Avoiding make-up is totally on trend: stars are increasingly appearing naturally on red carpets around the world and showing that beauty has nothing to do with artificial perfection. But this is not only about doing without make-up and the like—the message behind it goes much deeper: no one has to submit to social norms without believing in them. No make-up therefore stands for confident individuality. Social media shows that more and more people are embracing the unvarnished truth: there are around 20 million pictures and videos on Instagram under the hashtag #nomakeup.
In our article, we reveal why it is important to regularly go without make-up, what benefits the no-make-up look has, and how professional facial treatments support a radiant complexion. We also give you nine tips that will help you achieve beautiful skin without make-up.
Why you should regularly go without make-up
Whether simple everyday make-up or a glamorous evening version, make-up gives us the opportunity to balance small visual flaws and emphasise our strengths: mascara opens the eyes, contouring makes your face look more defined and lipstick colours and accentuates lips.
Beautiful skin without make-up: Let your skin breathe
Nevertheless, it is important to go without your favourite beauty products now and then because powder, bronzer and the like clog your pores. Daily make-up can therefore mean your skin breathes less well and regenerates more slowly from harmful environmental influences. In that case, even your evening skincare routine can only marginally improve things.
Do you feel years younger without make-up? That is not an optical illusion, but a fact. Although make-up is meant to even out unevenness, fine lines and the like, it makes you look noticeably older because it adds depth and contour. Foundations and concealers in particular also tend to settle into early wrinkles over the day, accentuating them instead of concealing them. Mascara, too, often leaves a black veil under your eyes after a few hours that looks like dark circles and makes you look older.
Image: Alena Darmel/pexels
Feeling beautiful without make-up is purely a matter of habit
Another important reason to leave the house without make-up now and then is that you have beautiful skin without make-up too! Nobody needs make-up to be beautiful! The make-up-free reflection in the mirror is simply a matter of habit. The more often you look at yourself without make-up, the sooner you will feel more comfortable without it.
Beautiful without make-up: 9 tips for radiant skin without make-up
Our tips for radiantly beautiful skin without make-up help strengthen your confidence and perfect the no-make-up look.
1. A skincare routine that suits your skin
You achieve beautiful skin without make-up with a skincare routine that ideally covers your skin’s needs. Before you stock up on cosmetic products, you should determine your skin type. Your trusted beautician or dermatologist can advise you on this.
Whether combination, dry or oily skin: a few fixed skincare steps suit every skin type:
- Exfoliate your skin twice a week to remove dead skin flakes and stimulate circulation. You do not need a high-end cosmetic product for this: homemade peels made with quark, coffee grounds or sugar, as well as drugstore products (without plastic particles!), also do the job. However, chemical peels are especially effective and gentle on the skin. Ease slowly into different active ingredients and concentrations.
- If you want beautiful skin without make-up, you need to supply your skin with plenty of moisture, because dry skin quickly makes your complexion look dull and lined. It’s best to use creams containing aloe vera, hyaluronic acid or urea. These give your skin what it needs.
- Beautiful skin without make-up requires consistent UV protection—all year round! Even when the sun isn’t shining or you spend the whole day at your desk, harmful UV radiation still reaches your skin. This causes premature skin ageing and can, in the worst case, lead to skin cancer. With an SPF of more than 30, you are well equipped every day and protect your skin from wrinkles.
- Other harmful environmental influences can also prevent you from feeling beautiful without make-up. If you spend a lot of time in cities with heavy traffic, for example, cosmetics that protect your skin from environmental influences—so-called “anti-pollution” products—are a good choice.
- Make sure to cleanse gently with a pH-neutral product and lukewarm water in the evening: avoid aggressive products even on oily or combination skin, and refrain from washing your skin excessively. A facial toner supports deep-pore cleansing and prepares your skin ideally for the care products that follow.
- Want beautiful skin without make-up? For a healthy, glowing complexion, be sure to use a serum—for example, one with vitamin C or niacinamide.
Image: Polina Kovaleva/pexels
Sanft & Schön tip: Regular professional facial treatments are the perfect addition to your skincare routine and real game changers for beautiful skin without make-up. Microdermabrasion Berlin Mitte creates a flawless glow, an Aquafacial Berlin Mitte supplies your skin with moisture, and Microneedling Berlin Mitte makes the first fine lines disappear. Do you suffer from acne? Alongside professional treatment, you can also find natural remedies for pimples. Our acne treatment Berlin helps you fight blemishes.
2. Beautiful without make-up thanks to a healthy lifestyle
We all love to enjoy a glass of wine every now and then, eat junk food, or treat ourselves to a bar of chocolate on the sofa with our favourite film in the evening. Even though it’s balm for the soul, these indulgences aren’t good for our skin. Unhealthy food causes impure skin and so prevents us from feeling beautiful without make-up.
Beautiful skin from within comes from a healthy, vitamin-rich diet. Make sure to avoid alcohol and cigarettes as much as possible. These promote dilated blood vessels and make your complexion look blotchy and dull. Excessive consumption can also lead to dry, flaky skin and make your facial features sag. Nicotine also blocks the formation of the skin’s own collagen, leading to rapid wrinkle formation.
Sleep is also important for beautiful skin without make-up: if you sleep too little, your skin looks pale and sallow, with dark circles under your eyes. Feeling beautiful without make-up is then hardly possible. Lack of sleep can also promote faster wrinkle formation as well as inflammation and irritation. So make sure you sleep at least seven hours every night.
Sanft & Schön tip: Foods like bananas, eggs, sour cherries, teas made from lavender, chamomile or valerian, and also walnuts supply you with melatonin or magnesium and are therefore considered especially sleep-promoting. Perfect for a deep beauty sleep and a restful night!
3. Fresh air for beautiful skin without make-up
A long walk in the fresh air or a short workout session in the park next door isn’t just good for your body—it also makes your skin glow! On the one hand, the sun supplies you with a healthy dose of vitamin D, which can have an anti-inflammatory effect; on the other, exercise boosts circulation. This gets more oxygen and nutrients into your skin, giving your complexion a rosier, firmer look.
4. Make use of changing temperatures
Even though changing temperatures—for example in winter—can take quite a toll on your skin, you can also put them to good use if you want to feel beautiful without make-up.
A hot steam bath opens up the pores of your skin, allowing sebum to drain and be removed gently. This prevents blemishes and makes your skin glow.
Sanft & Schön tip: A steam bath with chamomile tea also has an anti-inflammatory effect and is an absolute insider tip, especially for problem skin.
Cold water, unlike hot steam, is refreshing and invigorating. In the morning, a splash of ice-cold water gives your skin a burst of freshness that makes your complexion glow. During the day, a practical thermal water spray keeps your skin beautiful without make-up: it gives your skin the moisture it needs and leaves it looking nourished, plump and vital.
Image: Karolina Grabowska/pexels
5. Beautiful lips without make-up
You don’t need colour or gloss on your lips to make them look irresistibly beautiful. Here, too, the right care is the key to radiantly beautiful naturalness.
Use a special lip scrub (usually made from sugar crystals) at least once a week to remove dead skin flakes. This keeps your lips soft and smooth. Also be sure to supply them regularly with a good dose of moisture—your favourite lip balm is usually enough for this. Intensive lip masks that you can leave on overnight also work wonders.
6. Natural-looking eyes without make-up
The eye area is the most important area of the face for many people who use make-up. Mascara, eyeshadow and the like can create true works of art here.
If you want to feel beautiful without make-up as well, you can accentuate your eyes in a no-make-up look with petroleum jelly, for example. As a mascara substitute, carefully apply petroleum jelly with a small brush from the base to the upper edge of your lashes. This not only makes your eyes shine especially brightly; the petroleum jelly also cares for your eyelashes, allowing them to grow longer and thicker and fall out less quickly.
Well-groomed eyebrows are also part of a beautiful, make-up-free eye area. Perfectly shaped eyebrows give your eyes more expression and make your appearance look fresher and more awake. Do you not feel like plucking your eyebrows regularly? Then eyebrow waxing at a cosmetic studio is the uncomplicated, convenient solution for you.
7. Beautiful without make-up: A charming smile
Not only your skin but your smile should shine too if you want to feel beautiful without make-up! Well-groomed, white teeth are an absolute must for an irresistible smile. Therefore, brush your teeth at least twice a day and use dental floss daily to keep the spaces between your teeth clean as well.
To maintain the natural whiteness of your teeth, avoid foods with colouring ingredients such as coffee, tea or red wine and nicotine as much as possible. Visiting the dentist every six months is also a basic requirement for a charming smile.
8. Water as a beauty elixir for beautiful skin without make-up
An optimal fluid balance is essential for radiantly beautiful skin without make-up. The better supplied your body is with water, the more your complexion glows. If you drink too little or the humidity in the rooms where you spend time is very low, this draws moisture from your skin. The consequence: unsightly dehydration lines and wrinkles you would rather do without.
Ideally, drink two to three litres of water a day and also consume water-rich foods such as cucumber, melon or tomatoes. These additionally supply your skin with secondary plant compounds, vitamins and minerals, helping you feel beautiful without make-up.
Image: Ron Lach/pexels
9. Removing facial hair for a glowing complexion
Do you have lots of fine facial hair? It may make your complexion look dull and matte—even though you would like to shine beautifully without make-up. Removing facial hair can work wonders here: on the one hand, hair-free skin glows like never before; on the other, it can be cared for optimally because cosmetic products can be worked into the skin better.
We recommend having your face waxed—this means you do not have to shave constantly, and you remove dead skin flakes along with the hairs. Those who prefer a long-term solution can consider laser treatment as a permanent alternative.
Beautiful without make-up: Checklist for radiant skin without make-up
- A daily skincare routine tailored to your skin type
- A healthy, vitamin-rich diet
- Avoid alcohol, tobacco and sugar as much as possible
- Enough sleep
- Fresh air and exercise
- Hot steam baths and thermal-water spray
- Lip scrubs and masks
- Petroleum jelly as a mascara substitute
- Proper dental care for a radiant smile
- Supply your body with plenty of fluids
- Facial-hair removal