POV: You’re scrolling through social media and see a beauty trend where you pamper your skin while embracing your natural beauty with fewer products.
If you describe your skincare routine as “doing the most'' or “extra,” and are still not seeing results, or worse, are experiencing irritation… allow us to introduce you to “skip-care,” also known as skinimalism, or skin fasting.
What Is Skinimalism?
Contrary to popular belief, a jam-packed thousand-step skincare routine isn’t necessary.
Skinimalism (or skin minimalism) is all about ‘less is more’. By using less, wearing less, and buying less, skinimalism focuses on loving your skin. It’s not about packing on those complicated 10-step routines – or in some cases, 38 (we see you Madelaine Petsch) – it’s about a no-fuss, less-is-more skincare routine made of effective products. There is no piling on excessive layers of skincare you don’t really need. Instead of applying a bunch of products, free up your counter space, save the cash and treat your skin by keeping the regime effortless and minimal.
Keep reading to find out how this skincare technique works and how you can use it to your skin’s (and your wallet’s) benefit!
What are the Benefits of Skin Fasting?
The key to skin fasting is minimising your skincare routine, or even eliminating it for a set amount of time. While a nightly 30-minute skincare routine has become the norm, taking a break from those unnecessary products resets your skin and allows its natural maintenance to get back on track.
Here are some benefits that skinimalists love this trend for:
Ever feel like you’re just packing on more and more products into your routine without seeing any huge difference each time? You could be overusing products, or your skin could have developed a dependency on some of them. Skin fasting lets your skin rebuild its natural defenses so you’ll only need the bare essentials afterwards.
Our skin is unique, and so should our skincare routines. Skin fasting helps you understand your skin’s natural biology so you can tailor your routine to fit its needs.
We’re no stranger to packing loads of product on our face. This can lead to buildup and irritation – it’s important to give your skin a breather.
Au naturel – need we say more?
How to Skin Fast and Be a Skin Minimalist
The point of skin fasting is to rejuvenate and reboot our skin’s natural mechanisms by relieving it of constant product use. Like regular fasting, one way to skin fast is to apply nothing except water. But don’t worry, becoming a skincare minimalist doesn't mean never touching your face with your holy grail products ever again. It's okay to prioritize your three or four must-have products.
Go back to the basics!
This one’s simple. A healthy routine needs four essentials: cleanse, treat, hydrate, and protect. For instance, after washing your face with cleanser, apply moisturizer and sunscreen lotion to protect your face from dehydration and UV rays accordingly. Do what best suits your skin. Not sure what’s best? That’s where skin fasting comes in handy – when you strip down to only the essentials, you get to know your skin’s natural condition and can tailor your routine to it! Your skin will tell you what’s best for it – stick to those products!
Strike out unnecessary products
Skin fasting is the perfect time to detox that cabinet full of products. Best way to know what to get rid of? Get to know what you’re really putting on your face! And no, we don’t mean just knowing the cute and fancy product name. Take the time to really read the labels and know the ingredients – it’s all in the details! Any products containing parabens, fragrance ingredients, or other harmful chemical ingredients should steer clear of your body.
Only use active ingredients you need
Just because you strip back doesn't mean removing effective products from your arsenal. Feel free to make modifications. Some people cut off all skincare products cold turkey, and others simply minimize the use of active ingredients, such as AHAs, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamins (C and E are most common in skincare), retinol, and many others.
Use products with multi-tasking capabilities
High impact products that can tackle several issues at once are your best friend when it comes to skin fasting, like this exfoliator or deep pore cleanser. Your skin may produce natural oils, but it doesn't naturally exfoliate. Your pores will clog as dead skin piles up, leading to congestion, dullness, and a rough surface. Smoothing uneven texture makes the skinimalistic lifestyle easier. Not sure about how to deal with clogged, enlarged pores? Read our post on debunking the most common pore myths.
Start slow
If you’re concerned about throwing your skin off-balance, start by only skin fasting once a week. One night a week, choose a product not to use to let your skin breathe. The following morning wash your face and examine your skin. If there's no sign of irritation, feel free to continue. Remember, it’s all about taking the time to know your natural skin (minus all the products!) and figuring out which products are absolutely beneficial for it.
Is Skinimalism and Skin Fasting For Everyone?
Refining a product-heavy routine with skinimalism is never bad, but skin fasting isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. We all love experimenting with beauty trends, but our skin is all unique, and some things work better for some than for others. So, should you really try stripping down your skincare regimen?
Sensitive skin may benefit from a skin diet the most because it decreases the chances of inflammation or irritation. If you’ve got sensitive skin and are experiencing issues with your regular skincare routine, try skin fasting by eliminating one product at a time until you find the guilty culprit.
So while skin fasting can benefit everyone in different ways, it’s most useful if you’re experiencing irritation and are not sure which product (or products) is causing it.
Final Thoughts
The goal will always be to achieve healthy, glowing, clean skin. If you do not see results from your hefty skincare routine, give skinimalism a try. Say goodbye to multi-step regimes and a warm welcome to all your natural beauty. While you give your skin a breather, check out our blog for more beauty tips and tricks!
Edited by: Celeste Lee
