What is a Skin Diary, and Why Should I Be Keeping One?

We’ve all been there: you wake up with a few news breakouts and wonder - is this from my new foundation? Or the pizza I ate last night? Could it be hormonal, or maybe just from not getting enough sleep last weekend? At times it can feel like an unsolvable mystery. Enter: the skin diary. 

What is a Skin Diary?

Keeping a skin diary is a technique our expert team will often recommend. It’s best to keep this consistently for 4-12 weeks to track any patterns which can help to understand what could be throwing skin out of whack. Our skin is complex, and there are so many factors which can contribute to its healthy functioning. Keeping a skin diary can be especially useful for inflammatory skin conditions such as acne, rosacea and eczema, or those with sensitive skin. 

What should you track with your daily skin diary?

📋  Skin summary

• How does your skin look and feel?
• Do you have any new breakouts today? Any dryness / redness etc?

🧴 Product Usage

• What skincare products did you use this morning?
• What skincare products did you use this evening?
• Did you wear makeup? What makeup and how did you apply it (with brushes, sponge etc.)
• Did you wash your hair? Which hair care products?

🧠  Mood

• How did you sleep last night? What time did you go to sleep/wake?
• How stressed were you feeling today? It might be helpful to measure this on a scale of 1-10 so you can easily track
• Did you exercise?
• Where are you in your menstrual cycle?

🥦 Food 

• What did you eat today? List all meals and snacks.
• What did you drink today? Be especially mindful to list any alcohol and caffeine. 

🌦️ Weather

• Were you indoors/outdoors today? What was the weather like?
• Did you have the heating on?

To get into the habit, we suggest keeping a notebook by your bed and doing this each evening before going to sleep. Once you have kept this consistency for 4 weeks, it’s time to take a look through and see if you can spot any patterns in how your skin might be responding to different factors. 

Understanding our skin can help us to manage any symptoms we are commonly experiencing and take actions beyond our routine to keep our skin healthy and happy. 

If you would like to connect with one of our experts to help you achieve your skin goals, start with our skin quiz here.