J. Nicole ®: The first skin care routine you can (really) commit to

Sick of your 10- step (k-beauty) skin care routine?  Spending $500 per month on products that do nothing or make your skin worse?

For years, the typical skincare routine consisted of cleanser, toner, serum, moisturizer, exfoliator, treatments, and masks in order to nourish the skin and correct different issues. This routine typically tackles one problem at a time with different products for each problem.

 

 

Let's break down the standard 7 products that you normally have in your routine:

Step 1: Cleanse

Of course, the cleanser is always first. Generally, the rule of thumb is to not dry out the skin with the cleanser. One of the most important factors of skin cleansing is the pH of the water and the ph of the soap or cleanser. The harsher the water and soap, the more likely it is to strip your skin of the natural oils which will lead to more problems. Gentle, unscented cleansers are always best. For more information on how cleansers can affect the skin and what ingredients to avoid read our blog post on how we modernized soap!

Step 2: Prep

Toners, with or without AHA’s (alpha hydroxy acids), are used to bring the skin back to a healthy pH balance and prepare the skin for further treatment. Toners help the skin care products that are next in line to be more effective. Toners typically have an AHA in them to accelerate this process. Using harsh toners can strip the skin too much and open the door to bacteria infection, always be aware of excessive skin irritation resulting from products.

Step 3: Correct

AHA refining serums are gels or lotions that have a higher concentration of active ingredients such as retinol, AHA’s, hyaluronic acid, or peptides. Serums are added to the skincare routine for a faster more effective result. Refining serums have several important benefits to skin health such as pore refining, polishing, skin brightening, and collagen regeneration. Some serums are more beneficial than others, many serums sold today are too strong and can cause damage to the skin.

As a rule of thumb salicylic acids, also known as BHA’s (beta hydroxy acids), are too harsh for long-term, daily use. It is much healthier to use as a one-time treatment to correct a situation with the skin. Glycolic acids are too unstable to be used in serums and 50% of people develop sensitivity/allergic reactions to glycolic acid. Lactic and citric acids are the best choice for a refining serum as it helps stabilize and maintain the natural oil of the skin. Oil is good for your skin to maintain homeostasis.

Step 4: Anti-Aging Treatment

Retinol (vitamin A) is considered the best most effective ingredient to turn back the clock of your skin. Retinol is an antioxidant which interrupts free radicals that cause aging while also preventing wrinkles and increasing collagen production. Vitamin A can cause slight irritation but as long as vitamin A is used as directed, irritation should be minimal and goes away within 2-4 weeks.

Step 5: Specialized Treatments

Vitamin serums and oils, these serums help even out skin tone, lighten skin, energize, repair wounds, inflammation and bring life to cells. Typical ingredients of treatments include Vitamin C, Vitamin B, Vitamin E, and Vitamin D.

Step 6: Moisture

Moisturizers hold water to the outermost layer of the skin and protect the skin from the external environment. It is extremely important that a moisturizer does not have irritants such as fragrance, petroleum, dyes, BHT or other chemicals because the job of a moisturizer is to seal everything into the skin and protect against unwanted pollutants. The skin is the body’s first line of defense. Keeping skin hydrated and safe will allow helpful products to be absorbed.

Step 7: Exfoliation

Exfoliators can be used daily or as needed.  Exfoliators remove the oldest layer of surface skin cells chemically with AHA’s, BHA’s, enzymes, or mechanical exfoliation such as salts, loofahs, or cloths. Mild exfoliation is beneficial because as cells underneath renew, old cells can sometimes get stuck together on the surface creating a dull, dry look. Exfoliators help in removing those cells for a smooth clean refreshed glow.

Beyond the typical 7 products in a skincare routine, there are other categories of skincare products:

Step 8: One Time Treatments:

Masks generally are used as a “treatment” for your skin to give you instant hydration, glow or calm skin irritation or to fix a temporary problem. Masks began as a professional treatment to balance the skin after a facial and now they are being used at home. If a good skincare routine is being followed masks do not need to be applied more than once a month.

Step 9: Protection

SPF should be a part of every skincare routine every day. Due to the chemical compound, it is best to keep this component separate from other skincare ingredients to make sure the SPF can function properly. Zinc is an essential vitamin for the skin, and having this in a natural form will help the skin reflect UVA and UVB rays naturally. Another recommended ingredient is the mineral powder form of titanium dioxide which can be found in some makeup. No matter what protection you have applied to your skin it is still a very good idea to wear a hat for extra protection because sun exposure can cause extreme amounts of skin damage.

How does J. Nicole ® work? The first skin care routine you can (really) commit to

With all of these products that need to be involved in a skin care routine, it can be overwhelming and time-consuming to put together and execute a skincare routine. But here’s the good news, J. Nicole ® has taken all of those products and combined them into 2 steps. This formula is the holy grail of skincare, an all in one serum that gives you the benefits of 7 products without the risk of ingredients canceling each other out.

Today almost all products that only have one purpose with one active ingredient have up to 20 ingredients that support it. When one person is using 7-10 products that each have multiple ingredients it guarantees that some of them will overlap in some way. The skin can only take in a limited amount of nutrients so it is very important that skincare products have only the most essential components in order for them to be fully absorbed. Another side effect to using so many products is disrupting the oil levels of the skin, this can make the skin too high in pH which causes good bacteria to be over colonized by bad bacteria which leads to skin infections and acne. The best skincare is keeping it simple. Thanks to Bio-Hybrid Technology ™ (so cool it is made out of sunflowers) J. Nicole ®'s skin care routine provides every part of a 12 step skincare routine without any unnecessary ingredients.  Skincare is now as easy as 2 steps.  Simply wash with J. Nicole ® The Cleanser and apply J. Nicole ® The Face Serum!  You are welcome!