WELL-THY BEAUTY
THE SKINCARE DIET ROUTINE
Pare back your routine to the basics and detox your skin. Any product lucky enough to score
a spot in the line-up should be free of toxins, controversial ingredients and fillers.Bd Luminosity Face
Serum, from $19.50,
from Biologi.Repair
Moisturiser, $142,
from Prologic.Everyday Broad
Spectrum SPF15, $30,
from Snowberry.What are your thoughts on the
‘skincare diet’ trend?
Romy: It’s funny, this to me is not a trend
at all; it’s simply how I work. I have so
many clients who come to me and are
aghast when I tell them they only need
two products, especially when they’re
used to using seven or eight. An
impaired skin doesn’t need a whole lot
of sh*t thrown at it – this can often cause
more damage. What it needs is the ‘less
is best’ approach.
If your skin is impaired, I recommend
starting with just an oil or a soft cleanser
(an oil might be best or something that
mimics the skin’s bilayers), to act as a
shield until your skin can repair itself.
Then slowly add in your next steps, based
on what your skin NEEDS, not what the
TV tells you to use.
Lucy: The theory behind skin fasting
actually makes a lot of sense. Movements
like K-beauty [Korean beauty] essentially
complicate our skincare routines when
our skin really doesn’t need that much.
At Biologi we promote eating a simple,
wholesome diet that best serves your
body, and it’s the same for your skin. The
main benefits of skin fasting are reducing
the amount of toxins your skin is
exposed to (which can often be the cause
of inflammation and other concerns) and
allowing the skin’s pH levels to balance
out, revealing your natural glow.
Do you think skin sensitivity issues
are increasing?
Romy: Absolutely! Skin sensitivity issues
are increasing, in my opinion, for
multiple reasons, the chief one being
miseducation. An example of this is the
barrage of daily exfoliating products that
people are told they should use to treat
everything from acne to pigmentation
and dry skin. What these do is strip the
skin of its natural oils, resulting in what
we call ‘barrier impairment’. An
impaired barrier is one that is
dehydrated, lacking in natural oils, and
thus doesn’t act as the strong, protective
shield from the outside world that the
skin is designed to be.
We are often given the message that
any acne should be treated by stripping
oil from the skin. Although teenage acne
is often the result of an increase in oils
and sebum in the skin, adult acne is
usually a whole different ball game, but
it is still being ‘treated’ in the same way.
What the skin actually needs is
nourishment in the form of essential
fatty acids and the rebuilding of that
barrier, so it can come back into balance.
Stress (both lifestyle and ‘skin stress’)
also causes inflammation in the body,
which results in inflammation in the
skin. Another huge cause of skin
inflammation is cheaply made skin
products. These are often filled with
ingredients that strip the skin’s natural
barrier such as perfumes, preservatives
and even emulsifiers.
Lucy: Yes. Too many synthetic
products or an overly complicated
routine strip skin of its natural oils,
which are needed for a balanced pH.
Synthetic ingredients mean you’re
coating the skin in chemicals, which
skin cells actually retain.
When you’re applying several layers
of different products, you are essentially
allowing your skin to absorb many
different toxins, which over time
increase skin sensitivity. It can cause
issues down the track like rosacea,
eczema or dermatitis. Then there’s the
fact that many people layer products
without really understanding what each
ingredient can do. Layering different
ingredients can effectively cancel out the
benefits or, in worst-case scenarios, cause
harsh reactions. •