Stop wasting your time and money: Why minimalist, simple skincare is so much better than multistep skincare

With all the celebrity 10-step skincare routines and the countless serums, toners, oils, and high-tech beauty tools circulating the industry, it’s very easy to get carried away with your skincare routine.

But having a multi-step routine can actually be very counterproductive. 

If you really want to do what’s best for your skin, the best thing to do is to keep it simple.

As we break down the science behind our skin and skincare products, we hope you consider switching to a minimalist, simple skincare routine.

Table of Contents 1. Understanding skin anatomy: Our skin can only absorb a limited amount of product 2. Did you know toners are 95% water? The only 2 steps that matter in skincare are... 3. The more you touch your skin, the more you're irritating you're making it 4. It's just another money-grabbing tactic by brands

 

1. Understanding skin anatomy: Our skin can only absorb a limited amount of product

In order to understand why using so many skincare products is inefficient, it’s important to understand our skin anatomy. 

There are 3 layers to our skin: the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue. By far the most crucial one we need to discuss, though, is the epidermis. The epidermis is the outermost layer of our skin, and it acts as a barrier that prevents moisture from evaporating and protects our skin from external stimuli. 

The outermost layer of the epidermis, also known as the stratum corneum, is actually made up of dead skin cells. Yes, dead.

The reason for this is because the epidermis goes through a regular shedding cycle called turnover, or the regeneration of skin cells. New skin cells are born at the bottom layer of the epidermis and replace the dead ones, pushing those dead skin cells to the stratum corneum surface. And eventually, those dead skin cells will naturally peel off to make space for new dead skin cells. Put simply, the surface of our skin is dead!

That’s why it feels like your abundance of skincare products are working at first glance. But no matter how many lotions, milky lotions, serums, oils, or ampoules you use, they can only be absorbed up to the stratum corneum - the outermost layer of our skin. It doesn’t and cannot penetrate beyond that.

In fact, Pharmaceutical Affairs Laws prohibit brands from marketing their skincare products as “being able to penetrate past the [outermost layer of our skin].”

The stratum corneum also has a thickness of a mere 0.01 to 0.03mm. In other words, you’re spending all that money and time on a multi-step skincare routine - only for it to remain on the dead layer of your skin that eventually peels off.

Is it really worth going through all of that, when a simple skincare routine can give you the same results? 

2. Did you know toners are 95% water? The only 2 steps that matter in skincare are...

Perhaps you’re thinking,

“But every product in my routine has a specific purpose! How could I ditch it for a simple skincare routine?”

Let us convince you otherwise.

Particularly for toners, it’s essentially just water with a sprinkle of moisturizing ingredients. But really, it’s just water. If you use an ample amount, it may make your skin feel nourished and hydrated, but that’s from the moisturizing ingredients - not from your skin properly being moisturized.

Applying toners also destroys your skin’s natural water-to-oil ratio by oversupplying it with too much water. Although your skin may feel hydrated at first, it will dry up very quickly. This sudden change in your skin's natural water-to-oil ratio weakens your skin's barrier function. A weakened skin barrier is the ultimate cause for acne, wrinkles, and any other skin issue you can think of.

The only 2 steps that really matter are cleansing and moisturizing.

And we mean proper, effective cleansing and moisturizing - the kind that doesn’t strip your skin of its natural oils and moisture.

Double Cleansing Gel and Aquatect Gel provide that proper cleansing and moisturizing your skin has been lacking.

Similar to how oversupplying your skin with water weakens your skin barrier, over-stripping its natural moisture and oils also weakens your skin barrier. 

In order to give a fully-cleansed effect, most facial cleansers take away the majority of your skin's natural moisture and oils. This causes your skin to become extremely dry. Your skin tries to compensate for the extreme dryness by overproducing sebum, which makes it more susceptible to acne and other skin issues.

Earthcare Asia's Double Cleansing Gel assures that your skin is adequately cleansed without stripping it of its natural moisture and oils. It maintains your skin's natural water-to-oil balance, whilst refreshing it of all the gunk it has accumulated throughout the day.

In fact, this product is a 2-in-1 product that acts as a makeup remover and facial cleanser. Especially for thoe of you who wear makeup, using Double Cleansing Gel will not only cut down your time spent on skincare by half, but also cut down the number of times you touch and irritate your skin.

After cleansing your skin, it is crucial to moisturize.

However, simply moisturizing your face is not enough. There's no point if you moisturize your skin and that moisture evaporates soon after. In order to prevent moisture evaporation, you must effectively moisturize. 

To effectively moisturize is to replenish your skin with both water and oil. Water for hydrating your skin; oil for locking that hydration within your skin and preventing evaporation.

Aquatect Gel is an effective moisturizer designed for even the most sensitive skin, with a golden water-to-oil ratio of 8:2. This one product is able to moisturize your skin by replenishing ample hydration, but also retain that moisture for a long time because the oils create a seal over your skin. It is an all-in-one effective moisturizer that has 7 roles.

1. Lotion
2. Milky lotion
3. Cream
4. Serum
5. Body cream
6. Face mask
7. Makeup base

Using this one product allows you to save time and money spent on skincare, but also achieve that clear skin you've been longing for. 

Both Double Cleansing Gel and Aquatect Gel have also passed 3 skincare safety tests, assuring safe use for all:

1. Patch test: Both products do not cause irritation of the human skin 
2. Allergy test: Both products are hypoallergenic
3. Stinging test: Both products can be used on sensitive skin

Ready to revolutionize your skincare with Earthcare Asia?

Click here to purchase the value trial kit - limited for first-time customers only!

Just because you have many products and steps in your routine, doesn’t mean it's beneficial for your skin. A minimalist, simple skincare routine that targets effective cleansing and moisturizing is all you need for healthy, beautiful skin.

3. The more you touch your skin, the more irritated you’re making it

With a long multi-step skincare routine, you’re not only wasting your time and energy but also your skin’s potential.

The more products you use in your skincare routine, the more you have to touch your face. Our hands and fingers carry a lot of germs, dirt, and grime from the day. Even if you wash your hands repeatedly, the germs aren’t completely washed off (in fact, overwashing your hands may lead to extremely dry hands!). The more times you touch your face, the more bacteria you put on it, weakening your skin and increasing the likelihood of pimples.

With every product you apply on your face, you’re repeatedly exposing your skin to those bacteria. Even if your skincare products may have a special ‘acne-reducing’ effect, those effects are completely cancelled out just from touching your face over and over again. The more simple your skincare routine is, the less you irritate your skin from touching it, and the better results you’ll achieve.

4. It’s just another money-grabbing tactic by brands

Skincare and cosmetics brands love to sell their products in a collection. Meaning, they love to sell multiple products under one series. They’ll use the same trademarked name and packaging style for a cleanser, toner, lotion, serum, and eye cream that should be used together as one kit.

By now, after reading everything up to this point, you might have realized that these collections are a marketing tactic to make you use your money.

Ask yourself:

• Do you actually know the correct order to use your countless products?
• Do you actually know what the effects of each product are?
• If they all contain the same or similar ingredients, how does changing the product type or consistency make it any different from the other ones in the same collection?

There’s no need to buy all of the products in a single series.

In fact, there’s no need to buy from these trendy series at all. Instead of wasting it on a multi-step routine, why not specialize in cleansing and moisturizing by switching to an easy, 2-step, simple skincare routine?

 

References

Toyo Keizai, 2021. 'Keshousui ga "hada no oku made shintou dekinai" nattoku no riyu.' Toyo Keizai. [online] Available at: https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/397294?page=2. (Accessed 19 September 2022).