This transcript was exported on Mar 17, 2023 -view latest version here.

Skincare can sometimes feel overwhelming. Whether it’s finding the right products, ingredients, or treatments, there’s a lot out there, but not always for people of African, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and Eastern South Asian descent. That’s why I set out to educate myself and others so that we can all feel beautiful in our skin. Hello and welcome back to The Skin Report. I’m Dr. Simran Sethi, an internal medicine doctor, mom of three, and CEO and founder of RenewMD Medical Spas and Skin by Dr. Sethi.

This is our very first episode of Season two. Thank you so much for tuning in today whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or this is your first episode of The Skin Report. We have a lot of great topics to cover in the coming months. For now, I’d like to kick off this season with my skincare trend predictions for 2023. This will be one of two parts, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you’re notified when part two airs.

Recently, I was interviewed by W Magazine about what I believed would be the biggest skincare trends of 2023. I found myself having so much to share that I want to carry that conversation over to the podcast. The first trend that I believe will continue to dominate in 2023 is skinimalism or easy skincare with minimal steps. While we have found stability, many industries are still feeling the ripple effects of the pandemic, including and maybe especially skincare.

In spending more time at home, wearing masks, and other factors, I believe many people experience a shift away from heavy or high coverage makeup and towards nurturing their skin instead. The days of 7-or 10-or even 15-step skincare routines are just not feasible, accessible, or sustainable for most people. I can completely understand people’s desires for the most efficient and easy routines that yield the best results. From a scientific perspective, your skin will like it too.

Buying and applying too many products can confuse the skin, and in some cases, increase skin sensitivity by breaking down the skin barrier. Using three to four high potency products for day and night is not only more affordable, but gives the skin an opportunity to fully absorb and escalate skin renewal. Even spending a little bit more on higher quality products will save you more time, energy, and money in the long run compared to purchasing and using 10 or more cheaper products that can cause problems of their own, causing you to buy even more products.

So what type of products should you consider using? I say stick to the basics: a cleanser or gentle exfoliator that cleans and clears their skin surface and pores, a multi-beneficial and restorative serum and an everyday, adaptable moisturizer. The right easy skincare steps can transform your skin.

The next trend that is here to stay is skin cycling. In season one, episode 25, we took a deep dive into skin cycling, including a step-by-step routine you can follow at home, a breakdown of popular TikTok, and more. That show proved to be one of our most popular ones. And for anyone curious about skin cycling or has sensitive skin, I’d highly recommend checking that one out.

Skin cycling is going to stick because it promotes proper use of high potency skincare products, often medical grade. This method gives the skin an opportunity to absorb, process, andactivate deep within the skin without overprocessing it. Skin cycling is really great for any skin type from the most acne-and sensitive-prone skin to balanced and normal skin.

Why does it work for every skin type? Skin cycling essentially trains the skin to understand the purpose of our skincare, which is to optimize our skin cell renewal, collagen regeneration, and protect and maintain a great skin barrier. And that’s another trend I believe we will see far more of in the coming months, skincare that restores our skin barrier.

The skin barrier is a component of the skin that performs an incredibly important function of the largest organ of our body. It protects us. A strong skin barrier prevents external or environmental damage to the skin. Subtle or obvious skin barrier insults can be caused by weather, our day-to-day over or wrong exfoliation, improper skin treatments, hot water, and even hormones and stress. A breakage in skin barrier appears as skin sensitivity, redness, and in darker skin tones, it makes the skin look unevenly pigmented. We will do an entire episode on skin barrier best practices this season.

For now, I’ll just say this: skin barrier is not using Vaseline or heavy oils on the skin like it’s skin slugging, as this can clog pores, leading to breakouts and debris. Building a strong skin barrier boils down to utilizing high potency, medical grade skincare that can penetrate the skin and encourage constant skin renewal.

The other and most important thing to consider when choosing products to build your skin barrier is to be purposeful and results-focused. This is where my plug for using medical grade products comes in. Medical grade skincare is more potent, which means the products penetrate to the deeper layer of our skin, the dermis. The dermis is where we build our skin’s integral proteins, mainly collagen and elastin. So to build a strong skin barrier, you need to invest in products that stimulate stronger collagen building. And medical grade skincare has been clinically studied to show exactly that. These products undergo rigorous testing to show results, unlike traditional over-the-counter brands. Finally, just because medical grade skincare is more potent does not mean it is harsher on your skin.

For all these reasons, my skincare line is full of skin-replenishing botanical ingredients that fortify the skin while delivering potent ingredients. Skin renewal and skin barrier function work hand-in-hand to keep skin smooth, glowing, firm, hydrated, and self-protecting from breakage, discoloration, and rashes.

The last trend I want to cover is not truly a trend, but rather an expansion of the skincare and beauty industry. I believe in 2023 and beyond, we will see more medical grade options for specific skin tones. I founded my skincare line because I searched above and beyond for any company that offered medical grade, high potency, and built-in knowledge about skincare formulations for darker skin tones and skin types on the Fitzpatrick scale.

Even as of 2020, a survey conducted by Lecare found that 63% of women of color felt ignored by the industry, with few products available to address their needs. We can see this in products that women of color often have no option but to use spot correcting, lightening creams, and harsh resurfacing exfoliants and peels that promise brightening, often damage the skin barrier in more melanated skin tones, and lead to more uneven pigmentation.

Historically, the beauty industry has only offered these harsh products as solutions for more melanated skin tones, but this just fights natural melanin production and leads to frustrating dullness and sensitivities. Darker skin needs nourishment and protection of the skin barrier and deep within the dermis to protect the skin from scarring, discoloration, and a slow skinrenewal. Therefore, retinals, brightening serums, exfoliators, and peels need to be paired with high potency lipids and calming ingredients to completely support the entirety of the skin while offering skin tone, skin texture, and skin health benefits. Nourishing key steps of the skin renewal cycle to optimize growth of new, healthier skin will minimize uneven pigmentation by balancing melanin production and creating clearer glowing skin.

People are ready for skincare products and routines that are centered not just around skin types like acne-prone, dry, or mature, but also every skin tone. While trends come and go, I believe there’s an overall theme here to stay, that nourishing the skin is more important than covering it up. Remember, your skin is your fifth vital sign. It immediately tells you and the world how healthy you are, and it’s the first thing people notice when they see you.

Finally, investing in your skincare will always be the best investment as you get to keep your results. Think about what happens when you apply makeup. You spend a decent amount of time and money on applying makeup, but at the end of the day, you literally wash all of that down the drain. No matter what makeup trends interest you, your skin will be with you for life, and protecting and loving that skin is an important journey for your health, happiness, and confidence. Thanks for listening. And until next time, love the skin you’re in and celebrate your beauty.

If you’d like to learn more about science-backed skincare or medical aesthetic treatments, please subscribe to and turn on notifications for The Skin Report so you always know when a new episode is up. We have a newsletter that you can sign up for on theskinreportbydrsethi.com so that you can stay up-to-date on all our new episodes, blogs, products, and more. Additionally, if you have a skincare question or want to make an episode topic recommendation, please message me at theskinreportbydrsethi.com, which is linked in my show notes, and I’ll be sure to answer your question in an episode soon. We’ve received some great questions so far, and I will try and answer them at the end of every episode. So keep them coming.

Transcript by Rev.com