Crusty Foundation? Time to Rethink Your Skincare Routine

Zephyr14
myskincare
Published in
4 min readMar 28, 2024

Have you ever experienced flaky patches or dry and tight skin after putting on your foundation? The secret could be lying in your skin-prep steps including skincare and makeup products along with assistant from these helpful beauty devices.

Source: EMAN Youtube Channel, 2017

Signs of An Unwell-prepped Skin

Multiple reasons could lead to a foundation base lying in your skincare routine. Have you noticed that the layer of foundation you applied does not feel smooth and looks cakey after a few minutes? This could be explained due to dehydrated skin, unexfoliated skin, or the use of specific products in your skin-prep step.

Reasons for A Crusty Foundation

Specifically, your skincare routine plays a crucial role in creating a flawless foundation base. A dry skin barrier is one of the number one reasons for a crusty foundation. The dry skin tends to have more pronounced textures, which means the product can not be applied smoothly. In other situations, the products that were used in your skin prep routine might not work well with other products. This makes the applied foundation glide and not stay input on the surface. A few steps recommended below to prep the skin could help your foundation go a long way.

Guides to A Smooth Foundation

  1. Moisturizing Serum and Moisturizer for a Hydrated Skin

Hydrating serums and moisturizers not only play crucial roles in your skincare routine but also the pre-makeup steps. A well-hydrated skin contributes significantly to a smooth foundation base. Dry skin usually appears flaky which reduces the smoothness of makeup products on our face. Furthermore, this also restricts the product from absorbing on the skin, leading to a flaky or cakey layer of foundation after a few minutes. Using suitable moisturizing products would be a significant game-changer in your skin-prep routine. This is due to the nurturing compounds in hydrating serum and moisturizer that help to maintain the skin’s natural moisture. A proper skincare routine and skin prep could help you achieve the glass skin look. Overall, the skin will have an even-toned and flawless look when applying foundation.

2. Sheet Mask — A Convenient Source of Hydration

Sheet masks are extremely useful to elevate the hydrating game of your skin prep routine. Similar to serums and moisturizers, sheet masks are made with the main purpose of nurturing your skin. Besides being hydrated and getting a plump look, your skin will also be pampered with different ingredients that help brighten up the skin or calm the active acne. Different skin will vary in need of a face sheet mask.

It is recommended that normal skin should incorporate sheet masks into their routine once a week while people with dry skin could use this product up to twice a week due to their skin traits. On the other hand, oily skin can use sheet masks up to once a week along with proper facial cleansing to maintain the skin’s moisture while avoiding further oil buildup (Garnier, 2024).

3. Don’t Forget To Remove Those Dead Skin Cells!

Having a flawless foundation comes from a naturally flawless skin base. To achieve such a state, exfoliating is one step that you should not skip. Dead skin cells would make applying makeup products less effective. Dead skin on the surface will pile up with the products creating an uneven color of the foundation. To avoid such a thing, multiple methods such as using exfoliators or beauty devices could be useful.

Exfoliators: Exfoliating helps to remove dead skin cells and leaves a smooth surface. On the market currently, there are two most common types of exfoliators — chemical and physical exfoliator. Different skin types and conditions would require and suit a different type of exfoliator.

Beauty devices: Companies such as FOREO have launched multiple devices that aim to not only deep cleanse the face, but also gently remove dead skin cells. Products such as FOREO LUNA or KIWI derma would be your great assistant in giving your pores a deep cleanse and removing the dead cells in the most gentle method.

4. Using Primer for Smooth and Flawless Makeup Base

One step to prep the skin that is commonly forgotten is makeup primer. These products come in different forms: gel, cream, or liquid formula. Primers do more than give the skin an even color. The main purpose of using primers is to “fill in” the large pores or areas with bumpy texture, preparing for a smooth makeup foundation. This process helps products such as concealer or foundation glide smoothly on the skin without sticking to dry patches or getting cakey around acne scabs (Metzger, 2020).

Key Takeaway

Multiple factors could lead to a bumpy or rusty-looking makeup foundation. However, the tips above (suitable skincare products and beauty devices) will help your skin-prep process become easier. Achieving a smooth and flawless makeup foundation will not be a problem!

References

EMAN. “How to Stop Foundation from Separating, Caking, Creasing, Getting Oily, Rubbing off Your Nose E.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 Aug. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=xlo7N8OmAnM.

FOREO. (n.d.). Complete lineup of Foreo Devices. https://flip.go2cloud.org/aff_c?offer_id=4&aff_id=2114&url_id=809&source=contbtech

Garnier. “How Often to Use a Face Mask Based on Skin Type.” Garnier, 6 Feb. 2024, www.garnierusa.com/tips-how-tos/how-often-to-mask-based-on-your-skin-type#:~:text=Diane%20Madfes%20recommends%20incorporating%20a,Madfes.

Metzger, Chloe. “What Is Makeup Primer and How to Apply It (Plus the Best Primers to Try ASAP).” Cosmopolitan, 6 Sept. 2020, www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/a28916977/primer-makeup-benefits/.

--

--