My Face-Off with Skincare

ENTERTAINMENT | HEALTH

Written by Carlos Norton (he/him) | @carlosnorton_ | Contributing Writer

Illustrated by Gabbie De Baron (she/her) | @gabbie.indd | Graphic Designer

Not often do I get suckered in by marketing schemes, but when I do, I go crazy. So when I scored some free skincare products thanks to another student-targeted marketing scheme, I didn’t think much of it. My university friends were over the moon. They love their skincare routines like a child loves Christmas morning. But I felt left out. I’ve never had a skincare routine.

The concept of dedicating an extra 15 minutes every morning and night to slather my face in goo felt unnecessary. I’d feel like the baby whose sister slathered them in peanut butter. Maybe it’s the laziness or the masculinity that’s permanently etched into my brain, but with the semester break upon me, I thought, why not throw something new into the mix? The tricky part is sticking to a routine. Especially with weekly existential crises that make it hard to focus on the self-care rituals that Instagram and TikTok influencers swear by.

But here I am, freshly 20, and my ideal night out has changed drastically. Now, instead of smashing cranberry vodkas at a D&B gig, I prefer to be curled up in bed with a film, a cup of Earl Grey tea, and asleep by 10:00 pm. So, I figured a great way to continue my journey towards ‘adulthood’ would be to give skincare a shot. My game plan was to start with one step and work my way up from there. Here’s how it went.

Day One: Moisturiser? I hardly know her!

To begin, I figured moisturiser was a safe bet. Thanks to the skincare freebie I got on campus—a tiny pot of Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream, I could ease my way into skincare. I turned to Google for some well-needed support on where to apply moisturiser. I discovered that faces have trouble spots. These are the places on your face where facial products are needed the most.

Reading up on the “T Zone” of my face, which includes the forehead and nose, I applied a dab of the scentless goo to my face. To my surprise, I liked how it felt on my now fresh skin. Feeling slightly embarrassed that it took me so long to reach this moment, I realised skincare mightn’t actually be as hard as I thought it would be.

Getting excited, I checked the Kiehls’ website to get a full jar. A full-size jar was $75.00. Before shipping. Asking my skincare guru friends, I discovered that this was a ‘standard’ price for moisturiser. As a skincare outsider, I find that bizarre. You can’t tell me that it costs as much to moisturise your face as it does to do a week’s grocery shop. I know it would make my skin feel better, but it would likely expire in the back of my cupboard before I could finish it.

Still, I pushed on. I rubbed the cream into my face and continued with my nightly routine. I crawled into bed that night and felt a mix of dread and curiosity about what the next day would bring. Part of me was already tired of the extra effort. But surprisingly, I was also excited to see if there would be a difference in my skin as I continued with this skincare experiment.

Day Two: Coming Clean with Cleanser

According to my friend, a self-proclaimed skincare guru, I started my skincare routine backwards. Leave it to me to jump right to the last step without even realising it. Oops.

For those as clueless as I am, here’s what a typical skincare routine should look like: cleanse, tone, serum, moisturise. I could’ve restarted the whole process, but I was too far gone and too lazy to do that. So, I decided to go with a ‘sandwich’ approach—start with the first and last steps and then sprinkle in some extra steps when I’m feeling ambitious. It’s a work in progress. 

For a cleanser, everyone I consulted with recommended I start with something basic. Cetaphil. A safe, non-offensive choice. My speed exactly. I picked up a bottle from the hellscape that is Chemist Warehouse for $15.99. A welcome change of fiscal pace after the shock of the $75 moisturiser.

Growing up, I’d usually wash my face with the Lynx Africa body wash I was given every gift-giving season. In retrospect, I have no clue what I was thinking. The unmistakable scent of warm synthetic spices and PE changing rooms clearly got to my head and influenced my judgement. It’s a shock my skin hasn’t melted off into a sludge at this point. I’ve made some small strides with my facial cleanser routine, often just using whatever products were left in the shower by my sisters. But when I switched to the Cetaphil I bought, I could feel my pores rejoicing.

After my cleanser, I dried my face, got into my cosy pyjamas, and once again dabbed some moisturiser on my trouble spots. I was getting the hang of this, and my skin was feeling fresher than a piece of gum.

Day Three: My Trauma with Toner

If my life depended on it, I couldn’t tell you what toner is. Isn’t it what you put in printers? I’d encountered it in my tween years, so I figured I was somewhat prepared for this step. My sister had just bought a bottle of Thayers Facial Toner and offered to share it with me in a rare act of sibling generosity. Another budget win!

Feeling a little too confident with my newfound skincare routine, I decided to ignore the instructions. Instead, I winged it. Big mistake. I dabbed some toner onto a cotton ball and rubbed it all over my face, eyes included. Blissfully unaware of the unfolding disaster, I finished my routine, slapped on some moisturiser, and hit the sack.

Fast forward to the following day, I woke up to a delightful surprise. My eyelids had morphed into a puffy, red mess. Toner and eyelids do not mix. Lesson learned the hard way. After a bit of deduction, I read the instructions on the toner bottle, which said in big, bold writing to “avoid the eye area”. Accepting my preventable mistake, I went on with my day. By the evening my eyes had gone down to a manageable rash, but in no way was this step of my skincare experiment successful. 

Day 4: Lather, Rinse, Repeat

For the rest of the week, I stuck to my cleanse, tone and moisturise routine. To answer the big three questions: my skin was smooth, I looked better, and I was embarrassed it took me 20 years to get here. Don’t get me wrong; I never intend to be the person who wakes up early to nail down a flawless skincare routine. However, I do believe I’ve made progress. There are more things I can add to my routine. Both my sisters use serums in their routines as well, but after my toner mishap, I’ll focus on the basics before I add anything new.

Future-proofing My Glow Up

I’m determined to continue my skincare routine. At least until my products run out, and I have to come to terms with the price of my skin feeling better. But I feel more confident in how I look. I don’t have to worry as often about pimples popping up at unfortunate times. That’s a huge relief.

So, to anyone out there with a half-hearted skincare routine or no skincare routine at all, take it from me—it’s not that hard! This isn’t me transforming into a reincarnation of a skincare influencer like Hyram. I’m just advocating for putting a bit more time into how you present yourself. I promise it does make you feel good.

This small step might kickstart other self-care habits. I may drink more water and organise a gym routine. Or, maybe I’ll keep enjoying quiet nights in with my Earl Grey tea and a comfort film. At least I know I’m doing something for myself. It’s the little things that count at the end of the day.