Skincare Empties (January 2024)
I don’t know about you, but I love to know what products people actually use up. Not the gimmicks, but the skincare you recommend to your friends!
Whilst I’m the biggest advocate for regular facials, facialists know that their clients will see the best results when they also follow a good skincare routine - cleanse, moisturiser and SPF - these are the golden trio of the routine but we will also be diving into what else I’m using throughout the year and what ingredients you should be looking out for, depending on what your skincare goals are.
I’ll be sharing all my skincare ‘empties’ with you throughout the year ahead, giving you an honest review of what I’m using as a facialist and which products I’m repurchasing.
To kick off this series, I’ll be sharing an honest review of Augustus Bader’s Foaming Cleanser, Dermatica Balancing Glycerin Gel Cleanser and Dermatica personalised formula.
Augustus Bader’s The foaming cleanser - £56 for 100ml
The Foaming Cleanser lasted me about 6 months, which is pretty good (girl maths tells me that’s 32p a day) and it didn’t leave my skin feeling tight like I associate with foaming cleansers. It feels more like a paste consistency that when mixed with a bit of water, easily covers the whole face and neck.
I liked to use this as my second cleanse so that I wasn’t wasting any product on taking off my makeup. The ingredients claimed to help with any congestion and there are some great properties that I like to look for in a second cleanse:
Niacinamide is a form of Vitamin B3, known for helping to improve skin barrier function, reduce redness and blotchiness, minimise pore appearance, and also has anti-aging properties.
Glycerin is a great hydrating ingredient (and as it comes second on the ingredient list after water, there’s a lot of it packed in there!). Glycerin is a humectant that attracts water to the skin, helping to keep it hydrated and plump. It's also excellent for dry and sensitive skin types.
Glycol Distearate is an emollient that helps to soften and smooth the skin. It can also give products a pearlescent appearance.
Lactobacillus and Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract are ingredients that have probiotic properties, which can help balance the skin's microbiome, leading to healthier skin.
Ceramide NP and Ceramide AP are lipids that help form the skin’s barrier and help the skin retain moisture. They are essential for maintaining the skin barrier and keeping skin healthy.
Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E) is an antioxidant that helps to protect the skin from free radicals and environmental stressors.
Would I repurchase?
Sometimes… I think there are better cleansers out there that come in at a much more affordable price point. That being said, you do get a lot of product and the foaming nature means you need less product to wash your face.
Do I think you need to run to buy this? No. Do I think it’s a good cleanser if you can afford it and enjoy buying skincare? Yes.
Dermatica’s Balancing Glycerin Gel Cleanser - £12.95 for 200ml
I enjoy Dermatica as a brand. I’ve tried Skin + Me, a similar business model but find the Dermatica were more effective and like that you could also purchase a ‘kit’ when buying a personalised formula.
The concept is that you upload photos to their online dermatologists and share what you’re looking to achieve (acne, hyperpigmentation, wrinkles, etc.) and they personalise a formula for you with ingredients not available over the counter. For example, my formula contains Adapalene 0.3% / Benzoyl Peroxide 2.5% / Niacinamide 4% to target acne and congestion.
£24.99 each month and you can get £10 off your first order by following this link.
The Balancing Gylercerin Gel Cleanser contains (you guessed it) glycerin, which as we know from Bader, is a great hydrating ingredient so you don’t feel like your skin has been stripped of too much oil when you use it.
Sodium Cocoamphoacetate is a mild surfactant derived from coconut oil, used for its cleansing properties. It helps the product to foam and effectively remove dirt, oil, and makeup without stripping the skin of its natural oils.
Citric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) used to adjust the pH of the product to match that of the skin, preventing irritation. It can also gently exfoliate the top layer of dead skin cells, revealing brighter, more even-toned skin.
Would I repurchase?
Yes! I like the cleanser for my first cleanse, particularly as I don’t want anything too expensive when taking off my makeup.
I enjoy the personalised formula and found it easy to contact their dermatologists if I had any problems or wanted to update my concerns/formula. I wouldn’t say it’s a bespoke service, you never actually speak to a dermatologist over the phone or by video, but it’s a good entry for people to access medical-grade skincare that otherwise can’t afford to pay for a dermatologist consultation.
Amy Halls (Founder and Facial
For note, I have combination skin and suffered from acne three times in my life. My acne was very stubborn when I was a teenager (where I experimented with an awful blunt fringe to cover my forehead spots…), the acne returned when I moved to London for my first job after university which led to a course of Roaccutane and in my late 20’s it returned after coming off contraception.
When I’m not struggling with acne, my skin is pretty good! I use SkinPen microneedling to help with any acne scaring and fine lines and I’m on a journey to shrink my enlarged pores and congestion from blackheads on my nose.