Building an effective and manageable skincare routine is one of the best and most important ways to achieve radiant youthful skin. Unfortunately, many of the products currently available to consumers are formulated with specialized ingredients aimed at addressing a singular skin concern. While this helps to increase the effectiveness of those premium skin care products, it also means that if you have multiple skin issues you are trying to confront you might be forced to center your entire skincare routine around just one problem area. This is where combining skin care products can make a huge difference for many women, from night serums and moisturizers to exfoliating treatments. An increasingly popular trend in the skincare community is selecting products that will work well together as it offers a number of benefits that could change your skincare game forever. Read on for our top skincare cocktailing hacks from Kate Somerville!
1) Customization
The most obvious benefit of mixing skin care products is the ability to customize your skincare routine to better fit your skin’s exact needs. This is particularly useful if you have multiple skin concerns that you would like to address while also considering your skin type. Whether you are trying to rebalance your skin, enhance your glow, fight pigmentation, or turn back time, creating a bespoke skincare cocktail can help you achieve your personal goals. For example, adding our Kx Active Concentrates Ceramides + Omegas Serum to your favorite acne treatment can help you target active breakouts while giving your skin a boost of hydration, helping to prevent any dryness that might otherwise result.
2) Increase Effectiveness
Certain ingredients work so well together that they can enhance the effects of one another to deliver faster results. For example, ceramides are lipids found naturally in your skin and when applied topically, can help retain moisture [1] and protect against environmental stressors. Niacinamide is a derivative of vitamin B3 and when paired with ceramides, can help increase its hydrating and protective effects [2]. Similarly, vitamin E can help stabilize vitamin C [3] while hyaluronic acid can help boost the moisturizing and anti-aging effects of retinol [4]. As long as you know the basic do’s and don’ts of mixing skin care ingredients, you’ll be able to improve the effectiveness of your favorite products.
3) Reduce Reactions
Sometimes active ingredients can cause skin irritation and inflammation including redness, dryness, and itching. However, delivering these potent ingredients with calming ones can minimize the likelihood of such reactions. Retinol, for example, is a widely recognized anti-aging powerhouse but can result in skin redness for individuals with sensitive skin. But if you mix your retinol products with a niacinamide serum or moisturizer, you will deliver a boost of hydration to the skin which may help reduce adverse side effects.
4) Improve Overall Skin Health
As Kate Somerville Skin Expert and esthetician to the stars, Kelly Viavattine likes to say, “Your skin is its own ecosystem.” What she means is that you have to take care of your skin and give it everything it needs in order for it to thrive. Hydration, protection, exfoliation… Feed your skin with your product selection and it will glow. But remember, no single product or ingredient can do all these things so product combinations help you ensure that you are keeping your skin healthy.
5) Budget Conscious
We all know that skincare products can be an expensive investment and the more products you use, the higher the total price becomes. Combining products and ingredients can be a budget-friendly way to approach your skincare regimen. First, you may not need to buy as many products as often because when you are mixing two products you will use half as much of each per application. However, with that being said, you should always be using a quality cleanser, exfoliant, eye cream, and moisturizer that uses only high-quality ingredients.
Though combining skin care products can clearly provide a variety of benefits for any skin type, you must do so with care as certain ingredients do not play nicely together. In some cases, you may want to talk to your esthetician or dermatologist before attempting to mix products. They can help guide you through product selection, mixing, and application.
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