Multi Purpose Skincare: How To Juggle Parenting and Beauty

Spend time on shampoo AND conditioner? Take 2 bottles into the shower? Not me, I just want to wash my hair and go! For those reading this too young to remember the 90s, you won’t have a clue about that reference to the old Vidal Sasson Wash and Go adverts. For those who have just taken a trip down memory lane, I hope you appreciate the smooth link to this multi purpose skincare blog post!

If I remember rightly, this advert tagline spawned a multitude of jokes, but I guess the phrase “no publicity is bad publicity” is so true, as we all knew the product!!

But hairdressers hated, and still do, the 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioners, and for good reason, but despite not understanding the concept of shaving off a whole 1 minute of my time in the shower back in the 90s BC (Before Children), multi purpose skincare is something I am learning to appreciate now.

The concept of multi purpose skincare, I’m sure, has always sounded appealing to us all, but there has always been an underlying doubt on whether it was actually doing what it said on the tin (yes, that’s another famous advert reference!).

With advances in the science behind skincare we’ve moved a long way from the 90s and the early days of tinted moisturisers and BB creams, and we can now be confident that it is doing the job we’re paying good money for.

If you’d rather get stuck into a list of 15 multi purpose skincare products that are out there then go straight to this post here.

In case, however, you have any doubts about using these oh-so-useful-for-mum products that were truly wafted here from paradise (“No, Luton airport” – I’m so sorry…..I promise that’s the last old advert reference!!), then this post will go through all the benefits of using them. I bet you’ll be converted as there’s more than you realise…..

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– SKINCARE FOR MOMS: 15 OF THE BEST MULTI PURPOSE PRODUCTS

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What is Multi Purpose Skincare?

Multi purpose skin care products combine multiple skincare benefits and treatments into one. Rather than requiring separate serums, creams, and lotions for each skin concern, multipurpose products are designed to tackle multiple issues at once.

They usually contain multiple useful ingredients that address a variety of skin concerns. The best multi purpose skincare products do the working out for you on what ingredients work best together for a specific skin complaint. For example, niacinamide with retinol work well together for fine lines and other ageing concerns.

Back in 2016, when these products were relatively in their infancy, one survey found that “consumers globally perceived the top three benefits of multifunctional beauty products to be the simplicity of using a single product (41%), being better value for money (22%) and saving time (17%).”

What Are The Benefits of a Multi Purpose Skincare Routine?

Let’s have a closer look at all the benefits multi purpose skincare can give us:

Time Efficiency

We’re all in for gaining those extra few minutes! A mum friend told me recently her skincare and makeup routine is whatever she can squeeze in from the moment she presses the button on the toaster to the toast popping up……

Joking aside, it is more than a few minutes you will save with these products. Considering we should be allowing time between each skincare application for it to sink in, by using multiple actives and ingredients those “sinking in” minutes can rack up.

For example, a BB cream can act as your sunscreen, moisturizer, primer, and foundation. Similarly, a hyaluronic acid all-in-one serum could address wrinkles, uneven texture, dark spots, and dry skin in just one formula. That’s a lot of “sinking in” time back!

One of the biggest advantages of multi-purpose skincare is how it streamlines and speeds up routines considerably. As everything is combined into clever, timesaving formulations, we busy mums can have our regimes cut down to just a few efficient steps.

If you want to read more information on how to find time in our busy lives for some self care, hop over to this post here.

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Cost-Effective Beauty

For those on a budget or looking to save money on their skincare expenses, multi purpose skincare can provide an affordable solution.

Since multi purpose products combine many treatments into one, you end up needing far fewer overall items in your skincare regimen which can add up to big savings compared to buying all of those specialised products individually.

I say “can” because that isn’t always the case. If cost-effectiveness is your purpose for these products, just watch out that the one combined product does cost less than what you would have spent on the products individually. 

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Reduced Chances of Irritation

If you are using multiple products for multiple complaints there is a greater chance that you will get a reaction to one of them. 

Also, if you get a reaction when using 10 different products, it’s a heck of a lot harder to work out which one caused it.

While it’s tempting to think more skincare products mean better results, piling on too many serums, creams and masks can backfire. Overusing skincare, even products meant to help can overload your skin, leading to redness, dry patches, flaking, clogged pores and acne breakouts. The skin barrier, which protects against damage, can also be disrupted.

Multi-purpose skincare streamlines routines down to key steps with effective ingredients, avoiding the risks of over-layering. These simplified regimes are less likely to cause irritation or sensitivity since you aren’t bombarding skin with ingredient after ingredient.

Related post:
– SIDE EFFECTS OF USING RETINOL DEMYSTIFIED: YOUR ULTIMATE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE

Minimise Exposure to Unnecessary Ingredients

Granted, if you are using a 247-step skincare regime you’re getting 247 wonderful active ingredients into your face. But…..you are also getting 247 piles of other necessary, but not-so-nice ingredients like solubilisers, pH modifiers, perfume and preservatives. 

As I say, these are necessary ingredients, and in 2 or 3 products are absolutely fine, but with the 247-step regime, they will certainly add up potentially leading to the aforementioned irritation issues.

Travel-Friendly Portability

Multi-purpose skincare also provides excellent portability and travel-friendliness. Since the products consolidate many steps into one, you end up with far fewer bottles and containers overall. 

This makes them much easier to pack and organise for holidays. No more hauling your entire bathroom cabinet to continue your regime – you can keep consistent with whatever routine you have, wherever you are. 

It also leaves more space in your suitcase for the souvenirs!!

Of course, it’s not just holidays this portability helps with: work bags, gym bags, day trips, overnight trips…..there are plenty of circumstances these products can help.

Multi Purpose Jobs

Not only can these multi purpose skincare products treat multiple complaints at the same time, like for example retinol and niacinamide together, some products can be used for entirely different purposes in different locations on our bodies.

Take for example the RMS Beauty Raw Coconut Cream. Just take a look at this impressive list of jobs it can do:

• Makeup remover
• Cleanser
• Moisturiser
• Hair conditioner
• After sun
• Natural deodorant
  
  

Best Ingredient Combinations

As already mentioned, multi purpose skincare products are specifically designed so the combination of active ingredients works perfectly together to deal with the skincare complaint they are targeted for.

Let’s face it, as busy mums, we just don’t have the time or inclination to work out what active goes with what, so it’s pure magic to have the experts do that for us.  

As an example, vitamin C is often added to SPF moisturizers because it can help amplify UV protection. The vitamin C neutralizes free radicals induced by sun exposure for healthier skin. Additionally, niacinamide is combined with retinol in some serums since it helps reduce the irritation that retinol often causes. 

Preventing Contradicting Ingredients

Of course, the flip side to the specialists doing the hard work of perfecting the skincare combos for us is there is no risk of us crashing and burning trying to plan it ourselves. 

There are SO many products out there all promising different things in different ways, we are bound to make mistakes and get active ingredients that contradict each other. For example, retinol and vitamin C do not make good bedfellows and if layered incorrectly can deactivate each other.

No risk of this with mulit purpose skincare!

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Supports a Minimalist Lifestyle

I love the look of skincare products. They’re just beautiful…..all of them! But I also love the look, and feel, of a decluttered and organised bedroom/bathroom. 

Unfortunately, the more lotions and potions we have, the more chance there is of a cluttered space. Not so with multi purpose skincare! There are fewer bottles required giving you an easier job of storing and organising them. Giving you more space to fill with other unnecessary crap!

More Sustainability

With multi purpose skincare products, not only are our bathrooms/bedrooms less littered with bottles but so are our landfill sites. When you condense multiple steps into one product, there is less packaging waste to discard. 

Many multi-purpose formulas also utilise responsibly sourced or upcycled ingredients. Some brands opt for plant-based plastic packaging that biodegrades faster.

Others implement programs to refill or reuse containers. The overall reduction in materials makes multi purpose skincare an eco-friendly choice.

Tips on Using Multi Purpose Skincare

1. Be careful when using multi purpose skincare products that you are not doubling up on your actives and potentially causing irritation to your skin.
   
   It can happen if you’re unaware that a product has a certain ingredient when it has so many. Not all of them are mentioned in the advertising bumpf either.
   
   Take for example an anti-ageing multi purpose moisturiser: part of the way it works on wrinkles may be due to the retinyl palmitate that these types of products typically contain, but you’ll have to hunt for it in the ingredients list. What you don’t want to do, in this case, is use a separate retinol product as well.
   
   Another classic mistake is getting a multi-purpose product with salicylic acid when you are using Glycolic acid separately. 
   
   
2. Check the prices of these products. If you’re buying multi-purpose skincare products for cost-effectiveness, you want to ensure that one product is cheaper than two bought separately.
   
   It’s not always the case……sometimes the unique selling point for the brand of that product being multi purpose means they whack the price up.
   
   
3. Don’t buy these products just for the sake of it if it doesn’t work for your skin type. What matters most is the care you put into meeting your skin’s needs, and sometimes, the products separated may be best for you and your skin care routine.
   
   If you wear a lot of makeup it probably is better if you buy separate products that remove the makeup and then cleanse the skin rather than the 2-in-1 variety.
   
   Having said that some amazing products on the market can genuinely do both, but just be careful you do get one of those and not a common-or-garden double cleanser.
   
   
4. Assess your skin’s needs before you click on those “buy now” buttons. Don’t get something just because the flowery marketing makes it sound awesome – it’s got to work for your individual needs. An amazing multi-purpose product may work wonderfully overall for dry skin, but that’s pointless if you have oily skin.
   
   Seeing as there are so many different skin types out there you may well have to do a fair bit of research.
   
   Which leads me nicely to the next tip…….
   
   
5. Be careful not to set your standards too high. You very well may have 4 to 5 different skin issues you want to deal with, but it’s very unlikely you’ll find the one magical unicorn product that caters to all of those. Kudos to you if you do though!
   
   Multi purpose skincare products are designed for the ingredients to work in sync with each other and unfortunately, our bodily issues don’t always work the same!
   
   You may well have to go with 2 multi purpose products that deal with the 4 or 5 issues you have…….and that’s still better than 4 or 5 products.
   
   
6. Don’t forget to adapt to your skin’s changing needs. Some of us are dreadful at emotionally accepting change but our skin will do so regardless.
   
   Your skin will change as frequently as the time of your monthly cycle, the season of the year and let’s not forget your age! You’ll need to adapt your products accordingly if you want the best for your skin, and that will mean reassessing what it needs.
   

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I’m going to end this post with a little confession: I use 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioners!! There I said it……feels good to get it off my chest, and I just hope my hairdresser isn’t reading this!

Not all the time, just when the speedy need is required. I’m a bit of a Neanderthal when it comes to my hair, and to be honest with you, I don’t really notice a difference when I use the separate versions.

My thinking is if that is the case for me with what is arguably a cheap non-specific 2-in-1 hair product, just think how good a quality these scientifically designed skincare products must be these days!!

As busy mums, finding time for extensive skincare routines can seem impossible. But with the clever innovation of multi-purpose products, caring for our skin doesn’t have to be difficult. Incidentally, you can have a look at my evening routine that I use to ensure I make time for my skincare

These efficient all-in-ones provide numerous benefits from time and cost savings to portability and preventing irritation. By combining compatible ingredients that target multiple concerns, multi purpose skincare gives us simplified regimes that work.

So there we go. Next step….find yourself some awesome multi purpose skincare products. I have a list of what I consider the best 15 products I’ve found, as your starter for 10, for you to go and check out. The good news is there are new products regularly brought out, now that companies have cottoned on to this being what we, the consumers, want.

Over to you…….what do you think of these relatively new and emerging products? Are you ready to ditch the multiple bottles in your cabinets yet? Let me know in the comments below and do let me know if you’re a dab hand at them already…..

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