How To Identify Better Quality Skincare (And Its Not Price!)

I have been doing a lot of research on skincare. Products, ingredients, methods and so on. My skin quality has definitely deteriorated in the last few years which is why I started trying to learn and understand what actually works. And what doesn’t.

Cruelty Free

Even objectively, although I am cruelty free now, I don’t want to give the impression that cruelty free companies are better in every way. But what I do believe and perceive cruel companies as more old fashioned. More traditional. More ‘dated’. And therefore, less likely to use better technology and research. Be less likely to be modern and updated with recent scientific evidence.

Of course there are exceptions like I have mentioned before. But I generally trust cruelty free companies to be more likely taking up modern practices, research and manufacturing.

Fragrance

It was embarrassingly long into my skincare journey that I discovered the biggest truth about skincare: if skincare smells nice, its a problem. Skincare is not meant to smell nice. That is not the purpose of skincare – that is why you have perfume. If skincare smells nice, check if there is additional fragrance included. Fragrance is a filler ingredient in skincare and not there for any purpose except to bulk up the product.

I also learnt something else. A lot of companies will tell you their products do not have synthetic fragrances – which in theory sounds great. But whether the fragrance is synthetic or natural is not good enough. Even natural fragrances (in most cases by way of essential oils) are harsh for most skin. For instance, personally, I have dry skin. I have now realised that fragrance is something I need to avoid in skincare to the extent possible. Cosdna is a great way to check the goodness of the ingredients in your skincare and flags of fragrance in skincare if not immediately obvious.

Transparency

One thing that irks me about Indian skincare brands is that the full ingredient list is never included. Indian law only requires main ingredients to be included which is not the case in Europe which includes the full list. I like companies and brands that are transparent. Transparent about their testing policies, about where they get their ingredients, their philosophies and so on. I am always suspicious of companies that are not straight and clear because it makes me wonder what else they are hiding.

Ingredients

“Ingredients don’t lie, bitch” – the immortal words of Hyram.

Ingredients make skincare so trying to understand ingredients is important. At the end of it all, it all comes down to ingredients. I think its also important to identify the ingredients that work for you and those that don’t. For instance, I realised that hyaluronic acid does not work for me. Instead of jumping on the latest ingredient trend it is important to understand what the ingredient means and how it can work for you. I have learnt my lesson so please learn from my mistakes!

I have some fun news! You guys may remember I had asked on Instagram and a lot of you had said you would be interested in joining a Fashion and Frappes Chat Group. I am getting this set up so please send through requests to join and lets chat! You can leave comments on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter or comment below. I would love to know how you guys are in your skincare journey.

– Anisha