The Best Inexpensive Skincare Hacks To Live By
I’m not a master at anything. I’m a jack of all trades — hairstylist, data engineer, organizer, and writer. I can’t fully commit to an early morning routine every day. What I can confidently say that I’ve figured out though, is good skincare and healthy eating habits.
Good eating habits = good skin. You are what you eat, plain and simple. Chances are if you’re wanting an improvement in your skin, yet soda and Doritos are a part of your daily diet, you’re not going to topically improve what is happening inside your body and reflecting on your skin.
I candidly don’t have the most perfect skin, but I have been mistaken as a 22-year-old more times than not at the age of 32 while I was in college. My peers who were ten years younger than me often thought I was their age. I am now 34, and still get many compliments on my skin under the direct overhead lights at the salon (sorry clients, the lights are to compliment your hair, not your face. I know, they can be rough), so I must be doing something right.
Skincare does not have to be complicated. In fact, it shouldn’t be. The sheer number of products to choose from is what creates most of the confusion. What’s even more frustrating is that many of the same active ingredients in high-end lines can be found in drug store brand products.
Five Simple, Fundamental Guidelines For Great Skin:
- Drink lots of water. You don’t have to drink a gallon a day, but around three 32oz water bottles worth of water each day will get you far.
- Cut out excess sugar and artificial ingredients. Sugar is literally in 99.9% of everything manufactured or processed. It’s sneaky. The easiest way to cut out excess sugar is to cut out soda, all of it. Switch to seltzer water if you still need the bubbles (Polar being the best brand, IMO). In addition, replace all of your sugary cereals, snacks, or desserts with fruit for at least a few weeks. You’ll notice a difference not only in how your skin looks, but how you feel overall.
- Use two products, at a minimum: a moisturizer with sunscreen and a light eye cream. Start now if you haven’t already. I started when I was 19 and I definitely think the skin around my eyes thanks me now for it. If you’re going to use anything on your face, it’s these two products.
- Cold water on your face in the morning, after a shower, and at night. I actually don’t even know if this does anything long-term, but I visibly see and feel the difference when I hold cold water in the palms of my hands against my eyelids each day. It helps keep my skin tight and is a great way to naturally wake up.
- Probably the most important is getting enough sleep. There are not enough cold spoons, cucumbers, or products to help if you’re not already getting enough sleep. This isn’t always possible, of course, but that’s not the point of this article, womp womp.
If you’re stressed about which skincare ingredients are best to use for your specific skin type, check out Skincare with Hyram if you already haven’t. He’s a skincare guru who knows and understands ingredients and has helped me in figuring out which brands are best for my skin.
I just recently added Inkey List’s caffeine eye cream to my routine per Hyram’s suggestion (again, for my skin type), and it’s incredible. I wouldn’t have found it without him.
Let me know what your favorite skincare routines are, I’d love to learn about what I might not already be using.
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