Could Personalized Beauty be the End of the Shelfie?
We all want great skin. We’re bombarded every day with images of celebrities and social influencers who consistently seem to have naturally flawless skin. Our quest for pore perfection has driven science to greater understanding of how our skin works, what affects the aging process, and the best methods to treat each skincare complaint. There are so many products on the market it’s dizzying: exfoliants and cleansers and moisturizers and toners and serums and rejuvenation creams and face masks — oh my!
With so many options, skincare addicts looking for the latest information turned to Instagram and other social media sites, where amateur and professional enthusiasts alike could share their favorite products and discuss what worked best for them. It wasn’t long before the #Shelfie was born as a new way to engage in the skincare revolution.
Hélène Heath, senior editor for the visual marketing firm Dash Hudson, described shelfies as “intimate and voyeuristic,” relatable, and aspirational. Beautifully arranged photosets of high-end products have found a fascinated and engaged audience on social media. Shelfies invite you into the inner sanctum of celebrities and influencers, revealing the lengths “flawless” people go to in order to get and maintain healthy looking skin.
In many ways, that makes shelfies the great leveller. They provide a glimpse behind the curtain, exposing the vulnerabilities of people we usually in their polished and primed state. Revealing your acne treatment or dry skin serum to the world is a daring thing on a platform where most photos have been run through Facetune before being shared. Shelfies remind us that we all have breakouts and bad skin days, and give us new ideas for products to combat them.
Shelfies help us navigate the crowded skincare marketplace
It’s the collaborative aspect of shelfies that has made them so enduring. Critics point out their brand culture and affluence signaling (even at a reasonable $36 per product, after 10 steps that’s a $360 evening ritual), and while it’s true that skincare addicts can splurge some serious cash on their favorite brands, that view of shelfies is only skin deep. In the comments of every shelfie post you’ll find an engaged discussion on the products featured, as users attempt to make sense of the wide array of ingredients available. Shelfies are an attempt to answer common questions people have about what skincare products are the best, and how they really work.
What if there was a better way?
While the fact our skin falls into several different types is well known, the true uniqueness of our skin’s individual needs is something that can’t be adequately addressed by the one-size-fits-most model of large brand manufacturers. Genetics, environment, and lifestyle play a role in the needs and condition of our skin, and what works for one person will result in back-to-back breakouts for another. Shelfies help skincare aficionados navigate the marketplace by sharing information about individual results, not generic corporate claims.
When it comes to skincare, less is more
As skincare users continue to question how individual products work for them, one fact has become more apparent: when it comes to skincare, less is usually more. “The 10-step Korean regimen is an ordeal for the skin,” says Dr. Christian Surber, a professor of dermatopharmacology at the universities of Basel and Zurich. His studies on the acid mantle — the protective layer of oils, amino acids, and sweat that covers our skin — suggest that overuse of harsh, abrasive products is the root cause of many breakouts and common skin complaints.
When we use a lot of different products on our skin, it’s hard to tell what might have caused that breakout, tightness, or tenderness. Was it one ingredient, or an interaction between several? When products with similar properties are combined, they can multiply their effects, creating more problems than they solve. And some common ingredients can cancel each other out, meaning the effects of your expensive serum could be negated by the moisturizer you apply afterward. Using many different skincare products, especially if they come from different brands, means you can never be sure which ones are truly effective, and which are causing the issues you’re trying to resolve.
There are other downsides to the extensive skincare collections often featured in shelfies, not least the fact it’s hard to use everything before it expires. Skincare products have “best by” dates, and ignoring them — as many people do — can have a detrimental effect on your skin. While for many products the effectiveness decreases with exposure to air and contaminants (think about all the bacteria you introduce every time you put your fingers into a jar of cream), some products get stronger with age, and can end up causing serious damage to your skin’s protective barrier.
Shelfies are bad news in this regard because they encourage skincare enthusiasts to keep their products out in the open. A bathroom worktop is one of the worst places to keep your creams and serums, because heat, humidity, and sunlight can all shorten their shelf life. Instead, your products should be kept inside a closed cabinet or vanity in order to make them last as long as possible.
How long is too long? Remember to check the expiration date and the period-after-opening (PAO) date on all your products before you use them. You’ll find the PAO symbol on the label or box, with the number of months it’s good to use after you first break the seal. Writing the opening date on the bottom of your products might not make for a great shelfie, but it will make using them safer and more effective.
Shelfies reflect the consumerism driving the skincare industry
The expectation created by shelfies is that skincare product collections are constantly changing and evolving. Nobody is interested in seeing the same four products photographed again and again. “This is a construct of the industry that wants you to buy more,” says Neada Deters. But your skin is a living organ and needs to be treated more gently.
Some skincare products work on the surface of the skin and effects are almost immediate, but others take effect at a deeper level and need time to work — perhaps months. According to Dr. David Jack: “If you’re using something like vitamin C, or retinol, that means a change on a cellular level, so expect to wait at least three months to see a benefit.” Other skincare ingredients that work at a cellular level include Alpha and Beta Hydroxy Acid, niacin, and most peptides. At minimum, every new product should be tested for at least 28 days (the average length of the skin cycle) in order to properly test its effectiveness.
The goal for skincare shouldn’t be to get your hands on the latest must-have product, or even attain flawless glass skin, but to promote skin health. What shelfies show us is that consumers really want effective skincare products that work well for them, and new technological advances are finally making that possible by creating personalized skincare solutions designed for each individual’s unique needs. The shelfie crazy might speak to people who are striving for great-looking skin, but personalized skincare is the product that can actually deliver results.
Take the guesswork out of skincare with personalized products
It’s time to get personal. Companies such as Function of Beauty and Qyral are breaking the pattern of excessive consumption in favor of a limited range of products that are engineered for each individual user. Rather than fitting into a brand’s model, the brand fits yours, and because the products are individually created for each user, they can also offer a wider range of choices to alleviate ingredient and ethical concerns. Don’t like dyes or fragrances in your shampoo? You don’t have to use them. Prefer your skincare to be sustainably sourced? Variable ingredient options mean you can give your body the nourishment it needs and do social good at the same time.
Personalized brands also tend to be smaller, women-owned, and committed to ethical business practices, for example Qyral has joined the Pledge 1% philanthropic organization to give back to the community. Large consumer brands instill the message that the more products we own and the more money we spend, the better we’ll feel about ourselves. When it comes to skincare, the opposite is usually true.
As more and more skincare aficionados are making the move to personalized products, the need for the shelfie is waning. Consumers are realizing that they don’t need shelves full of expensive products, and they can save time testing ingredients and combinations by investing in a simple range of products tailored just for them. Skincare fans can now get the same product information they’d otherwise spend hours researching in just the couple of minutes it takes to fill out a skin condition and lifestyle questionnaire for a brand like Qyral or Function of Beauty.
Are the shelfie’s days numbered? With better understanding of good skincare practices, and exciting developments in personalized products, more and more people are embracing their individuality and empowering themselves to realize their skincare goals without relying on an endless carousel of costly products. “The beauty industry has been one of the slowest to evolve and adapt and we’re part of the mission to change that,” says Qyral founder Hanieh Sigari. “The days of one-size-fits-all are numbered. Technology is eliminating the need for so many different products, and Qyral is joining that mission.”
