The perfect skincare routine.
You might think putting together the perfect skincare routine is fraught with complexity? Or perhaps you’re a beauty maven and curate your own bathroom cabinet essentials.
Or it’s all just trial and error which may lead you to ask questions and find you trawling the internet or even the supermarket aisle out of frustration.
Which brand should you buy or what’s right for your skin? Will it work for you? Who can give you the advice you need? Is it better to spend up big or not so much and stick with the basics of cleanser, tone, moisturise?
You may ponder. “My skin’s unique; I need a particular and very specific routine” or, “I’ve got sensitive skin; they say they can help, but they rarely do. I don’t know who to trust or where to get answers.”
Any number of questions could present themselves, and chances are you’ll get all manner of answers depending on who you’re talking to, or what you’ve been reading, which is why it can become a little confusing.
We all have an opinion.
You’ll never be short on advice with an abundance available all across the internet, and certainly, with more than 25,000 cosmetic brands worldwide you’ll never be lacking for choice.
Despite the seemingly endless number of lotions, serums, oils, scrubs, exfoliants and moisturisers and the subsequent overwhelm that follows, the answer is quite simple.
But how can it be, you ask?
Surely with some many brands available, there must be just as many answers to your skincare woes? There must be ingredients yet to discover and try?
Your search continues. It could continue for many months; it could go on for years with trials, errors and the occasional mishap, leading you to spend more money than you ever thought possible.
Searching for a miracle.
Here’s the thing. There are no quick fix, miracle cures. But there are solutions, and often the answer is much simpler than you think.
It’s kind of like Pareto’s 80/20 principle. Let’s say there’re 64 million potential ingredients that could go into a cosmetic formulation. Of this 64 Million, only a handful of ingredients are going to work for you, or me; for that matter, any of us.
You may wonder why so many ingredient choices? Well, the myriad of ingredients available helps a brand to differentiate. It allows them to create a unique story. A story that makes you want to try their brand. You’ll think, this time, it’s going to be different.
With so many choices, surely there must be some worthy contenders? Of course, there are, but what I’m just saying is this: Only a selected few ingredients will make a meaningful difference to your skin. The rest comes down to the product formulation, the right combination of ingredients, the synergy between them, how the product is packaged and sometimes, it’s more about what’s not added than what is.
What matters most? Sophisticated and elegant product formulations, the integrity of key active ingredients and the right combination of these ingredients; the synergy between them. Stable packaging practices and sometimes it’s more about what’s not added than what is.
Working within a system.
The perfect skincare routine is a system. I’m not talking about a beauty edit straight out of Vogue or Harper’s, or a group of various brands curated just for you, although that all sounds very nice. Nope, what I’m suggesting is a group of ingredients within a cosmeceutical brand designed to work together. Synergistically.
Why would this be so important?
Because an excellent, well-formulated skincare brand is never random in its approach. A good cosmeceutical skincare range is formulated to deliver results. Each product working with every other product within your particular beauty routine.
Don’t go cherry-picking.
In my many years in the beauty industry, there is something I’ve noticed you like to do. Not always, but often.
You’ll look for what you think might be the key product in a brand and hang all your hopes on that one product.
You’ll skimp on your cleanser, or settle for a slightly cheaper moisturiser. As long as you have the STAR performer in the range. Maybe it’s a collagen-boosting cream or a serum inspired by NASA, so expensive your shoe budget for the month is shot to pieces.
That’s all okay, but, well, you’re kind of cheating yourself out of what could be a far superior result.
There is a reason, why the quality of your cleanser is important, there is a reason why active ingredients like niacinamide or retinol are in separate serum solutions with meaningful percentages to get results.
With 64 million peptides available there’s a reason why only a handful will be worthy of your moisturiser or serum.
If you ‘cherry-pick’ a range, you’re only getting half the story or half the result. To be honest, you may as well skip the whole beauty system if you’re only going to dabble. That’s a waste of time and money. You don’t want that. You want results.
Don’t dabble. Dive in. Go all out with what’s been recommended for you and you’ll pleasantly surprised with how well your skin responds. Get with the program. Follow the system.
Enter Synergie Skin.
I’ve been a fan of the Australian brand Synergie Skin for some time now and for a couple of excellent reasons.
Synergie Skin is a true cosmeceutical brand.
Many brands will claim the title, but very few will deliver. I can happily say without hesitation, Synergie Skin is and does what it says it will.
I recently sat down with Terri Vinson, the brains behind this brand.
Terri’s been working in the field of beauty for many years. What started as a small enterprise to provide her patients with skincare she knew would work is now proudly one of Australia’s true cosmeceutical brands. No small feat. Terri is a Cosmetic Chemist and has devoted the last ten years to perfecting her brand.
With so many brands large and small vying for your attention it’s great to see a brand like Synergie Skin making their mark.
Terri Vinson in the lab.
But what’s so unique about Synergie Skin?
It’s a system.
You will find a system of products that work synergistically for you. Products that go hand in hand to provide you with the correct balance of ingredients required to give you the results you’re hoping for. Terri has meticulously blended formulas to ensure ingredients are incorporated to complement each other. There is nothing hit or miss about a beauty routine from Synergie Skin. You’ll find synergistically formulated serums and moisturisers, reducing any possibility of the key active ingredients from cancelling each other out.
It’s clean science.
It’s all well and good finding a brand with key active ingredients but what about the other elements used to preserve and carry a product? No good can come from a skincare brand full of nasty or toxic chemicals. Right?
For Terri, this is a ‘non-negotiable’ and she has ruled out any cosmetic ingredient considered to be harmful to your skin in any way. You’ll never find parabens and other toxic chemicals in any Synergie Skin product. Terri calls it ‘clean science.’ A very reassuring aspect of this brand.
It’s scientifically proven.
Before you invest your money, you want to know your perfect skincare routine is going to work. Beyond the hype and marketing. When choosing the best ingredients, Terri looks at the in vivo studies before accepting any ingredient for inclusion in the brand. What does this mean? The studies for efficacy have been carried out both in the Petrie dish (in vitro), but also on human skin (in vivo). These studies provide conclusive evidence of the effectiveness of the ingredients. Again, how reassuring.
In Terri’s own words. I strongly believe in cutting through the hype and bringing the science to skin professionals and consumers so they can make informed choices about their skincare.
Terri Vinson. Cosmetic Chemist and Founder of Synergie Skin.
My Synergie Skin System.
Synergie Skin sent me a set of products for my skin. You’re unique and your needs are different to mine and while this is a routine that would suit many skins, you’ll be prescribed what’s right for you. What’s important is you stick with the routine and for the lifetime of the products (at least) put all your other products aside so you can get the full benefit of what a beauty routine that works within a system can do for you.
Passion and commitment.
I always like to look for the heart of a brand, the passion and a commitment to getting results. It’s one of the reasons why I love Synergie Skin. Terri and her dedicated team are truly passionate about what they do, and it shows in the end product. If you want to know more about Synergie Skin, you can head on over to their website where Terri herself will walk you through her brand in a series of very informative videos.
Terri has recently written a book called Skinformation, and it promises to be a good read. You can find it here.
See you next time,