Let's face it (pun intended!), the world of skincare can be a confusing complicated space. I have been interested in beauty, including the beauty of my skin, since I was a young girl. I have made it my livelihood for the past two decades, and now as a skincare entrepreneur and product developer, I can assure you my opinion has not changed. In a time when there are tens of thousands of ingredients and even more products available to us, how does one navigate this world and feel good about our choices? There are a lot of diverse ways to get that answer and the list keeps growing. Many people look to their mother, grandmother, sister or girlfriend for guidance, others look to their esthetician (if lucky enough to have one) and yet others look at social media where anyone and everyone can claim skincare expertise. Thankfully, there are lots of folks who look to the likes of me for their skincare advice - medical aesthetic healthcare practitioners who include Nurses and Nurse Practitioners, Doctors, and medical estheticians. I am your guide who helps you navigate through this wild terrain much like the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. I will happily take you on this journey with me and will protect you by steering you away from the piranhas of skincare. We will avoid the overhyped hyenas and overpriced hippos, see those with clear/transparent benefit much like the "backside of water" and deliver you safely and beautifully home with a set up (regimen/routine) that delivers a lifetime of beautiful skin.
I have said it before and it is worth repeating that I have treated thousands of women (and some men too, of course) over my 20 plus years as an aesthetic Nurse Practitioner. I have done so many consults regarding treatment and skincare plans I have lost count, but it is in the tens of thousands! I am not a mind reader, but I can predict what will come out of a patient's mouth with great accuracy. Why? We all want the same thing and want to go about it the same way. There are outliers, of course, and I can help those folks too. I consider myself both the average consumer who has fallen into the trap of promised goods/fountain of youth and a skincare expert who damn well knows better! We set out to demystify skincare and designed it for the bust modern person who wears a million hats and desires healthy skin that is as radiant, glowing, smooth and toned as it can be.
One thing I have done consistently over my career is asking my patients to bring in their entire skincare "collection" for me to see when I first meet them. Often, people are using choice ingredients at the wrong time and/or unknowingly doubling up on one ingredients and leaving out vital others. I have seen people go way beyond a K Beauty 10 step routine and I have seen patients who never wash their face. I have seen it all and I have made it my mission to break it down, unravel the mystery, clear out the confusion and with a little education, present a system that will meet the needs of most and fit into any lifestyle.
We set out to simplify an overly complex world. We are exposed to so many opinions and recommendations that our heads are like little tops spun around and ready to fly off. Or at least that is how I have felt. In the past, in my very own office, I would carry the products of three or four different medical grade skincare lines. Each company offered 10-30 products or more to choose from, each boosting this or that ingredient or benefit, but I could not find the perfect comprehensive yet streamlined regimen that would suit most of my patients without breaking their bank or willpower.
I do not know if you know, but I always want the best of the best! The best for me, my family, my friends and my patients. I like to share my knowledge and my talents even with my colleagues and so-called competition (there is enough for everyone), and I do not hold back. We spent YEARS and YEARS in the research/development stage so that we could design the most comprehensive, state of the art formulations that cover all the ways our skin ages, apply them when the skin is ready to absorb them and deliver the best of the best clinically tested ingredients available.
The fact is that the skin ages internally and externally. It ages from free radical damage, inflammation, glycation, DNA/Mitochondrial damage, etc. etc. etc. It ages because our collagen, elastin, natural moisturizing factors etc. decline from the passage of time, these constant assaults or simply good old genetics (thanks mom and dad)! We are bombarded with UV exposure, pollution and lifestyles that contribute to the aging of our skin depending on the quantity and duration. The bottom line is no one escapes aging. We all need help IF we want it. it is a choice and a privilege and a luxury for certain. I consider myself and my patients the lucky ones. We have had access to those products I consider the créme de la créme and it is the mission of THE ROUTE to bring that type and quality of high-end medical grade skincare, and of course bump it up as many notches as we can, deliver ingredients at their tested doses and formulate with those doses for maximum results and make it available to everyone, not just those who cross the threshold of my office in Newport Beach!
I am known for saying a few things over the years and one of these ideas is skincare does not work if you do not use it daily or over time. The skin does not regenerate over one day, one night, or even one week. I do not care what the fancy TV or magazine ads say. If you see overnight results, it is because your skin needed moisture. That is half the battle: skin loses its natural moisture and we need to replenish it. The other half is treating what has already appeared on the skin, preventing as best we can what could happen in the future and repair what will inevitably happen. You can treat with gold standard tried and true ingredients or state of the art, technically advances ingredients. You can use antioxidants, anti-inflammatory ingredients, natural extracts and skin benefitting botanicals, peptides, amino acids, alpha hydroxy acids or hyaluronic acids. The best products and the most efficacious products and routines incorporate all of the above. The big caveat is that all these ingredients need to be and should be used at the clinically tested level, not the marketing level (just a sprinkle to say it is in there). Our products have been created with the most thoughtful comprehensive ingredients available today with the help of our world renown chemist - we thought of EVERYTHING!
Your skincare routine is the foundation to healthy and beautiful skin. How you treat your skin daily and over the long run is key to successful proactive positive aging. What you apply to your skin every day and every night unlocks the secret to good skin quality, youthfulness and a beautiful appearance. I can recommend the best regimen available (THE ROUTE of course, duhhhh), but if you don't use it consistently or live a lifestyle that counteracts their benefit or worse, creates harm, I don't know how to help you. It is always a wonder to me (frankly, it blows me away!) how many patients come in for expensive procedures (Botox, laser, fillers) and do not have a clue about day to day treating/maintaining skincare that will boost their results and keep it lasting longer by creating a synergistic complimentary course of action.
Make skincare a habit like brushing and flossing your teeth every morning and every evening. Think of it as gross if you do not, and good if you do! With the average person using at least 12 personal care products per day, a minimal maintenance skincare regimen was something I wanted, and I know that this philosophy would resonate with others as well.
AM/MORNING ROUTE(ine)
1. CLEANSE: Use a skin compatible/respectful non-soap cleanser. The skin needs to be gently cleansed in the morning to remove the previous night's buildup. THE ROUTE will launch our cleanser August 2021!!! Stay tuned!
2. TREAT & MOISTURIZE: Use a daytime appropriate, skin compatible moisture/hydration, daytime targeted antioxidants, botanical extracts and super peptides. THE EVERYTHING DAY® daytime moisturizer
3. TREAT & MOISTURIZE THE DELICATE EYE AREA: The under-eye skin is thinner and more prone to the effects of aging than the rest of the face. Our award-winning product targets under eye circles, puffiness and fine lines and wrinkles with extra color-correcting and blurring elements. THE SUNNY EYES® daytime eye cream
4. TREAT & PRIME: A specialty hybrid skincare/makeup layer for those who desire more skin-loving moisture, more texture enhancing, more glow and a perfect skin prep for smooth long-lasting makeup application. THE GIRLFRIEND™ makeup primer
5. PROTECT WITH SPF: Use your favorite SPF worn daily rain or shine, whether you are indoors or outdoors, whether it is spring/summer/winter or fall and whether you want to or not. Remember, the best SPF is the one you wear every day! Also coming very soon from THE ROUTE!
PM/EVENING ROUTE(ine)
1. CLEANSE: Use a cleanser that can both remove makeup & pollution AND gently, respectfully cleanse the skin. Stay tuned for a game changing new cleanser from THE ROUTE, launching August 2021!
2. TREAT: Use the gold standard #1 way to combat the signs of skin aging. Our next generation retinoid serum is unlike any other - well-tolerated even with the first use, non-irritating and has a cult favorite status at THE ROUTE. THE GOLDEN RULE® gentle retinol serum
3. TREAT & MOISTURIZE: Use a nighttime appropriate, skin compatible mildly occlusive moisturizer, hydrators, nighttime targeted antioxidants, botanical extracts and super peptides. THE EVERYTHING NIGHT® nighttime moisturizer
4. TREAT & MOISTURIZE THE DELICATE EYE AREA: The under-eye skin is the thinnest of the human body and prone to accelerated aging and most prone to show the signs of aging. Our retinoid is gentle and skin's #1 age fighter, and is combined with nighttime actives - the result is superior eye care. THE NIGHT NIGHT EYES® nighttime eye cream
*AND don't forget THE PARTY PEEL® at-home chemical peel as your once to twice a week go to for immediate, glowing, PARTY-ready skin. It is our secret to revealing you most radiant complexion without an appointment!
That's it! Everything healthy, radiant, smooth glowing skin needs. Developed for all skin types, formulated even for sensitive skin. Everyone should be able to use it. Even the two extremes (Dry & Oily) do well with our products. Understanding the diverse way we all age and the various categories and functions of ingredients will help solve the skincare puzzle. Each superstar ingredient does not need its own formula as they can be expertly combined to give you one multi-tasking formula full of beneficial ingredients at their highest doses - you do not need 5 treatment products just to get them all in. There are the basics, the essentials, the do not misses. We will continue this journey, no doubt adding this and that along the way. Watch each step, mind the gap, and enjoy THE ROUTE to happy, healthy, beautiful skin.
Xox,
Nurse Nancy
