The Most Science-Backed Skincare Routine | Dr. Danny Guo — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Most skincare routines that you see
2. 0:01online these days are just way too
3. 0:03complicated. Remember that skin biology
4. 0:05has not changed in like forever, but
5. 0:08trends keep changing. With people online
6. 0:10constantly pushing new trends and 7-day
7. 0:12transformations with new products every
8. 0:14single week, it becomes difficult to
9. 0:16determine what is real and what is just
10. 0:18a gimmick. You don't need to spend a ton
11. 0:20of money or have the most complicated
12. 0:22routine in order to have something
13. 0:23that's effective and that's good for
14. 0:25your skin. And if we use scientific
15. 0:26evidence as a measurement of how good a
16. 0:28skincare routine is, then you really
17. 0:30only need four steps. [music] Cleanser,
18. 0:32two basic serums, moisturizer, and
19. 0:34sunscreen. That's it. [music] So, let's
20. 0:36go through all of these and talk about
21. 0:38how you can find something that's right
22. 0:39for your skin without breaking the bank.
23. 0:41The first step is cleansing. The
24. 0:42explanation for why you start with
25. 0:44cleansing in every routine is pretty
26. 0:46straightforward. You're basically trying
27. 0:47to create a clean palette that allows
28. 0:49for the next few steps. Cleansing also
29. 0:52helps you remove any oil, dirt, or any
30. 0:54other debris that's accumulated on your
31. 0:56skin throughout the day, as well as
32. 0:57remove old skin care product and makeup
33. 0:59that's been sitting on there all day as
34. 1:00well. Sounds easy, but if you don't do
35. 1:02it right, cleansing can actually harm
36. 1:04your skin more than it will benefit it.
37. 1:05This is because cleansers are generally
38. 1:07made of surfactants that will remove oil
39. 1:09from your skin. More often than not, the
40. 1:11surfactant cannot distinguish the
41. 1:13difference between oil from dirt and
42. 1:15debris that's sitting on your skin. So,
43. 1:16if you choose a cleanser that's not
44. 1:18right for your skin type or you use it
45. 1:20excessively, this can strip away your
46. 1:22natural oils and thus leaving you prone
47. 1:24to skin barrier damage. So, how do you
48. 1:26pick a cleanser? If you have dry or
49. 1:28sensitive skin, [music] you may actually
50. 1:30just want to use water in the morning.
51. 1:32Most of the product that you use the
52. 1:33night before is probably going to be
53. 1:35water soluble. So, a quick rinse with
54. 1:37some lukewarm water in the morning
55. 1:38should be enough to cleanse the palette.
56. 1:40In the evening though, assuming you've
57. 1:41used sunscreen, which you totally
58. 1:43should, you're going to want to use a
59. 1:44cleanser that's able to take off that
60. 1:46extra residue. And the two best products
61. 1:48for this in dry, sensitive skin are
62. 1:50myicellar water and oil cleanser.
63. 1:52Myellar water is made of myels, which
64. 1:54will help gently lift debris and
65. 1:56skincare products off of your skin, and
66. 1:58you can just wipe it away without a
67. 1:59rinse. Oil cleansers are basically just
68. 2:01oil-based cleansers. These are generally
69. 2:04better tolerated by people with dry or
70. 2:05sensitive skin and can be very effective
71. 2:07as well. So, what about oily skin?
72. 2:09There's a common misconception that oily
73. 2:10skin can't be sensitive. And that's
74. 2:12absolutely not true. Regardless of
75. 2:14whether you have dry or oily skin, you
76. 2:16want to make sure you pick a formulation
77. 2:17that is gentle enough not to irritate
78. 2:19your skin. But people with oily skin
79. 2:21have a different type of struggle than
80. 2:22people with dry skin when it comes to
81. 2:24cleansers. My patients with oily skin
82. 2:26often complain that the cleanser that
83. 2:27they're using is just not effective.
84. 2:29It's not completely removing everything.
85. 2:31And because of that, they often overdo
86. 2:33it and irritate their skin. The key is
87. 2:34to find an exfoliating cleanser that
88. 2:36contains a gentle chemical exfoliant to
89. 2:38help strip away some of that extra oil.
90. 2:40If you choose to double cleanse, it's a
91. 2:42good idea to start with that exfoliating
92. 2:44cleanser, followed by a gentle hydrating
93. 2:46cleanser. The second step is serums.
94. 2:48This is the one step that gets overly
95. 2:50complicated where the 10-step Korean
96. 2:52skincare routines come from and where
97. 2:54things get really expensive. But if you
98. 2:56look into it, the two best studied
99. 2:58active ingredients in all of our serums
100. 3:00are vitamin C and retinoids. Vitamin C
101. 3:03has a number of benefits for the skin.
102. 3:05Primarily, it is an antioxidant that
103. 3:07will help protect your skin from UV
104. 3:09radiation and external pollution. It
105. 3:11also helps stabilize collagen fibers to
106. 3:13promote collagen synthesis over time. To
107. 3:15a lesser degree, it can also help with
108. 3:17pigmentation and skin brightness. You
109. 3:19can absolutely choose to use vitamin C
110. 3:21twice a day, once in the morning and
111. 3:22once in the evening, but personally, I
112. 3:24like to keep things simple and I just
113. 3:25recommend vitamin C for my patients in
114. 3:27the [music] morning. Retinoids,
115. 3:28including retinol, retinol, and retinoic
116. 3:31acid, as well as any of the other
117. 3:32derivatives, can be one of the most
118. 3:34potent anti-aging ingredients in your
119. 3:36regimen. Studies have shown that
120. 3:37consistent use of retinoids can lead to
121. 3:39improved collagen density in your skin,
122. 3:42improve dermal thickness, epidermal
123. 3:43thickness. It can also reduce
124. 3:45pigmentation, reduce fine lines, and a
125. 3:47whole bunch of other benefits. Many
126. 3:49dermatologists will argue that if there
127. 3:50is only one serum that you use in your
128. 3:53entire skincare routine for the rest of
129. 3:54your life, that would be a retinoid.
130. 3:56These are typically done in the evening.
131. 3:58Whatever retinoid you decide to go with,
132. 4:00use it in the evening after your
133. 4:01cleansing. When it comes to serums, if
134. 4:03all you decide to do at the end of the
135. 4:04day is a vitamin C in the morning and a
136. 4:06retinoid in the evening, you're already
137. 4:0890 plus% of the way there. Like I
138. 4:10mentioned before, serums can get really
139. 4:12expensive. And while the gold standards
140. 4:14for both vitamin C's and retinoids can
141. 4:16be on the pricier side, there are
142. 4:18definitely good options at all budget
143. 4:20ranges. I talk a lot about the different
144. 4:22options on my Instagram. I provide a
145. 4:24variety of budget range for all of these
146. 4:26products. Feel free to check that out if
147. 4:27you're interested. Step three is
148. 4:28moisturizer. Having a good moisturizer
149. 4:30is extremely important to a good
150. 4:32skincare routine, but there's a huge
151. 4:34misconception about how moisturizers
152. 4:36actually work. Moisturizers don't
153. 4:38actually work by adding water to your
154. 4:39skin. Your blood provides all the water
155. 4:41that your skin needs. Crazy, right?
156. 4:43Instead, a moisturizer's job is actually
157. 4:45to seal and repair a skin barrier. Think
158. 4:48of your skin like a brick wall. The
159. 4:49bricks are the cells of your skin and
160. 4:51then the cement is the extracellular
161. 4:54matrix that provides a seal and holds
162. 4:56everything together to prevent water
163. 4:58from leaking out and pathogens and
164. 5:00irritants from coming in. And when you
165. 5:02have an impaired skin barrier, you're
166. 5:03more prone to things like irritation,
167. 5:05redness, and skin conditions like
168. 5:07eczema. In fact, a study has shown that
169. 5:09newborns who get moisturized twice per
170. 5:11day, starting from the day they're born
171. 5:12up until 6 months of life, are 50% less
172. 5:15likely to develop conditions like
173. 5:17eczema. Another problem with an impaired
174. 5:19barrier is product intolerance. Have you
175. 5:21ever applied a moisturizer that has no
176. 5:23acids and no exfoliants to your skin and
177. 5:25it stings? Or have you ever met someone
178. 5:26who says nothing works for their skin no
179. 5:28matter what they use? Both of these
180. 5:30concerns are most commonly from an
181. 5:32impaired skin barrier. And it's because
182. 5:34in those cases, the skin is inflamed and
183. 5:36sensitized that any little thing can
184. 5:38trigger a pain response. Now, the tricky
185. 5:40thing comes with picking a moisturizer.
186. 5:41And this is because there's so many
187. 5:42different types out there. They come in
188. 5:44mists, gels, lotions, creams, balms,
189. 5:48ointments, and some others. I go over
190. 5:50how to pick a moisturizer category
191. 5:51that's correct for your skin type based
192. 5:53on your living situation in a video that
193. 5:55I'm going to tag below. But the gist of
194. 5:57that video is that if you have dry skin,
195. 5:59you want to use something thicker like
196. 6:00an ointment or a balm. And if you have
197. 6:02oily skin, then you want to use
198. 6:03something lighter like a gel or a
199. 6:05lotion. Regardless of which category you
200. 6:07choose, you should be using your
201. 6:08moisturizer at least twice per day. Once
202. 6:10in the morning and once in the evening
203. 6:12after your serums. If you frequently
204. 6:14wash your hands or live in a very dry
205. 6:16environment, you probably want to use
206. 6:17moisturizers more frequently than that.
207. 6:19The final step in this four-step
208. 6:20skincare routine is sunscreen. This is
209. 6:22an absolute non-negotiable. In fact, if
210. 6:25you're the type of person that wants to
211. 6:26use one product and nothing else, then
212. 6:28it's got to be sunscreen. This is
213. 6:29because UV exposure is responsible for
214. 6:31up to 90% of skin damage. It can cause
215. 6:34pigmentation. It can cause breakouts. It
216. 6:36can damage your collagen and elastin
217. 6:37fibers. And it can also trigger skin
218. 6:39cancer. Simply by being extremely
219. 6:41consistent with sun protection through
220. 6:43sunscreen as well as sunprotective
221. 6:45behavior and sun protective clothing,
222. 6:47you're already 90% of the way there.
223. 6:49Regardless of what brand you decide to
224. 6:51go with, there are two criteria for
225. 6:52picking a good sunscreen. The first is
226. 6:54that you want it to cover both UVA and
227. 6:56UVB. This is because both UVA and UVB
228. 6:59can cause sun damage. So, the way you
229. 7:01pick a sunscreen is if you live in
230. 7:02Canada and the United States, you want
231. 7:04to make sure that the bottle says
232. 7:05broadspectctrum. About 15 years ago,
233. 7:07that term was actually just a marketing
234. 7:09term and didn't mean anything. But fast
235. 7:11forward to today, regulations have been
236. 7:13put in place to ensure that broadsp
237. 7:15spectrum actually means that it covers
238. 7:16both UVA and UVB. In other parts of the
239. 7:19world, like Europe, South Korea, and
240. 7:20Hong Kong, you may find them using a
241. 7:22different system called the PA system.
242. 7:24You'll frequently see their products
243. 7:25have the label PA followed by a number
244. 7:27of pluses. I'll spare you the details of
245. 7:29the exact nuances of what this means,
246. 7:31but essentially both systems are okay.
247. 7:33The second criteria you want to make
248. 7:35sure you have is SPF 50 or higher. Now,
249. 7:38you're going to hear a lot of people
250. 7:38argue that SPF 30 is [music] enough
251. 7:41because SPF 30 covers 97% of UV
252. 7:44protection and SPF 50 covers 98%.
253. 7:47[music] So, in the perfect world,
254. 7:48there's only a 1% difference in
255. 7:50coverage. But reality isn't perfect. A
256. 7:52study has shown that most people use
257. 7:54between 25 to 50% of the amount of
258. 7:57sunscreen needed to reach the labeled
259. 7:59SPF value on the bottle. You can't
260. 8:01convert the math directly, but
261. 8:02essentially if you use an SPF 30, it
262. 8:05means that most people is really getting
263. 8:07between 7.5 to 15. And it's hard to
264. 8:09blame them because it's difficult to use
265. 8:11that much sunscreen consistently. You
266. 8:13need two fingerfuls, two thick
267. 8:15fingerfuls of sunscreen for your face
268. 8:18every 2 hours. Ask yourself honestly, do
269. 8:21you actually use that much sunscreen
270. 8:23that frequently? What about if you're at
271. 8:24the golf course and you have to keep
272. 8:26moving because the guy behind you is
273. 8:28waiting for his tea time? Or what if
274. 8:29you're at an event and you have a lot of
275. 8:31makeup on and sunscreen would smear
276. 8:32that. See, it's because of these real
277. 8:34life challenges that I always advocate
278. 8:36that you pick a sunscreen that's as high
279. 8:37as SPF as you can tolerate. If you're
280. 8:40curious about exactly how much sunscreen
281. 8:42you need, check out the video that I
282. 8:43have tagged below where I do a little
283. 8:45experiment on my own face to figure out
284. 8:47how much two finger will actually cover.
285. 8:50Anyways, that's it. That's the four-step
286. 8:52skincare routine. You start with a
287. 8:53cleanser, your serum being vitamin C in
288. 8:55the morning, retinoids in the evening,
289. 8:57followed by a moisturizer, and then a
290. 8:59sunscreen during the day. Leave your
291. 9:00questions for me in the comments below.
292. 9:02I'm going to try to get to as many of
293. 9:03them as I can. You can also check out my
294. 9:05short form videos for quicker pace
295. 9:07content. Thanks for watching. I'll see
296. 9:08you next time.