How a Product Developer Shops for Skincare

The skincare aisle can feel like a maze of options, inspiring a bit of decision paralysis. Persuasive sales associates and descriptive packaging are designed to guide you, but what happens when you want to shop solo? No one knows your skin better than you, and unfortunately dermatologists are unable to accompany Sephora runs. 

Product developers, the industry insiders who spend their days creating and testing formulas,  often have the most minimal and consistent routines. Similar to a makeup artist who abandons wearing makeup, they approach skincare with a pared down, customized approach. Here are a few mindsets to help you think like a product developer when building your routine. 

Understand Your Skin Type and Needs

No one is condemned to their skin type. Your skin type is more of a journey, shifting through different ages, environments, seasons and even water conditions. Your surroundings, stress and lifestyle can affect your skin as much as diet or hormones. An effective, focused routine begins with asking where your skin is at right now.

Ask yourself how your skin feels: is it tight and dry? A bit more oily and prone to breaking out? Pay attention without judgement, as not every imperfection requires erasing. The most important priority is your skin’s health and comfort. 

Your needs may shift throughout the year. Maybe SPF and soothing barrier repair are needed after a high-heat, sunny vacation. Or, you may search for a heavy-duty moisture during frigid winters. Feel free to shift your routine, and let it evolve around your unique needs. 

Shop for Products That Play Well Together

An effective routine is not one with the longest list of steps, or largest accumulation of ingredients. Not all ingredients or formulas are compatible, and some combinations can cancel each other out, or cause irritation when combined. Often, self-diagnosed “sensitive skin” is really the result of an inflamed skin barrier, disturbed by too many products. 

Many treatment-focused brands offer multi-step routines within a franchise, or, a branded line with a shared benefit like brightening or smoothing. These products are usually formulated and tested for compatibility when used together, helping you avoid negative reactions while achieving the best results. Claims can be based on a franchise as well, where one product’s efficacy was proven within a routine, not in isolation. 

Diagnostic Tools 

When feeling uncertain about independently identifying your skin concerns, or overwhelmed by countless product choices, there are other helpful tools to guide you. 

Beauty counter consultants are trained by brands to communicate product benefits and efficacy, and can be helpful navigating a store. Diagnostic tools, ranging from Clinique’s iconic skin-typing system to digital quizzes and microbiome analyses like Renude or HelloBiome, identify concerns while linking them to product-based solutions. These data-backed aids can simplify your search to identify formulas to fit your skin’s ecosystem. 

Be Mindful of Trending Ingredients 

While new technologies and discoveries in skincare are exciting, they may not be relevant to your actual needs. An ingredient’s virality does not legitimize its place in your routine. For example, retinol and its derivatives may be too intense for your skin to use without irritation. Or, you may have aged away from acne-fighting actives, and towards more moisturizing humectants. 

Whether an ingredient is reaching the peak of its popularity is less important than whether it improves your skin while using it. Don’t be afraid to say no to a trending ingredient that doesn’t work for you. 

Product developers don’t fall for every new launch. They follow an intuitive process curating thoughtful routines by focusing on their skin’s ever-changing needs.