Evidence-Based Skincare: A Few Proven Actives Beat a Shelf of Products

Summary

A short routine built on a **few proven actives** (sunscreen, a retinoid, a basic moisturiser — plus diet, sleep and managing water quality) genuinely matches or beats a sprawling 5-product, 10-ingredient stack — and most of that stack is trend-marketing churn — but the honest version of "less is more" corrects two popular overshoots: the best-evidenced actives are *synthetic, not "natural,"* and skin "dependence" on products is **psychological/behavioural, not a physiological** thing your skin develops.