Overheard an older esthetician telling a client 'back in my day we just used witch hazel and it worked fine' and it got me thinking about how much our product knowledge has evolved

I was at a continuing ed class last week in Denver and this seasoned pro (30+ years in the biz) was saying how when she started, ingredient lists were like 5 items long. Now I look at the back of a hydrating serum and it's a novel. She wasn't knocking new stuff, just saying we maybe overcomplicate things. Made me wonder if we've gotten too reliant on 10-step routines when simpler stuff sometimes works. Anyone else feel like the industry has swung way far into fancy formulations?

3 comments

3 Comments

faith_king3d ago

Totally with you on that. I used to be all about grabbing the stuff with the longest ingredient list thinking it was doing more. But hearing how those old school routines held up for years honestly changed my mind.

carter.casey3d ago

Whoa, wait, 30 years in the biz? That blows my mind honestly. @the_amy you make a solid point about that middle ground because I don't think we need to toss out everything new, but those old school routines clearly had something going for them. Ngl, it does make me wonder what we'll look back on in another 20 years and laugh about using.

the_amy3d agoMost Upvoted

That perspective actually shifted something for me. Used to think more ingredients automatically meant better results, but hearing how basic routines held up for decades makes me reconsider. Maybe we need a middle ground where smart formulation meets actual simplicity.