Are you sick of breakouts (um, mascne anyone?), redness, flakiness, bumps, lack of a glow, overproduction of oil… and pretty much any other skin woe you can think of? According to founder of High Beauty and skincare chemist Melissa Jochim, these are all signs that your skin is stressed (*pretends to be shocked*).
We asked Melissa, founder of High Beauty, how we can reset and go back to basics with a simple routine that’ll help recalibrate our complexion and reduce the cortisol in our faces (yes, this is a thing that exists, as she explained in our last podcast episode). She confirmed our hypothesis that less is more, and wrote out a weekly skincare routine for us (AM and PM) with step by step instructions. Yes, your very own guide to skincare, from the expert herself!
Svn (7) myth-busting tips and fun facts from Melissa, before we get started...
- Ingredients always work better as an individual treatment (as opposed to say, in a moisturizer where they’re diluted) so you’re better off using a vitamin C treatment versus a vitamin C moisturizer if you want the full effects!
- Always put your moisturizer over oil (if you’re using both at once!) to get the best results
- Doing an exfoliating treatment or peel — in the form of a mask or treatment — is ideal on a once or twice a week basis, unless you have sensitive skin (then limit it to once a week, and keep it gentle); you can increase frequency as your skin ages to help with cellular renewal
- It’s better to treat your skin at night; in the morning, you’re wearing makeup and protecting your skin from the sun (hello, SPF!), so focus treatments at night primarily
- Only use retinols (ie, retinoids, retinoic acid, retin-A, retinaldehyde, etc) at night, and if you’re sensitive, you can mix your retinol into your moisturizer (or use it over moisturizer)
- Don’t over cleanse — this upsets your acid mantle
- Toner is an optional step in your routine; if you choose to tone, don’t use it to remove makeup (and do use one that is aloe-based)
And now, for the routine!
Determine Your Skin Type
To know which treatments to use, it’s important to identify your skin’s natural state and its needs. Do you tend to get redness and react? You might have more sensitive skin — in which case you’ll want to be careful with peels. If you’re dry and have flakiness, particularly in dry or cold weather, be sure to use oils. Dealing with breakouts? You have what Melissa calls “acneic” skin (everyone has blemishes, but if it’s more than a few pimples every now and then, you’ll want to find a good treatment to manage these!). You might also have generally oily skin, or are starting to see the effects of ageing, which would put you in the “mature” skin category.
Know Your Treatment
Acneic: Blemish or spot treatment
Mature: Serum
Dry: Oil
Oily: N/A in the morning, retinoid in the evening
The Basic Routine (Do This Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday)
AM
- Cleanse
- Tone (optional)
- Treat (see key for your treatment)
- Eye cream/gel
- Moisturize
- SPF
PM
- Double cleanse (remove makeup with oil, balm, or micellar, then use your cleanser)
- Tone
- Eye cream/gel
- Treat (see key for your treatment)
- Facial oil
The Basic Routine + Masking (Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday)
Same routine as above, but in your PM routine, you’re going to add a mask or exfoliant (or exfoliating mask) after step 2 (toning). So double cleanse and tone, then mask, then apply your eye treatment, facial treatment, and facial oil.
Tuesday: Nutrient, hydrading, vitamin mask (think: nourishing)
Thursday: Peeling, exfoliating mask (think: gently resurfacing, turning over dead cells)
Sunday: Peeling, exfoliating mask or treatment (unless you have really sensitive skin!)
Products To Try
Need some new skincare? Melissa’s collection at High Beauty harnesses the nourishing power of hemp with cannabis sativa seed oil to replenish stressed skin.
You can check out the complete curated collection of CBD skincare products on the Svn Space shop here, as well as our hemp-powered, CBD-free collection here.