“My skin is oily and acne-prone. Shouldn’t I be laying off moisturiser? It’s a question I commonly get asked, and growing up a lot of us are indoctrinated with the popular fallacy that moisturiser and oily skin don’t go together. We cleanse to remove excess oil, dirt and grime from our skin. Because a lot of these things we don’t want on our skin aren’t water-soluble, most cleansers employ ingredients called ‘surfactants’ to help get rid of them. While you may not know what surfactants are, you’re probably well aware of surfactants popularly found in skincare products, especially sulfates such as sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate, which have gotten a bad rap in recent years. (Whether or not they deserve the bad rap they’ve gotten is a topic for later discussion.)   These surfactants attach to oil soluble substances and allow them to subsequently be rinsed off your skin. While cleansing is essential for your skin, rinsing the surface layer of lipids from your skin means your skin is more easily able to lose water, which is absolutely essential for its health, via evaporation. In order to compensate for this water loss, your skin goes into overdrive producing even more oil so your oily skin actually ends up oilier and if acne is a problem you face, the excessive oil production leads to more clogged pores and subsequently, acne that’s worse than it was before.   Using a moisturiser after you cleanse takes care of these problems by returning lipids to your skin and helping it retain water. So the short answer to the question posed at the beginning of this post is: yes, you definitely need moisturiser even if your skin is oily and acne-prone.   While using a moisturiser is essential, it’s also important that you’re using the right moisturiser for your skin type, so next week we’ll be discussing how you should choose a moisturiser that’s right for your skin. Stay tuned!  

My story starts in the nub of adolescence and disappointment. My very first pimples appeared when I was sixteen - and decided to make a home on my face for the next seven years, like unwanted tenants that fight hard at the mention of eviction. I searched long and hard for a solution, a sneaky means of fighting off the gadfly. I sought the assistance of several people who, having studied and practiced dermatology for several years, should theoretically have been able to solve my problem. A single step forward though, was always succeeded by two back. Many remedies and medicines later, things were worse than they had been to begin with. My skin in October 2016 It didn’t take long for me to realise the sheer absence of affordable and effective, science-backed skincare in the Pakistani market. I was acutely aware of the numerous myths that surrounded skincare and the lack of solid advice about how to actually care for your skin. While new local brands have been popping up left, right, and centre, in an attempt to capitalise on the sudden interest in all things “natural” and “organic”, they are not backed by science and rely on fear-mongering, engendering in their consumers a trepidation of the dreaded “chemical”, to make their products sell. Little do unwitting clients know however, that there is no concrete legal definition of the words natural or organic and that all things natural are also made up of chemicals - some of which can actively harm your skin and body. Water is a chemical and apples seeds, cherry pits and almonds, all contain doses of cyanide - a well-known, lethal toxin. My skin in January 2019 Against this backdrop, I wanted to build a brand on the foundations of hard-core science that offered consumers with problematic skin types safe, and effective products at a reasonable price point, along with education about their condition so they would get the most out of was made and sold. It was a difficult pitch because it went against what marketing was ingraining in consumers as conventional wisdom. With the swathe of people with skin problems, who had given up on doctors, that I’ve been able to help, and my recent appearance on Juggun Kazim’s channel (video follows), the challenge has been worth the effort.   Through the scars on my face that still persist, I realise that I wouldn’t be where I am today had it not been for all my struggles, for in the words of Steve Jobs, “You can’t connect the dots looking forwards, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”   Welcome to the blog! I thought the story of how AccuFix Cosmetics came to be would be a fitting place to start. I hope you enjoy it and find it informative. Lots of love!