Spring is right around the corner and people are looking at their skincare regimens anew hoping to get a fresh start this season. Some look at the hottest new products and simply add them to what they’re already using. Others dive headfirst into the shelves and sites brimming with a plethora of creams, serums, masks, toners, and exfoliants, all promising radiant, youthful skin for a whole new regimen. Yet, amidst this sea of choices, there's a timeless truth that often gets overlooked: simplicity is key.

More is Not Better

Using more products isn't better fro your skin. In fact, it can actually make things worse. Every time you add a product, you're adding yet another 20-30 ingredients to sit on top of everything else your using on your face, possible counteracting other products or ingredients, being too aggressive, clogging pores, exacerbating other problems, etc. It’s no wonder that while the average woman uses 12 beauty products a day, 60% are unhappy with their skin.

Go Simple

Instead of adding more products to your regimen, try going simple this spring using just two products - an effective, plant-based cleanser and moisturizer. Proper cleansing and moisturizing will keep your skin clean, healthy and radiant. It’ll get you 90% of the way there and you’ll be amazed at the immediate improvement in your skin (not to mention all the money you’ll save).

Step 1: Proper Cleansing

Facial cleansing is the most important step in any skincare routine, pivotal for maintaining healthy, youthful skin. Throughout the day, our skin is subjected to environmental pollutants, dirt, and excess oils, which can clog pores and lead to various skin issues. Only by diligently cleansing our faces can we effectively remove these impurities, preventing breakouts and congestion while giving you a clear, healthy complexion.

Furthermore, cleansing primes the skin for optimal absorption of subsequent skincare products, ensuring that active ingredients penetrate deeply for maximum efficacy. With regular cleansing, you support the skin's natural renewal process, encouraging cell turnover and revealing a fresh, radiant appearance. In essence, facial cleansing is not just a routine task, it's a crucial step in nurturing your skin's health and vitality, ultimately helping you maintain a youthful glow today and for years to come. 

We suggest a powerful yet gentle, natural skincare like Hear Me Raw's quadruple-mushroom cleanser Good Clean Fungi. This gentle scrubbing cleansing balm uses oyster, reishi, chaga and tremella mushrooms along with sunflower seed oil, vegan squalene, and jojoba beads to exfoliate, cleanse and hydrate skin instantly. It also helps restore skin's lipid layer and is great at removing makeup. Your skin will be naturally clean, soft, healthy and happy. Unlike synthetic cleansers which can be damaging to the skin and have no nutritional value, the natural ingredients in Good Clean Fungi are high in protein and minerals and contain nutrients like vitamins A, B3, B5, B6, and D, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, salt, iron, and zinc, nourishing your skin to health.

Step 2: Proper Moisturizing

Moisturization is akin to giving your skin a drink of water—it replenishes moisture, locks it in, and maintains the skin's hydration levels. Properly hydrated skin appears plump, smooth, and youthful. Not moisturizing, or not moisturizing well, can dehydrate skin which often manifests as dull, rough skin, prone to fine lines and wrinkles.

A good moisturizer not only hydrates but also provides essential nutrients and antioxidants to nourish the skin. Again, unlike petrolatum-based moisturizing ingredients like petrolatum, mineral oil, PEG’s (e.g., propylene glycol) that form a “seal” on your skin not allowing it to attract moisture and function properly, and has no nutritional value whatsoever, use plant-based ingredients which are naturally moisturizing and nutrient-rich. They help attract and retain moisture, fortify the skin barrier, and protect against environmental aggressors.

We recommend Hear Me Raw's The Hydrator ultra-nourishing moisturizer. Instead of petrochemicals, it uses the succulent tissue and root system of prickly pear, or cactus flower, because nothing retains water better than a cactus. It also uses superfruit maqui berry and Mexican poppy stem cells to retain moisture and watermelon oil, coconut water and cucumber to attract moisture. Brimming with vitamins, minerals, omega-3, 6 and 9, your skin will be beautifully healthy and radiant.

What Else?

As we said, proper cleansing and moisturization gets you 90% of the way there. Well, what about the other 10%?

Anti-aging: If you’re concerned about the signs of aging, while everyone is looking for that next great “anti-aging” product, the truth is that outside of proper cleansing and moisturization, sunscreen is the best product to protect your skin from aging. You see, the sun and environment are responsible for 95% of premature aging and no serum or treatment can prevent or current that. Use a natural sunscreen, those that use zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.

While that will slow the process of aging skin, you still might want a treatment to get younger-looking skin. Try The Brightener oxygenating, radiance enhancing mask. This 10-minute mask uses chlorophyll, the energy source for all living things, spirulina (a dark green-blue algae), and lemon peel to oxygenate skin. It also uses powerful natural alpha hydroxy acids glycolic and lactic acids, and bakuchiol, a natural form of retinol) to exfoliate skin, bringing new, younger skin cells to the surface. Finally, it uses antioxidant-rich matcha green tea to protect skin against free radical damage. After 10 minutes, your skin will feel softer, firmer and more radiant. Follow it with The Hydrator for a beautiful, radiant glow.

Oily Skin/Acne/Clogged or Enlarged Pores: Unfortunately, when you have oily or combination skin, you’re more likely to get acne, enlarged and/or clogged pores. And all the washing in the world won’t make it go away (and sometimes makes it worse).

Try The Clarifier oil-controlling, pore-reducing mask. This incredible mask uses French Green clay which is naturally anti-bacterial and an excellent absorption agent to help absorb dirt and oil and help address acne. It also uses turmeric and sea kelp to reduce inflammation, clarify skin and also combat acne, zinc oxide to heal skin, and lavender and avocado oil to soothe and moisturize skin. One thing that makes this mask so special is that once it dries, you rub it off in small circles. This cause the removal to act like tiny pore strips, exfoliating dead skin, and deep cleaning pores. Follow it with The Hydrator for clean, clear, healthy skin.

Drab, Dull, Lifeless skin: Every once in a while you need to do a skin checkup. That means, making sure all the toxins that exist in skin from everyday use, environmental exposure, makeup, improper cleansing and  more, are out of your skin so it can be its healthiest.

We recommend The Detoxifier skin purifying, skin revitalizing mask. It uses charcoal, the best ingredient for purifying, along with Irish moss and Chinese Ginseng to purify skin, jojoba beads to exfoliate skin and coconut oil to soften skin. Like The Clarifier, you rub this mask off when it dries. The jojoba beads exfoliate skin, removing dead skin cells, allowing new, younger skin cells to the surface. Your skin will be purified, detoxified and revitalized. Follow it with The Hydrator for pure, radiant skin.

Go Powerful, Plant-Based, Simple (and Refillable)

In the end, it’s about keeping is powerful, plant-based, and simple. It’s the key the keeping your skin nourished, healthy, youthful and beautiful.