Is it time to quit skincare?

Oooh, controversial.

In case you missed it, people are apparently quitting their skincare routines for healthier skin – and we need to talk about it, immediately.

Because it pretty much goes against everything we’ve ever said on Mamamia and the You Beauty podcast, and look – it makes us a little (a lot) uncomfortable, soooo… let’s break it down.

*Holds skincare products close to chest*.

Watch: Here are 7 ways to improve your skin while sleeping. Post continues below.

FYI: this isn’t just another random TikTok trend. The concept actually comes from Dr Erin Tjam, also known as the ‘Beauty Obsessed Scientist’. 

She’s a professor, health educator and co-author of a book called Skin Sobering, which tells us that 99 per cent of skincare products actually age and harm your skin.

What a… terrifying thought.

In her book, Tjam and physician and skin specialist Dr Ryuichi Utsugi, examine our reliance on skincare products, looking at the impact of marketing in the beauty industry.

Because while we’ve all had it drilled into us that happy, healthy skin requires a consistent skincare routine, these experts say skincare products are actually doing the exact opposite.

Dr Tjam and Dr Utsugi write, “Skin sensitivities, dryness, and diseases have reached epidemic proportions in children and older adults, in addition to rampant beauty problems.” 

“We wrote Skin Sobering to teach people to care for their skin without products, a simple approach that really works, despite the beauty industry trying to silence us.”

Wanna find out more? Here’s everything you need to know about ‘skin sobering‘.

What is ‘skin sobering’?

In short, the whole premise of ‘skin sobering’ is about paring your skincare routine riiiight back. Like, literally just using lukewarm water to wash your face. 

Yep, a zero-step skincare routine. Zero cleansers. Zero serums. Zero creams.

Why? Well, according to Dr Tjam and Dr Utsug, our skin anatomically cannot absorb anything without damaging it – making products not only useless but harmful to our skin.

In an interview with Author Hour, Dr Tjam explains it like this. “Our skin is an excretory organ. It’s an organ that’s meant to pass waste, to push on waste through sweating. So its main function is to get rid of waste.” 

“At the same time, our skin is a protective organ. It has another major important work, which is preventing things from getting through. It is an impermeable barrier.”

“When you know the very basic anatomy and physiology of the skin, then ask yourself – can an excretory organ, which is similar to our anus and our urethra, absorb or eat something? It is not a digestive organ, this particular organ is not designed to eat anything or to absorb anything.”