After a year and a half of stress and upheaval, the past few months have seen life slowly but surely return to some form of normality, but nonetheless, some of the habits we picked up during the pandemic – some of them not so great – seem to be sticking with us for a little bit longer than planned, and despite our best efforts, they can feel hard to shake.
After spending months at home with a much more minimalistic approach to our lives and indeed, our beauty routines, many of us are continuing to feel drawn towards habits that make our lives simpler, turning away from our vast collections of opulent, high-end beauty products in favour of a more simple approach.
In reality, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing, as long as we can find balance. Rather than shelving our daily skincare routines completely, for example, we can instead seek to simplify them and streamline our arsenal of luxury products, saving time and prioritising high-quality, natural ingredients to ensure we’re getting more nourishment from less.
The skincare and beauty industry can often leave us feeling overwhelmed about where to start with a good routine thanks to the constant flow of confusing and conflicting information over the latest ingredients or formulas and an endless stream of new product launches. The result? Most of us have spent much of our lives overdoing it.
Enter, skinimalism – the new trend for stripping back your skincare routine to become far simpler, without compromising on the benefits. The experts at Westlab have been delving a little deeper into how to go about it – and here, they give us the lowdown.
Why choose a skinimalism routine?
Through years of conditioning by the beauty industry, we’ve been taught that ‘more is more’ when it comes to skincare. The broader the array of lotions and potions you have at your disposal, the better the results will be – except, we’re beginning to realise that this isn’t entirely the truth.
Sometimes, overloading the skin with so many different products can backfire, creating a compromised and overworked skin barrier that might lead to sensitivity or irritation.
Skinimalism, on the other hand, allows you to take a more sustainable route to looking after yourself, while reducing the number of products. Rather than rushing to purchase every new luxury launch, it’s about looking, instead, for products that can offer multiple solutions and benefits in one.
Ever heard the mantra ‘less is more’? Turns out it’s true with skincare, too – and contrary to popular belief, streamlining your regime could do your skin a big favour in the long-run.
Trying a skinimalism approach
Knowing where to start can be tricky when it comes to any change in your skincare routine, so rather than working out what to keep and what to throw away from your current lineup, go back to basics and start again. This way, you can ensure that each product you include in your routine is there for a reason, without any bias.
The key is to look for simple yet multi-tasking products you can get the most out of. Mineral salts are one such product and offer a number of different benefits and uses that can be taken advantage of.
The traditional use it to add them to your bath to enjoy a boost of magnesium, which has a number of benefits for your body and mind. Epsom salt, in particular, can soothe aching muscles to aid sports recovery, but magnesium is also great for stress relief, supporting hormone balance and promoting a good night’s sleep.
What’s more, mineral salts that are made from natural ingredients can be very gentle on your skin – so if you’re looking to cut out the chemical nasties then they’re a great place to start.
How else can you use bath salts?
To give your skin even more of a treat, try adding Dead Sea Salts to your usual luxury shower gel to create a DIY body scrub. The high grade salts are 100 percent pure and natural, comprising non-harmful ingredients that will gently exfoliate the skin without being abrasive, and are rich in essential skin minerals – which is important for dry, problematic or sensitive skin.
Another clever way to get the most out of your mineral salts is to add them to shampoo to create a gentle scalp exfoliator. This can be beneficial in promoting better cleansing and removing dead skin cells, dirt and any excess product from the hair. Scalp exfoliation may also contribute to increased blood flow, which could lead to better hair growth – Dead Sea Salts are best for dry, flaky or sensitive scalps, whereas Epsom Salts are renowned for their hair volumising qualities.
To soothe skin after being in the sun, Epsom salts can also play a surprisingly beneficial role. Add two tablespoons of salts to 250ml water and add to a spritz bottle, creating a skin-soothing mist thanks to the natural properties of the salts, and apply liberally and as needed.
