Attendees of Living 360’s Debunking Summer Skincare Event were given the chance to ask L360 editor and aesthetician Mattie Lacey-Davidson a question. Here are her answers.
If you missed it, you can download the free recording of the panel via the form below.
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Please note, we cannot give advice on medical conditions such as eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis and the impact of autoimmune diseases on the skin.
How do I treat dry skin?
First things first, let’s make sure we’re not drying out our skin with the wrong products.
If you’re using retinoids or exfoliators (be it scrubs or chemical exfoliators like azelaic acid and glycolic acid), the first thing to do is either reduce usage or reduce the strength of the product as these will dry out the skin. Similarly, it’s best to avoid the chemical exfolitor salicylic acid completely, as this reduces oil within the skin — which is precious if your skin type is dry.
Similarly, make sure you’re using a gentle cleanser — cream or milky cleansers are fantastic for dry skin — or you can even skip cleanser in the mornings and simply splash your face with water.
When it comes to treating dry skin, I’d recommend opting for a hydrating serum that has additional ingredients for moisture such as panthenol (vitamin B5), ceramides and copper peptides. Make sure you’re moisturising morning (before sunscreen) and evening — a rich overnight cream will help significantly. My personal favourites are La Roche-Posay’s Cicaplast Baume B5+ Repairing Balm (£19.50) and Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Cream (£52).
You may also find it helpful to incorporate slugging into your routine, which leads me to our next question…
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What’s slugging?
Slugging is the practice of applying an occlusive product — occlusive substances create a barrier that traps moisture — onto the skin at the end of your evening skincare routine. This prevents the loss of water and oil overnight so that it remains in and on the skin to keep it hydrated and moisturised.
The easiest and cheapest way to do this is to use Vaseline, but CeraVe Advanced Repair Ointment (14.50) is also a cult favourite among skincare fans.
A word of warning: it’s best not to slug on the evenings you’re using a retinol or strong chemical exfoliator, as this could cause irritation.
What’s the best thing for itchy sensitive skin?
Itchy skin is often the result of dry skin — which we’ve covered above. If the dry, itchy skin is across the body it can be helpful to reduce the temperature and duration of your showers, use a gentle or moisturising body wash and apply moisturiser afterwards while skin is still a touch damp.
If this advice doesn’t help, then you may need to seek medical advice.
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How to keep skin hydrated all day
Using a richer cream in the mornings and then reapplying a moisturising sunscreen throughout the day will help to lock in moisture and hydration. It can also help to carry a hydrating mist and spritz your face regularly throughout the day to replenish water levels (doing so before reapplying sunscreen will be the most effective method).
Similarly, use your night time skincare to give your skin a big boost of hydration by layering a hydrating mist between steps (just remember to apply retinols or exfoliators to dry skin).
What if my dry skin is caused by air conditioning?
When air conditioners are used, humidity is decreased, and this can result in an increase in water-loss from the skin. While it may appear your skin is drier, it’s more likely to be dehydrated (dry skin lacks oil, dehydrated skin lacks water).
See above for treatments for dry skin as well as keeping skin hydrated throughout the day.
How to boost hydration after sun exposure?
If your skin is unusually dehydrated after sun exposure, this is a sign of damage and should be avoided at all costs.
First things first, I’d always recommend keeping sun exposure to a minimum and protecting your skin with a broad-spectrum SPF50 sunscreen and wide-brim hat.
Following that, serums that both hydrate and soothe — like the Bioderma Sensibio Defensive Serum (£32) — and a good moisturiser suitable for your skin type will help.
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Skincare tips for a long-haul flight
This has become an extremely popular practice due to influencers doing skincare routines on social media, but it’s not strictly necessary unless you experience a noticeable change to your skin following flights.
Some people report breakouts after a flight while others report dry skin. If it’s the former, a hydrochloric spray may be beneficial; if it’s the latter, it’s due to the air conditioning so the same advice as above is applicable (keep skin hydrated and moisturised). It can also be handy to have a lip balm and hand cream with you, as you may notice dry skin here as well as across the face.
It’s advisable to reapply sunscreen every few hours throughout the flight — but it’s important to note that research stating airplanes significantly increase UV exposure has been conducted on pilots who sit in front of a very large window, which won’t directly corelate to a small plane window, let alone an aisle seat. Although, UV rays will still be present, so sunscreen is always advisable.
Is it true you don’t need to wash your face in the morning?
If you have dry skin, simply splashing your face with water in the mornings to remove any residue from your sheets or the previous night’s skincare may suffice, while preserving oils produced overnight that your dry skin needs.
This is very dependent on the person, but if you have dry skin, it’s worth trying. The only caveat is that if you sweat overnight, especially during the summer, I’d recommend a gentle morning cleanse.
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How to treat acne scars?
The best way to treat acne scarring is with clinical aesthetic treatments, such as microneedling, chemical peels and laser resurfacing.
At-home skincare will make a difference, but you may find the process slow and lengthy — however if you stick with it long-term, you’ll see a difference.
The gold standard at-home acne scar treatment will be retinoids. If you can get prescription-strength tretinoin, it will be the fastest and most effective method — although it comes with side effects including dry and irritated skin. Over the counter options like retinol and retinal will also reduce acne scars.
Outside of that, it’s good to regularly exfoliate the skin to smooth its surface as much as possible and keep future breakouts at bay. If you’re still dealing with spots, salicylic acid will help and, if not, then glycolic acid is fantastic for smoothing skin texture.
Of course, daily sunscreen use it always recommended, but when using retinoids or chemical exfoliators it’s particularly important — it can also reduce the severity of scars when they’re forming.
What are the best face SPFs for acne-prone skin?
My most frequently recommended sunscreen for acne-prone skin is Tocobo Bio Watery Sun Cream SPF50 (£17.45). It’s extremely lightweight and fast-absorbing, and also contains mung bean extract — a Korean botanical said to soothe irritation and calm blemishes.
If you prefer a mineral sunscreen, I’d recommend Summer Fridays ShadeDrops Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Mineral Milk Sunscreen (£36) or Tatcha The Silk Sunscreen SPF50 (£52).
Some people report that sunscreen use makes their acne worse. However, with proper cleansing at the end of the day to remove any residue, this shouldn’t be an issue.
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What would you recommend for sebaceous filaments?
Sebaceous filaments are simply oil at the surface of pores or hair follicles that has been oxygenated and thus turned a darker colour (just like when you leave a cut-open apple out). They’re completely normal and certainly don’t require extracting.
Effective cleansing and exfoliating of the skin (with a product suitable for your skin type, such as salicylic acid for oily skin or lactic acid for dry skin) will help reduce the appearance of sebaceous filaments.
How to get rid of the tiny bumps on your skin and improve your skin texture?
Assuming the bumps are small spots that don’t break the skin’s surface (known as comedonal acne), the same methodology is recommended for this and improving skin texture: exfoliation.
As stated previously, salicylic acid is great for oily skin and lactic acid is great for dry skin. Glycolic acid, azelaic acid and retinoids can be effective for both. With these ingredients, always make sure to start two or three times a week as they can be drying or sensitising.
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Do sunscreens contain harmful chemical or cause skin cancer?
In short, no. Some sunscreen ingredients have been shown to cross over into the bloodstream, but there’s absolutely no evidence of any harm or toxicity caused by this. Similarly, there’s absolutely no evidence that sunscreen causes cancer — not only is this false, but dangerous.
What we do have evidence of is that sun exposure and tanning beds are the leading cause of most skin cancers and that one of your best methods of defence is using sunscreen (along with covering up and staying out of the sun).
What’s the best way to incorporate sun protection and skincare into your makeup routine?
Skincare and sun protection should always be separate, and completed prior, to your makeup routine. Skincare will be the first thing you do, with sunscreen as the last step in your skincare routine before you begin your makeup.
It should go as follows: toners and serums (from thinnest to thickest consistency), moisturiser, sunscreen, makeup.
The only exception is when you’re using a sunscreen that doubles as a skin tint. However, while you’ll find skin tints claiming to offer SPF protection, it’s important to remember you need a certain amount of product on the skin to provide the labelled protection — for some skin tints, you simply can’t apply enough for adequate SPF coverage. So, let’s break it down…
How much SPF is required to provide full protection?
As a dose, sunscreen requires two milligrams per square centimetre of skin. This usually equates to a quarter teaspoon (US measurement) for the face or half a teaspoon to also cover the ears and neck.
On social media, you’ll commonly see people applying two or three finger lengths of sunscreen — while this can be a helpful gauge, it’s not foolproof. Depending on the consistency of the formula (thick or thin), the amount of sunscreen you get with two finger lengths will vary.
Ultimately, you should make sure you’re applying a decent layer, evenly across the skin — and remember to apply to your ears and neck as well as other exposed areas of the body.
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How to get rid of dark circles under the eyes?
Dark circles can be causes by excess melanin (aka hyperpigmentation) or visible blood vessels. An easy way to tell the difference is to pinch the skin under the eye — if the colour is unchanged, it’s likely hyperpigmentation, if the colour changes, then it’s probably caused by visible blood vessels.
For hyperpigmentation, brightening ingredients like retinol, vitamin C and kojic acid can help. While to make blood vessels less visible through the skin, we can either restrict their size with a cold compress (often a short-lived result) or increase blood circulation with gentle massage and ingredients like caffeine.
Dark circles caused by visible blood vessels can worsen as we age due to thinning skin making them more visible. In this instance, firming the skin by increasing collagen can help — retinol and peptides are best for this.
How to treat combination skin?
This is one of the hardest skin types to treat at home. My top tip for combination skin is to treat the varying areas of your face differently.
There are a few ways you can do this. For example, if your T-zone (forehead, nose and chin) are oily then applying salicylic acid only to these areas, two or three times a week, can reduce excess oil. Similarly, in the morning you can limit cleanser application to the oily areas while only washing the dry areas of your face with water. Another option is to use a lighter moisturiser on oily areas and a richer moisturiser on dry areas while also slugging the dry areas in the evening.
The only skincare product that should be kept to one at a time is sunscreen, as using different products will likely result in uneven coverage.
What causes pilling when layering skincare?
It’s a common myth that pilling (flaky littles balls that roll up on the skin during your skincare or makeup routine) is caused by dead skin. The culprit is usually incompatible ingredients in different skincare products — if you notice pilling during your skincare routine, you’ll need to choose a product to eliminate unfortunately. For example, if you apply two serums and experience pilling, you’ll need to stop using them together.
However, pilling can be reduced by leaving longer between your skincare steps to allow for adequate absorption and making sure you’re always applying your skincare from thinnest to thickest consistency before finishing with sunscreen.
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How can I brighten dull looking skin?
If you want to brighten skin, make sure you have the basics in place first — a serum for hydration, a moisturiser for your skin type and a daily sunscreen.
After this, adding antioxidants into your morning routine (such as a vitamin C or Q10 serum) and either a retinol or chemical exfoliator (such as glycolic or lactic acid) into your evening routine two or three times a week will significantly reduce dull skin.
If your skin is too sensitive for retinol or exfoliators, I’d recommend Caudalie’s Vinoperfect Brightening Dark Spot Serum (£52), which can be used morning and evening.
What are some other tyrosinase inhibitors other than kojic acid?
There are many ingredients that work as tyrosinase inhibitors (which block the activity of enzymes in the skin that produce and overproduce melanin). Examples include vitamin C, alpha arbutin, azelaic acid, tranexamic acid, hydroquinone (a prescription-only ingredient), liquorice extract (also known as glabridin) and retinoids.
Can kojic acid still be effective in soap form?
Anecdotally, many people report kojic acid soap helps fade hyperpigmentation. However, much of the research we have on the benefits of kojic acid comes from use in a serum rather than a soap. Similarly, soaps can be stripping, which could lead to irritation — for some, this could exacerbate hyperpigmentation or cause new dark spots.
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At what age should you start using retinol?
The answer to this is dependent on your goals. Retinoids were originally developed as an acne treatment and remain one of the most effective topical acne treatments some 50 years later. So, if you’re a teenager with acne, you can absolutely use retinol as a treatment method. Similarly, if you have hyperpigmentation you’d like to treat, retinol is one of the best options.
If your goal is anti-ageing, then we know collagen starts declining in our mid-20s, so this is a suitable time to start to enable retinol (which increases collagen production in the skin) to counteract this. If you’re a teenager or someone in your early 20s, it’s too soon to be concerned with anti-ageing and I wouldn’t recommend using retinol.
If you’re using retinol, it’s important to use it safely: start with a low percentage product just twice a week. After a few weeks, if you’re not experiencing side effects (dry, irritated skin) then you can increase to three times a week or every other day. You don’t need to use retinol daily to see results. Once you’ve completed a product you can increase the percentage to continue to enhance results, but you must start the process all over again and return to using it twice a week as your skin adjusts to the dose.
Is collagen worth taking internally or externally in creams?
If you’re looking for anti-ageing benefits, collagen in skincare will not make an impact. It’s far too large of a molecule to penetrate the skin and have any effect on collagen levels. It is, however, a very good hydrator and moisturiser, which in turn plumps the skin externally helping to reduce the appearance of lines temporarily.
With regards to collagen supplements (usually liquid or powder form), some research shows it can increase firmness, elasticity and hydration of the skin — but the current industry consensus is that research is still lacking and not definitive. However, many people report positive outcomes from long-term collagen supplementation.
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Does skin cycling actually work?
Skin cycling was a trend that simply named something experts have been advising people to do for decades. We know that most people can’t tolerate ingredients like retinoids or chemical exfoliators daily, so your evening routine will need to cycle between them and other more gentle ingredients on different nights of the week.
If you’re not using ingredients that may irritate the skin, there’s no reason to change your routine — that’s why it’s not appliable to morning skincare routines as you’re unlikely to use strong, sensitising ingredients.
Toner or essence — which is better?
These serve a very similar purpose and unless it’s an exfoliating toner (such as a liquid glycolic acid), they’re slightly hydrating but certainly not a necessity. Historically, toners helped rebalance the skin’s pH after cleansing but with modern day skincare, this isn’t an issue we see in cleansers and therefore not required.
Toners and essences are generally watered down versions of serums, so they may have some good ingredients but will be mostly made up of water — in terms of ingredient strength, it tends to go: toner, essence, serum. They can be a good addition to increase hydration, but certainly not a universal must-have.
What’s good for the neck?
Contrary to what many brands will tell you, you don’t require separate products for the neck or decolletage. Simply taking your skincare routine down the neck is all you need to do.
