THE POLITICS OF SKINCARE
Trust expert influencers but beware of brands. Invest in science, but support disruptors. Has skincare ever been more controversial?
New formulas or age-old favourites? Our beauty editor investiages the ever-changing attitudes towards skincare
It used to be that people could get on with their daily cleanse, tone and moisturise without anyone batting an eyelid. But with improvements in research, the growth of social media and – let’s be honest – savvy marketing, skincare has become big business. In fact, sales in the UK reached 2,8O7 million in 2O17, according to Euromonitor. Research by Cosmetics Europe shows that 74 per cent of make-up users now consider skincare their main aesthetic focus, and 37 per cent of women are shopping for dermatologist recommended skincare .‘ Visits to the skincare section of our website are a third higher than last year,’ says Jacqui Wilsher-Ellis, head of health and beauty at Debenhams. ‘And the top-searched words within that section are retinol, hyaluronic acid and collagen, indicating that customers are searching for the right product for their skin type.’
The hash tag# skincare addiction– usually tagged against a snap of a product purchase – is up 55 per cent on last year, according to Trending Talks, and the ever debated #pmroutine (double cleansing vs 1O steps, amongst others) is up a staggering 214 per cent. Not content with super-serums and regimented routines, we’re also turning to gadgets and tools to up our game. The industry-leading micro-needling tool GloPRO sold out at launch, making $4 million in 24 hours, and its parent company reported sales pushing $1OO million in 2O18.
So we’re all a lot savvier when it comes to skincare, which is a good thing. But with all this information comes a lot of noise and strong opinions, often unqualified. So who to trust? And what to believe? Read on…
EXPERT vs “EXPERT”
With more than 33 million #skincare posts and 2OO million images on Instagram, it’s one of the most-talked-about subjects on the social platform. ‘Instagram is a game changer for skincare brands and the beauty industry,’ says Dr Barbara Sturm, an aesthetic doctor specialising in molecular cosmetics. ‘But it can pass along uninformed and even dangerous rumours, and perpetuate fads and myths.’ Anyone with a fan base can claim to be an ‘expert’ – and it’s difficult to know who to trust, warns dermatologist Dr Harold Lancer: ‘I have seen numerous influencers position themselves as skincare “experts”. What concerns me is many consumers are taking these individuals’ advice over that of trained professionals.’
Of course some influencers are extremely reliable, but remember that calling yourself a ‘skincare expert’ requires zero qualifications, whereas an aesthetician is trained and certified to analyse and treat the skin, and a dermatologist or anyone with ‘doctor’ in their title will (or should) have a specialist medical degree. If your favourite guru is not medically trained, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re wrong, but if you see an #ad, #spon or #partner involved, take a second to consider the money changing hands in return for the ‘advice’.
TREND vs
TRIED and TESTED
One minute hyaluronic acid is a miracle ingredient, the next it’s bakuchiol (a natural form of retinol, duh). Suddenly we’re falling for face oils, and a minute later they’re your skin’s worst enemy. The skincare boom has created a thirst for the new, meaning products fall in and out of fashion faster than ever – and you can barely pick up a bar of soap without someone having an opinion on it.
ELLE’s beauty director Sophie Beresiner has seen first hand the rise of what she calls ‘skin shaming’: ‘Having tried every beauty product out there, I had unpredictable skin. Then Dr Sam Bunting, one of the best cosmetic dermatologists in the business, suggested double cleansing with Cetaphil. Game changer. I never deviate and my skin is great. Even so, if I ever post about my skincare routine, I get a barrage of well-meaning skinfluencer fans telling me Cetaphil is bad (too “aggressive”, too “basic”) and I’m therefore wrong. But how can I be wrong when it’s exactly right for me?’
‘Increased awareness of ingredients is great,’ agrees Dr Bunting, ‘but some skincare trends – facial oils, for example – can, in some cases, make problems worse.’ Our genes, diet, environment, age and hormones, among other factors, affect our skin differently, so there’s no universally right answer.
The best advice we can give is to do your research, and then research some more. In-store counters are liberal with their samples, as are online retailers (for example, Feelunique offers a pick’n’mix sample service consisting of more than 16O skincare products, with only the postage to pay). If you have sensitive skin, make sure you patchtest anything that’s a little more active than usual, and when trying new products, strip the rest of your routine right back, so your skin can let you know what it thinks of it.
SPLURGE
vs SAVE
The past few years have seen the rise of the ‘disruptor brands’, coming in to undercut the big dogs with their promises of quality products at much lower prices: think Beauty Pie, Glossier and Deciem, the last of whose brand The Ordinary promises ‘clinical formulations with integrity’. Founder Brandon Truaxe had previously worked in analysis for a cosmetics giant and was disgruntled by the enormous mark-ups. The Ordinary’s products are full of scientific, hard-working and, yes, skin-transforming ingredients, with prices kept low by simple packaging and modest marketing.
The @EstéeLaundry account on Instagram, meanwhile, which emerged last April and is currently pushing 4Ok followers, claims to be an ‘anonymous beauty collective airing the beauty industry’s dirty laundry’ and has made a habit of calling out overpriced formulations.
But that doesn’t mean every expensive or luxury brand has been pulling an Emperor’s New Clothes on you. Of course, sometimes you’ll be paying over the odds for a designer brand name. But what might not come with the budget brands is years of scientific research and formulas carefully developed over time. Instead of the price, look at the ingredients – the percentages (some ‘vitamin C’ products actually have less than 2 per cent of the active ingredient) and if they’re packaged in a way that protects the potency of what’s inside.
Some of my staples – honed over almost a decade of trialling products – include a £6.75 cleanser, a £16O eye cream, serums at £135 and £37, and a £14.5O moisturiser (the latter two from French pharmacy brands La Roche Posay and Avène respectively, which I highly recommend if you are looking for mid-range products that give excellent results). These are items I don’t always have to pay for, thanks to my job, but happily do, because the truth is they work wonderfully for me.
HIGH vs LOW TECH
LED masks, lasers and micro-needling: we’ve all gone dotty for devices. But will they really give you an at-home facial? ‘It’s great the technology is more widely available,’ says dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth, ‘but home devices are often five times less strong, so don’t expect the same results as in-clinic treatments.’ And is it really safe to be micro-needling at home? ‘Used correctly, derma rollers can make a huge difference,’ says facialist Teresa Tarmey, ‘but, at home, the needles should be less than O.5mm, and don’t buy from just anyone you find online – choose carefully.’
For those less keen on puncturing thousands of holes through their epidermis, the ancient jade roller has had a resurgence. However, there’s not much evidence to support claims of proper results. ‘It may reduce swelling, says Wedgeworth, ‘but there’s very little evidence’. Tarmey agrees, saying although they’re a nice massage tool, she’s not wholly convinced how much change you’ll see in your skin.
The many conversations around skincare have always been heated. It is, after all, a business. We wouldn’t endorse a product we didn’t rate – whatever the brand – and when products don’t deliver, they soon get found out. But when it comes to your own regime, your own purchases, your own skin? Read up when you want to, put your blinkers up when you don’t. It needn’t be so fraught, when there are so many exciting innovations, brands and movements to be celebrated. In the end, all that matters is that you’re kind to your own skin.
“ANYONE with A FAN BASE can CLAIM TO BE an ‘EXPERT’. IT’S DIFFICULT TO KNOW who TO TRUST ”
“AWARENESS is GREAT, BUT SOME SKINCARE TRENDS CAN MAKE PROBLEMS WORSE ”