Skin Care Guide: The 3 essential products
Of those, I use four regularly, and one or two I apply occasionally. The others? Those are products that I either don’t like, found out too late are wrong for my skin, or am honestly not sure what to do with.
Today, many of us have a veritable beauty counter in our bathrooms. It's easy to feel that if you don’t use the right serums, acids, creams and masks, you’re doomed to wrinkled, splotchy and prematurely aged skin.
Somewhere along the way, skin care got complicated and started to feel like a job.
It made me wonder …
Do we really need all that to achieve healthy skin?
To find out, I spoke with half a dozen skin care experts — dermatologists, researchers and cosmetic chemists. Some of them also do consulting work for companies that make skin care products.
The short answer? No. Beyond the must-haves for well-functioning skin (which we’ll get to below), everything else is optional. “I would consider them as nice-to-haves,” says Dr. Saranya Wyles, a dermatologist and researcher who specializes in skin longevity.
This includes products designed to help brighten, smooth and refresh your skin — like many of the jars and bottles lining my vanity. And while some ingredients can improve skin’s appearance, there are limits to what any topical nonprescription product can do — like turn back the hands of time.
We’re going to get into that and more in this newsletter series. We hope it will help you find a routine and products that work for your goals right now and for the years to come.
Your one-week guide to smarter skin care
Email 2: Decoding active ingredients in over-the-counter products. Plus: Are expensive products better?
Email 3: Botox, fillers and more: When to see a dermatologist. Plus: 4 skin-boosting lifestyle habits.
Email 4: All about the routine: How do you layer products? Is there a difference between daytime vs. nighttime products? How do you know if your routine is working?
👉 After this newsletter series ends, you’ll receive weekly emails from Life Kit on lifestyle topics like health, money, relationships and more.
The three essential products
At its most basic level, skin care is about keeping our outermost layer healthy so it can function as intended, says dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon Michelle Henry.
Skin serves as a barrier to protect us from external harm, like ultraviolet radiation (UV), bacteria and viruses. It also synthesizes vitamin D from the sun, helps regulate body temperature and contains immune cells that defend against infection.
Taking care of your overall health is the best way to support your skin throughout your life: Sleep soundly, eat well, exercise and manage stress. These are the fundamentals, says Wyles.
But skin also needs topical support to help keep that protective barrier intact. According to all the experts I spoke with, the essential product list needed for skin health is short:
🫧 A gentle cleanser
Its job is simple: remove dirt, sweat, makeup and pollutants. Use something that contains hydrating ingredients and is mild and fragrance-free, to avoid allergic reactions and stripping the natural oils that help maintain skin’s barrier function.
Don’t worry about getting a cleanser with special ingredients. “It’s staying on your skin for such a short period of time” and then you rinse it off, says Dr. Amy Wechsler, founder of Spotless walk-in acne clinics in New York City — so it’s not going to do much more than clean your skin.
As far as frequency goes, wash your face every night to clean off the accumulated buildup of the day. In the morning? That’s more subjective, experts say. If you went to bed with clean skin, you may not need more than a morning rinse with water.
💦 A moisturizer that’s right for your skin
Moisturizers are heavy hitters in a skin care routine — they hydrate and lock in moisture, which supports our outer barrier and keeps skin functioning the way it should.
Most moisturizers combine three types of ingredients: humectants to draw water in, emollients to smooth and soften skin and occlusives to seal moisture in, says cosmetic chemist Kelly Dobos.
They are often formulated to support different skin needs. So make sure you know whether your skin is dry, oily, a combination of the two or sensitive — and know that this may change at different life stages.
Wherever your skin is now, look for a product designed for those needs. “No matter your skin type, you need a moisturizer that’s appropriate,” says Henry.
Because moisturizers stay on your face (and don’t get washed off like cleansers), getting one with ingredients that offer extra benefits isn’t a bad idea — for example, antioxidants to help support skin health or retinols to improve texture and tone. (We’ll talk more about these ingredients and others in our next email.)
☀️ A broad-spectrum sunscreen that’s at least SPF 30
We know that sunscreen helps protect skin from the sun’s damaging UV rays. Choose one that offers broad-spectrum protection from both UVB and UVA rays — both can cause skin cancer and visible signs of aging.
At minimum, you need sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30, and reapply every two hours if you’re going to be outside.
Make using sunscreen a no-brainer part of your day, says dermatologist Fayne Frey. “You get up, brush your teeth and put your sunscreen on.”
We’ll talk more about sun care — including the differences between sunscreens available in the United States and those in other countries — in a later email.
Note: If you’ve got a multipurpose product, like a moisturizer that contains sunscreen, go ahead and use it.It can simplify a routine, says Dobos. Just don’t forget to reapply it every two hours if you’re outside.
❗Wait, I use a lot more skin care products than this❗
So if your list of daily skin care products, like mine, is longer than this, we get it. As Wyles says, some of these extras are “nice-to-haves.” In our next newsletter, we’ll help you figure out which ingredients move the needle in skin health and appearance.
Addressing the elephant in the room 🐘
So part of the quest for the “right” skin care products comes down to this question: Is it possible to slow down skin aging — or at least the appearance of it?
As we age, our skin’s functions begin to decline, our experts say. Slower cell turnover can leave skin looking dull, while dryness makes fine lines more visible.
Declining collagen and elastin production, along with the loss of moisture-retaining molecules, leaves skin less plump, less resilient and more prone to sagging.
Slowing aging at the molecular level, including in the skin, is the focus of emerging longevity research.
“We’re just at the tip of the iceberg for some of these [strategies] to trickle down,” says Wyles.
In the meantime, ingredients like retinols and chemical exfoliants can help reduce some of the visible signs of aging, like fine lines or dullness.
But manage your expectations, say experts.
Supporting your skin through the years doesn’t mean it will look forever young — and it shouldn’t, says Henry.
“Just because you don’t have wrinkle-free, rosy skin does not mean it’s not healthy,” she says. “Healthy skin is comfortable, functional skin. And the good thing is that for the most part, healthy skin does look beautiful.”
📝 Today’s skin care assignment
Think about your goals. What does “skin care” mean to you? Is it to improve your appearance or to tackle a particular issue, like oiliness, uneven tone or fine lines? Is it a type of self-care?
In the meantime, email me at [email protected] — I’d love to hear from you! Send me your responses to today’s assignment or any thoughts you have.
Kelle
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