© Petros Studios
Beauty
We asked industry experts to draw a roadmap, and here’s what we learned
For the modern skincare savant today, ingredients aren’t intimidating—and the proof is in the numbers. Search queries for individual skincare ingredients are peaking at an all-time high, with ‘what does Vitamin C do for your skin’ clocking in a staggering amount of over one million searches in the past year, according to reports. The rise in education about skincare has corresponded with a larger market shift towards products that put single ingredients in the spotlight and allow users complete control over what they are feeding their skin. However, do single-ingredient products fall prey to the deceit of one-size-fits-all? Will layering too many individual ingredients achieve the opposite result? Can individual ingredients ever replace conventional formulas? We placed our questions to the experts in the biz, and here’s what we found.
“Simply put, single-ingredient beauty products boast of only a single active ingredient that is geared to one main issue,” says celebrity skin expert Dr Harshna Bijlani. The ubiquity of products that focus on a specific hero ingredient can be traced back to clinical skincare label, The Ordinary. Prudvi Kaka, chief scientific officer at parent company Deciem, elaborates, “Products that focus on a main active ingredient have existed for a long time, but The Ordinary was among the first brands to include the chemical name of an ingredient within the name of the product. The decision to name our products in this manner stemmed from the need for consumer communication with integrity when it comes to skincare. By educating consumers on ingredients that are attributed to making visible improvements to their skin, we empower them to make informed decisions.”
For skincare enthusiasts today, the payoff of making the switch to single-ingredient products is bountiful. Kaka adds, “Single-ingredient formulations offer consumers versatility, as they are able to hand-pick the specific ingredients that will best target their main skin concerns, and layer them accordingly. For instance, if your skin concerns are primarily signs of congestion—visible shine, enlarged pores and textural irregularities—you may want use one single-ingredient product, such as niacinamide 10 per cent and zinc 1 per cent, or combine several single-ingredient products into a regimen depending on the severity of your skin concerns.”
Dr Bijlani recommends single-ingredient products for specific skin types. “This primarily benefits those with sensitive or allergy-prone skin who don’t want to use multi-action products for the fear that their skin may react to other ingredients adversely. Single-ingredient products enable them to use skincare products with more control over what they’re applying to their skin,” she says.
Ghazal Alagh, co-founder of The Derma Co., advises single-ingredient products for those who are looking to treat specific skin conditions in isolation. “If someone has a skin concern that has not been healing for a while, they should opt for products with a single active ingredient as it can help the skin from within. Single-ingredient products are ideal for skin concerns like acne, pigmentation, open pores and even dry skin,” she explains.
If you’ve always preferred layering products in your daily routine, you’ll find that the right cocktail of hero ingredients will help you check off your skincare goals. As a rule of thumb, Alagh advises moving in the order of consistency, from the thinnest to the thickest. She says, “Ideally, the actives should be used in order of pH, from lowest to highest. Lower pH actives, such as Vitamin C, AHAs and BHAs, can be applied earlier in the routine as they are able to sink deeper into the skin.” Higher pH actives meanwhile, such as Vitamin A, hyaluronic acid and most oils, should appear later in the routine, she believes.
In order to truly leverage the capacity of single-ingredient products for targeted treatment, she also recommends moving in a phased manner. “For instance, if one has acne and acne marks, it’s important to solve acne first by with salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide. Once the active acne has settled down, it is time to move on and treat the acne marks with niacinamide,” says Alagh.
If you’ve always had a hard time deciphering labels, Dr Bijlani foresees an easier route with single-ingredient products. “Considering the single ingredient is prominently mentioned on the label, it also helps understand what concern that ingredient would primarily work on,” she says. However, a certain base level of skincare knowledge will still be helpful, believes Shamika Haldipurkar, co-founder of homegrown skincare label, d’you. She elaborates, “The more one delves into cosmetic science, the more one learns that reading ingredient list is just scratching the surface in understanding the product. For instance, just reading the ingredient list of a cake won’t help you understand how to actually bake the cake or how the cake is going to taste. So, just reading the list is never truly an indication of product efficacy, but it is simpler to read in terms of the lesser number of ingredients.”
If you have more than one skincare concern, such as dry skin, acne and pigmentation, Dr Bijlani believes that you will need a longer list of active ingredients. She says, “Multiple actives can help you target several concerns with that one product itself, rather than layering multiple products which can, in certain cases, lead to blocked pores and skin.”
“If you’re using a single-ingredient product and have multiple concerns that need addressing, you will have to layer a number of them to give your skin all the active ingredients it needs. If you happen to be a price-sensitive consumer, I would recommend using a good multi-ingredient product than using multiple single-ingredient products,” she adds.
The Mumbai-based skin expert also believes that multi-ingredient products work well for maintenance and general upkeep of the skin or when you are not looking to troubleshoot specific concerns. Kaka seconds the notion, and adds, “One may opt to use conventional multi-ingredient formulas as a maintenance measure once the severity of their skin concerns has subsided.”
For Haldipurkar, skincare is a subjective matter, so it becomes tricky to construct go-to rules. However, as a rule of thumb, she advises, “Those who are well-versed with cosmetic science and have more than basic knowledge of skincare can mix and match single-ingredient products to build their routine. But for those who know only the basics and don’t have the time to either research more or invest in multi-step routines, an effective and well-formulated multi-ingredient product will leave lesser room for error.”
Ultimately, Dr Bijlani believes that the key to a successful skincare regimen lies in a two-pronged approach. “First, understand your skin and its needs and then, understand the ingredients and products you’re using. Ideally, if you’re someone who doesn’t have a deep understanding of skincare or are just starting out, I would recommend discussing your routine with your skincare expert and letting them help you get started. Once you’re comfortable and understand your skin’s needs, type and the ingredients that suit you, you can start experimenting,” she concludes.
What makes the Indian shopper buy beauty online in 2020?
5 Indian dermatologists on how they do their skincare shopping