Take (skin) Care

When I was a teenager

I read an article in Seventeen magazine about skincare that highlighted famous celebrities' best tips and tricks for radiant skin as they age. I looked in the mirror and for the first time, questioned how "healthy" my skin looked. The thought had never crossed my mind before. I furrowed my brow and - SHOCK!- a teeny crease formed between my eyebrows. Horrified, I ran out to my local drugstore and spent all my money on a little jar of Olay Deep Wrinkle Treatment. Back home I smeared the goop designed to attack aging skin onto my pristine forehead, relieved to have 'solved' the problem.

About ten years later, I now have a better process on how I choose my skincare for my specific skin type. But finding the right skincare routine takes time and trial and error. And when you're a broke girl without gobs of money to throw at the problem, there's not much room for the error. It's something the 50-billion-dollar-a-year industry thrives on...the cycle of you buying a product that doesn't work, it makes your skin worse, so the company offers a new kind of product to fix that problem...and so it goes.

And an ugly industry promising to make you beautiful can succeed as well as it does by infiltrating the image-conscious world of Youtube and Instagram to find and target its masses. Content creators are given big bucks to swear up and down to their followers that a certain product is the secret to their perfectly filtered photos and videos.

But even still, I love skincare. And I think the pursuit of it isn't entirely a vanity project. The skin is an organ, just like the heart is. Skin health contributes to your overall health. And as for the million Youtube videos of (mainly) women promoting sponsored skincare content... I like those too. It's a soothing way to wind down at the end of the day-- applying skincare in my bathroom while my computer perches on the counter playing videos of other women applying theirs. And best of all? It's free information. This is extremely valuable to those who can't afford their own dermatologist visits.

So with that said,

here are my recommendations for the best and most trusted skincare-based Youtube vloggers out there for those interested in improving their game:

1.Dr. Dray

Dr. Dray is a board-certified dermatologist and actual know-it-all about all things skincare. She's great about debunking skincare scams, verifying ingredient lists on products, and updating her viewers with developments from the scientific community to back up any of her claims. She's legit.

2. Cassandra Bankson

Cassandra Bankson is a medical esthetician and vegan skincare specialist whose content focuses mainly on discrediting skincare myths, bogus products, and sharing a peek into the PR-package-paid-sponsorship world to better inform viewers. I rarely purchase a new product without first scrolling through her videos to see if she's reviewed it or its company as a whole.

3. Mixed Makeup

Mixed Makeup, also known as Susan Yara, addresses a range of skincare related fads -- from extreme facials, to new types of products, to...you guessed it...makeup. Personality-wise, she's my favorite to watch. Susan is also very open about her botox use, her own skincare company Natrium, and even filmed herself reacting to her old videos debunking her own skincare advice. That kind of honesty and transparency is pretty invaluable within a medium devoted to perfectionism.

Through (probably too much) watching

I've developed a solid skincare routine with products I've A) used for awhile to thoroughly test its efficiency and B) researched to determined its ingredients' long-term effects. So no tricks or sponsored bits here. Just good old fashioned word-of-mouth.

Step One: Pixi Retinol Tonic

Right out of the shower, I pat on this toner with retinol and jasmine flower. It's a gentle way to incorporate retinol into my routine without burning my face off.

Step Two: Peach and Lily Glass Skin Refining Serum

This one is the best. Most serums I've tried in the past are too heavy and sticky for my taste, but this one feels like you're splashing fresh spring water onto your face.

Step Three: Belief True Cream Aqua Bomb

This moisturizer is...sorry, I have to...the bomb. While I like my serum thin, I love my moisturizer thick and powerful. Especially during the winter months living up north, anytime I come home with windburn on my face I love to slather this stuff all over for instant relief.

Step Four: Murad Invisiblur Perfecting Shield

My last skincare step is the most important: sunscreen. The problem is most mineral-based sunscreens are so cakey and leave a weird white film on your face, and yet it's so critical to have on. This product here is technically a primer to throw on before makeup, but I rub this silky smooth cream all over for its SPF 30 benefits and just skip the makeup part after.

Step Holy Grail: The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution

This one I do only once a week, per the bottle's instructions. This thing so powerful, you're going to need to lock the bathroom door when you put it on. (Also because...let's be honest...it absolutely looks like you're putting a deep red blood liquid on your face, and let's not freak out anyone that may live with you.) Nothing takes the week off like searing off any encroaching wrinkles with an acid facial. Ten minutes with this thing on turns back about ten years so you can feel like a stressed seventeen-year-old again, running to Rite Aid to overpay for skincare.

That's about it! No 38-step routine here. Just a simple way to keep my face fresh and my wallet unharmed. I encourage you all to share your skincare must-haves too! It's not just the big online skincare gurus that we need to be listening to. Sharing experiences really do keep skincare companies honest, forcing them to do better and offer better products. It's a win-win!

Take (skin) care!

- Hytes