Here’s what happened when I gave it ALL up
It’s my job to rate, review and curate all the latest skin, hair and makeup products, so my nightly skincare routine reflects that—aka, it’s long, has multiple steps and changes often. One could say that I’m a beauty product polygamist—if there’s a new product I’m interested in, I’ll add in it, swapping out a step to give it space. Products might be substituted in and out often, but the actual act of doing it? I’m insanely consistent at that. When my editor suggested I take a break from it—by which she meant absolutely no intervention at all—I was terrified.
To tell you how my no-skincare week went, I’ll have to tell you what it normally is. I take my makeup off by massaging in the Purearth Qing Cleansing Oil, and then follow with the Sunday Riley Ceramic Cleanser. I swipe on the Dr Barbara Sturm Balancing Toner, and then I usually indulge in a long, hard stare at my super-cleansed face. Then come the actives. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I’m using the Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Skin Perfecting Liquid and following it with the Caudalie Vinoperfect Serum to act as a one-two punch for unclogging pores and brightening any hyperpigmentation. On the other days, I’ll apply a thin layer of adapalene (a synthetic version of retinol), and let it dry, before going in with the Drunk Elephant Protini Peptide Moisturiser, Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Eye Cream and finally, the Kora Organics Noni Glow Oil. Oh, and lip balm, cuticle oil and a touch of gua sha massage. I should also tell you that my skin is mostly dry, but prone to dryness and clogged pores and a random hormonal or stress breakout if things are a little batty at the time. But in the name of honest journalism, I’ve decided to give a no-skincare week a chance.
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One could say that I’m a beauty product polygamist
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In the name of honest journalism, I’ve decided to give a no-skincare week a chance
Day 1
I’m starting on a Monday. In the morning, I just wore some sunscreen, because I’m sorry, that’s non-negotiable and I wasn’t going to risk lasting sun damage. I’m skipping my two-step makeup routine because I won’t be able to double cleanse it off at night. I work all day, and then have a workout class in the evening. Usually, I’ll do the whole routine after, while I wash my hair, but I just splashed my face with water. It felt icky, because I knew how much I sweated through that HIIT session. I also reach out to Dr Jaishree Sharad—a cosmetic dermatologist and medical director of Skinfiniti—in a panic. “Ok so I’m doing this weird story and essentially skin fasting for a week. How bad are things going to get?” I text her. She says that I was using too many actives anyway (oops) and my skin could stand to take a break. “There are some days I just use sunscreen in the morning, and wash my face at night—no other steps,” she writes back. I take that as a sign to enjoy the next week as a break from my 15 minute night routine, and do something else during that time instead. Watch another episode of Emily in Paris before bed? Yup, sounds about right.
Day 2
In the morning, I find my skin feeling…fine. It is slightly dry because I always crank the AC way low down, but other than that, I hadn’t grown a second nose or anything too scary. The skin around my eyes, chin and lips always feels a little tight, but now it feels kind of flaky. I want to triple cleanse and exfoliate ASAP, but I distract myself by doing a little at-home nail art DIY instead, just so I feel like I’m indulging in some self-care.
Day 3
I’ve had a particularly stressful day, and then a grueling workout, so by the time 10pm rolls around, I am dying to do my skincare routine. The lack of it makes me realise that it grounds me, relaxes me and gives me something to look forward to, even when things feel crazy around me. It’s the 15 minutes I have to myself, in the cool darkness of my bathroom, and is usually punctuated with my favourite podcast or a playlist I’m loving. I get to the end of a really sad book, and land up sobbing through the last couple of chapters. My usual go-to after a crying sesh is to do a full skincare routine to pre-empt the puffiness the next day, but I make it dramatic by just letting the tears dry on my face as I sleep. The teens say it is the best skincare, so who am I to argue?
Day 4
Ok, tears are not the best skincare. My face feels tight, crunchy and uncomfortable, like my skin is too large for my skull. My dark circles feel more pronounced than usual, and my face looks super dull and lifeless. My mom asks if I’m sick. My friend asks if I’m okay when we chat on a video call. “You’ll find some congestion and whiteheads if you do this, especially because your skin is used to exfoliation for cell turnover,” warns Dr Geetika Mittal Gupta—a Delhi and Mumbai based dermatologist and medical director at ISAAC Luxe—when I ask her what she thinks will happen. She’s right—I can feel the congestion in my cheeks and jawline, which stresses me out. I do not want to deal with a full on breakout right now.
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Sunscreen is non-negotiable
Day 5
It’s Friday! Tonight, I’ll be wearing real makeup because I’m going out. It is important to let you know that it has been at least seven years since I have gone to sleep without having double cleansed my makeup. I’ve been exhausted—two all-nighters in a row exhausted—in college, but I’ve taken my make-up off. I’ve been overserved at a wedding and fallen asleep in my lehenga, but my mascara and concealer was wiped perfectly clean when I looked at myself in the mirror in the AM. I walked down the Miami beach road by myself at midnight after a night out in search of a drugstore, just so I could pick up a gel cleanser I forgot back at home. All this to say, I don’t sleep with make-up on. For good reason—make-up can clog your pores and prevent cell turnover. Instead of doing all my steps, I just use a warm towel and water and dab at my face so I get the top layer off at least. It feels disgusting to go to sleep like this.
Day 6
This is…not working for me. I use a gentle cleanser and wash the remnants of my mascara and base makeup off in the morning. It’s not technically at night, so I haven’t totally jeopardised my experiment. “At night your skin needs moisture, so if you’re not using any of your humectants or emollients, you’re going to feel ultra flaky and dry,” says Dr Mittal when I tell her how things are feeling. When I tell her that I think I’m getting a cystic zit, she says it might be because all the dry flaky skin is mixing up with the caked up makeup on my face to create a hellstorm.
Day 7
Today is the last night. I’ve made it. I remember reading an article a few years ago that labelled skincare products as being pseudoscience, and I remember it made me so indignant. Given the way this last week has felt, I know that while some products might just be bells and whistles—even Dr Sharad agrees that I may be adding in some products just to improve and exaggerate—some basic products, like cleanser and moisturiser really work and do the things they promise to do.
My skin doesn’t look super different—just a little flakier and duller than before. But it feels worse than it looks. Skincare is an inside-out game, and this experiment really proves that. Tomorrow night, I’ll be so excited to light a candle, cue up my playlist and start sloughing, coddling and treating my face to some TLC again—oils, masks and massages included.
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