It’s surprisingly easy to end up with a bathroom shelf full of skincare.
A cleanser someone recommended. A serum you saw online. Something for pigmentation. Something for fine lines. A new moisturizer because your skin suddenly felt dry.
And then there are the samples.
The little serum that came with an order. The moisturizer from a gift-with-purchase. The handful of samples sitting in the bathroom drawer that you don’t want to waste, so you decide you might as well use them up.
Before long, you can be using a lot of skincare without really knowing what each product is doing for your skin — or whether you need it at all.
Sometimes the answer isn’t another product. Sometimes you need a better understanding of your skin and a plan for how to support it.
More Products Don’t Necessarily Mean Better Skin
There is no shortage of skincare advice today.
Skin feels dry? Add something hydrating.
Breaking out? Add an acne product.
Noticing pigmentation? Try a brightening serum.
Concerned about aging? Add another active.
And if you have a few free samples sitting around, those can end up in the routine too.
I see this more often than you might think. Someone receives a sample and doesn’t want it to go to waste, so they start using it even though they aren’t really sure what it does or whether it belongs in their routine.
The sample isn’t necessarily a bad product. It simply may have nothing to do with what your skin needs.
Your skin doesn’t benefit from a product simply because the product needs to be used up.
Eventually, what started as a skincare routine can become a collection of products rather than an actual plan for your skin.
Your Skin Is More Than a Skin Type
Choosing skincare based only on whether your skin is “dry,” “oily,” “combination” or “sensitive” doesn’t always tell us enough.
Two people who describe their skin as dry may need very different things.
One may naturally produce fewer surface lipids. Another may be experiencing dehydration. Someone else may have disrupted their skin barrier through over-exfoliation, aggressive products or simply using too many things at once.
The same applies to breakouts, redness and sensitivity. Seeing a concern doesn’t automatically tell us what caused it — or what the skin needs next.
That’s why I prefer to assess before I recommend.
Why I Assess Before I Recommend
After more than 30 years working in esthetics, I’ve learned that there is rarely one routine that works for everyone.
Before recommending products, I want to understand what’s happening.
What are you currently using? How does your skin feel after cleansing? How often are you exfoliating? Have you recently introduced something new? What concerns you most? What have you tried before?
And just as importantly: what kind of routine can you realistically maintain?
Sometimes the answer is adding a targeted product.
But sometimes my recommendation is to remove something, simplify the routine or give the skin time to settle before deciding what comes next.
This is also where my barrier-first approach comes in.
When the skin is uncomfortable, reactive or struggling, we don’t necessarily need to immediately start correcting every concern we see. Sometimes we need to support the skin first.
I often think of this as:
Relief → Rebuild → Resilience
As the skin becomes more comfortable and resilient, we can decide what makes sense to address next.
Good skincare doesn’t have to mean more skincare.
In Dawson Creek: Advanced Skin Analysis
For clients who can visit me in Dawson Creek, BC, I offer an Advanced Skin Analysis using the OBSERV 520x.
The OBSERV allows us to view the skin under different observation modes and see things we may not notice under ordinary lighting. But the technology is only one part of the assessment.
We also talk about your skin history, current products, concerns and goals.
I combine that information with what I observe in your skin to determine where it makes sense to begin.
And that doesn’t automatically mean replacing everything you own.
We can look at what you’re already using, what may still be appropriate, what might be unnecessary and where there may actually be a gap.
The goal isn’t to sell you the most products. It’s to help you understand what your skin needs and why each product has a place in your routine.
The in person Assesmnet is $90, with $50 of the assessment fee applied toward the purchase of your recommended skincare products.
Across Canada: Online Skincare Consultation
Not everyone can come to Dawson Creek, which is why I also offer an Online Skincare Consultation for clients across Canada.
While an online consultation can’t provide the same information as an in-person assessment with the OBSERV 520x, it can still take much of the guesswork out of choosing your home care.
We look at your current routine, the products you’re using, your concerns and your skincare goals. From there, I create personalized recommendations and a home care plan.
This can be especially helpful if you’ve found Skin Care by Shawna while searching for professional skincare such as Dermaviduals or ClearChoice but aren’t sure which products are appropriate for you.
You don’t need to know what you need before contacting me.
That’s what the consultation is for.
The Online Skincare Consultation is $75, with $50 of the assessment fee applied toward the purchase of your recommended skincare products.
You’ll come away with a plan so you understand not only what you’re using, but why you’re using it and how it fits into your routine.
Before You Buy Another Product…
If you have half-used products sitting in your bathroom, samples you’re trying to use up or products you bought because someone else loved them, you’re certainly not alone.
But your skincare routine doesn’t need to include everything you own.
And it doesn’t have to be complicated.
Before opening the next sample or buying another serum, cream or trending ingredient, try changing the question.
Instead of:
“What should I use next?”
ask
“What does my skin need right now?”
That’s a much better place to begin.
If you’re in Dawson Creek, BC, an Advanced Skin Analysis can give us an in-depth look at your skin and help determine the direction of your home care.
If you’re elsewhere in Canada, an Online Skincare Consultation can help you sort through what you’re currently using and create a personalized plan without having to figure it all out yourself.
Because sometimes better skin doesn’t start with another product.
It starts with a better understanding of your skin.
To arrange your Online Skincare Consultation:
Email: hello@skincarebyshawna.ca
Text: 778-949-8139
