Our approach to beauty has changed drastically over the lockdown. We invested more time into our skincare routines, minimised the need for make-up and started viewing our routines as a form of self-care. And that’s exactly what skin minimalism is about—self-love. The idea that your skin doesn’t need plenty of complicated treatments to look good. All you require is a basic set of products that will nourish your skin from within, instead of hiding your ‘flaws’. Pinterest’s Predicts 2021 report states that “Skin minimalism is the end of the caked-on makeup look. People will embrace slow beauty and let their natural skin texture shine through. This new effortless routine is simple and sustainable.”

 

 

 

What is Skin Minimalism?

Skin minimalism is all about, well, a strictly minimal approach to beauty, something that aims to strip down the viral twelve-step or fifteen-step skincare routines. The result is a super simplified version of skincare that’ll save you time, money, and unnecessary trial and error—all while being more friendly to the planet. After all, fewer products mean less packaging which ultimately leads to less waste. At the heart of skin minimalism is an emphasis on banishing beauty ideals and the idea of ‘covering up your flaws’ or ‘fixing imperfections’. Skin minimalism encourages you to go unfiltered and embrace the real you.

 

 

 

How can you put it into practice?

The idea behind skin minimalism is to use the least number of products to keep your skin looking and feeling healthy. And that brings us back to the four basic steps of healthy skincare:

 

• Cleansing: One of the most important steps in any skincare routine is cleansing. Without a clean, fresh starting point, all the other steps in your skincare routine won’t be able to penetrate skin as effectively as possible. You can go for a quick cleanse in the morning but at night, make sure to massage your face for at least a minute in order to properly remove dirt, grime and pollution that has accumulated on the skin’s surface throughout the day.
• Exfoliating: According to the American Academy of Dermatology, exfoliation can leave your skin looking brighter and improve the effectiveness of topical skincare products by enhancing absorption. Regular exfoliation gets rid of dead skin cells and can help prevent clogged pores, resulting in fewer breakouts. Long-term exfoliating can increase collagen production, which is the key to glowing and vibrant skin. The protein also promotes skin elasticity, minimising the appearance of fine lines.
• Hydrating: Hydrating your skin is just like hydrating your body. Your body needs hydration to look and feel its best—and, no matter your skin type so does your skin. If your skin is dehydrated, you need to actively add water back to it. For effective hydration, look for products with hyaluronic acid, which retains an impressive thousand times its weight in water and if you want something more herbal then aloe vera and honey will add a healthy dose of hydration back into the skin. Along with the topical application of hydrating serums and creams, drinking plenty of water is also vital for healthy skin.
• Protecting: Now coming to the most important step of skincare—sunscreen. Everyone should be applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher every day to protect their skin from the harmful UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays penetrate into the skin’s dermis prematurely aging the skin, causing it to wrinkle and develop brown age spots while UVB rays can burn the skin. According to The Skin Cancer Foundation, New York, USA, daily application of sunscreen decreases your risk of skin cancers and skin precancers and helps prevent premature skin aging. One must also eat a lot of lycopene rich foods like watermelon and tomatoes to repair sun-damaged skin from within.

The Bottom Line

With the rise of decluttering, we’re actively going back to a simplistic way of living that requires minimum effort and skin minimalism is just an extension of that concept. On the surface, it might seem like a fleeting social media trend, while in reality, it’s a holistic approach to skincare that aims at getting rid of the unnecessary bells and whistles, while encouraging you to embrace your natural beauty.