How to Decide Whether to Buy a Product

Commentary on Taking Care of Yourself and an Easy-to-Follow Process

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, just a cartoon deer on the internet with a background in chemistry and a hyperfixation on skin. This is not medical advice.

If you’ve been following me on Twitter for long enough, you know that my mentor is Alex Feinberg. Among the most important lessons I’ve picked up from him is this mental model: “How can I achieve better results by doing less work?”

I advocate for putting in minimum necessary work to achieve great results across all areas of my life, especially with my two great loves: hypertrophy (“stimulate don’t annihilate”, homage @BowTiedOx) and skincare. This is why I find it hilarious that the most common argument I get from unkempt men against skincare is “this is too much work”. Man, if taking ten minutes twice a day to keep yourself well-groomed is too much work…lol. Y’all crack me up. Taking care of your skin is so easy! If you don’t think so, it’s time to re-read (or read for the first time?) 3 Basic Steps to Skincare.

But anyways, there are also people doing too much to their skin. Compromised skin barrier is a real issue which is why I want you to understand exactly what you’re putting on your skin before you do so. Corporations are incentivized to scare and manipulate you with jargon and buzz words into using a thousand different skin products. Personally, my skin routine is four steps and takes less than ten minutes - I am a convenience maxi and I even brush my teeth while waiting for product to soak in.

So, in an effort to reduce confusion and help you decide on your own if you should try a new product, I’ve developed an easy thought process to follow:

1. What problem am I trying to solve?

2. Why do I think this product could be the solution?

3. Do I understand how it works?

4. What are the side effects? Do I know how to mitigate them?

5. Do I understand how to use this product correctly?

For example, let’s say I have mature skin and am curious about retinol. Here’s how I’d map this out:

1. The problem I am trying to solve is fine lines and wrinkles

2. Retinol could be the solution as it increases cell turnover and stimulates collagen and elastin production

3. Yes, I read Retinol Part 1 and now understand why retinol is a suggested product for anti-aging

4. Side effects could be irritation and dryness. I could mitigate them by adapting the frequency with which I use it and by leveraging the corneocyte phenomenon or the sandwich method. I also know that I should not be using vitamin A derivates if I am trying to conceive, pregnant, or nursing.

5. Yes, I’ve read Retinol Part 2 which details how to use it safely

This process will encourage you to identify your specific skin issues while preventing you from wasting money on unnecessary product.

That’s all for now! Happy skincare!

@BowTiedFawn

Note: you can now book consultations with me! Check it out here or DM me on Twitter to book with ETH