Skin Streaming: Why Less Is Enough!

This is the age of simplification. Maximalist ideologies invaded the beauty realm when the pressure to have clear skin and perhaps glass skin became more like an obsession, making the transition from minimalist to maximalist skin trends. Here is where skin streaming, the newest beauty trend, comes in handy.

At the outset, skincare routines were simple with the basic CTM routine (cleansing, toning, and moisturizing). Then serums and sunscreen came in and so did a hoard of products addressing different skin concerns, adding ten or more steps to daily skincare routine.

You will have to pay through your nose to get your skin care products for the month lined up on your dresser. And what’s worse is when you have to travel and you need to pack these goods and haul them wherever you go. Viral beauty trends like skin flooding and skin cycling require you to take multiple steps of skincare to achieve maximum skin hydration. Skin streaming encourages you to cut down the number of skincare products.

What Is Skin Streaming?

This latest beauty trend is the process of reducing skincare products to three or four products that have multiple uses to effectively address your skin’s overall needs. This viral TikTok trend emphasizes cutting out unnecessary steps to ensure that your skincare regimen is sustainable and effective. It focuses on leaving out ingredients without proven skincare benefits to eliminate some steps in the beauty routine while replacing them with products that claim multiple benefits. This proves the skincare myths that propagate the idea that multiple products will give faster and more visible results while saving you some money.

How To Do Skin Streaming

Stick to basic skincare: Adhering to basic skincare practices like cleansing, moisturizing, and using sunscreen is the base of skin streaming. Eliminating unwanted steps and the use of toners, serums, etc. that are redundant will help the minimalist skin trend to help your skin achieve its best.

Pick multipurpose products: Products that target different concerns or different skin zones can reduce the number of products and the number of steps in skin care(1). 

Research the ingredients: You need to go through the ingredients of the products that you are going to introduce to your face. You must make a list of ingredients that may counteract with the others as the different products you apply on your skin may include them and cause allergic reactions or flare-ups and interfere with the integrity of your skin. You can consult a dermatologist to cross-check your intuitions.

Skin Streaming Benefits

• Less time: The paucity of time is also a factor that the skin streaming addresses smartly as you need to spend less time using fewer skin care products. When applying them, we need to wait after applying each one, as the product needs to permeate into the skin before we apply the next one. Thus it saves time. When we check out the morning skincare routine of celebrities, we see many opting for minimalism in their skincare regimen.
• Budget-friendly: Skin streaming requires you to have fewer skin care products with multiple uses to address all your skin concerns. Fewer products mean you need to shell out less money!
• Less skin damage: Using too many products at once can increase your risk of developing skin allergies(2) because of preservatives or fragrances, and other conflicting ingredients that may tamper with the skin barrier. Many products contain potentially irritating ingredients, including retinoids, Niacinamide, alpha and beta hydroxy acids, and L-ascorbic acid, which when layered will multiply the skin irritation.
• Travel-friendly: Having fewer products will make sure that you do not have to carry all the skincare products that you use daily when you are on the move.
• Better results: Using fewer products will help in the quality of the results shown as it reduces the clash of ingredients which may interfere with the result.
• Saves storage space: Beauty clutter can be overwhelming. A storage space that can line up all your skincare essentials is difficult if you are crunched for space, like if you are sharing a room or living in a small apartment in New York where every inch is precious.
• Better decisions: Once you have settled on the products after assessing your skin type, you can ideally stick to them as you will not feel the necessity to try out newer products because all your skin concerns are covered with these fewer products that multitask.

What Skin Types Should Try Skin Streaming?

All skin types can try this. A skincare routine for oily skin with an elaborate skin flooding strategy can work for those who need the much-needed hydration until the skin barrier is hydrated enough, hence the skin streaming can take a backseat for a while. This should also be avoided by those who have ultra-sensitive skin and skin conditions like rosacea, acne, psoriasis, or eczema. 

What Are The Potential Side Effects Of Skin Streaming?

It reduces the number of products that will be slathered on your skin, but as most products that you use will be multifunctional ones, there may be more stubborn ingredients in many which can lead to skin reactions especially if you have sensitive skin.

What’s The Difference Between Skin Streaming And Skin Starving?

Skim streaming is the reduction of the number of steps or products in one’s skincare routine while skin starving is stopping the use of all cosmetics. Skin starving is a caveman skincare trend that vouches for nude skin. The skin will not be cleaned, cleansed, moisturized, toned, etc. This is usually advised in cases where the skin has had an allergic reaction to a skincare product or eczema so that no skin care product can exacerbate the skin conditions or agitate sensitive skin.

SoulFactors-Recommended Products
For Skin Streaming

Acidenzyme Exfoliating Cleanser

Price: $35 on Beauty pie

This one has papaya extracts and claims to be a gentle, perfectly balanced, light-foamed cleanser ideal for bumpy skin. It does double duty as an exfoliator and cleanser. 

Protagonist Serum

Price: $40.60 at Skin At Work.

This 5 in 1 smoothes, tones, tightens, soothes, and moisturizes. It uses traditional herbs in the concoction. It is buttery in consistency and great for a youthful glow. It can plump up the skin like no other product.

Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40

Price: $48 on Amazon.

This Skincare product is a serum, makeup product, and sunscreen that shields your skin from UVA, UVB, UVC, infrared, etc., and gives a glowy dewy look. This is ideal for all skin types as well.

Neutrogena Hydroboost Halyurunic Acid Water Gel Moisturizer

Price: $16.57 on Amazon

This is my personal favorite. The feel of Hydroboost on your skin is beyond words. It helps to soothe sunburned skin like nothing else. It easily gets absorbed into the skin without much effort. Usually, hydrating gel moisturizers are used on dry skin, but this works well on oily skin as well. This moisturizer is oil-free and noncomedogenic, hence won’t clog your pores. 

CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser With Hyaluronic Acid

Price: $17.80 on Amazon

CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser with Hyaluronic Acid cleanses and helps restore the protective barrier of dry skin with three essential ceramides. It can effectively remove makeup and foundation without drying out your skin.

 FAQ

Words Of Care

Skin routines are personal and dependent on the skin conditions. You need to listen to the needs of your skin and choose the products that will make you glow. Most importantly, love yourself so that the glow from within complements your glowing skin! Cheers to awesome skin!