Is short contact therapy what your skincare routine needs?
Short contact therapy is the latest buzz term in skincare, and it’s all about taking a conservative approach to high strength ingredients.
Many Australians have advanced their skincare literacy in recent years, but things still get cloudy when it comes to how much and how often high-strength ingredients should be used.
In an effort to simplify this conundrum, skin cycling gained popularity last year and now short contact therapy is emerging as the newest approach to using actives and prescriptive strength retinoids while avoiding irritation.
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What is short contact therapy?
Much like skin cycling, short contact therapy is all about using high-strength skincare in a conservative fashion.
But rather than alternating products, this practice involves all kinds of treatments, actives, and retinoids – albeit for short bursts of time – before rinsing the product off.
“Short contact therapy in skin care involves using high strength actives that are applied topically to the skin for a short period of time,” leading Sydney dermatologist Dr Liz Dawes-Higgs says.
“This method is often used as some active ingredients are quite potent and can cause skin irritation if left on the skin for an extended period of time.”
Some examples of high strength active ingredients are alpha-hydroxy acids, beta-hydroxy acids and retinoids.
Reducing their exposure might sound counterproductive, but short contact therapy still exposes the skin to the benefits of such ingredients, without the pitfalls that often come with it, such as dry, irritated, and inflamed skin.
“Short contact therapy is a great way of applying active ingredients if you have sensitive skin as it minimises the risk of irritation whilst still providing the benefits from the high strength actives,” Dr Dawes-Higgs says.
The practice isn’t exclusively for those with sensitised skin and can actually benefit various skin types, according to Liz.
“Limiting your exposure time allows you to see how your skin will react to strong ingredients, even if you don’t have sensitive skin,” she says.
“Some active ingredients can be irritating even on normal skin types.
“I advise my patients to start retinoids slowly to minimise the initial skin irritation that can occur.”
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A gentle approach to skincare
Victorian skinfluencer Sam by the Counter believes short contact therapy has a place in the skincare community, but he’s hesitant about any skin practices that claims to be suitable for all skin types.
“Short contact therapy can be useful if your skin is easily sensitised, but it’s difficult to predict if you’re actually receiving the full benefit of the active in that short amount of time,” Sam says.
Furthermore, he cautions about using prescriptive skincare in any way that veers away from the product’s directions of use.
“For something like tretinoin, directions – not trends – should be followed.
“If your skin can’t tolerate a particular strength, first try a lower strength and if you’re still experiencing irritation, short contact therapy can help you to acclimatise to the product,” Sam says.
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Written by Charlotte Brundrett.
