Waterless skincare has become a trend, with brands selling balms, oils, powders and solid bars under labels such as anhydrous, water-free or concentrated. The pitch is often that ordinary products are mostly water, so you are paying for filler, while waterless ones are purer, stronger and better for the planet. Waterless, or anhydrous, skincare has…
Humectants are the ingredients that pull water into the outer layer of your skin. Glycerin, hyaluronic acid, urea and aloe are all humectants, and they are in almost every moisturiser and serum on the market. How well they feel, though, can change with the weather. In humid weather, humectants tend to work well, because there…
It is late, you are tired, and the bathroom sink feels a long way off. Skipping your evening cleanse once in a while seems harmless, and for many people it is. But if it becomes a habit, or if you are going to bed in makeup and sunscreen, it can start to show. For most…
Vitamin C serums are among the more expensive products in many routines, and they are also among the most fragile. A bottle that starts out clear or pale yellow can turn orange, then brown, well before you reach the bottom. At that point, much of what you paid for may have gone. To make vitamin…
For many men, skincare starts and ends with a face wash, and anything more feels like an unnecessary extra. Toner in particular is often dismissed as a product that does little. Others remember the sting of an alcohol-based aftershave and assume toner is the same thing. Men do not need a toner, but some can…
Look at the ingredient list of a good antioxidant serum and you will rarely find just one antioxidant. Vitamin C often comes with vitamin E and ferulic acid, green tea with resveratrol, niacinamide with a handful of plant extracts. Brands often describe these blends as synergistic, meaning the ingredients are supposed to work better together…
Vitamin C serums and exfoliating acids are two of the most popular ingredients for brighter, more even skin. It is natural to want to use both, and just as natural to wonder which should go on first, or whether they can be used together at all. The simplest and gentlest approach is not to layer…
Facial oils have gone from something people with oily skin avoided to a staple of many routines. Yet the worry remains: if your skin already makes plenty of oil and you are prone to breakouts, is putting more oil on it asking for trouble? Facial oils can clog pores, but not all of them do…
If you wear sunscreen or makeup, a regular face wash does not always remove everything. That is where pre-cleansers come in. The two most popular are cleansing oils, including balms, and micellar water. Both lift makeup and sunscreen before or instead of your usual cleanser, but they work differently and suit different situations. A cleansing…
Sensitive skin puts you in an awkward spot. You may have rough patches, dullness or clogged pores that exfoliation could help, but every time you try a scrub or an acid your face turns pink, stings or feels tight for days. The question is not really whether to exfoliate, but how little you can get…
Walk down any skincare aisle and you will find night creams promising to repair your skin while you sleep, sitting next to serums, gels and lotions labelled as overnight treatments. Both go on at bedtime and both stay on your skin until morning, so it is easy to assume they do the same job. They…
You apply serum, moisturiser and sunscreen, and as you smooth the last layer in, little grey or white rolls appear on your cheeks. Foundation then catches on them and looks patchy. This is pilling, and it is one of the most annoying and common problems with layered skincare routines. Skincare pills when products do not…
Many people grew up believing that a face is only clean when it feels squeaky and tight after washing. That feeling is actually one of the clearest signs that a cleanser has taken away more than dirt and oil. It has also removed some of the fats and moisture that keep the skin barrier healthy….
Most days your toner feels completely fine. Then one evening it stings the moment it touches your cheeks, or burns around your nose and mouth. Nothing about the bottle has changed, so why does it suddenly hurt? Occasional stinging is one of the most common skincare complaints, and it usually says more about the state…
You apply your moisturiser and, instead of sinking in, it leaves your face tacky. Your hair sticks to your cheeks, your pillow feels like it is grabbing your skin, and makeup drags instead of gliding. It is a common complaint, and it rarely means the product is bad or that your skin is rejecting it….
Some people cannot sleep without a window cracked open, while others wake up with tight, dry skin and wonder whether the night air is to blame. Your skin spends a third of its life in your bedroom, so the air in that room matters more than most people realise. Sleeping with the window open is…
Double cleansing, washing your face twice with two different cleansers, has moved from Korean beauty routines into mainstream skincare. Some people swear it transformed their skin; others find it leaves them tight and dry. The truth is that it is a useful tool in some situations and an unnecessary extra step in others. Double cleansing…
You turn over a moisturiser labelled gentle and see cetearyl alcohol near the top of the ingredient list. Should you put it back? Alcohol has a bad reputation in skincare, and many people avoid anything with the word in its ingredients. But the term covers very different substances. Alcohol is not always bad in skincare….
Morning routine, night routine, AM, PM: skincare advice often assumes you already know which product goes when and in which order. Get it wrong and you may be wearing a retinoid in the sun, putting sunscreen under a heavy cream, or doubling up on products that cancel each other out. A morning routine is about…
Hydrating serums feel like a drink of water for the skin. Your face looks plumper and smoother straight away, so it is natural to wonder whether you can stop there and skip the moisturiser. Fewer products, less time, less money. Most people do need a moisturiser after a hydrating serum. Serums with hyaluronic acid or…
Your usual moisturiser suddenly stings. Your skin feels tight within minutes of washing, looks red and shiny at the same time, and even water seems to irritate it. Products you have used for months are now a problem. These are classic signs that the skin barrier, the outer protective layer, has been damaged. To repair…