How a Simple Skincare Routine Could Benefit You
Nowadays There’s So Much Noise In the Beauty Industry!
The idea of caring for our skin has become lost in a sea of social media, countless brands and unrealistic beauty standards.
Why has it all become so complicated? Shouldn’t skincare be just that...caring for your skin?
Over time I accumulated so many products, and as a result I felt like I needed to incorporate a lot of steps into my skincare routine. This wasn’t just a waste of time and money - it also worsened my skin. No matter what I tried or how many products I used in my routine I couldn’t make a permanent difference, the blemishes came back - just like always.
These days it’s way too easy to get confused by all the different trends, techniques, and products claiming to target diverse skin problems and get rid of clogged pores or fine lines. Sometimes we forget that the most important thing to focus on is having healthy, happy skin.
I did this by treating my skin holistically.
How Does Holistic Skincare Work?
I kept it simple and decided to focus on four parts of my life to improve upon; fitness, nutrition, mind and, of course, skincare. Acne-prone skin can be challenging because each case is so unique. Often it’s difficult to determine what really triggers our flare ups. That's why taking a deeper look into our lifestyle habits and trying out new strategies can be a real game changer. This is where System Akvile’s holistic skincare philosophy began.
Holistic skincare is the idea and practice of healing that considers the whole body not just one area. It draws from the idea that the whole is a sum of its parts - if you neglect the parts the whole does not function properly.
I realized that I needed to focus not just on the external, but also the internal, in order to see some long-term improvement to my skin.
What's unique about this way of living is you observe everything as a whole. You don't look at acne-prone skin and say it's purely physical, you look at other aspects of your life too. The triggers for your blemishes can be emotional and/or physical - the causes can be more than skin deep.
Ultimately, in order to make our skin healthier we have to make ourselves healthier as a whole - mind, body, and skin.
But How Do We Begin a Holistic Skincare Routine?
Don‘t be afraid to keep it simple. The simpler your skincare routine, the easier it is to stick to it. A skincare routine should become an everyday habit.
At one point I had as many as 10 different steps to my skincare routine, sounds crazy right? I got so swept up in the trends and quick-fix promises that my skincare routine became super complicated and completely unnecessary.
Nowadays I have managed to cut it down to a straightforward 4-step routine. This is where the System Akvile 4-step cleanse-exfoliate-target-moisturize products and mantra came from.
Learning what is in your products, which ones work together and how they benefit your skin is an important part of developing an effective skincare routine.
The Key to Understanding Skincare Products
It’s sometimes hard to figure out what the ingredients in our products are doing to our skin. Are they a help or hindrance?
Unfortunately the answer isn’t black and white.
Thinking natural products are safer for our skin is a common misconception these days. Really whether a substance is natural or synthetic has no connection with its efficacy or safety. All ingredients should be looked at with a critical eye regardless.
Another common issue is use of the word ‘chemical’ with negative connotations attached. Ultimately everything is made up of chemicals, natural or synthetic this is neither a good or bad thing, so don’t be too quick to judge a complex chemical-looking ingredient in a product!
With these things in mind the key step you can take to understand your skincare products is to become educated on which ingredients are safe for your skin.
Read the ingredients list on the products and research the effects they can have. If you find something that is not on the official list of cosmetic ingredients then there’s a chance that it may not be great for you or your skin. Remember, keeping a fact-based approach is important, don’t let trends and empty promises mislead you.
It’s sometimes hard to know where to start with your research on this topic so let’s give you a few tips to get you started…
What Products You Should Use vs. What You Should Avoid
UNDERSTAND fragranced products.
Certain fragrances in skincare products are among the most common cause of sensitizing and other negative skin reactions for all skin types, especially for a very sensitive skin. It’s mind-boggling that this isn’t common knowledge.
If people who don’t suffer from blemishes are affected negatively by these particular fragrances then you can imagine the results on acne-prone skin!
We care about your skin’s health at System Akvile and take the science behind our products seriously. As a result, we avoid fragrances as much as possible (where the formula allows) and will never use those that are on the official allergenic fragrance list.
USE acidic products.
The pH level of our skin consists of the balance of acid and alkaline, ranging from 1 to 14. Anything lower than 7 is considered acidic, while a number higher than 7 indicates alkaline. The body functions the best when these levels are neutral, however, on the whole skin is slightly more acidic at 4 to 6.5. - this is known as the ‘acid mantle’. One of the benefits of this environment is to help skin cells grow and function. Skin cell growth is optimal for acne-prone skin which needs as much regeneration as it can get.
AVOID large amounts of alcohol.
Many acne-prone skin products are alcohol-based. A common misconception is that alcohol based products can control oily acne-prone skin. This is not really the case - damage from alcohol can actually lead to an increase in enlarged pores, which can counteract the initial oil-stripping and in fact create more oil on your skin. For this reason System Akvile doesn’t use alcohol as an active ingredient in our products.
Remember, A Quick-Fix Can Distract You From Long-Term Goals
Skincare products are great because they can prove as a catalyst for initial skin improvement. However it’s important to remember that this isn’t a long-term solution.
When I started treating my skin with the 4-step routine I saw immediate effects, my skin became clearer and I felt happier. But as a result I ignored my new holistic routine and fell back into bad habits, unsurprisingly I broke out like crazy. Previously this would have caused me to give up, but this time I had a long-term goal to focus on - holistic skincare.
At one time or another we’ve all obsessed a little too much over the negatives. Setbacks can suck, but dwelling on them sucks even more. It’s easy to get stuck in a bad place when something disappoints us. This is especially the case when it comes to our skin.
Long-term goals help you to appreciate that your situation will improve and you are never trapped in your present circumstances. You can look ahead and see that there is always room for improvement.
To avoid you becoming overwhelmed with your new holistic skincare routine System Akvile would like to provide you with simple goals and tips & tricks to help kick-start your journey. We believe that community and support is an important part of this process and we’re here to help you out - every step of the way.
So, To Recap
Limitations: Some products can be misleading and have ingredients that damage your skin, you need to understand the ingredients in order to avoid these. On the flip side good skincare products can help to improve our skin quickly, however, this doesn’t guarantee that there will be long-term improvement.
Bottom line: By educating ourselves thoroughly on which ingredients are effective and safe we can make sure we get the right products for our skin. This in addition to focusing on the mind, body and nutrition means we can target blemishes from all angles not just superficially.
Key Takeaways
P.S. Acne is a medical condition, that’s why if you suspect you have developed severe acne, you should visit your dermatologist immediately. If you have acne-prone skin, prevention is key! At System Akvile we are focused on prevention and improvement - not medical treatment!