Reviewing the 3 biggest skincare trends

This week we’re talking all about the latest skincare trends – the good, the bad and the ugly. I’m sure they appear in your social media feeds as much as they do mine and although some make my toes curl, others are worth paying attention to.

So today I thought I’d sort the wheat from the chaff so we can all achieve our best skin ever…Are we ready?

#1. 'Slugging'

Before I say anything else…even the name puts me off 😂 Slugging is a trend that has taken the internet by storm and is the practice of slathering your face in petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline), as the last step in your evening skincare routine…This is where the name comes from, as it looks like a slimy slug trail.

Those who encourage it believe it creates a protective layer over your skin to lock moisture in and keep bad bacteria out. And although it has divided professionals around the world, in my opinion, it’s a recipe for disaster.

Firstly, if you have oily skin or are prone to breakouts, this process will congest your pores like nobody’s business, as it makes it incredibly difficult for your skin to regulate its oil production.

When applied to delicate areas like the eyes, slugging can also cause milia. Milia are those tiny white bumps that can appear on the skin and are often referred to as milk spots. When you apply the Vaseline, it prevents the dead skin cells from naturally shedding as they should, so they get trapped within your skin and these bumps appear.

Even if your skin is on the dry side though, petroleum jelly has no hydrating or moisturising properties itself as it is an ‘occlusive’ product. This means its only function is to act as a defence barrier. Therefore, you’d get far more plumping, nourishing and hydrating benefits from applying our Super Serum and sealing it into place with our Ultimate Moisturiser and they’d be no risk of the horrible slugging side effects.

So, if you haven’t already guessed, I would advise you avoid slugging at all costs. If you use our Proactive Age Kit, your skin will be perfectly balanced at all times anyway, so there’s absolutely no need for it…And it’ll save you destroying all your pillowcases too!

#2. 'Microdosing'

This is a trend I can 100% get on board with. I have believed in it, practiced it for many years and even created BASE around it.

Now, it was only a few years ago that the skincare industry had a totally opposite view and many brands still do. They take active ingredients such as retinol, AHAs and vitamin C and encourage people to use them in the highest concentrations possible.

The idea is, this will deliver bigger and faster results, and creates the impression that the stronger the product, the better the outcome. However, this is most certainly not the case.

The trouble with using active ingredients at such high intensities is they can all cause side effects such as irritation, redness and skin peeling. Over time, this disrupts our skin barrier, reactions occur, and people think they aren’t working.

It also makes skincare routines super inconvenient as you have to chop and change your products daily, to try and accommodate the soreness. This means that eventually, most people give up and avoid these ingredients altogether…Our Mums were right when they said you can have too much of a good thing!

Microdosing however, flips this concept on its head and delivers a ‘slow and steady wins the race’ approach. It takes milder doses of the active ingredients and puts them in formulas suitable for daily use. This means that over time, you achieve all the incredible results these ingredients offer without any downtime or reaction.

It’s very much a tortoise and the hare philosophy and delivers the most beautiful, healthy and youthful skin. It’s the reason every BASE product is created using the microdosing concept and is a complete game-changer!

#3. Dropping products directly onto your skin

This one sounds so simple but it’s sweeping across social media like wildfire, so I thought I’d quickly address it.

When you are applying serums that use a dropper such as our Exfoliating Cell Renewal Serum or Eye Complex, it’s super important that you don’t let the dropper come into contact with your skin.

Although many ‘skinfluencers’ make this look very appealing by dropping the product directly onto their face, it can cause a whole heap of trouble. If the dropper touches your skin, it becomes contaminated by the bacteria sitting on the surface. If you then pop the dropper back into the bottle, all those bacteria will contaminate the product itself, which can lead to breakouts and blemishes with every use.

To eradicate the issue, instead, take the dropper and drop the product into clean hands from a height and apply it from there. It will keep everything super clean, stop the spreading of germs and your skin will remain beautifully clear.

As with all industries, these trends will continue to come and go, but I’m here to guide you through the noise and confusion. If you ever see any you’re unsure of, please feel free to drop me a message and ask. My inbox is always open and I’m more than happy to help 🥰

Amy x