When you think about what makes a good hair day, there are a lot of factors that go into it, from the weather to the shampoo you used in the shower that morning. But why don’t we take the same approach to our skin care? Many of us follow the same routine day in and day out, but mix it up when it comes to other personal care.
“I assess what my body needs from a diet and fitness perspective every day,” says Emily Parr, co-founder of new skin care line Current State. “Is it a coffee or green juice morning? Is it a yoga day or full length? In the same way, I ask my skin these kinds of questions. What does my skin need to be in a state of homeostasis? More humidity? Some exfoliation? We all want energized and smooth, radiant and toned skin. It’s our job to help propel you there. Current State seeks to bring the same kind of care we give to our diet and lifestyle to our skin – care that is in tune with our skin’s fluctuating needs.”
The philosophy behind Current State, which launches today, February 1, was inspired by the way we take care of our bodies. Parr’s early skincare brand, HoliFrog, was another important muse for the line, as they share a common focus. “For the past three years or more, I’ve been preaching ‘situational skin care,’ which is the notion of adjusting your skin care routine to your skin’s current needs,” says Parr. “It’s a philosophy that really resonated with our clients. It made sense to bring this concept to a broader audience at a price more people could afford. The current state is about tuning in to the current state of your skin and having a relationship with your skin – your skin tells you what it needs.”
Actual state
The inspiration
In other words, sticking to the same skincare routine is not the Current State way. “Routine-focused skincare doesn’t work,” says Parr. “Many of us have grown up learning that a specific routine is always the best way to go. In my opinion, routines set in stone are a thing of the past. Skincare is all about balance, and that calls for a more diverse and flexible regimen. I like to think of this approach as “holistic individuality.” You have to respond to what your skin is saying in real time. It’s pretty empowering to go off autopilot when it comes to skincare. For the most part, besides SPF and retinol, the rules of thumb are meant to be broken.”
The Current State’s name betrays that approach. Parr explains that the term “skin condition” has been used by doctors for several decades and is mentioned in virtually every medical journal dealing with the subject of skin. “It literally means skin assessment,” she says. “I was also very attracted to the word ‘current’. As she peruses social media channels (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube), she’ll see that the skin influencer community often shares their morning and evening skincare routines. But what I noticed is that a lot of these content creators were starting to introduce their product line with ‘my current morning routine’ or ‘my current afternoon routine’. I knew the word ‘current’ had to be in the name because more and more people were changing their routines based on their skin’s current needs. He wanted to give life to what was already beginning to happen. Current State breathed life into this idea of current skin assessment.”
The formulas
After years of learning about formulating products with HoliFrog, Parr channeled all of that knowledge into Current State. Single-ingredient, single-benefit formulas just aren’t your thing. “I truly believe in fine-tuned formulas, where there are multiple active ingredients in each product; each one has a precise and specific purpose, which produces a full-body harmony,” she says. “Current State products are nutritionally balanced and clinically responsive products that support multiple concerns, bringing multiple benefits back to your skin. Even our gel cleanser, which is often the simplest product in a skincare line, has 10 key (or as we like to call them, ‘intuitive’) ingredients.”
Take the Salicylic + Green Tea Exfoliating Cleanser ($17), for example, which claims to be much more than a cleanser and is essentially a treatment. Designed to combat breakouts while protecting the skin barrier, it contains 2% Salicylic combined with an AHA Fruit Complex to help slough off dead skin cells. Acids are supported with sunflower and grapeseed oils, shea butter, aloe and glycerin. There’s also a powerful antioxidant blend of green tea, mangosteen, and coconut. “What makes this formula different is that it has a creamy base, rather than a foamy one,” says Parr. “We kept the (plant-derived) surfactants in a very low percentage, so that the acids mixed with the cleaning agents do not cause irritation. I love throwing a skincare punch as long as there are supportive ingredients.”
Actual state
The current state falls under the “current core,” which is six skin food groups: exfoliation, fragrance-free plant oils, antioxidants, vitamins, skin-identical ingredients, and cell communication. “These categories are what I think your skin needs for a complete daily diet,” says Parr. “We created easy-to-follow Current Core icons so you can determine if you’ve had enough of your daily skin food groups. Don’t stress because if you didn’t get enough antioxidants today, then make sure you don’t skip tomorrow.”
the anti-routine
The inaugural line includes three cleansers, three serums, three moisturizers, and an eye cream. “We’re not suggesting that everyone needs all nine products from scratch, but instead create a skincare menu for yourself, based on your current needs, and add to it as new situations arise,” says Parr. “Even though you are living in the same state as someone, in the same city, on the same block, and maybe even in the same building, your skin is not the same as your neighbor’s or your neighbor’s neighbor. We all have unique needs and need to support our own skin in whatever state it’s in.”
The current state encourages “skin awareness,” which means you should listen to your skin’s needs and change or add products to your routine accordingly. Designed to be used intuitively, it also aims to break traditional skin type classifications. “For too long, people have focused on a one-size-fits-all class system,” says Parr. “Don’t get me wrong, I believe in inherent skin types, but I just feel like ‘type’ is only half the equation. Everything from the seasons to hormones to the environment we live in affects where our skin is today. That’s where having a relationship with your skin comes into play. There’s no algorithm, skincare quiz, or TikToker that knows your skin better than you do. You are the ultimate expert on your skin and that is where our skin training needs to kick in.”