What prompted me to write this column was a similar beginner’s skincare guide on a certain platform, written by a trans minor, with loads of likes. It included the nonsense of using mineral water as a moisturizing mist. I was dumbfounded—as though we were back in the days of cucumber and egg-white face masks…
Skincare is actually a body of knowledge spanning the rational discipline of chemical engineering and the sensory experience of how products feel on your skin. It is useful and worth learning about whatever your gender or age—or perhaps you could call it a constructive technology of the self. Anyway, skincare for trans people is no different from skincare for anyone else, just as skincare for men is no different from skincare for women. Individual differences and needs matter far more than “category-based statistics.”
As a kind of information science, skincare has countless strands to untangle. There are two different starting points:
- Unhealthy skin
- Healthy skin and skin in suboptimal health1
…
1. Unhealthy Skin
If you think your skin is currently ill—for example, severe acne, severe inflammatory flare-ups or allergic reactions, severe redness from seborrheic dermatitis—go to a dermatologist at a proper hospital and follow their advice. These problems often require medical treatment. Even good skincare is only supplementary; doing things haphazardly will often make the condition worse. So if your skin is unhealthy, please see a doctor.
2. Healthy Skin and Skin in Suboptimal Health
If you think your skin, while not exactly great, is healthy or in suboptimal health—occasional spots, more oiliness lately, or dryness and peeling, a tired, puffy, been-up-all-night face…—then perhaps it hasn’t reached the point of needing a hospital dermatology visit. Of course, you can go if you want to. A dermatologist’s advice is at least more credible than covert ads and promotional posts on social media.
But remember: dermatologists aren’t magicians from the game Fate/Grand Order. They can’t invent some ointment beyond the capabilities of the actual chemical industry, something you put on and instantly get creamy-smooth skin. An ointment recommended by a doctor is not inherently “purer and cleaner” than skincare products. Worshipping pharmacy ointments in the name of science is superstition (not to mention that plenty of dermatology departments recommend skincare brands they collaborate with on research—the so-called “dermocosmetic” style of marketing). It’s no different from believing in some secret Chinese herbal acne remedy or being sold on a product by an influencer’s promotional post. The question is: can a skincare subject gain an objective, scientific understanding of the underlying body of knowledge—chemical engineering, ingredients and formulations? Perhaps what many people need is an epistemic authority to order them to use a particular product, so they can use it with peace of mind.
Right, I’ve wandered off. Suppose this skincare subject decides to take a step and think through their own skincare needs and options a little more. There are several things to consider—
A. Cleansing
This includes everyday face washing, makeup removal and so on. There are now all sorts of facial cleansers, from cream-textured face washes to pump-dispensed foams. How do you choose? Just buy from well-known brands’ affordable lines with the functions you need (this sentence will be repeated). Find something that feels good on your skin.
Broadly speaking, cleansing foam in the morning and a stronger liquid cleanser that can remove sunscreen in the evening will tend to work well. But don’t expect a cleanser to lighten your skin. Doing a good job of cleansing gently is enough.
Besides your face, keeping your body and hair clean is important too. Choosing shampoo for different hair types is an especially complicated matter. Lots of people, for example, want oil control, dandruff removal and itch relief—but how much oil control? Everyone experiences it differently. Some find a product too drying; others find it still isn’t enough… Today’s shampoo ranges tend to differentiate products by scalp type and need: dry, oily, sensitive… You can only find what suits you best by trying it. No skincare blogger’s product descriptions or recommendations can replace trying things for yourself—making your own gacha pulls.2 Where do you go to pull? Just look for well-known brands’ affordable lines with the functions you need.
B. Moisturizing
Without getting bogged down in definitions of hydration and moisturization, what the skincare subject needs is skin that feels neither dry nor too smothered. Almost every kind of skincare product—toners, emulsions, creams, serums, boosters… the names don’t matter; feel and effectiveness do—claims to moisturize. They simply vary in moisturizing power and how they feel. You need to assess your own skin’s condition and needs to choose a product. Even the same person will need different levels of moisturizing in winter and summer.
Broadly speaking, lighter, watery products meet moisturizing needs for oily skin and in summer, while richer lotions and creams meet those needs for dry skin and in autumn and winter. Obviously, talking only about watery products or creams without discussing ingredients and formulations is far removed from how things actually work. But you can’t give skincare beginners a biochemistry lesson on what ingredients do, so once again… just buy from well-known brands’ affordable lines with the functions you need. More on how to do that below.
A little tip: keep a moisturizing mist within reach wherever you spend time—at your school desk, in your schoolbag, at your work desk, by your bed… Use it whenever it occurs to you.
C. Sun Protection
Lots of people dislike sunscreen because it feels unpleasant on their skin. Fair enough. But advances in the chemical industry mean that plenty of sunscreens now feel very good. If you’ve had bad experiences before, try newer products from well-known brands. Chinese, Japanese and Korean brands all have good ones, with plenty of affordable options.
Besides occasions such as school military training, when you could get sunburned without it, avoiding tanning and sun-induced aging are reasons to use sun protection every day. Sunscreen lotion isn’t the only option: carrying a sun umbrella or wearing a hat works too. One current trend is to combine sunscreen, makeup primer, tone-up cream and base makeup—whatever these things are called—into a single tinted sunscreen. Makeup brands are also bringing out their own sunscreens with a base-makeup effect.
—I think this is a pretty good product category. Of course, if you don’t like tint and coverage, there are plenty of watery or lotion-like sunscreens to choose from. Whatever texture, feel or finish you like, there are options to try. The same goes for other skincare products, such as hand cream: browsing a physical store that carries multiple beauty and skincare brands, and trying samples for their feel and scent, is another good approach.
D. More
Beyond A, B and C, which apply to everyone, different skincare subjects have particular needs of their own: controlling oil, clearing whiteheads and exfoliating, lightening skin, fighting wrinkles and oxidation… Obviously, this column can’t go into detail about every intriguing new ingredient to watch for in each area. Nor do I want to repeat marketing slogans such as “vitamin C in the morning, vitamin A at night.”
The skincare subject first needs to understand their own skin’s condition and needs, and recognize that skincare has limits. If you keep breaking out, don’t fantasize about treating your acne and lightening your skin at the same time. Skincare products aren’t magic potions: they can’t take naturally yellow-toned or dark skin and turn it cool-toned and pale with one click of a smoothing filter. Expect too much and you’ll be bitterly disappointed.
For sensitive skin—which actually isn’t all that common—remember that if you want powerful effects, you may not get gentleness too—unless you really do find some amazing product that manages both (I’m not saying they don’t exist: say you want oil control, anti-inflammatory effects, acne treatment, fading acne marks, antioxidant effects… all together. There are products like that. But how can any particular person be sure? You can only find a suitable pull by trying and learning. Who but a sales livestreamer would guarantee it?).
So what do you do after assessing your needs? Just look for well-known brands’ affordable lines with the functions you need—for example, search for the queen of Chinese brands, Proya (珀莱雅), or its sub-brand Hapsode (悦芙媞), plus “skin lightening and antioxidant effects” (美白抗氧化) or “oil control and anti-inflammatory effects” (控油抗炎). Along the way, ask AI assistants such as Doubao or Kimi, or customer service at the brand’s flagship store. That’s more workable than expecting this article to give you an answer that suits everyone. If you want an authority to clear up your doubts, asking different AIs appropriate questions and comparing and analyzing their answers is one way to go. For example: “My skin type is… The weather where I live has lately been… I’m looking for, say, oil control and anti-inflammatory effects. Which ingredients should I look for? What kinds of skincare products should I buy, and what should I watch out for?”
What counts as a well-known brand? Internationally, there’s La Roche-Posay, Avène, Shiseido, KOSÉ, Innisfree and Amorepacific, for example. For Chinese companies, limiting the search to those listed on mainland A-share or Hong Kong stock markets gives beginners an easier starting point: Shanghai Jahwa, Proya, Bloomage Biotech, Marubi Biotechnology, Freda, Chicmax… (Note that these are group names, with many brands and product lines under them: Hapsode belongs to Proya, for instance, and One Leaf belongs to Chicmax.) Some fairly well-known pioneers of ingredient-led skincare, such as Zhiben (至本), Peterson’s Lab (毕生之研) and UMOUA (上水和肌), are good too, though not necessarily suitable for beginners. Finally, beginners: don’t start using some brand that’s just popped up on the strength of bloggers’ recommendations [95% advertorial]. Please, I’m begging you.
3. Medical Aesthetics?
Some experts will tell you skincare is small-time stuff: if you really want to become beautiful, you have to spend big on medical aesthetics—those fabled medical- and surgical-grade products. Leaving aside how often this is yet another ideology of authority worship manufactured by marketing, and leaving aside the fact that most people don’t have the money for aesthetic services that can easily cost tens of thousands of yuan…
The point is, for ordinary people, taking good care of your skin is simply better than high-risk aesthetic procedures.
I’m not demonizing medical aesthetics. But I’ve found that, for some subjects, it often serves as a high-priced indulgence3 once appearance anxiety (≈ existential and identity anxiety) takes over: a sublime object that diverts an eruption of anxiety, as though spending all that money on aesthetic treatments made you a wealthy-lady subject… Hold it, hold it. Get Doubao to recite some boilerplate critique of late capitalism’s cultural-commodity spectacle and sexual objectification, and cool off a little. If that still doesn’t work, go commission some OC art on Mihuashi4 and displace your desire a little.
As for which vitamins to take, they may benefit your body, but their effect on your skin is far too indirect. Instead of going on about supplements, you’re better off following the same old advice: go to bed early, get up early and eat healthily, okay?
4. Dealing Calmly with Yourself
Skincare and dressing up are both ways for a subject to deal with their own body. Whether you’re trans, a pretty girl or a handsome guy, if your lips are dry and peeling, put on lip balm; if your forehead is too oily and breaking out, focus on oil control and reducing inflammation; if you’re worried about getting sunburned or tanned during military training… These are perfectly ordinary needs. I don’t see any grounds for segregating skincare by gender. What differs is skin type and need.
Skincare can’t do much to change someone’s appearance. It won’t turn every ordinary person into a beautiful girl or boy. Usually, it simply restores and maintains the skin’s health and comfort. But the process also reflects each person’s particular ideas, from preferences about feel to preferences about scent. I even get annoyed by wide-mouthed jars because they’re such a nuisance to use… So think critically about other people’s recommendations and warnings, and find products that suit you by trying them for yourself.
One last word about budgets and where to shop. Lots of you are students without an income of your own. But don’t worry, kids: a budget of 100 yuan for two months is enough to put together a “cleanser—toner and moisturizer—sunscreen” lineup through the brand deals in Pinduoduo’s (PDD’s) “10 Billion Yuan Subsidies” promotion. These are often clearance items from big brands that haven’t sold well, or simply excess stock; that doesn’t mean they aren’t good to use. Keep looking, keep searching, okay? A sheet mask from a legitimate brand for one yuan really isn’t bad.
