I always like to say that I was blessed with terrible skin. From my early teens, I've suffered about every skin condition known to humankind (and some that, I imagine, are not). Because of it, I began scaling the aisles of Sephora and Ulta at an early age in desperate hopes of finding a cure-all (or at least a cure-something) for my troubled skin.
What ended up happening instead was that I tried hundreds of products, studying ingredients lists harder than I studied any college textbooks. Over the years, I eventually curated a routine that left my skin better than ever before — though much work is still yet to be done.
Cultivating a presence in my friend group as the girl with a skincare product hoarding gift, I always had friends come over for Sunday face mask nights or product recommendations when a pimple crawled up the night before a date.
To be clear, this wasn't just my female friends.
Yes, the beauty world has lots to do in terms of the way they market their products mostly to women. But with the rise of interest in socially conscious beauty brands and in brands that support a higher cause of gender-neutrality in marketing, more and more beauty brands with a passion for social justice and compassion for the LGBTQ community have come forth — and with good reason.
These are the brands paving the way for a more gender-inclusive space in skincare.
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