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By Shilpa Bhim

What’s the old saying? New Year new … skincare routine? 

Ok so you don’t actually need to overhaul your whole skincare routine just because we’ve ticked over into a new calendar year. But, the new year does present a fresh start and a whole lot of new trends to try out - which extends to skincare of course!

We’ve scoured the best sources for the hottest skincare tips and trends for 2022. 

All you need to do is have a read and test them out - go on, 2022 is the year to mix things up a little with your skincare!

LET K-BEAUTY GUIDE THE WAY (AND YOUR SKINCARE ROUTINE)

K-Beauty has been dominating the skincare scene for a few years now, and it’s here to stay in 2022. Top tips and trends for K-Beauty in 2022 include:

• Retinol infused skincare. ICYMI, retinol (aka Vitamin A) has been the holy grail skincare product over the past couple of years! And it’s just getting started. In the 2022 K-Beauty scene we can expect to see more retinol-infused serums, face oils, and masks landing on our shelves.

• Prickly pear seed oil. Like liquid gold in oil form! Prickly pear seed oil is a potent moisturiser and helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and prevent premature wrinkle formation, while also brightening dark under-eye circles, calming redness, and brightening and evening out your complexion overall. It can also help relieve sunburn.

• Fermented ingredients. Think things like fermented tea, kombucha and fermented rice water. They’re known for their anti-aging properties, because, well, science! Fermentation causes the molecules in an ingredient to be smaller, meaning they absorb better. Fermentation can also produce fruit and sugar acids and amino acids, which exfoliate the skin and act as the building blocks of peptides to help fight fine lines and wrinkles.

WE LOVE A GOOD MULTITASKER 

Lockdowns through the pandemic meant a lot of people started getting into a decent 10 step beauty routine. But as things are opening up, and we’re getting out a lot more, expect to see the return of multi-tasking products in 2022. Think serums and moisturisers that target multiple concerns or double up as a primer or base, and let’s not forget about a great overnight mask (watch this space for more on overnight masks…)

MICRO TREATMENTS WILL BE MAJOR

We all love to book in a good facial, but they can be expensive and take up a fair amount of time. 2022 is all about adding your own micro treatments to the mix! Incorporate facial tools into your routine for that facial feeling, without the impacts on your time and wallet.

Speaking of micro treatments, micro dosing is expected to continue as a skincare trend in 2022. This is where you regularly use small amounts of potent ingredients like Vitamin C, AHAs/BHAs and Retinol to prevent irritation.

SUSTAINABLE SKINCARE WILL SAVE THE DAY

Eco-friendly skincare products and packaging will be big in 2022 - and it’s likely to be a continuing trend as we look to do our bit to help save the planet.

On the product front, expect to see a return of the beauty bar (i.e. the thing you used to refer to as ‘soap’). You can get a lot of skincare and hygiene products in bar form now: shampoo, conditioner, exfoliators, body wash and lotions. Better for the planet and better for you.

For products that aren’t sold in bar form, refillable packaging and aluminium packaging are expected to steal the spotlight in 2022. Aluminium is an excellent recyclable material and refillable packaging helps reduce excess packaging and waste.

INGREDIENT SPOTLIGHT 

Because everyone needs a top ingredient or two to take them through the year.

Niacinamide Is The Popular Girl!

Yup, she was huge in 2020 and 2021 and 2022 is no different. With good reason too. Niacinamide (aka Vitamin B3) can be used on all skin types and helps to renew, restore and strengthen the skin’s surface. It also helps with brightening dark spots and fighting free radical damage caused by air pollution and can help with managing acne. Expect to see niacinamide make an appearance in a lot of your skincare products this year.

Vitamin E Takes Centre Stage

We can’t let niacinamide have alllll the attention in 2022! Vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects and repairs your skin, and can help prevent premature ageing of your skin and damage to your DNA. Vitamin E also works really well with Vitamin C to shield skin against environmental factors (like pollution) and it’s a strong anti-inflammatory, which means it can soothe and calm skin irritation. Sounds like we’re on to a winner here!

So just a few skincare tips for you to try out in 2022. Which one are you most excited about? Let us know via Instagram or email us - we love hearing from you!

Shilpa is a freelance beauty and lifestyle writer from Melbourne, Australia. You can keep up with her adventures over at @skb.ontherun and check out her latest articles here.