2022 Cabinet Cleanse

At Dr. Elsa Jungman We are all about minimalism when it comes to your skin. First and foremost because we believe everything that you put on your skin should be beneficial for your skin, and nothing less. If your goals this year include organization and starting fresh, join us as we embark on a “cabinet cleanse”. Declutter your cabinet and declutter your skin for a year of minimalist, microbiome friendly skincare. Your skin will thank you, trust us.  

Step 1: 

Review your daily skincare routine. Does your skincare routine serve your skin? Up to 60% of what we put on our skin gets absorbed. That means what your put on your skin can greatly affect your overall health. Because the FDA does not regulate skincare, almost any ingredient can be incorporated in formula, some of them can be incredibly harmful to your microbiome.

Many ingredients found in traditional skincare products (face washes, lotions, sunscreen, etc) have now been linked to health issues such as allergies, eczema, cancer, hormonal disruption, and reproductive problems. Look out for harmful additives that might be harming your skin instead of helping it some common ingredients that have been proven to hurt the microbiome are:

• Essential oils 
• Added fragrances- usually listed as Phthalates
• Alcohol 
• Mineral Oils
• Parabens (Methyl, Butyl, Ethyl, Propyl)
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfates (SLS) - these are used to make certain skin products lather and bubble, which might feel like it’s helping your skin, but its actually stripping you microbiome. 

Step 2:

Instead, Opt for microbiome-friendly minimalist Skincare. Our line of serums & cleaners only use minimal & vegan ingredients that won’t strip your skin of its microbiome and will keep you hydrated all year long. 

Step 3: 

As you look through your cluttered cabinet ask yourself how often you really use all the skincare you have, and check the expiration dates. Many skincare items expire after 6 months to a year. If your skincare is expired, the ingredients could be useless, or at worst, harmful to your skin. 

Step 4:

Use this new year as a chance to reintroduce yourself to your skin. We recommend a “skin cleanse”.

It’s important to recognize that your skin isn’t sensitive, it’s smart. When you feel like your skin is out of balance (or feeling dry & dull) it is most likely trying to communicate that to you. To discover what could be the trigger, try eliminating your skincare and make up for a few days for your face (except what is recommended by CDC or by your healthcare provider). For example, if you’re wearing makeup during the week, you limit this to only the weekends.

Pause using all of your products (with the exception of anything prescribed or recommended by your healthcare provider), starting with makeup. That eliminates the need to do a harsh cleansing routine at night. Depending on your skin profile, cleansing your face is not always a necessity and reducing it can help protect it better and use less skincare over time. Once you start to eliminate certain products, you’ll start to be able to tell which ones you actually need. For myself, moisturizing my skin is a necessity but I stopped exfoliating, doing masks and I only gently cleanse when I have been wearing makeup or sunscreen. My skin is now much less dry.

If you’re feeling up for it, try challenging yourself by cutting products out for two weeks (except any prescriptions or sun protection). Your skin cells take 2 weeks to regenerate, so this allows you to really notice what factors are impacting your skin.

Step 5: 

Test your microbiome. If you are curious to know your skin in the most intimate, scientific way possible, check out our Skin Microbiome Kit. With one swab you can meet the trillions of bacteria & fungi living on your skin’s surface. Your results will allow you to understand if your microbiome is unbalanced, and what steps you can take to repair it. (P.S. It’s 25% off right now). 

As you cleanse your cabinet of harmful skin care, remember to replace it with effective and gentle products. This new year we are committed to putting our health, and our skin health, front and center, we hope you’ll join us.