Science has long identified ingredients and textures to help nurture skin according to our age. However, our skin needs can also fluctuate depending on seasonal changes and even the surrounding circumstances. We look at why it may be time to forgo the concept of skin types and start paying attention to your skin mood, aka what your skin is actually telling you.
Skin Type vs. Skin Mood
The traditional approach of ‘skin types’ should be considered a blank canvas, or a starting point to help you build your skincare routine from the ground up. A word of caution, however. Skin types can be influenced by the seasons. Skin can be drier or dehydrated in winter due to central heating, yet oilier in summer, especially if you live somewhere with high humidity levels. This is why many choose to switch up their moisturiser in the hotter months, opting for something lighter, while in winter reach for a richer texture.
Nevertheless, the concept of skin types fails to take into consideration what is happening to your skin right now. Your skin mood. Just like us, our skin reacts constantly to both external and internal factors. Today you may find your skin more sensitive or breaking out. Tomorrow it may be flaky or itchy. Your skin can tell you a great many things without even saying a word. You just need to learn to listen and update your routine accordingly.
It may sound obvious when you think about it but in today’s world, it’s so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind that is modern life and forget to be mindful of your skin.
How to treat your skin according to your skin mood
The idea is not to switch products all the time and use a different routine every day, as this can exacerbate existing skin issues and won’t yield the desired results. It’s more about tapping into your skinstinct or skintuition and addressing what’s going on with your skin in the here and now, using products your skin loves.
For instance, let’s say that you have a few Twelve cleansers at home. Your regular routine may consist of Purifying Cleansing Beauty Cream as your AM cleanse and Clementine Cleansing Balm for PM. Yet you also have Charcoal Peace Calming Cleanser on hand for those days during the month when your skin feels more congested than usual. This is where, by listening to your skin, you simply switch Clementine with Charcoal, giving your skin that extra deep yet gentle detox when it needs it.
As we mentioned before, your skin will go through many changes over your lifetime. The key is to get to know your skin, understand its behaviour at each life stage and accept that there will be fluctuations. The skin is the body’s largest organ and it will react to internal and external stimuli.
Remember, treat your skin gently and, above all, if it’s trying to tell you something, listen.
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