The skincare advocates talk about the products they discovered in quarantine, new routines, and how they treat acne spots.
READ ALSO: Fresh Faves: 6 New Skincare Products—Including One Of The Priciest We Know
Over the pandemic, the beauty industry’s focus has shifted to away from makeup to more in-home concerns such as skin, hair, and hygiene. Personal routines and rituals also had to shift to accommodate the changing landscape of the world. Jess Wilson and Kiana Valenciano are two such people. Here, they share the adjustments they made and beauty lessons they learned over the year.
Relaxed care
As Sunnies Face’s co-founder, Wilson’s approach to beauty is uncomplicated, akin to her makeup brand’s principle of “effortless beauty.”
Even before the pandemic, Wilson kept her daytime makeup minimal. She would blot color on her lips, dab the same product on her cheeks, fill in her eyebrows, and, with a touch of mascara, she was out the door.
“Sometimes I do that at home,” she shares. “Okay, maybe like ten times this year.”
Fighting maskne
Wilson doesn’t regularly use foundation, which she says can be a culprit of acne because it tends to clog pores.
She still experienced breakouts at the height of last year, though. “It was really bad at the beginning of 2020’s lockdown,” she says. “My chin had crazy acne like never before. Probably the stress from everything happening.”
Chin acne, or “maskne” as some witty posters online refer to it, became a concern for many as health protocols became wider spread. Wearing a face mask for prolonged periods causes sebum buildup and traps humidity due to your breathing, increasing the risk of acne flare-ups.
Wilson actively sought a remedy and was recommended a routine by Dr. Vicki Belo, which includes ZO Acne Pads and ZO Brightening Cream.
Product testing
Wilson purchased all-new products for testing over the past year. The skincare buff introduced brands and products like Dr. Strumm serums, Ultraviolette sunscreens, ZO Brightening Cream, and retinol to her rotation.
What she considers as most essential, however, is a quality face. Your skin accumulates bacteria, dust, ad dead skin cells even if your day is spent indoors, so there is a need in removing these impurities. Her go-to formula, she says, is by a American brand iS Clinical’s.
Self-editing
Before the pandemic, Kiana Valenciano maintained an extensive skincare routine. But the musician omitted some steps in her regimen recently when she discovered the products her skin thrives on.
“While in quarantine, I got to know my skin more and was able to cut out all the fuss— and focus on what I really needed,” she shares. “What I don’t use anymore are thick moisturizers which started clogging my pores and products with high alcohol content.”
Mastering her skin
Valenciano shares that her top three skin concerns are dryness, dark circles, and hypopigmentation due to sun damage. “My skincare routine revolves around correcting the three,” she says.
The 28-year-old starts with micellar water followed by a squalene cleanser; she then applies a gentle toner to finish off the face-purification process.
To moisturize her dry skin, she religiously uses serum and hyaluronic acid, a substance naturally found in the skin, corrective tissues, and eyes. It’s similar to collagen as it promotes skin elasticity, too.
Scrubs and serums
“I apply The Ordinary’s ‘buffet’ serum, then double up with hyaluronic acid from the same brand, caffeine solution around my eyes and end with a light moisturizer,” she says. If she had an acne spot, she would treat it last with salicylic acid.
For deep skin cleansing, the singer would visit a dermatologist regularly. “I love cleaning facials and peels,” she says. “I used to be scheduled for them once a month.”
Facials tighten skin and improve its texture, while chemical peels reduce sun damage and promote healthy skin cell growth. While clinics have suspended treatments, for the time being, she makes do by exfoliating with alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) or a gentle facial scrub as needed.
