Whenever I open social media, I find someone or the other sharing the next big skincare hack.

It’s partly the algorithm, as my work requires me to track what’s trending in the skincare space, but it’s also cultural. 

Cultural, because skincare has become less about care and more about identity. People now build entire personas around long, complicated routines, performed daily and documented meticulously.

What’s striking is the contradiction this creates. 

While we may be the most informed skincare consumers in history, our skin appears more fragile, more reactive, and more inflamed than ever. 

The issue here isn’t ignorance but information overload.

Skincare education no longer comes from clinics. 

It comes from our phones. 

So much so that 71% of consumers now discover skincare products through social media, and 81% are influenced more by peer reviews and influencers than by professional formulation guidance. 

Social platforms now dominate skincare education through repetition and reach, even though only 4% of those accounts are run by board-certified professionals. 

The result is predictable: unverified claims, distorted data, and a growing gap between confidence and competence. 

In the process, we are overlooking the fundamentals of skin biology.

Hence, 50% of the global population now identifies their skin as ‘sensitive.’ 

When I tried reading more, I saw that alongside this, the popularity of multi-step routines has also increased drastically in the last few years. 

While skin sensitivity is often assumed to be genetic, in many cases it is caused by overuse of actives, frequent exfoliation, and incompatible layering.

Consider hyperpigmentation, for instance. In late 2025, searches for it surged by over 1,000%. Yet a significant share of these cases were diagnosed as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation caused by aggressive product use. 

Even the anti-ageing narrative has begun to fracture. A 2025 report in The Times of India noted a rise in teenagers using potent retinoids, often without medical supervision. 

Retinols, while clinically valuable, should only be used once you are in your early 20s. 

Using it in adolescence can cause micro-inflammation when misused, thinning the skin prematurely and accelerating visible ageing rather than preventing it. 

I am not suggesting that active ingredients are a problem. However, social media rewards visible efforts and complex routines feel virtuous. Simplicity is seen as unsophisticated. 

Ironically, the skin only responds to balance and not effort.

Since balance is the key, the focus should always be on fewer products with the most impact.

For example, why use a moisturiser and a barrier repair cream separately when one moisturiser with Ceramides (since they help repair the skin barrier) can do the same job? 

That’s just one example of how strategically choosing products often achieves more than the accumulation of products.

So what does skin actually need?

A simple, functional routine that is remarkably simple to follow consistently:

• A gentle cleanser that maintains the skin barrier, ideally with mild exfoliating properties or ingredients like Zinc PCA to regulate oil production
• A hydrating moisturiser that keeps your skin hydrated all day
• A broad-spectrum sunscreen that offers advanced UVA, UVB and blue light protection without stinging under the eyes
• A Retinol, introduced appropriately and gradually, to address concerns such as acne, uneven texture, pigmentation, and early signs of ageing

Anything more is just an add-on and you should only do it to treat a specific concern or under your dermatologist’s recommendation.