BENGALURU: It’s time for a sharing circle! This is a safe space, and the circle has no beginning or end. Let’s hold hands (in the middle of a pandemic — how wild!) and tell each other things. I’ll go first. A few years back, I found myself at a party with members of an indie band which I hadn’t really heard of. It was the kind of party which had good music, fun snacks and fire jugglers (because alcohol and fire is a great combination.) This evening was made better when one of the band members supplied free alcohol which he made himself. You see, he couldn’t legally sell the stuff so he just gave it all away because he loved making it. It tasted like bad decisions and coconut punch…really, really strong punch.
Fast forward a few hours, I’m on a docked boat, trying to spot the Ursa Major as the sun came up. Eventually, my shoe (singular) and I found our way back home, and my hungover-self vowed never to consume DIY coconut punches. In case you’re wondering why I’m telling you this, it’s because this is exactly how you should treat your skincare.
Treat skincare like you would homemade coconut punch. Allow me to explain. Whenever you’re buying a new product, you must go low and slow. Why? Because there are no “backsies” in skincare… or shots of homemade alcohol. Be super aware and careful about how you mix certain homemade ingredients, and understand that you can’t take back overuse of an active, you’ll just have to ride it out.
Here is some context: You take one shot of the said coco punch and think about how it’s so little and nice smelling. You wait a little while and might not feel much so you take three more. Ten minutes later, you’re having dissociative problems (or fun, really- whatever floats your boat!) While you’re not going to have any hallucinogenic problems with retinol, I still see this happening a lot. People using retinol for a week, aren’t feeling any sensitivity or seeing life-changing results so they decide to triple the dosage and frequency. You’re only going to end up ripping your face off or burning yourself — this is coming from experience.
Here’s the thing: You didn’t beat the retinol just like you didn’t beat the alcohol. If you wouldn’t take 30 shots of tequila at one go, take it easy with incorporating 15 actives and acids into your routine at one point of time. This includes being aggressive with retinol not knowing how your skin will react. So there you go: Skip the lemons and essential oils and take it easy! There’s no rush in skincare.
While I may joke about alcohol and beauty, it’s important to know that people are still in jail serving sentences for petty crimes like consumption of alcohol, merely because they are not in a position to furnish bail and get released from judicial custody. Preshti is a great non-profit organisation which does incredible things to rehabilitate and improve the conditions of these prisoners in India. Thanks for listening, don’t throw a tub of retinol on your face.