Facials are offered almost everywhere now: day spas, hotel spas, hair salons, beauty clinics, medical spas and dermatology practices, not to mention the growing range of at-home kits and tools sold for use in your own bathroom. Each setting offers a different kind of treatment, with different training, equipment and results. The best place for…
When wrinkles, sagging, sun spots or crepey texture start to bother you, creams can only do so much. Dermatologists offer a range of in-office procedures that target these changes more directly, from quick injections to resurfacing treatments that need recovery time. The best facial procedures for aging skin depend on the problem you want to…
A new cleanser, serum or moisturiser can look perfect on paper and still leave your face red, itchy or bumpy. A patch test is a simple way to find out whether a product suits you before it goes all over your face, and it takes only a few days of patience. The best way to…
Exfoliating clears away dead surface cells so skin looks smoother and brighter, and it helps other products spread more evenly. But when you exfoliate matters almost as much as how, because some exfoliants make skin more sensitive to sunlight and others can clash with the rest of your routine. For most people, night is the…
A new skincare routine can feel confusing when every product promises results and every video uses a different order. The good news is that beginners do not need many products or a complicated system. A few basics applied in the right order will do most of the work, and getting the order right helps each…
Men’s skincare kits have become a popular gift and an easy starting point for anyone who wants a routine without spending time researching products. The best ones are simple, gentle and built around the few steps that actually make a difference, while the weakest are padded with extras you will never use. The best facial…
Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is one of the most common reasons women develop thick, dark hair on the chin, upper lip, jaw and neck. Many people look for a quick, painless way to manage it at home, and facial hair removal creams are often the first thing they try. The best facial hair removal…
Hair removal creams are one of the quickest ways to deal with fine hair on the upper lip, chin and jawline. They are painless, cheap to use and leave skin smooth for longer than shaving, but they are also chemical products, and the face is more delicate than the legs they were first designed for….
Melasma is one of the most frustrating pigment problems to treat, and the wrong facial can make it worse. Brown or grey-brown patches on the cheeks, forehead, upper lip or chin tend to deepen with sun, heat and irritation, so a treatment that looks relaxing on a spa menu can leave you with darker patches…
Acne scars are not all the same, and that is why so many treatments disappoint. A facial that softens flat red or brown marks may do nothing for a deep, narrow pit, while a procedure that lifts rolling scars may be the wrong choice for a raised scar on the jawline. The best facial treatment…
At-home microcurrent devices promise a lifted, more toned look in a few minutes a day. Getting any benefit from one depends less on the device itself and more on how you use it: clean skin, enough conductive gel, slow upward passes and, above all, consistency. Used carelessly or by the wrong person, it can be…
Snow mushroom, also known as tremella or silver ear mushroom, has been used in East Asian cooking and traditional practice for centuries. In skin care it has become a popular alternative to hyaluronic acid, marketed as a plant-based way to get plump, dewy, glowing skin. Some of the claims are reasonable. Others lean heavily on…
If your usual products suddenly sting, your face feels tight an hour after washing and flaky patches keep appearing, the problem may not be a new skin type. It is often a damaged skin barrier, the thin outer layer that keeps moisture in and irritants out. The good news is that the barrier usually repairs…
Niacinamide shows up in serums, toners, moisturisers and even sunscreens, and it is often described as the ingredient that suits almost everyone. That reputation is partly deserved. It is gentle, stable and works on several common concerns at once, but it is not a cure-all, and the strongest bottle is rarely the best one. Niacinamide…
Facial sprays are one of the most satisfying products to use: a cool, fine mist that feels instantly refreshing on a hot day, on a long flight or halfway through an afternoon at a desk. They are also one of the most debated. Some people swear by them for hydration, while others say they are…
Combination skin makes choosing a face oil tricky. Your cheeks may feel tight and flaky while your forehead, nose and chin are shiny by lunchtime, sometimes on the very same day. An oil that comforts the dry areas might leave the T-zone greasy or congested. For combination skin, the best face oils are usually light,…
Exfoliation is often presented as essential for smooth, glowing skin. But for many people, scrubs sting, acids leave the face red and tight, and every attempt ends with a week of repair. If that sounds familiar, the good news is that smoother skin does not depend on harsh exfoliation. Gentler alternatives to exfoliation include better…
Ten-step routines, new launches every week and endless advice about which serum you are missing can leave you with a bathroom shelf full of half-used bottles and skin that seems no better for it. Sometimes it is worse, because every extra product is another chance for irritation. A minimalist routine for most people is three…
Travel days are hard on skin. Hours in dry cabin air, sunlight streaming through a plane or car window, snacks instead of meals, broken sleep and then a completely different climate at the other end. It is no surprise that many people arrive with tight, dull skin or a crop of breakouts a few days…
Most faces are not one skin type. A shiny forehead and nose, dry cheeks, a patch of breakouts on the chin: one mask applied all over will suit some areas and not others. Multi-masking is the simple idea of using different masks on different zones at the same time, so each part of your face…
Skincare advice is full of warnings about which actives must never be mixed. Vitamin C and niacinamide, retinol and acids, benzoyl peroxide and almost anything. Follow every rule and you end up with a routine that feels like a chemistry exam. A small number of combinations really can make one active less effective. The best-known…