When to Splurge & How to Layer

plus more reader-submitted questions today

Hiya! Happy Tuesday.

Today I’m answering 3 reader-submitted questions. Remember, you can always submit your own and you may see it answered in a future issue!

Quick housekeeping:

• If I link anything that I have a discount for or is on sale, I’ll always put that info at the end of the newsletter.

• The Credo Beauty sitewide 20% off sale starts next Tuesday April 29th until May 6th. I’ll share my recommendations in next week’s newsletter, but heads up: they sell the Kosas Color Corrector, which was featured in last week’s post.

• Don’t forget about the exclusive 20% off Jordan Samuel Skin through the end of the month. Check out our interview if you need inspiration.

• This week’s giveaway winner is STACY! Check your email for an email from me. Btw, if your name is Emily and you entered the Jordan Samuel giveaway, I sent you a DM.

• A yearly subscription is still $44 through the end of the month!

Finally, People published their most beautiful beauty moments of they year list and I want to hear your thoughts in the comments. This is a weird list, but People is always weird, so! I can’t say I agree with an “engagement glow” but I do loooove Emma Stone’s pixie cut. Not sure why they excluded Anne Hathaway.

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What is the best routine step to “go cheap” on if you want to splurge on another step?

The three basics everyone should have in their routine and be using every single day are cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen. Since those are the products you’ll go through the most and should be your reliable staples that you can afford to regularly replenish, those are the ones I’d consider “going cheap” on. Doesn’t mean you have to, or that it’s not worth spending money on those categories, but for the sake of this question, that’s what I would narrow down the options to. Basically, it’s better to have a cheap sunscreen than no sunscreen at all. That being said, if you hate using your cheap sunscreen, then it is absolutely worth splurging on one that you enjoy using. As I always say: the only skincare that works is the skincare you use consistently. Review my post from earlier this year about the 3 things to consider when building your routine.

Between the 3 products I narrowed down, if I had to pick just one of those steps to “go cheap” on, I suppose it would have to be cleanser. As one of the essential steps in your routine, it is very important to use a cleanser that is suited to your skin type–able to effectively and efficiently break down dirt, grime, pollutants, skincare and makeup, but without leaving your skin stripped. (If you are in need of one of these cleansers, Jordan Samuel Skin has you covered.) But since cleanser is being rinsed off, I suppose it would be better to spend more on moisturizer and sunscreen that stays on your skin and provide longer-lasting benefits. Again, I am speaking in very general terms, and there are plenty of cleansers that I think are worth spending money on for various reasons. Beyond my belief that it’s worth spending on products you enjoy using, as I explored last year in this 2-part cleanser series, cleansers are increasingly moving into the “treatment step,” and doing more than just cleansing, which could be a reason to splurge there.

To summarize, for the purposes of this question: I’d say you could opt to “go cheap” on a cleanser, which has the highest likelihood of affordable options that you won’t hate using and can get the job done day in and day out. 

Many years ago, you gave me some guidelines for how to layer products/what to think about when deciding. I have since fallen out of a routine and could use a refresher. Thank you!

Sure thing! This is always good to review and actually came up in Office Hours this week.

Guidelines/tips:

• Bookends are always the same. Cleanse at the beginning, moisturizer/sunscreen at the end.

• Almost always/when in doubt, apply in order of thinnest to thickest consistency. This ensures better absorption and just intuitively makes more sense–it wouldn’t feel right to apply a thin, watery serum on top of a thick cream.

• The closer something is to your bare skin, the more potent it is because there is nothing blocking its path to your skin. This is why you generally apply prescriptions/exfoliants/retinoids directly after cleansing, so they have the easiest time getting through. That being said, you can slow the penetration of something and make it less irritating by buffering. This is why many people use the “sandwich method” of moisturizer, retinoid, moisturizer. So think about how potent you want the product to be.

• Think about what you are doing/how you are applying it. It wouldn’t make sense to apply a bunch of serums, then an exfoliating mask, since that would remove everything underneath.

• There are very few absolutes in skincare. This is why these are guidelines, not rules. If you haven’t been following “thinnest to thickest” for your serums and it works, then no need to change it. The best (and sometimes, worst) thing about skin is that you can see it! It will tell you if something is wrong or not working.

• Relatedly, there are very few truly incompatible ingredients that actually cancel each other out. Most of the recommendations to not use things together is to reduce the risk of irritation and avoid overwhelming your skin. The more layers, the more potential problems, so keep it simple to start and slowly ramp up, if you want to. FWIW, I often will use mandelic acid before my retinoid. Crazy! 🤪

• These ingredients should be the stars of the show when used and can cancel other things out:: Benzoyl Peroxide, pure vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid), copper peptides. You can use hydrators with them, though.

In practice:

• You can boil down a basic routine to 3 steps: cleanse, treat, protect. Technically it could even be simplified to just cleanse and protect (AM: cleanse, SPF/PM: cleanse, moisturizer), but let’s assume you’re using other products.

• AM:

  • Step 1: Cleanse. This can be a true cleanser, but for some you can just rinse or use micellar water.

  • Step 2: Treat. Antioxidant serums (ex: vitamin C) or gentle exfoliants (ex: mandelic acid)

  • Step 3: Protect. Sunscreen! You can use a dedicated moisturizer under your sunscreen if desired, but it’s okay to just use sunscreen if it feels like enough.

• PM:

  • Step 1: Cleanse. Use a cleanser suited to your skin type. (Most people should use micellar water or an oil/balm cleanser first as a double cleanse)

  • Step 2: Treat. Retinoid or exfoliant or copper peptides (these are just examples)

  • Step 3: Protect. Moisturizer suited to your skin type.

• If applicable, use the guidelines/tips for layering to incorporate other products in between Step 1 and Step 3. Think about what it’s doing, how potent you want it to be and the consistency.

Hey Jolie! I just learned from a recent facial that a lot of the products I was using - vit c, chemical sunscreen and retinoids, etc - are actually not ideal for rosacea. I wondered if you would do an explainer on rosacea or suggest products to help reduce it. Thank you!

Before I begin, I need to explicitly give a disclaimer that I am a licensed esthetician, not a doctor, so this is not medical advice and rosacea is a medical condition. But, like your facial provider did, I can provide recommendations and advice based on my professional experience and knowledge of the condition and ingredients. Ok now that that’s out of the way :)

What is rosacea/what we know about it: rosacea is an inflammatory skin condition. The exact cause of rosacea is not known, but it is assumed to be a combination of genetics and environmental factors. It can be triggered or exacerbated by a number of things.

There are 4 subtypes, each with different presentations/responses to treatments, but it is generally characterized by facial flushing/redness and visible blood vessels. It can be mild to severe and though chronic, is usually episodic (meaning it can flare up and subside). The most common type (subtype 1) is called erythematotelangiectatic rosacea and is what you typically think of when you think of rosacea: persistent redness, flushing, dryness, heightened sensitivity, usually in the center of the face. The second most common is subtype 2, papulopustular rosacea, which has acne-like breakouts/bumps, in addition to the redness/flushing/sensitivity. Rosacea is more common in women and people with lighter skin and usually develops after age 30.

What flares it up? Rosacea is considered chronic and persistent, but as mentioned above, it can be triggered and exacerbated by many things including alcohol, spicy food, food with lots of histamines (ex: tomato, eggplant), hot drinks, heat in general, but also cold/wind and other temperature extremes, sun exposure, stress, exercise, smoking and some medications. Since those with rosacea have more sensitive, more easily irritated skin (often burning, stinging, excessive dryness), skincare products can often aggravate it. The most important thing when managing rosacea is to identify your triggers and try to minimize them. Everyone’s skin is different.

How to treat it: With rosacea, you want to focus on reducing inflammation and supporting and strengthening your skin barrier. For that reason, the products you mentioned above (vit C, retinoids and chemical sunscreen) may be too irritating to those with rosacea, but it’s not an absolute. For starters, there are many different types of those things, so you may be able to tolerate a low-strength retinoid or a vitamin C derivative, but not a prescription strength retinoid or pure L-ascorbic acid.

Sunscreen is an absolute must! For everyone, but especially rosacea, which can be triggered by heat and make you more sun-sensitive. Sunscreen will help protect your skin and blood vessels. Any sunscreen is better than no sunscreen, but sometimes mineral sunscreen is recommended for those with rosacea because it can be less irritating than chemical filters and may generate sliiiightly less heat. Contrary to popular belief, chemical and mineral sunscreen work almost exactly the same way, by converting UV into a tiny amount of heat. In mineral sunscreen, only about 5-10% of the UV rays are reflected/scattered, which may be helpful to reduce the heat conversion during flare-ups. Again, this is a very minor difference and some people with rosacea have no issues with chemical sunscreen, or may opt to use a hybrid chemical/mineral sunscreen. In addition to sunscreen, prioritize other forms of sun protection like seeking shade, wearing hats and UPF clothing.

Azelaic acid is one of the most common and effective ingredients for rosacea treatment and management. It is very, very gently exfoliating and has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory benefits to help with redness and swelling. You can get it in a prescription, but many people find success with non-prescription options. I like the Naturium Azelaic Acid Emulsion and Allies of Skin Azelaic & Kojic Advanced Clarifying Serum (this one is a little spicy, but more comprehensive with additional brighteners, but would start with Naturium if you’re new to the ingredient or particularly sensitive).

Skin soothing, barrier repair serums and moisturizers are a must. Look for ceramides, lipids, anti-inflammatories and other soothing ingredients. Some of my most common recs: Sachi Skin Pro-Resilience Serum, Jordan Samuel Skin Hydrate the Mist, Jordan Samuel Skin Moisture Recovery Cream, Experiment Super Saturated, Experiment Molecular Mesh, Sofie Pavitt Face Omega Rich Cream, Allies of Skin Molecular Recovery Balm, NIOD Copper Amino Isolate Lipid or Serum, Allies of Skin Copper Peptides & Ectoin Repair Serum. Prequel also has tons of good options, including sunscreen.

Red light LED is incredible for rosacea (and all skin, you guys know this!) But for rosacea prone people, it can help reduce inflammation, redness and strengthen the barrier. It can even help your skin tolerate stronger actives, like exfoliants and retinoids. CurrentBody Series 2 is my forever top pick (read this or this to learn why).

There are also some prescriptions that may help, as well as laser treatments.

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Office Hours Reminder

Join us for Office Hours on Sunday! This exclusive weekly opportunity is available to paying subscribers.

Every Sunday at 5pm EST, I’ll begin a new thread for the week in Substack Chat, where you can ask me anything. Every Monday from 5-6pm EST, I’ll be in that chat live, answering questions for the hour. That way, if you can’t make it, you can submit any time after 5pm Sunday and still get an answer. If you can make it live, join in! You can ask questions in real time and (hopefully) interact with others in class ;)

Discount Codes

• Allies of Skin: JOLIE for 20% off

• CurrentBody: JOLIECB for 10% off

• Experiment: JOLIE10 for 10% off

• Jordan Samuel Skin: 20% off on Flagship through the end of April

• Naturium: JOLDEF15 for 15% off

• NIOD: 20% off Copper Peptides through the end of April

• Sachi Skin: JOLIE15 for 15% off

• Sofie Pavitt Face: JOLIE10 for 10% off

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Have a great week!

xx,

Jolie