Skincare can be somewhat complicated, especially with all the cool new products that we have available to us these days. With anything in life you need to understand the fundamentals of what to do and build your routine from there. Having a good basic skincare routine that you can default to, allows you to cut through all the beauty noise and choose products that are completely suitable for you. Most professionals can agree that there are only three basic steps you need in your skincare routine, with everything else being a bonus or additional steps included to treat your skincare concerns.
What order should my routine be in?
Routine order can be relatively arbitrary when it comes to the middle, but the beginning and end are set in stone. Your skincare routine must begin with a cleanse of some sort and end with an undisturbed layer of the correct amount of sunscreen.
Step 1: The Cleanse
Choosing the right cleanser for your skin type is always very important, for the days that I’m experiencing mild to moderate acne, I choose a cleanser that contains benzoyl peroxide or sulfur. Both ingredients help to calm inflammation from acne, kill bacteria and significantly reduce acne. For any cleansers containing actives, the key is to leave them on the skin for 2-5 minutes to give those actives a chance to really work. For those with dry skin, a cleanse can be as simple as using water and your hands to gently massage away debris and build up.
If you wear makeup your skincare routine will be slightly different and usually involve a two-step cleansing operating, starting with an oil cleanse and finishing with a hydrating cleanser.
Step 2: Moisturising
Moisturising is something that has been drilled into me, ever since I could remember. Using a moisturiser in your skin allows you to rehydrate your skin and support your skin barrier. Moisturisers typically contain ingredients such as hylaruonic acid, glycerin, jojoba oil, vitamin E and ceramides. You may have to rotate moisturisers throughout the year, depending on your skin type and the seasons. A universally loved moisturiser, across skin types would be the Kiehl’s Super Multi-Corrective Cream, which has a gel-cream texture and leaves your skin feeling ultra soft. If you are dealing with dry skin, your moisturising step is even more important to you. My dry-skin clients have fallen in love with the Eucerin Dry Skin Relief Face Cream 5% Urea, which uses urea to hydrate and smooth the skin
Step 3: Protection
By far the most important step in your entire routine! If you are not an avid user of sunscreen, you might as well throw your purse and whole routine away. The use of sunscreen helps to reduce your skin of some types of skin cancers, prevent your hyperpigmentation from becoming darker, keep your skin barrier working properly and prevent premature ageing. Sunscreen is the hardest part of your routine to get right, but once you have found one that works for you, you’re set for life. My personal favourite would be the Ultra Violetter Fave Fluid, which is a chemical sunscreen that leaves absolutely no cast on any skin tone and is ultra lightweight.
