The Lazy Genius Podcast - #83: The Lazy Genius Skincare Routine

Episode Date: November 12, 2018

I’m a big believer in listening to one person for different spaces, and my sister Hannah is that person for skincare. In this week’s episode, I’m sharing what I’ve learned from her over the years and a few of my favorite tried and true products. Companion Links for this Episode: The Lazy Sisters Podcast Our honorary third sister Erin Moon is taking over while Hannah is taking care of a tiny human. Follow her on Instagram for lovely anti-basic shaming pledges and #gnomeonyourhome updates. I’ve rounded up all of the skincare products I use in this blog post. Download a transcript of this episode! This podcast is hosted by Kendra Adachi and executive produced by Kendra Adachi, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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But Laura shopped on Amazon and saved on cleaning spray, countertop wipes, and fly traps. Hey, fruit flies. Your baby boom ends here. Save the everyday with Amazon. Hi, friends. You're listening to The Lazy Genius Podcast. I'm Kendra, and I'm here to help you be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. I'm so excited about today's episode because it's been highly requested for months now. So welcome to episode 83, the lazy genius skincare routine. Listen, I am no expert.

I'm not even close. And if I've learned anything, there is not a single piece of skin care advice that works for every single person. Not even sunscreen. Because sunscreen makes me break out. Be that as it may. We're going to talk about taking care of the skin on our face for the next few minutes. And we're going to be as lazy genius about it as possible. Okay, so most of my knowledge comes from my sister.

Hannah, who you can hear talk more about skin and like literally every other thing on our podcast, The Lazy Sisters podcast. That show is only available for folks who support The Lazy Genius Collective on Patreon. So if you're interested in our monthly conversations as well as access to Hannah's secret playlist, which are often lauded as the best playlist ever, you can head to patreon.com slash the lazy genius. For three bucks a month, you get access to the show. And then right now actually since my sister is about to have a baby and is moving into a new house and a lot of major life things she's taking a tiny break from the lazy sisters so last month as well as in the November and December I'm joined by none other than my beloved Aaron Moon from

Instagram and popcast fame she is our honorary sister and is joining me while Hannah is becoming a mom of three and it's been so fun to have her so if you're interested in supporting the work I'm doing on this show I would be so honored if you became a patron and would love for you to also get access to the other show, to the Lazy Sisters podcast. And again, you can get more info at patreon.com slash the lazy genius. So all that said, Hannah is my skincare guru. I'm a big fan of having one person to listen to in any kind of space, and Hannah is my skin person. The thing I love about Hannah's advice, and we'll get to this in a second, is that she rarely

gives me product recommendations. She's more of a teach Amanda Fish or Teach a Teach. person, how to use moisturizer kind of person. I don't know. She isn't a quipper. And I'm going to try and follow her example and do that for you today. I will share with you the products

I use on the lazy genius collective.com. You can check the blog. So you can look at the show notes for this episode. It's just a bare bones link to the products I use and generally in what order and for what purpose. Generally. And again,

I'm not an expert. It's just what use. But here's what I am an expert in. Knowing when to be lazy or a genius about something. When it comes to skin care, you get to decide. That is our number one rule for today's episode. I have a few more, but that is number one. You get to decide what matters. I am not going to shame you into using anti-aging products if you are happy letting your face do its thing as the years pass, because it only matters if it matters to you. I'm not going to tell you to use 17.000. serums that all sound like they have the same ingredients. If you can barely remember to wash your face at night, it doesn't matter unless it matters to you. And if it matters to you, for reasons that are

worth holding up, then be a genius about that thing. Go for it. I remember in a recent episode of the Lazy Sisters podcast, I was asking Hannah what to do about my lady mustache. I have fairly pale skin and pretty dark hair. I have what can only be described as whiskers on my upper lip. And I was telling her about my, my adventures with bleach and plucking and all the things and wondered if she had any advice for me. She said, so I'm assuming it bothers you then? And I was like, well, of course it bothers me. Isn't it supposed to bother me?

But until Hannah asked me that, I didn't even think about like being okay with my lady mustache. I didn't even think that was allowed. Never crossed my mind. And that is what I want to encourage you in today. There might be problems you think you have to solve that you don't. actually have to solve. If it doesn't bother you, then it doesn't matter and it isn't worth trying to be a genius about. Let's, we'll continue to be vulnerable. Let's use my whisker situation

to unpack this further because we're all friends here and it's okay. So I decided that yes, it does bother me. It does. I would rather not have a mustache. The next step was to decide if my reason for being bothered was a reason worth the effort. Sometimes our reasons are put on us by others and we don't even realize it until we simply ask the question. So I'm asking you the question now. Is the reason it matters your reason? Because if it isn't, consider not worrying about it. My lady whiskers do matter to me and that is okay. It doesn't make me or you vain or better or worse than anyone who chooses to treat their whiskers differently. When I look in the mirror, it distracts me. I bet it doesn't really distract anyone else, but I'm already on a sometimes hard road of

being kinder to myself and having to fight through whiskers along with all the other stuff, it just isn't worth it right now. So I tend to the hairs in my own way. Now, have I noticed that I have considerable peach fuzz all over my entire face that isn't yet black, but is totally there and very obvious when I am backlit during an Instagram story? Yes, I've noticed. And I know that a lot of women are doing that treatment where they shave their faces. It has a fancy name that I don't know, but it's like a common occurrence for women with my skin. But guess what? My peach fuzz doesn't bother me. So trying to find a solution doesn't matter. I'll just leave it until it bothers me bad enough to do something about it. So if rule number one is that

you get to decide what matters, rule number two is you don't have to feel badly for whatever does matter. If you want to use lots of interventions to keep wrinkles at bay, do your thing. If you don't shave your armpits ever again, do your thing. If you spend more money on skincare than you're comfortable admitting, that is okay. Do your thing. If you use a bar of soap on your face and nothing else because you either don't care or don't know what else to do, that's okay. Do your thing. It's all okay. You don't have to feel badly for whatever you've decided matters to you. I can't think of a scenario where your decision is actually harming someone else when it comes to skin care. So in general, if anything having to do with your skin matters to you for reasons that are your own and rooted in being kind to yourself, don't feel badly for a second. Now let's get into some tangible skin care rules. Rule three, start small. You know it was coming, didn't you?

We always start small because small is better than grand in almost every situation. There are a lot of specific reasons for this when it comes to your face, though. So let's talk through those reasons now. Why should you start small? The first reason to start small is so we can build a routine that sticks. We get real overwhelmed by choice, just in general. And when those choices are yelling at us, literally morning and night when we're supposed to be caring for our faces, we will crumble beneath all the serums and creams we bought in one fell swoop and have no idea how to use. Limit your choices, especially if you're still exploring what you want out of your skincare routine and build it super, super slowly.

The second reason to start small is so you can know what causes irritation. Not like, I don't mean that in like a metaphorical way, like literal skin irritation. We all think that a miracle product for one person will work for us, but that's never the case. A lot of times someone's miracle product will turn your face red or make you break out or make your skin dull and ruddy. You won't know what the culprit is if there are multiple culprit options. So by starting small, adding one product at a time and waiting like a solid week or two to see if you have a negative reaction, you can learn to understand your skin better.

I swear that every time I've asked Hannah why something's happening in my skin and she asks, did you add anything new to your routine? The answer is always yes. And once I stop using that product, the problem, which is usually breakouts, it clears up in a couple of days. So definitely start small so you know what causes irritation. And then the third reason to start small is to know what actually works. If you have a specific skin issue, you're trying to address like redness or dryness or acne, starting small with only one product at a time, it lets you see if that product actually works for you. To know if something doesn't work, you'll usually know within a few days because of the irritation. But to know if something does work, it might take up to six weeks. I know. It's so annoying.

But if you have chosen something to tend to in regards to your skin, take your time so you can actually solve that problem or at least make it more comfortable for you. So our third big rule is to start small so you can build a routine so you can know what causes irritation and so you can know what actually works. Rule number four is wash your face. If you are completely new to skin care and feel overwhelmed by all the acids and the serums and the retinol and this industry that has like a completely different language than any other, just start with washing your face. I recommend both morning and night because I have found that it works for me, but you do you.

It's totally fine. depending on your skin type you'll choose your cleanser differently i personally rotate among a few different cleansers depending on how my skin is feeling that day um like what season it's in whether it's morning or night and by adding just one product at a time though you're not going to feel overwhelmed by which cleanser to choose just start with one start with one people swear by all different kinds and like i said before nothing works for everyone nothing i will list my favorite favorite cleansers on that blog post. But for the sake of listening now, I am a big fan of oil cleansing for all skin types, even oily ones, especially for oily ones, actually. Oil cleansing is

basically rubbing a specific blend of oils on your face, letting the oil dissolve the oil that's already on your face for maybe like 30 seconds. And then you put a hot washcloth on your face to open your pores and kind of get things rolling. I do the hot washcloth thing a couple of times during one oil cleanse. So you put on the oil and here's the thing. You really want to get like an actual facial cleansing oil. You could use just olive oil from your kitchen, but I find that like an oil that's really formulated for this purpose works a whole lot better.

So you're going to put like a dime size of oil, put on your hand. You're going to rub it gently on your face, kind of massage it in. It actually feels really good. Then you're going to get your rag hot, squeeze it out a little. Put the rag on your face. Hold it there for a few seconds. Take the rag off. Rinse it out.

Do it again. And then you can gently wipe your face to end things gently. Oil cleansing is also great to get rid of eye makeup. So that's a bonus. You can rub it on your eyes. And your skin isn't left oily. It is well hydrated and it is balanced. If you don't do any other steps in your skincare routine,

the oil cleansing will not exactly double for a moisture. but it definitely helps, especially since not everybody needs a traditional moisturizer, okay? Which takes us to rule number five. Consider exfoliation. I'm not saying that you should do it, but at least think about how it might work for you. If you are under 35, you're probably fine. Chances are you still have dewy skin and tiny pores and you aren't seeing any signs of sun damage or wrinkles or anything that the industry tells us to fix. If you're older than 35, consider exfoliation. Exfoliating is not just to make your skin look young. It is good for its health, no matter what your skin care goals are. Skin is really awesome and also kind of gross.

Like, the amount of skin cells that die and sluff off is a lot. Like, more than is comfortable if you're a germaphobe. And since we touch our faces a lot and they're never covered up against like the cold and the heat and the germs and all the things out in the world. It's good to think about keeping our skin from getting, for lack of a better word, stale. Square knows that in hospitality, efficiency is everything. That's why our system lets you take payments. Track sales, handle inventory, manage staff, send invoices, and keep up with finances all in one place.

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Join me for Cities of Aw, a special series on how our public spaces can spark awe, wonder, and enhance the quality of public life. You can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts. Do you ever look in the mirror and just feel like her complexion is muddy or dull? It's like your face took the day off and like stop looking like the face of a person who's excited to be alive. My face used to look like that most of the time and then I started exfoliating. Again, nothing is universal, but if you're in your 30s or older, your skin is changing.

There's no way around it. Change isn't bad at all. Hopefully I have been very clear with this point so far. But if you want your skin to match your, your vibrant insides, exfoliation will absolutely help. So let's talk for a second about what it can look like for you. There are generally two types of exfoliants, physical and chemical. Physical exfoliants are anything that removes dead skin cells with friction, with something physical. I think sugar scrubs and then cleansers with those tiny little balls in them that scrub your face. Chemical exfoliants

are actual chemicals. Then when you put them on your skin, they chemically remove the dead skin cells. Don't let that scare you. You can definitely abuse chemical exfoliants, but if you start small and you make informed decisions about what's important for you and your skin type, you'll be fine. Here's the magic question about this. How often should you exfoliate? That's what everyone always asks when it comes to exfoliation. The answer varies everywhere. I heard an interview with a makeup artist who exfoliates every day, like with a brillo pad. It is so intense. Other experts say you'll mess up the pH balance in your skin if you exfoliate more than once a week. I found that somewhere in the middle, worse for me and probably, probably for most people.

So don't feel like you have to start exfoliating this way right off the bat, build up to it to make sure that what you're choosing actually works. But in general, I'd say that you can exfoliate two to three times a week with either physical or chemical exfoliance. If you're adding any kind of mask in there, which we will talk about next, stick with twice a week to start. you can always add that third day a week, especially once you see how your skin reacts to the products that you're using. Okay, so chemical exfoliants generally take longer to use than physical ones. A physical exfoliant is as simple to use as washing your face, right? Once you're done washing your face, you're done using it.

Chemical ones, they need to be applied at a certain point in your skincare routine, and they usually need to sit for a few minutes to work before you move on to moisturizer or makeup or anything else. Because of that, I use both. I have an exfoliating face wash that I like from Nutragina. I'll link to it in that post I mentioned that will be in the shenance. And I use that face wash when I don't have time to do a chemical exfoliant. Because I'm in my late 30s, chemical exfoliants work better for me. They do a more thorough job.

But the face wash is a great standby when I need it. Otherwise, I go for chemical. For a while, I only used salicylic acid that I get from the ordinary. Again, all this is going to be linked in that post. But now I'm starting to expand that chemical exfoliant repertoire with a lactic acid treatment. I generally do those in the mornings, not at night, because there are a couple of products I use that are best used at night because I make your skin sensitive to the sun. I'm talking about retinol, but that's for another day. I'll give you the quickest rundown of my routine in just a second.

But before we do that, we're going to do one final rule. but I just use two. I just do the chemical exfoliance a couple times a week and then do a mask, which takes us into the next rule. We'll say that rule number six, it's not really a rule, but it's to use a mask because they're fun.

Masker's so fun. I mask once a week because I don't remember to do it more often than that, but also because overmasking is a thing, at least for me it is. My skin isn't super sensitive, but it's fair. It has seen its share of sun damage.

and I have reactions to a good number of products. I need to be careful with how often I strip my face. That said, I love a good mask. You can have a low commitment to masks and buy a single sheet mask at Target. I personally don't like sheet masks because, I don't know, maybe my face is a weird shape, but they never seem to fit or stay on. They just weird me out.

I use masks that you like brush onto your skin or, you know, work into your skin with your fingers. I will link to my favorite. Y'all is not cheap. It is bonkers expensive actually. But it'll last me well over a year and it is magic. I learned about it from Sarah James over at Whirl, which is a great beauty blog if you're into green beauty. But the mask is called the Problem Solver.

It's made by May Lindstrom. You guys, it is amazing. It is a clay type thing that you mix like with a problem solver. tiniest bit of water and then you brush it on your face. It's that classic dark green color that my kids think is hilarious. I have tried a good number of masks over the last few months and this is the only one with such obvious difference after I rinse it off. Like it's it's really a problem solver and I love it. It's crazy. But again, I had started small. I had sheet masks and like low commitment tiny containers of masks to make sure I could keep a mask in my routine. Only then was it worth it to splur.

on the problem solver or anything you want to splurge on. You got to make sure it's worth it. Okay. All right. So here's my general skincare routine. It's not the exact same every day because some products are only used every few days, but I'm not telling you so you'll copy me step by step. I'm telling you so that you can see the general order of types of products so you can know how to build your routine product and step by product and steps. Build slow. Okay, so morning skincare routine. I wash my face. I rotate between four cleansers right now. One is an oil cleanser. One is an exfoliating cleanser. One is a foaming, brightening type cleanser. That's kind of what you think of when you think of a cleanser. And then the fourth and my favorite that I have to ration is called honey mud.

It came as a gift when I bought the Problem Solver mask. And it is literally my favorite skincare product that I own. Like I am so obsessed with that. It smells like honey. It has the conceit. It has the of mud, which is weird, but it's great. And it makes my skin hydrated and clean and amazing. Like, I love it so much. It also doubles as a mask if I want to use it that way, which is a fun option. It is the thing that I will now save up my birthday money for, like all the time. It is so good. So first I cleanse. If it's an exfoliating day and I didn't just use my exfoliating cleanser, I'll put on a layer of chemical exfoliant and then I'll brush my teeth or I'll get dressed or something while it does its business. And then because my skin is primed and ready to soak in a bunch of goodness, whether I exfoliate or not, right?

Even if I wash it or I wash and exfoliate, then I'll put on some kind of serum that does good things. Serums are a giant conversation and not one for today. But you could absolutely skip this. I don't, but I started small and I built gradually. I haven't always used a serum. After the serum, I've put on a light day cream, especially in the winter, not always in the summer. And if my face is feeling like, if it's feeling really, I hate the word supple, but like, you know what I mean. If my skin is feeling really good, I actually skip the day cream.

Like, I don't always use it. It just depends on how it feels. Because my skin, it kind of teeters on the brink of too much moisture. So I just pay attention to how it's feeling that day. And that's good for you to do. just sort of pay attention. It's okay for you to not do everything in the exact order every single day. Here's the part where all the skincare gods are going to shun me. I don't use sunscreen. I know. I do when I'm going to be outside, you know, but I have yet to find a sunscreen that doesn't clog my pores and make my skin look like an old tire.

When I find my magic sunscreen, I will let you know. And then at night, it's really more of the same. I cleanse. I might sprits on this rose water toner. I guess. at Trader Joe's if I'm feeling a little extra dry. And then I layer on a serum that has skin happy stuff in it, especially vitamin C or retinol. They don't like to be exposed to sun right away, which is why I use them at night. And then a night cream. I'm still not convinced the night cream I use is the best one because if I use too much of it, I break out.

It feels like a tricky line to walk every night, so we'll see. And then one night a week or so about one a night a week. I'll stick a mask in between the cleansing and the seruming. So I'll cleanse. I'll do a mask and then I'll finish. I'll do the serum and then the night cream. Okay. So that's the routine.

On Thursday, let's chat on Instagram about the best way to test out products without spending a million dollars. Okay? Because I've got some thoughts on that that I don't really have time to talk about in this episode because we're already coming up on our 20 minutes here. So let's do that on Thursday on Instagram. I'll be there at the lazy genius or on 1215 Eastern like I am every week and I will share some of my favorite ways to try stuff out.

And I hope you will join me there. Okay, so again, a post with a list of my favorite current products will be linked up in the show notes. And in the meantime, you can ask any questions in the comments of the show notes at the lazy genius collective.com slash lazy slash skin. And if you want actual like personal skincare advice or more conversations like this one, Consider becoming a patron and hearing my little sister Hannah teach us all her ways. She's real smart. You can get more info about that at patreon.com slash the lazy genius. So a quick recap of our skincare routine rules.

One, you get to decide what matters. Two, don't feel badly for what does matter. Three, start small. Four, wash your face. Five, consider exfoliation. and six, do a mask sometimes. And that's it. And I thank you and your beautiful face for listening. That is it for today, guys. Thank you so much for being here with me. And until next time, be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. Bye.

Have you ever felt like you were living just a B or B plus life? It's so dangerous to live that. More dangerous than a B minus or a C plus life? Because when you're living a B or B plus life, you don't change it. You think it's good enough. Is it? I'm Susie Welch. I host a podcast called Becoming You. People think, okay, an A-plus life is not available to me, but there is a way. We are all in the process of becoming ourselves. Listen to Becoming You wherever you get your podcasts.