is as a primer before makeup - it gets the complexion so hydrated!

• If you need deep nourishment for dehydrated, sensitive or dry skin, you have to try our Ancient Oil Elixir. This can also be used as an oil cleanser or as a nurturing serum. Filled to the brim with rich botanical oils, you’ll love how well it absorbs.

How to apply: Use 1/2 to a full pump of product (less than a pea size) and gently press into your skin. Wait for five minutes before moisturising to allow for maximum penetration into the skin. This is a beautiful time to add in some gua-sha stone massage as well, to help the product penetrate the skin and encourage good lymphatic flow to reduce puffiness.

We recommend integrating serums into your skincare routine after at least one month of being on a natural cleanser and moisturiser. Once we remove ingredients in skincare that can build up in the skin, and encourage normal and healthy skin function (like natural exfoliating of the skin), there can be a purging effect in the skin which results in little whiteheads that are usually non-inflammatory. We think it's best to wait for this before adding in actives, as we also don't want to overload the skin. Overuse of actives is another thing that can impair the skin barrier, which is something we want to avoid.

SPF should be used for every skin! It is vitally important for the health of your skin, but also particularly essential when using Vitamin A.

We recommend finding a sunscreen that works for your skin, as this will be highly individual depending on your skin type and sensitivity.

We love our physical sunscreens by Salt + Stone as they are well absorbed, and we have found them to work even with oily skin types.

If you find sunscreen generally greasy, you might be better looking at a chemical sunscreen option; preferably fragrance free.

We have three different ranges for our everyday essentials of moisturisers and cleansers.

Regulate

This range is designed for oily, combination and blemish-prone skin.

Renew

This range is designed for dry, mature and polluted/dull skin types.

Restore

This range is designed for dry, sensitive and dehydrated skin types.

Your routine should always start with cleansing.

After cleansing, serums can be applied in order of what is lightest to heaviest.

Our heaviest serum is our Ancient Oil Elixir or Vitamin Serum A.

Our lightest serum is Moisture Intensive serum, followed by our Vitamin Serum B and C and Blemish Control.

Serums should be left to absorb for a few minutes before applying moisturiser.

SPF should be applied after moisturiser has absorbed.