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Is the Universe Trying to Tell Me Something?
I have no shame. I’ll admit that 80% of the products I buy are recommendations from The Skinny Confidential Him & Her podcast, and they haven’t steered me wrong yet.
But there was one episode in particular that caught my attention back in December. Lauren and Michael had on Dr. Dendy Engelman, a top dermatologist in New York City, and Justin Seidenfeld, the founder of a company called Canopy that’s “revolutionizing the humidifier.” Apparently, humidifiers are powerful skincare tools, especially in the winter months when our skin dries up.
I was all too familiar with that dry winter skin around the time of the episode. I was frantically throwing whatever products I could at my skin, and was stopped in my tracks when I heard Dr. Dendy say that applying too many topical products can actually strip away our skin barrier and make the winter dryness worse. Oops.
Apparently, humidifiers start at the source to keep our skin hydrated and protected, which means less product, less dryness, and less exposure to harmful sh*t in the air. I thought: Cool, but what makes Canopy so special? And then Justin started talking.
Canopy is Breaking the Mold (Literally)
Who doesn’t love a good origin story? Turns out Justin and his business partner Lucas set out to create Canopy when Lucas kept watching his girlfriend scrub her humidifier clean every Sunday. (Ah, true love. When will someone start a company to make my life easier?)
When they started doing real research into the idea, they noticed a bunch of other shortcomings in traditional humidifiers, too. For one, they looked more like industrial eyesores than an accent to a home. Plus, they needed to be filled with distilled water (a pain to buy and store), and yet they still turned moldy and gross quickly anyway. Hence the weekly Sunday scrub sessions.
After countless design iterations, Justin and Lucas landed on the Canopy Humidifier. It was design-forward and sleek, dishwasher-safe, and it filtered, treated, and evaporated tap water before dispensing hydrated air. That meant no more lugging distilled water jugs around, and no more mold. The humidifier of the future was born.
A Perfect Marriage of Wellness and Beauty
The health benefits of humidifiers are seemingly endless. Sleeping in a room with clean, hydrated air keeps colds and the flu at bay (a god-send for new parents), helps to alleviate allergy symptoms, improves sleep, and hydrates and protects our skin.
But Justin and Lucas found that the benefit that resonated with most people was the skin-healing one. They didn’t have much experience in the skincare and beauty world, so they pitched their idea to board-certified dermatologic surgeon Dr. Dendy Engelman, who was just as excited as they were.
She was already recommending humidifiers to many of her clients, but few were actually using them due to the usual pain points. When she saw Canopy had addressed those pain points, she was all in and joined the Canopy team. The rest, as they say, was history.
“The Healthiest Skin Happens to be the Best Looking”
According to Dr. Dendy, it’s no coincidence that healthy skin looks the best. And for healthy skin, we need a strong skin barrier. Our bodies are great at making this on their own, but it gets tougher for the skin to defend itself when there’s less moisture in the air.
She mentioned that to combat this, many people hop on the next-best-skincare-trend (feeling seen), layering and mixing too many active products that their skin doesn’t need. This can actually increase inflammation, damaging the skin barrier and even accelerating signs of aging—a phenomenon called “skin-flamm-aging.” Basically, the exact opposite of what we’re trying to do with skincare.
And even if we’re not stressing out our skin with excess products, the issue with many topicals is that they’re kinda like band-aids: they don’t address the root of the problem. But with a humidifier, our skin barrier gets the hydration it needs to strengthen on its own. (We love a natural cure.)
Canopy is Fighting Dryness, Bacteria, and Overspending
When our skin barrier is healthy, a bunch of other good things happen. In the podcast, Dr. Dendy laid out three main benefits from using a humidifier like Canopy:
- Reduced dryness, sensitivity, and dullness. With a strong skin barrier comes locked-in hydration, so we can actually use our hands and look good while doing it.
- A strong skin barrier protects from bacteria and pollution. Our skin is great at keeping bad things out and good things in. We come into contact with gross toxins and pollution in the air every day, and we need a healthy skin barrier to defend us.
- Enhanced efficacy of topical products. Many of Dr. Dendy’s clients find they can use less of their existing products or even remove some steps altogether (like medicated shampoos or topical steroids). Canopy does the hydration heavy-lifting for them.
Another Recommendation, Another Purchase (Again. No Shame.)
I mean, I obviously caved and ordered a Canopy. And let’s just say that The Skinny Confidential amazing-product recommendation streak is still alive.
First off, it’s really cute. There are a bunch of colors to choose from, but I went with the green—and it looks great on my bedside table. Plus, it took 60 seconds to set up. All I did was pop in the paper filter, fill up the tank with tap water (New York’s finest, baby!), and press “auto.”
It’s a mistless humidifier thanks to the absorbent filter, and this is where the magic happens. It doesn’t make my room wet and gross with excess moisture like traditional steam-emitting humidifiers do, and it has smart-sensing tech that keeps it running until every drop of water is gone—so it always stays clean and mold-free.
I also loved that it came with a scent-diffusing stone to diffuse essential oils with. Canopy has some fire scent collaborations, but of course I bought the Skinny Confidential scent set…and all three blends smell so good I’m thinking about getting the limited edition Skinny Confidential diffuser for the living room, too.
I noticed a change almost instantly after sleeping one night with this baby by my bedside. I didn’t feel the urge to lather on Aquaphor in the morning and I woke up without cotton-mouth for the first time in months. And after a week, the omni-present dry patch under my nose was history. I need to know why more people aren’t talking about Canopy.
Turn Cold-Weather Skin Into Old News
Using my Canopy Humidifier is a routine I’ll keep up with all year long, not just in the winter. According to Dr. Dendy, our skin can always use the hydration. Plus, I’m a little creeped out about the toxic particles floating in the air (I’m in NYC, after all) and I’m not taking any chances with my skin barrier.
There are a few different options online, but I recommend saving money with the popular subscription option—which comes with the humidifier, a filter, and three aroma kits for $125. This activates a $25 subscription billed every 45 days that keeps you fresh on new filters and aroma kits. Since Canopy has a 30 day return policy, I can’t think of a reason not to give it a go.
Take it from the pros like Dr. Dendy: the Canopy Humidifier is the first step towards hydrated, healthy, and beautiful skin.
