Breaking Down Skin Care Products: What Each Product Does and How to Build an Effective Routine

Too many products and ingredients to choose from!

There are so many different options for skin care routines and products! It seems like you can mix and match to form an unlimited number of combinations to find what works best for you. It’s great there are so many different options. It can be overwhelming when you’re trying to figure out what you should choose, though. Especially when you’re trying to decipher the vegan, cruelty free, non-toxic, sustainable, and clean claims from each brand. What’s most overwhelming for me is trying to discern what ingredients and brands are healthiest and safest to use, but also what products work best for my skin.

I hope one day to be able to perform a deep dive into specific ingredient research. Today we’re going to just scratch the surface of some practical ways to build and define your personal skin care routine. For a deep dive into various ingredients, I like to reference Irina Webb of I Read Labels For You. She is “a consumer safety advocate and manufacturer advisor for ingredient safety” and provides a fantastic amount of detailed information on various ingredients you may be curious about. She also provides a reference guide to her personal anti-aging skin care routine.

The importance of skin care as we age

Having beautiful, radiant, healthy skin is something a lot of people strive for. Speaking from experience, my skin health and how I perceive it to look directly correlates to my personal confidence. As we age, our collagen production decreases, and we lose elasticity. On average, collagen production decreases by 68% by the age of eighty. The loss of collagen and elasticity leads to thinning of the skin and development of fine lines. This is also referred to as intrinsic aging. Intrinsic aging happens naturally over time and is influenced by genetics. The other type of aging, extrinsic aging, happens due to lifestyle factors like diet, skin care routines, smoking, sun exposure, etc. Extrinsic aging is makes up approximately 80% of the visible aging signs we see in our skin. This is why skin care is important.

Types of skin care products

Let’s start with a brief review on the types of products that are typically part of a skin care routine and why they are important. There are a few different categories of skin care. First skin care can be broken into products that are meant to remove things from the skin and products that are meant to be left behind on the skin.

Products meant to remove things from the skin are cleansers, toners, and exfoliants. I would also include make-up remover into this category, although this can sometimes be the same as a cleanser. Products that are meant to be left behind on the skin are moisturizers, serums or other anti-aging products, and sunscreens.

Cleansers

The purpose of a cleanser is to remove buildup of dirt, make-up, bacteria, and anything else that accumulates on your skin. The general recommendation from dermatologists is to use a cleanser specifically formulated for your face. Using a general soap can throw off the pH balance of your skin and/or dry out your skin. Even choosing a specific facial cleanser can take some trial and error depending on your skin type.

If you have dry skin, a cream-based or lotion-based cleanser may be best as it will be more hydrating. For oily skin, a gel-based or bar cleanser may be best as it will be more effective at removing facial oils. If you have combination skin, an in between option like a foamy cleanser is usually best. In general, a gentle cleanser with lukewarm water is best for everyday use. It’s also recommended to pat your face dry with a clean towel. Try to avoid a lot of pressure or scrubbing on a frequent basis as it can disrupt the natural barrier of the skin. 

Toners

Toners are typically suggested to use after cleansing. The purpose is to remove anything from the skin that your cleanser may have missed. In addition to this, toners help your skin restore its pH balance. This can be particularly useful if you have used a lot of soaps or other products that strip your skin of nutrients and moisture. Toners are also helpful in reducing pore size and calming the skin. If your skin is already relatively healthy, a toner can be an unnecessary step in your skin care routine. But for those with skin challenges like acne, clogged pores, or dry skin, it may be a useful addition. I have reusable “cotton rounds” produced from bamboo that I use to apply toner to avoid unnecessary waste!

Exfoliants

Exfoliants are not something that should be part of your everyday skin care routine. Most professionals recommend exfoliation once or twice per week. The purpose of exfoliation is to remove dead skin cells from the skin’s surface. This leads to smoother skin and reduced pore size. It also helps to increase turnover of skin cells, which is something that decreases as we age. There are both chemical and physical exfoliants. A chemical exfoliant contains ingredients that encourage dead skin cells to release from the surface of the skin. A physical exfoliant can also be referred to as a “scrub” which typically contains small particles that manually disturb and remove dead skin cells from the skin’s surface. Physical exfoliation can be harmful by disrupting the natural barrier of your skin. It can also be harmful to the environment if the particles in your exfoliator are microplastics.

Moisturizer

A moisturizer is typically one of the last steps in a skin care routine. It should be used at least once, if not twice, daily. The purpose of a moisturizer is to keep your skin hydrated by either adding moisture to the skin (through something called a humectant agent like hyaluronic acid) or by preventing the skin from losing moisture (through something called an occlusive agent like mineral oil). Some moisturizers can also contain ingredients like vitamins or antioxidants, but we will discuss this further in the serum section as serums usually contain a higher potency of these ingredients. As with other skin care products, it may take some time to find the best moisturizer for your skin type. This depends on if you have dry, oily, or combination skin. Try to apply moisturizer right after you have washed and mostly dried your face to help seal in the moisture.

Serums

Serums are products that can contain a variety of ingredients like antioxidants, vitamins, and other anti-aging ingredients. There are many different types of serums that can target different concerns you may have. Some may stimulate collagen production, some may help with fine lines or wrinkles, some may help even out your skin tone. There are too many options to fully go into here, but ultimately serums are designed to penetrate deeper into your skin than the other products we’ve mentioned. Therefore they can have a greater and more targeted impact depending on the ingredients. Serums should typically be used prior to a moisturizer in the evenings to allow the ingredients to penetrate your skin overnight.

Sunscreen

Lastly, let’s talk about sunscreen. The purpose of sunscreen is to protect your skin from the sun’s UV rays. Too much sun exposure can cause skin cancer, wrinkles, and unevenness in your skin tone. Skin cancer can be a significant health concern. One of the best ways to prevent skin cancer is through application of sunscreen every single day. The sun’s UV rays can penetrate through clouds, and you can get a sunburn on the coldest day of the year, so it’s important to wear sunscreen daily regardless of the weather.

You can typically find facial sunscreen sold separately or combined with a facial moisturizer. This is because some sunscreens have ingredients that can clog pores or cause your face to become greasy or more oily. If you’re prone to clogged pores or an oily complexion, you may want to prioritize using a sunscreen specifically formulated to be used on your face.

The evolution of my skin care routine

It has taken me a lot of trial and error to find the right skin routine for myself. Through high school and even early college I washed my face when I showered with the same body wash I used for everything else and that was it. I didn’t really have a specific skin care routine. I then tried all the typical drug store products. While my acne was never too terrible, I did struggle with it for a while in college. Naturally I gravitated towards the salicylic acid based products that were advertised to reduce acne, but really these products seemed to strip my skin. Truthfully even when I was using these skin care products I didn’t take it seriously or have a very regimented schedule.

Eventually as I started working full-time I started experimenting with different skin care regimens. I changed products and brands often as I didn’t really know what I needed. When I began to learn more about how my personal care products were affecting my body and hormones, I really wanted to find a brand that I could trust. It took some time, but I eventually found Crunchi and I now use their products exclusively for skin care and make-up. Crunchi checks a lot of boxes in what I was looking for. It’s a clean beauty brand that prioritizes organic ingredients and is cruelty-free. They even have eco-friendly packaging!

A peek into my skin care routine

My current morning routine consists of using Crunchi’s charcoal cleansing bar in the shower to wash my face after a workout. I usually take an “everything shower” where I wash my hair, shave, and do all the things twice per week. During my “everything shower” I also use an exfoliant. This ensures I’m not exfoliating too much and disrupting my skin’s natural barrier. After my shower, I then apply toner and Crunchi’s Daylight moisturizer. If I am working from home or having a chill day at home, that’s the extent of my morning routine. If I’m going into the office or have other plans, I’ll apply make-up as well.

My current nighttime routine consists of first removing my make-up. I use coconut oil and a reusable bamboo round to do this. Once I remove my make-up, I cleanse with Crunchi’s charcoal cleansing bar again. Afterwards, I then apply toner, Crunchi’s Nightlight moisturizer, as well as their Power Light eye cream.

Crunchi skin care

Truthfully, Crunchi’s skin care is very pricey in comparison to other options, especially if you’re used to typical drug store brands. However, their products last a long time and the company’s integrity and ingredient quality makes it worth it to me. Since I don’t wear foundation every day, I find one bottle of foundation to last more than a year. For a bar cleanser that I use in the shower, it lasts a surprisingly long time (at least 4 months). I also find their moisturizers to last at least 4 months.

To make it more affordable, I typically ask for Crunchi gift cards for my birthday and Christmas because this investment in my health and the environment is worth. I still have kept my skin care routine relatively simple in order to minimize the costs and make sure the products are working well for me. Recently I added a toner to my routine to help minimize pores, but I intend to do this for a short time only. I am also looking to try Crunchi’s facial sunscreen to minimize damage from the sun and protect from skin cancer, and possibly a serum for anti-aging (I am 30 after all!).

In addition to Crunchi’s fantastic ingredients, they also prioritize sustainable packaging. They primarily use glass packaging that is recyclable after cleaning, and any plastic packaging they use can be sent in for recycling through Pact Collective. They have a section on packaging underneath each product to give you guidance on how to be as responsible as possible with your packaging once you’ve used up the product. 

How to find your best skin care routine

While this is what my skin care routine looks like, yours doesn’t have to look the same! If you’re looking to develop a new skin care routine, here are some practical tips to help.

1. Start simple and don’t overdo it! You don’t need 12 products in the morning and a different 12 products at night. Based on the research and in my opinion, the top 2 products in a new skin care routine are a cleanser and a moisturizer. Start with one of each and use it consistently. Twice a day (morning and night) is best. If you can only start with once per day I would recommend starting with the routine at night to “wash away the day”. If you live in a warm climate or spend a lot of time outside, you may also want to add sunscreen as a third critical product into your routine (although obviously sunscreen application needs to happen in the morning rather than at night!)
2. Choose a brand and product(s) and stick with it for around 2 months. Switching products and brands all the time won’t help you understand what your skin really needs. Do some research on the best product types for your skin type, or take Crunchi’s skin care quiz to find the best products for your concerns. Once you make a decision, stick with it! It will take time to see results. For the best information about how your skin is affected by your new products, take a “before” picture for comparison.
3. While you’re researching, find a brand with ingredients you trust. As you know, the brand I trust and would recommend is Crunchi, but there are other options out there. While Irina Webb of I Read Labels For You also supports Crunchi, she provides a lot more specific ingredient research. If you don’t want to try Crunchi, you can use her information to assess different brands that you are interested in. On her Instagram, she also has a “Worst, Bad, Better, Best” rating for various products which can be a helpful reference guide as well. In general, avoiding parabens, phthalates, fragrances, PEGs, and ethoxylated ingredients is a good place to start.
4. Implement other best practices to support your skin.
   1. Diet. The foods you eat have an impact on your skin! I tend to have more breakouts when I eat dairy products for example. Each person is different and has different triggers, but trying something like a Whole30 elimination diet and reintroduction to identify your personal food triggers may be helpful.
   2. Sun Exposure. Maybe you don’t have the time or budget to put fancy facial sunscreen on every time you leave the house. Take other measures to protect yourself like wearing a hat and sunglasses, or spending minimal time outside without protection in the heat of the day. If you are going to be outside for an extended period of time, wear your sunscreen!
   3. Sweat. Working out or spending time in the sauna are great habits, and sometimes there is nothing better than a good sweat. Make sure to wash your face after sweating as not doing this can cause clogged pores.
   4. Make-up. If you wear make-up, make sure to take it off before bed! Leaving make-up on overnight leaves your skin more susceptible to breakouts.
   5. Acne. If you do have acne, don’t pick at it! We have all picked at acne and we all know it only makes it worse. I know it’s difficult, but try to leave it be.

There are many factors that make our skin look radiant or vibrant. I hope you’ve learned something new about skin care. I have loved what Crunchi skin care has done for me, and I’d love to hear if you have a favorite clean beauty brand and what you love about it in the comments below!

SOURCES:

• https://www.azealderm.com/blog/skin-care-boulder/the-purpose-of-different-skin-care-products/
• https://www.dermstore.com/blog/skin-care-101/
• https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/do-you-really-need-a-skin-care-routine
• https://cosmeticseurope.eu/cosmetic-products/
• https://chemistscorner.com/product-categories-in-the-cosmetic-industry/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5172479/