Skin deep
If there’s one thing the beauty industry has done over the past decade to transform our approach to skincare, it’s dismantling the assumption that expense equates to efficacy. As consumers and brands moved away from products that did little other than protect and hydrate, they got to grips with active ingredients and how they worked. As a result, brands like The Ordinary popped up, offering uncomplicated formulas with stellar ingredients, such as retinol and hyaluronic acid, for less than a fiver. Other brands then started to follow suit, from Beauty Pie and The Inkey List to Revolution and Byoma, all launching affordable lines of their own. By cutting out the middlemen and forgoing costly marketing budgets, these brands could afford to keep costs low, passing the savings on to the consumer without compromising on quality. A low price point allows you to purchase two or three products for the price of one from a more expensive brand, and cater to your skin’s needs in a more bespoke way.
But this changing landscape doesn’t come without its downsides. Dermatologists and doctors are now seeing evidence of skin that’s been overloaded with different products, the consequences of which range from skin-barrier disruption to acne and dermatitis. And once this occurs, it can take months of gentle restorative work to get the skin back to health. So while highstreet offerings can be transformative, it pays to be selective in your approach – and just because you can access every active, doesn’t mean you should. Instead, start by identifying your skincare concern and then build out your approach from there.
