You don't need to be a rocket scientist to personalise a skincare routine that works for you. An essential skincare routine should offer gentle cleansing of skin oils and cosmetics such as sunscreen and active skincare, Protection from environmental factors like the sun, and moisturising to support skin barrier and hydration. Think of these steps as the foundation of your daily routine - they facilitate skin health and prepare your skin for its daily (and nightly) encounters.
The Role of Skincare
Your skin needs to be healthy to function correctly and that’s where your routine comes in to consideration. If your primary focus is on ensuring the barrier function and PH Levels are correct, you can hardly go wrong. Cleansing doesn’t just provide a fresh canvas for skincare and makeup, it cleans the pore, balances the PH Level which is essential for skin functionality and allows for better penetration of clinical proven skincare ingredients to work. It also encourages small amounts of dead skin cells to shed so your skin doesn’t appear dull or congested. You may also notice your skin becomes easily irritated and flaky if your cleanser and its removal system isn't correct so ensure you provide attention to this key step.
The Starter Routine
- Identify and confirm your skin type and skin concerns.
- Find the following products for your skin type (this is how much oil - or lack of it produces) e.g Normal/ Moderate Oil Production, No Oil or Oily
- Cleanser
- Moisturiser
- Sunscreen
- Introduce your products slowly, obviously sunscreen is a morning only product and cleanser and moisturiser both morning and at night.
Expanding your Routine
There is no rule book saying you need a set number of skincare steps or that you even need to exfoliate. Its about listening to your skin needs...what are your concerns and what is ACTUALLY present in your skin. These attributes are how your select your product routine. Concerned about present pigmentation? Consider a lightening product or pigment prohibitor. Seeing blackheads and congestion developing? Consider an exfoliant and a supplement that can improve your sebaceous oil quality.
The only non-negotiable skincare steps are the ones numbered above and your skincare routine should also work for your daily schedule and the amount of time you want to put in. Cleansing though is a minimum 60 second routine, spend the time and you will notice the difference. We encourage spending money on great cleansing products with amazing ingredients, allow them the time to do their thing and of course always remove with the best Cleansing Tool THE CLEANSING CLOTH!
Michelle's Pro Tip - when building your skincare routine ask “What do I really need and is there evidence for this product I've heard about?” It can be very tempting to buy into marketing around products or complicated skincare routines but searching for the research behind the claims can help put it into perspective.
