Nearly 80% of U.S. cosmetic and beauty shoppers consider sustainability of a product, retailer, or the brand when making purchases, according to cleanlink. At Santa Barbara City College Cosmetology Academy, students and instructors help clients find skin care routines and invent new looks. 

For makeup looks and routines, Yessi Rios, a City College student and makeup artist, gives some suggestions for clients. 

“Preparing is very important because I ask what moisturizers they’ve used before, primers and what stuff they use to set their makeup,” Rios said. 

Some of the products Rios uses to prepare her skin before makeup, would be the Tacha Water Crème moisturizer, a hydraulic acid, and the Milk Hydro Grip Primer. However, everyone’s skin is different. For people with oily skin, Rios suggests translucent loose powders and a powder puff to set on the face. For more dry or normal skin, hydrating makeup products will be the way to go.

Some makeup brands Rios mentions that are trending at the moment are Rare Beauty’s and Charlotte Tilbury’s makeup and skin care products. 

“Everyone is wanting more natural glam looks because a couple of years ago there were dramatic eyeshadows, dramatic eyelashes, dramatic everything,” Rios said.

According to Rios, one of the biggest influences in the beauty community would be social media. Whatever makeup trends the student views on any social media platform, she applies to her work.

Sian Harden is an esthetician at City College’s Cosmetology Academy and contributes some tips and tricks on how to improve one’s skin and products she recommends to use. 

“What people want to focus on is barrier health,” Harden said. “They should learn to work with the oils of the skin, feeding your skin, stimulating healthy collagen elastin and using retinals and not retinols.”

She advises clients to be very careful with drugstore products because most of them are high in alcohol, which stresses skin of its barrier. Other things Harden suggests to stay away from would be byproducts in foods, anything with preservatives because they harm the body, and eating organic foods would help boost the body. Medication intake can also cause acne because it affects hormone levels from high levels of lithium or on an anticonvulsant in correspondence to WebMD. The esthetician adds that eating lots of sugars can cause breakouts due to high levels of Candida, a fungal disease found in yeast or sugar.

“I always tell people to be on a good prebiotic because they set the stage for happy probiotics,” Harden said.

The esthetician points out that skin is a “picture” of what’s going on inside the body. Therefore, to improve the skin, she encourages eating more high fiber vegetables and eating lean meats.

If clients are looking for products to use on the skin, Harden suggests a local and inexpensive business called Flor. Flor is known for its honey-based skincare products with no preservatives to harm the skin. She also suggests a line called Youth of the People, which clients can find at any Sephora store.

“The key to healthy skin is a healthy body,” Harden said.