Photo courtesy of Jim Lafferty/The Licensing Project
A Simple Routine Is Best for Skin,
Says This Top Dermatologist
No matter what your skin has been doing over the past few months (flaking in a desperate SOS for moisture? breaking out? looking fine but not as radiant as you’d like?), it’s about to look and feel a lot more luminous. “As we move from the drying, lower-humidity temperatures of winter into spring, it’s time to protect and repair skin with a simple routine,” says top NYC dermatologist Elena Jones, who sees clients of all ages and skin concerns, including record producer, fashion designer, rapper, and Humanrace skin-care founder Pharrell Williams. “Cleansing, exfoliating, moisturizing, and applying mineral sunscreen sounds so straightforward, but it works,” Jones says.
She consulted with Williams on Humanrace, the fast-acting, gorgeously packaged, refillable skin line. The ethos behind the line—a gender-inclusive, three-step routine to balance, boost, and smooth every skin type—reflects Jones’s own strategy to help clients achieve their best skin at home. “My favorite thing about working with skin is how resilient it is,” she says. “It can bounce back and renew itself.” Especially when you’re consistent about taking care of it, she continues: “Part of the reason Pharrell has the beautiful skin he does is his commitment to his routine.”
Jones’s approach—unlike that of many dermatologists—focuses on clean formulas. “‘Clean’ should mean products that are safe and formulated without toxic ingredients,” she says. “It was important to us that we formulate by following the EU standard for personal care products, which bans over 1,300 ingredients. The USA bans 11.”
1
Cleanse and nourish
“Choose a gentle cleanser that hydrates skin and doesn’t strip it of its natural oils. You’re getting rid of the day’s dirt, oil, and pollution and prepping skin for whatever treatments you apply next,” says Jones. “If you have dry or normal skin, cleansing once a day—at night—is probably sufficient. If you’re oily, wash your face morning and night.” An exfoliating cleanser—like the silky rice powder from Humanrace or the new cloudberry jelly from goop—smooths away dirt and oil with a little more grit but is still gentle enough to use twice a day, even if your routine includes potent alpha hydroxy or vitamin C treatments.
2
Toner
Amplify cleansing with toner—particularly if you’re breakout-prone or oily.
TONER FOR GREAT SKIN
3
Target skin issues with serum
Face serums are concentrations of active ingredients that target issues like dullness, rough texture, extreme dryness, and more. Because serums aren’t lipid-based, like moisturizing creams, they don’t aggravate oily and breakout-prone skin and can even help soothe it. Jones likes hyaluronic acid—a humectant that intensely hydrates by drawing in water molecules and can help deliver other ingredients into skin, as well as vitamin C serums, which brighten, firm, and improve texture. The goop vitamin C serum mixes both ingredients, so your skin gets a surge of moisture on top of the smoothing, firming boost from antioxidant vitamin C.
4
Exfoliate, and your skin will look better
“I love exfoliating with glycolic acid,” says Jones. “We put it in the Lotus Enzyme Exfoliator because it helps unclog pores, smooth the look of wrinkles, and even increase moisture in skin.” Jones also likes enzymes to help even tone and retinoids for smoothing and brightening skin. “If you have dry skin and are using a retinoid, exfoliate twice a week on alternating nights (not consecutively), and moisturize after using the retinoid. If you’re oily or blemish-prone, exfoliate three times a week nonconsecutively, alternating between a retinoid one night and a moisturizer the next,” she says.
Glycolic Acid and Enzymes
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Humanrace Lotus Enzyme Exfoliator goop, $46SHOP NOW -
Humanrace Lotus Enzyme Exfoliator Refill goop, $42SHOP NOW
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Glycolic Acid and Exfoliating Microminerals
goop Beauty GOOPGLOW Microderm Instant Glow Exfoliator goop, $125/$112 with subscriptionSHOP NOW -
Once-a-Week Glycolic Acid Peel
This overnight peel pad does it all in one go; you can use gentler facial exfoliants (like Microderm or Humanrace) during the rest of the week, but use no AHA or retinoid treatments within twenty-four hours of using this one.
goop Beauty GOOPGLOW 15% Glycolic Acid Overnight Glow Peel goop, $125/$112 with subscriptionSHOP NOW
A Routine for Sensitive Skin (or Retinoid Users)
“If you have sensitive skin, start by exfoliating once a week with a gentle retinoid-like ingredient, like bakuchiol,” says Jones of the plant extract that’s clinically proven for effectively smoothing wrinkles and firming skin but without the residual irritation, redness, and skin sensitivity often associated with retinol. We love the Follain mask made with bakuchiol; the goop face oil uses the same ingredient to deliver amazing clinical results, including firming and wrinkle-smoothing (it’s of course also a fantastic moisturizer, full stop).
5
Moisturize—always
It bears repeating that all skin needs moisture, and the simple act of smoothing on cream or oil can help plump lines, restore glow, and fortify skin against the elements. “Even if you’re oily, moisturizing with the right formula helps nurture and balance skin,” Jones says. “For Humanrace, we used a super potent hyaluronic acid as well as squalane—ingredients that hold on to water and make skin look dewy without aggravating oily skin. You really get that humidifying feel when you massage it on.”
Cream
“Dry skin does better with moisturizers that are made with lots of oils or butters, and the older we get, the better we can tolerate richer formulas,” Jones says.
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Humanrace Humidifying Cream goop, $48SHOP NOW -
Humanrace Humidifying Cream Refill goop, $44SHOP NOW
For Dry Skin
6
Protect with mineral sunscreen
When you wear sunscreen (try to be religious about smoothing it on every day as your last step), you’re doing a lot more than helping to preserve collagen, skin’s main structural protein that diminishes as we age and with sun exposure. “We all need to put it on and reapply it, because skin cancer is real,” says Jones, who likes Supergoop mineral sunscreen. “Don’t forget your hands and neck.”
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Sunscreen and Primer in One
Supergoop Mineral Sheerscreen goop, $38SHOP NOW -
Tinted
Unsun Mineral Tinted Face Sunscreen goop, $29SHOP NOW -
Serum
EleVen Unrivaled Sun Serum SPF 35 goop, $50SHOP NOW -
For Eyes
Supergoop Bright-Eyed 100% Mineral Eye Cream SPF 40 goop, $36SHOP NOW -
For Face and Body
The Organic Pharmacy Cellular Protection Sun Cream SPF 30 goop, $69SHOP NOW -
For Hands
Unsun Hand Cream SPF 15 goop, $27SHOP NOW
Because sunscreen can block vitamin D absorption, it benefits everyone—especially people with darker skin, who are more prone to vitamin D deficiency because melanin reduces the body’s ability to make vitamin D from the sun—to take a supplement. Jones says: “Take the supplement and wear your sunscreen.”
