The Feel Good series
Increased confidence, self-care, and mindfulness? Yes please! This series explores the desire for self-improvement, the importance of self-expression, and the need for self-care and how good skincare practices can help.
Getting old is hard
And though each year is absolutely a blessing and every birthday is a win, sometimes it feels like all the cake and candles in the world can’t make up for how our faces and our bodies work against us.
Every time we look in the mirror and we see a new wrinkle, the shadow of an age spot, puffiness where no puffiness was before, it’s so easy to feel disheartened. It’s so simple to give into feeling down on ourselves, or welcoming that pending invisibility.
And maybe for a moment, we do give in.
But then… we fight!
And that’s where skincare comes in!
We try product after product, we ‘research’ obsessively, we look closer at friends’ faces and enquire about their ‘routine’, then muffle our surprise at the 10 steps they take every morning in an aim to smooth lines, brighten tone, reduce pores.
Sound familiar?
We spend countless dollars (on average $3000+ a year), discard endless ‘miracles’, and take fearless leaps into ingredient sets we’ve never heard of, from places where legal regulation is like bingo arms – a little loose.
And all for what?
So we can look like Blake Lively, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Lopez?
The truth is, skincare was never meant to be this complicated. It was not supposed to be so unaffordable or so damaging to our environment – or our confidence.
It was also not designed – isn’t designed – by anyone – to turn a 70-year-old woman into a 30-year-old.
What it was meant to do is soften fine lines, slow down that transition from delicate to deep, clarify and enable consistency in tone and colour, and exfoliate those old, nasty skin cells, so shiny, new ones can have their moment.
It should make you look and feel fresh and vibrant, and each time you glance in the mirror – just like after you go to the gym – you should see some gains.
So, now you’ve tried all the brands and all the multi-step routines, why haven’t they done that? Why don’t they work?
Where do we go wrong with skincare?
For many of us, there is no one reason skincare doesn’t do what it should. There are many!
To start with, often, we go with the flow, following market trends, making hasty decisions and buying into complicated routines we can’t possibly keep up with.
We layer on any number of different ingredients – some absorbing, some just sitting – not really knowing if one goes with another, or if it stops it from working completely.
We pay top dollar for big brands, or go for the new, exciting low budget option, not aware that the ‘actives’ they promise are in such low volumes, of such poor quality, or so unstable, we’d be better with the pharmacy Vitamin E most of our mums used.
Overall, a lot of people become convinced (mainly through ads and socials) if we buy more products, more serums and creams, and put in more effort, that it will have a compounding effect on our skin.
The bottom line is, we let skincare be that complicated.
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How can we go right with skincare?
The truth is, there’s no real science to back up the idea that the more products you use, the bmore effective skincare will be.
There is, however, science that proves over-and-over again that the combination of ingredients, how stable they are, and how much of those important ingredients reach the dermis make all the difference.
What that means is, you may get the same, if not better results from two well-formulated products, as you do from a five or ten-step routine – for much less cost, time and complication.
As a bonus, or perhaps for you a priority, you also reduce your environmental footprint, with less packaging and production.
In the case of skincare, less really can be more.
Three tips for effective, sustainable skincare
Poor evidence equals poor choice!
At Re-Dox, we’re all about good science and good formulations – that’s how we’ve created a range of products that really work.
Every ingredient we use and formulation we make has solid scientific backing.
We don’t go in for toners or separate creams for face, neck and chest, or snazzy expensive ingredients– have you heard of platinum and caviar-based products?
We are only interested in evidence-based active ingredients that produce the very best results, and create an effective practice you can actually keep up every day.
Simplify, don’t multiply
Waste is built into the beauty industry's business model. Although there is an increased focus on sustainability, very little is being done to address the root cause of the problem - the ever-expanding range of products.
Arguably, the biggest step in reducing waste is to just buy less in the first place.
Finding versatile products that tick multiple boxes in one, like a tinted sunscreen that acts as a daily moisturiser, foundation and sun protector, cuts three products down to one.
The result of using fewer products has a massive impact on our footprint.
That’s why we invested in creating a minimal range of products that take the place of many – effectively. We put in the time, so you don't have to.
Customise and cut down
A big part of the reason people have so many steps in their skincare routines is they have different skin conditions they want to treat – wrinkles, pigmentation, large pores, acne – and research tells them it takes different ingredients to treat them.
That research is correct.
What is incorrect, is the idea – nurtured by marketing – that those ingredients can’t just be combined into the same products.
Our customisation lets you create products that meet your specific requirements, by boosting one of our base products with the extra, active ingredients you need – meaning the routine is still quick and easy.
This option will become available following our full launch!
These three tips – evidence, simplify, customise – are not only the foundation for our Re-Dox Pillars of Sustainability, they are also the best way you can really start to love the skin you’re in again, and the routine you use to look after it.
