Applying minimalism to your skin care routine contributes to your overall well-being.

Remember the time you tried to whip up a gourmet meal and ended up with a mountain of pots and pans, yet a simple sandwich would have done the trick? That's what's happening in the skin care world right now. We've all been there, seduced by the latest 10-step skin care routine promising porcelain perfection. But let's be real – who has the time or the bathroom counter space?

Enter New Wave Skinimalism: the skin care equivalent of finding that one perfect pair of jeans that goes with everything. Get ready to embrace the joy of simplicity and radiant, happy skin with just a few high-quality, effective essentials. Your skin will thank you!

What is Skinimalism?

The skin care world has been a battleground for the past three years. On one side, the Korean glass skin trend champions the ‘more the merrier' approach, requiring an elaborate, multi-step routine (complete with double-cleansing). But on the other side, more grounded practitioners are voicing a different mantra: less is more.

This debate has set the stage for the emergence of skinimalism. But skinimalism isn't just a trend - it's a movement towards a more sustainable, effective, and skin-friendly approach.

Here's what makes up the core of skinimalism:

• Quality over quantity. Opt for high-quality, effective products rather than rolling the dice on a clutter of just average tubes and jars.
• Streamlined routines. Emphasize a few impactful steps over an overwhelming regimen.
• Ingredient awareness. Prioritize brands with potent, beneficial ingredients and avoid unnecessary fillers.
• Sustainable choices. Choose cleansers, moisturizers and serums that are good for both your skin and the environment.
• Personalization. Tailor your minimal routine to suit your unique skin needs.

In this ongoing 'war' in skin care, skinimalism emerges as the clear winner for many, offering a mindful, more sustainable approach to skin health and beauty.

The Science of Skinimalism

Think of your skin as a soloist in an orchestra. Just as a solo can be drowned out by more than one instrument playing, your skin gets overwhelmed when bombarded with double-digit steps. Each serum, cream, or lotion is like an instrument in your skin care song - too many and the melody gets lost.

Cutting your skin care back to just a few premium items lets your skin take center stage. Interestingly enough, this simple approach is part of larger, science-backed research. Minimalism benefits not just your skin but your overall well-being, leading to better health and more fulfillment.[1]

This all goes to show: Adopting a minimalist skin care approach is more than skin deep. It's part of a mindful lifestyle that values intentional choices for your overall well-being. We hope this trend stays because it puts emphasis on quality in every aspect of life - something we’re all about!

Life’s Abundance skin care products provide an easy start to a skinimalist routine.

Simple Skin Care: The 4-Step Routine

Following the insights from this recent research, you now understand it's all about honing in on impactful ingredients to achieve better skin health. Here’s how we do it with our Skin Care Kit:

1. Cleanse. Begin and end your day by gently cleansing away dirt and makeup. Our Facial Cleanser, infused with organic aloe leaf juice, argan oil, and a blend of fruit extracts, ensures your skin stays soft and balanced, not dry or tight.
2. Rejuvenate. Elevate your routine with our Facial Serum, a potent blend of squalane, green tea, and a mix of organic oils like hemp seed, prickly pear seed, and tomato seed oil. This step corrects and protects, giving your skin a youthful glow.
3. Hydrate. After cleansing, nourish your skin with our Facial Moisturizer. Rich in organic hemp seed oil, olive fruit oil, and antioxidant-rich pomegranate, it deeply hydrates, leaving your skin feeling plump, smooth, and naturally radiant.
4. What about the rest of your body? Complete your routine by taking care of your whole body. Our Body Lotion, featuring organic shea butter and acai fruit pulp, banishes dry, dull skin and ensures all-over smoothness.

This is a skinimalist’s dream, offering a complete regimen for vibrant, healthy skin - free from unnecessary steps! By adopting this 4-step routine, you’re taking a mindful approach that emphasizes quality, natural ingredients, and overall skin wellness. This is skin care that’s as safe and effective as it is simple.

References:
[1] Jain VK, Gupta A, Verma H. Goodbye materialism: exploring antecedents of minimalism and its impact on millennials well-being. Environ Dev Sustain. 2023 Jun 8:1-27. doi: 10.1007/s10668-023-03437-0. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37363025; PMCID: PMC10249935.

 

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There will always be trends that come and go in the world of health and wellness. Most just aren’t worth the hype, but to us, the past year has presented one new trend that we can fully embrace. Meet “skinimalism,” the Marie Kondo philosophy of getting rid of excess from your life, but applied to your skin care routine. There’s something to be said for simplicity; it allows only for what truly serves us, for what brings us joy, and for what actually works. Is your five-plus step skin care routine made up of a cabinet full of products not bringing you noticeable results or is it hurting your budget? Might we suggest it’s time to “skinimize” your routine.

Back to the Basics

It’s easy to be persuaded into buying the new “must-haves’’ or all star ingredient skin care products. We’re constantly bombarded with Instagram or Facebook ads, influencers, and buzzy marketing terms that promise to address all of our skin “imperfections.” Many skin care professionals and dermatologists will tell you that simplicity is key when it comes to caring for your body’s largest organ. Painful, itchy, or red skin irritations that show up on our skin are many times self-imposed. The culprit? Too many products and ingredients.

Don’t feel any shame or beat yourself up - we’re all human and can easily be lured in by promises of perfect, poreless skin. But if you’re feeling overwhelmed by your current skincare routine and not seeing the results you’re hoping for, we’re here to help you skim down and get back to a simple, effective skin care routine.

Build a basic, effective routine

The goal of this skincare routine is to maintain balance, hydration and overall clarity of your skin. Plus, you might even enjoy the exercise of tossing out what no longer serves you and your skin!
We’ve pulled together some simple steps to help you get started on your “shelfie” clean up.

1. With clean hands, touch your skin. Is it dry, tight, oily, or rough? Look in the mirror. Do you notice redness, blackheads, or shininess? Take notes of how your skin feels, what you see and then take time to write down what your goals are. We’ll come back to this!
2. Assess your current products. Is anything expired? Toss it! Follow packaging instructions for best practices on how to discard the expired product and recycle its packaging.
3. Group together all remaining products by step. Cleansers, toners, facial oils, serums, moisturizers, masks, etc. Revisit your skin assessment from step one and begin to go through each group of products to remove the excess.
   • For example, if you noted that your skin feels and looks oily and you noticed blackheads when looking in the mirror, assess your products and look for those that will help you reach your goal of maintaining decongested pores, balanced oil production, and breakout free skin. Remove any products that are targeted for dry or aging skin, or anything that is too harsh (think alcohol-based products or harsh exfoliants). It’s also important to remove anything you’ve used in the past that has either caused noticeable irritation or hasn’t produced any results - they are simply not suited for you.
4. Can you narrow each category down to one product? As a general guideline when it comes to a skinimalist routine, keep each category of skin care at one product; one cleanser, one toner, one facial oil or serum, and one moisturizer. When it comes to treatment masks, if you have two that you love, keep them both and alternate their use. You don’t need to be too strict on yourself to start out, but might we suggest one product that’s a multi-tasker and delivers multiple results!

Start Your Skinimal Routine!

1. Cleanse. Skip the suds in the morning and do a simple rinse with warm (not hot) water. Save your cleanser for the PM. Take a step to be extra minimal and opt for a low-waste bar cleanser.
2. Tone. After cleansing in the AM and PM, gently pat skin dry. Either mist skin generously or wet an organic cotton pad with your favorite toner and pat across your skin.
3. Nourish. This step might’ve been the hardest for you to narrow down on, but once you find your favorite facial oil or serum, apply twice daily and take notice of how your skin feels and looks. In a truly minimal routine, adopt the practice of looking for one multidimensional product that delivers antioxidant protection, hydration, skin clarifying properties and deep cellular nutrition.
4. Moisturize. If you’ve opted for a hydrating facial oil above in step four, you may find that this is one step you can remove. If you need that extra layer of moisture, apply a cream twice daily that aims to deliver smoother, balanced and nurtured skin.
5. Protect. Apply sun protection!
6. Optional - Treat. Masking is too fun to not indulge in occasionally, and can help you reach your skin goals more easily. If you’ve narrowed down your masks to just one, follow product instructions for suggested use. Looking for one mask that does it all? Opt for our nutritive, hydrating, and gently exfoliating Hibiscus Mask & Scrub and use 2-3 times weekly.

Pro tip: If you’re rotating between two masks, be sure to try each mask solo for at least two weeks and take close notice of results and how your skin reacts. This will help you gauge which works best, or how they work differently. You’ll also be able to assess if either causes any irritation.

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