Do you find yourself reaching for your favourite heavy-duty concealer as soon as a blemish begins to appear? Or perhaps your turn to a full-coverage foundation to cover up other minor imperfections? If you’re tired of hiding under layers of experts, fret not as it is completely possible to get flawless skin without make-up. We chat with the skincare experts and find out how.
Create the Perfect Canvas
Forget bottle loads of foundation and heavy-duty concealer, if you want to get flawless skin you need to focus on your skincare routine says Smitee Ranchhod, appearance medicine nurse. “If we can improve the texture, the tone, and the clarity of our skin, when you do put a little bit of foundation on you don’t need to use as much,” she says.
Ranchhod says the trend in skincare and beauty has really evolved: today’s look is much less about reaching for make-up as a quick fix and cover-up. “I have women coming in all the time telling me I don’t really want to wear much foundation.” And according to Ranchhod going nude in a beauty sense isn’t as scary or difficult as one might think.
“For most people there are just a few little things you need to do. Often it’s about applying the right products, tweaking your skincare regimen and possibly adding a treatment to the mix,” she explains. To see the best results build active ingredients in higher concentrations into your beauty regiment. “It’s a really good cleanser that’s suitable for your skin type, adding a vitamin C, using a retinol product to help increase skin cell turnover and sunblock is very important.”
It’s All in the Eyes
Genes, stress, sun damage, diet and other lifestyle factors can all contribute to pesky dark circles under the eyes. And while concealers and correctors are often are the first port of call when dark circles begin to appear, if you’re planning on going nude this summer you’ll need to adopt a skincare-first approach.
Not only is the under-eye area extremely delicate, it’s prone to stress and the circulation in the area is often poor. “A face cream is far too rich and heavy for the eye area,” explains Ranchhod. “You don’t want to over do it, you need something that will keep the area hydrated. And you have to be realistic, no eye cream will be magic, but it will help.”
For those who seriously want to tackle dark circles there are appearance medicine options. Ranchhod often uses Dermapen on clients to help stimulate the cell renewal and skin repair process. “There’s also platelet-rich-plasma treatment. We separate the plasma-rich-plasma from your blood and infuse the skin with the Dermapen treatment to improve the skin tone and the texture of it.” Teamed with serious at homecare – a potent, youth-restoring and hydrating eye cream – discolouration and fine lines can become a concern of the past.
Banish Pigmentation to Get Flawless Skin
Banishing pigmentation is a hard task but is a something you’ll want to address to get minimal-make-up-needed skin. A heavy-hitting skincare routine is vital: and one of Ranchhod’s favourites, SkinMedica Lytera, contains a powerful cocktail of effective, pigmentation-fighting ingredients. “It helps lighten and brighten the skin, and it’s a good one-step product for people to use. It has vitamin b3 in it and retinol, and it helps to smooth dry, thick and rough skin by enhancing exfoliation. It’s also got hexylresorcinol and tetratpeptide which helps brighten the skin.”
Working alpha-hydroxy acids – which are found in certain fruits – into your routine can play a hand in improving skin clarity and tone. “They’re great for skin brightening and help exfoliate the skin,” says Ranchhod. Sometimes a little extra help is needed to target difficult-to-treat pigmentation and intense-pulsed-light or IPL can help. “It will help lighten some of the pigmentation and also help brighten the skin as well, because it rejuvenates the skin,” explains Ranchhod. Taking serious care of your skin after a series of IPL treatments is essential to ensure results last. “It’s all about how you look after the skin. Use a sunscreen and keep using your active ingredients like vitamin C.”
Reduce Pore Size
Layering on the foundation won’t help you get flawless skin and it definitely help with pore size as congestion tends to clog up larger pores making the more visible in the long run. Large pore size can come down to genetics, so keeping skin clean is often the first step in making pores appear less visible. IPL can also help shrink pores says Ranchhod. “It’s really noticeable when you have a series of treatments. If you can improve the skin texture the pores actually start changing.”
Get Sun Smart
If you really want to get flawless skin sunblock is a skincare routine essential. Pigmentation, lines and discolouration are all things you want to avoid when forgoing foundation and sunblock will be your best defense against the signs of ageing. “It’s New Zealand,” says Ranchhod, “You need a good sunscreen and you need to apply it frequently if you’re going to be outdoors, especially with our rates of melanoma.”
It’s often a wise idea to invest in separate sunscreen for your face and your body. Despite some of us avoiding applying sunscreen underneath make-up because it’s too oily, Ranchhod says that’s just a misconception. “There is sun care out there that is not oily, you just have to find that right combination for your skin.”
