Overwhelmed by the sheer amount of skincare brands marketing their products to you? These are the important things to look for when shopping for skincare.
In the past couple of years, the skincare industry has grown exponentially with the continuous launches of new brands, many of them celebrity endeavors. As I’m writing this, I’m constantly checking Instagram for updates of the two most recent celebrity skincare endeavors, Rhode (by Hailey Bieber) and SKKN (by Kim Kardashian).
However, as much fun as it may be for me, I know that it can be seriously overwhelming to decide what skincare brands to shop from. With a highly saturated market, it’s very easy to get caught up in marketing tactics without doing proper research on skincare brands. That’s why I’m sharing the 5 key things to look for when deciding where to do your skincare shopping.
After this blog post, you’ll be ready to make informed consumer decisions about what skincare brands to shop from!
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What To Look For:
1. Price
This is a big one. At the end of the day, I truly believe you can have a good skincare routine without breaking the bank. Thankfully, the skincare market is extremely diverse in terms of price ranges, so you can definitely find products that work for your skin and fit in your budget.
Personally, there are some products that I spend a bit more on and others I’m fine saving some money. For example, I spend a little more on treatment products targeted towards my skin’s concerns (like retinol and an exfoliator). But when it comes to a cleanser, I choose to save a little money by hitting up the drugstore (no seriously, Target is one of my favorite places lol).
2. Reviews
This is one of the most important things you need to look for before purchasing a skincare product. Before I buy any skincare product, I head straight to the reviews to see what other people are saying about the product (often times these people also have the same skin concerns as me, so their opinions of the product will be the best way to determine whether or not the product is a good fit for me).
If a product has good reviews, that’s a good sign that the product is worth a try!
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3. Clean Standards
Nowadays, this is an important factor that we should all consider when purchasing skincare. For so long, beauty products were produced with harmful chemicals and ingredients in them. With the recent introduction of clean standards, beauty products that are paraben and sulfate free, for example, are far more accessible.
You’re probably wondering why it’s important your skincare products are free of certain ingredients. It’s because these ingredients, like parabens and sulfates, are bad for us and aren’t sustainable. Thankfully, with widespread clean standards (like the Clean at Sephora standards), we can all purchase products that are good for our skin.
4. Your Skincare Concerns
This is something that many people have stopped looking for in lieu of just buying whatever product is trending on the Internet. While I completely understand the lure of purchasing “trending” skincare products and making content off of it, if a product isn’t suited for your skin, it’s not going to work. Period.
A skincare product can be beautifully formulated, but if it isn’t suited for your skin type or skin problems, there’s no point in buying it. That’s why it’s so important to do proper research (using the steps/points in this post!) to make sure your skincare purchases are worth it.
5. Ethics
Last but definitely not least, ethics. Trust me, there is an ethical way to purchase skincare. By buying from trusted brands who openly share their practices, you can support a movement towards honest skincare.
Ethical checkmarks to look for:
- cruelty free: no testing on animals!
- how the product is produced: whether or not laborers are treated fairly!
- environmentally friendly: protecting Mother Nature!