How to buy the right skincare products

Like many other high schoolers, I struggled with acne and it vastly affected my confidence. My peers would point out acne which made me want to crawl into a ball and hide my face. After being tired of getting bullied, I begged my mom to take me to Target or Sephora to purchase some products. As we walked into the store, I smiled from ear to ear because I knew I was finally beginning my skin care journey, but that smile immediately fell once I walked down the aisle. I was overwhelmed and did not know where to start. How do you decide what skin care routine to start with? The store was filled with products and I did not know which one was best for my needs. I only knew I wanted to get rid of my acne. As a result, I grabbed the most expensive product I saw and purchased it. I figured that the price tag reflected the quality of the product. As I’ve gotten older, I know this is far from the truth. My skin had gotten significantly worse and left me even more insecure. I finally came to the realization that skin care is a journey. It is actually a holistic approach especially when trying to improve inflammatory conditions such as acne , psoriasisIt is not solely about products. You also have to make lifestyle changes to see results. Some lifestyle changes we take for granted but can have a huge impact on healthy skin include drinking more water, exercising, and having a balanced diet. Something I learned during my summer marketing internship here at The Skin Consult, a high complex carbohydrate diet rich in legumes, whole wheats, grains and low glycemic index foods such as bran, oatmeal, grains (again!)Low sugar can do wonders for your skin. Fruits that are anti-inflammatory such as berries and oranges also have shown to reduce acne lesions in severity. However, buying the right skin care products is a very important part of this whole equation. I did not know anything about this until I started At The Skin Consult. I learned that When it comes to choosing products, be sure it contains the active ingredient necessary to solve your problem. For example, if you are looking to treat hyperpigmentation , use products that have kojic acid or hydroquinone. Specifically knowing how much percentage of active ingredients is even better. For example, Hydroquinone can range from 2-8 % but when to use each strength is determined on what you want to treat and should always be done under guidance of a skin care physician. Kojic Acid can range from 1 to 4 %, and depending on how sensitive your skin is you may want to start with a lower percentage. To treat acne, look for products that contain salicylic acid 2 % and possibly Benzoyl Peroxide which can also range from 2.5-10%. You want your products to have a high grade to directly solve the issue because if it is too low, it will not be effective. Often many brands dont list the percentage of active ingredients unless they are designated a “drug” category which include: sunscreens and acne products only. It is easy to be blinded by the popular brands you see on social media or the price tag. However it is more effective to look at the ingredients. In addition, here at The Skin Consult, they curate only products that meet certain criteria of right ingredient, formulation, and those that have clinical studies done. This way we know these products will work. It is not necessarily true that Expensive products always contain good quality ingredients. Often, you are most likely paying for the brand, packaging, and the popularity. When buying skin care products, first know what your skin type is. Know what your skin care goal is, Is it to treat dark spots or wrinkles? Then, you pick a skin care product that has the right ingredients to target those concerns for your skin type. Build a regimen that targets the concerns with multiple ingredients that target with different mechanism of action. For example, remove hyperpigmentation by using an exfoliator and a cell accelerator ingredients to get the best results, fast! The Skin Consult’s Artificial Intelligent algorithm takes all this into consideration so you dont have to do the extra research . Find your matching provider and science backed service, skincare!