CAN 'QUIET QUITTING' SAVE YOUR SKIN?

Whether you're minimising your skincare routine or choosing products with fewer ingredients, here's a trend that could benefit your skin.

- BALVINDER SANDHU

The term quiet quitting” is an Internet phenomenon that has translated well into real life. The term was popularised by Tiktok user Zaid Khan, and refers to doing only the bare minimum at the workplace. Forget answering e-mails after you’ve left the office, or going above and beyond your job description to score points with the boss.

This approach has hit our skincare regimen too. Some people are quiet quitting by scaling back to the essentials and simplifying their beauty routine. This is unlike a skin fast, which involves going cold turkey on skincare products.

Dr YZ Tan, founder and medical director of Mizu Aesthetic Clinic, says this shift in focus towards skincare over makeup has taught us some lessons, such as how skincare trends and fads don’t work on everyone”.

“Everyone’s skin is different, so your skincare routine should always be tailored to what your skin needs, and it is not necessary to follow a 10step routine,” Dr YZ Tan says.

“Reducing your skincare to the basics with just a few essential ingredients can be a good way of helping your skin strengthen and repair itself. You are also reducing the risk of your skin reacting badly to an overload of ingredients.”

It’s also a case of scaling back after buying tons of products during lockdowns. Dr Melvin Tan, founder of aesthetic clinic Epion Clinic, thinks that spending more time online be it for work or leisure during the pandemic influenced our skincare habits.

“With the long periods spent on Zoom as well as the popularity of social media, people have been observing their appearances a lot more, and purchasing different types of products from different brands. This likely resultedina fairly extensive skincare collection,” he explains.