How many steps does your skincare routine actually have? For many people, the nightly ritual has turned into an elaborate routine of layering multiple serums, toners, acids and creams in the hope of waking up to glowing, glass-like skin. Yet despite the effort – and often the expense – breakouts and irritation still seem to persist. If this sounds familiar, it might be worth reconsidering whether more skincare is really better for your skin.
Dr Karan Rajan, a UK-based surgeon and popular health content creator, is drawing attention to the impact of excessive skincare on overall skin health. In an Instagram video shared on March 4, the surgeon explains why overloading your skin with multiple expensive products may not be the solution, and could actually be counterproductive by damaging the skin barrier.
Your skin can care for itself
According to Dr Rajan, your skin likely needs far fewer skincare products than you might think. The skin already has its own built-in mechanisms for moisturising, cleansing, and exfoliating – natural processes that are often highly effective on their own.
He explains, “Your skin probably doesn’t need as much skin care as you think. Your skin can moisturise, exfoliate, and cleanse itself pretty well if you allow it to. The natural oils on your skin like sebum, that’s not grime – that’s actually a pretty effective moisturiser. The nightmare bugs that live on your face and eat dead skin cells – natural exfoliation. Your skin also has an acid mantle that forms a protective film.”
The “endless vicious cosmetic cycle”
The surgeon highlights that the more products you layer onto your skin, the greater the risk of damaging your skin barrier and disrupting the delicate balance of the skin microbiome. This imbalance can often be the reason behind persistent breakouts or inflammatory conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. In such cases, adding even more products to your routine is not necessarily the solution – and may sometimes make the problem worse.
Dr Rajan emphasises, “The more ingredients you use, the more it can damage the skin barrier and disrupt the skin microbiome, and the more you end up removing essential nutrients it needs to function properly. This can lead to flare-ups of inflammatory conditions like acne, eczema, and psoriasis which leads to the use of more products to fix the problems caused by the first products. An endless vicious cosmetic cycle.”
Keep skin care minimal
Dr Rajan recommends consulting a dermatologist if you experience persistent skin concerns and using products specifically prescribed by a medical professional. He points out that one of the key issues with the beauty industry is its encouragement of daily use of medical-grade ingredients, which may not always be ideal for the skin. Instead, he advises keeping skincare routines simple and intentional – relying on a few well-suited products that work for your skin, rather than overloading it with an elaborate 10-step routine.
He stresses, “If you’re experiencing a skin issue, sure, go to your dermatologist and use the products they recommend. But the problem is the beauty industry pathologising normal skin to the point where we’re applying expensive medical grade topical ingredients to it on a daily basis. A few choice products that you enjoy or that help support your skin is fine. The science of aesthetics is not always the science of skin health. Beating your skin into a smooth, shiny submission isn’t necessarily a health goal. It’s an aesthetic one. And they’re often polar opposites.”
The surgeon also emphasises the importance of paying attention to gut health, noting that the root of many skin issues often originates in the gut. He states, “Your skin routine should pay mind to you gut health too!” Nurturing digestive health can therefore play a key role in improving overall skin health and preventing recurring concerns.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. It is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
