In order to find just the right skincare and beauty products for you, you need a personalized approach. What works for others’ skin may cause negative side effects in yours.
While many people try a trial-and-error method to find the products that suit them the most, others go to a dermatologist for medicinal skincare products.
The global market for beauty products was estimated to be a whopping $451330 million in 2021. If you wish to select some beauty products for yourself, here are some things you should keep in mind.
1. Know your skin type
First and foremost, knowing your skin type is essential. This involves a lot of time and reading the ingredients list on the products you use, but in the long run, it’s worth it.
There aren’t any bad beauty products exactly, but people often use the wrong kind of products that don’t suit their skin. Those with acne-prone or sensitive skin need to be very careful regarding what they apply, both in terms of makeup and skincare.
For people with oily skin, alpha-hydroxy acids and hyaluronic work pretty well. For those with dry skin, shea butter and lactic acid work the best, and for the sensitive type ones, they should look for aloe vera or oatmeal in their ingredients list.
2. Don’t give in to the hype
Aesthetic packaging and popularity can sometimes be misleading. Even if a particular facewash or moisturizer has worked well on the majority of the consumers, it doesn’t mean it will suit you too. So outer packaging and all shouldn’t hold too much value when you look for a new item.
For example, if a friend or an Instagram influencer tells you how well something has worked for them, you should pay attention to their skin type instead of how their skin looks now.
Earlier, wildly popular products from brands like Mario Badescu have faced legal problems due to the backlash they faced from customers. But even then, if any Badescu products have worked out properly for you, you should continue using them.
3. Natural isn’t always better
One of the biggest marketing trends now is to include words like “natural” and “made with nature” in products.
Many brands give out free beauty sampling products to their customers to try out the effects of these natural items. Even though familiar words in the ingredients list make you more confident to buy a certain product, you shouldn’t follow them blindly.
For example, poison ivy is a natural oil but you wouldn’t go apply it on your skin, would you? Even people with the healthiest, most glowing skins have complained about the adverse effects of using essential oils on their faces or necks.
So again, this is one of those things that depend mostly on how well your skin can adapt to a particular ingredient. So choose wisely before you’re misled by something that has “natural” labeled on it.
4. Look at the order of ingredients
After you know the essential ingredients that your skin will require, it’s time to look at the order of these substances on the list.
A good rule of thumb is to look carefully at the first five ingredients since they account for nearly 80% of the product that you’re planning to buy. Ingredients will be listed from the order of highest to lowest in terms of concentration.
Therefore, if there’s an ingredient that’s up there at the top which you know you’re allergic to, you must stay away from it no matter how great it looks. Similarly, if you’re looking for a beauty product with a specific item and you see it listed right at the bottom, it’s not worth the money.
5. Use your resources
You don’t always have to know everything out there in order to be a beauty product expert. Make use of online resources and sites. EWG’s SkinDeep database and CosDNA are great online sites.
The EWG is an NPO working towards research related to the environment and human health. CosDNA dives even deeper into the ingredient list and details their individual properties.
Over to you…
When you’re selecting a beauty product, you obviously want it to work out really well for you and be worth the money. So remember to always check these five factors before you rush into buying. In the long run, quality over hype and quantity will matter greatly.
