Whether you’re oily, dry, or somewhere in between, it’s common to try and find a routine that works for your skin type and stick to it. But at cocokind, we don’t actually believe in following strict skincare routines - instead, we’re all about *listening* to your skin, and learning how to adjust your routine whenever needed.
Earlier this month, during our 7-day glow up plan, we focused on listening to our skin - we got up close and personal, and made sure to be ultra-observant of any changes, little or big.
We used the below tracker to note changes in how our skin looked or felt, so that we could get to know it better and work on giving it what it needed. And you can do it too!
You’ll notice that along with asking you to track the way that your skin looks and feels, we’d like you to note the products you used, the amount of water you drank, and any other factors that might contribute to or detract from your glow.
Here are some of the ways to interpret your results:
if your skin feels clogged, congested, or broken out...
Your pores might be clogged from excessive sebum production, dry skin buildup, or heavy skincare or makeup products. All of these factors can lead to uneven texture and enlarged-looking pores.
If this is the case for you, we recommend our raspberry vinegar toner to help purify your pores and reduce excess oil. You can also use our sea moss exfoliator or chlorophyll mask to help decongest your pores, remove dead skin buildup, and improve your skin’s texture. We also recommend using a lighter weight moisturizer like our golden elixir, because it will hydrate your skin without feeling too heavy.
if your skin looks or feels dull, thin, or tired...
You might be needing deeper hydration and a little R&R! If possible, try to get at least 7.5-8 hours of sleep per night - when you’re tired, your skin starts to lose its glow. It’s also helpful to try to work some dark, leafy greens into your diet, as well as an extra 2-3 glasses of water per day.
We also recommend refreshing your skin with our rosewater toner and using our glow essence to help combat water loss in your skin. Directly after using your essence, try a few drops of our vitamin c serum, to help brighten your complexion and boost your overall radiance.
Finally, we recommend protecting your skin against oxidative stress with an antioxidant-packed moisturizer like our chia facial oil or our facial repair oil.
if your skin feels sensitive...
If your skin feels overly or unusually sensitive (for example, if it stings when you put moisturizer on), it could mean that you’re reacting negatively to harsh skincare products. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you have to toss them all out - you might just need to give your skin a little break.
During this “break”, we recommend avoiding potent actives and only using 2-3 skincare products with really simple ingredient lists. You can use our facial cleansing oil as a nourishing daily makeup and grime-remover that won’t strip your skin, our rosewater toner to soothe your skin and balance its pH, and our facial repair oil to moisturize and help rebuild your skin’s natural barrier.
if your skin feels itchy, inflamed, red, or flaky...
You might be having an inflammatory response to something internal or external. If this is the case, you’ll want to nourish and balance your skin and body with anti-inflammatory and gut-friendly foods like turmeric, broccoli, ginger, berries, etc. You’ll also want to stick to balancing, gentle skincare products, like our oil to milk cleanser, our rosewater toner, and our chia facial oil, which is chock-full of soothing omega-3s that help reduce signs of inflammation.
if your skin feels overly oily or heavy...
Your skin might just be producing a lil’ too much sebum! Believe it or not, sometimes the best way to combat excessive oil is with more oil - a nourishing facial oil, to be exact. Excessive oiliness is often the result of your skin’s natural response to not getting enough moisture - your sebaceous glands go into overdrive and begin to overproduce oil and sebum.
Unfortunately, it’s much harder to “control” hormonal impacts on oiliness. It’s common to experience more oiliness before menstruation, but you can use balancing toners, slightly acidic skincare products, and hydrating moisturizers or oils to help balance this.
If you’re feeling overly oily, try mixing a splash of water with a drop of our oil to milk cleanser and a scoop of our sea moss exfoliator. Gently massage this combo into your skin to cleanse and polish while also getting rid of excess sebum. After cleansing, a few spritzes of our raspberry vinegar toner on a cotton pad will help clarify your pores. We also recommend using our chlorophyll mask a few times a week to help combat extra oil.
if your skin feels tight, dry, or scaly...
Your skin might be dehydrated and/or your skin’s barrier and microbiome might be compromised. Your skin’s barrier helps your skin stay hydrated and feel comfortable, so it’s crucial to keep it fortified.
Focus on upping your water intake and protect your skin if you’re exposing it to harsh temperatures, too much time on airplanes, excessive caffeine, or other environmental stressors. You should also opt for gentle skincare products that will feed your skin’s microbiome and support its barrier - avoid harsh cleansers or foaming soaps that will strip away too much!
Again, we recommend our oil to milk cleanser to support your microbiome, our rosewater toner to soothe, our glow essence to encourage greater water retention, and our chia facial oil to hydrate and nourish.
if your skin looks yellow or sallow...
The solution here is often tied to nutrition - if you’re not getting enough vitamins in your diet, your skin cells can’t get the valuable nutrients that keep them healthy. Over time, your skin can start to look sallow or yellowed.
To help prevent this, definitely make sure you’re eating enough vitamin-rich foods like dark leafy greens, citrus fruits, broccoli, nuts, berries, etc. You can also use our glow essence and vitamin c serum to up your glow and our chlorophyll mask to boost your complexion and keep it looking radiant by supporting healthy circulation.
the takeaway
Of course, these are just a few skin signs to watch out for. The key here is just to take note of these signs and start to gain an understanding of what they mean for you, your skin, and your routine. The idea is that in reading these signs, you’re listening to your skin, and in listening, you’re learning how to give your skin the kind of treatment that it wants and needs. Because at the end of the day, although we might not all be skincare experts, we can certainly be experts in our own skin and our own skincare.
we hope you found this helpful! for more skincare info, tips, tricks, and diys, make sure to subscribe to our emails below!
