Skincare 101: Beginner Skin Care Routine
Everywhere you look on social media, people seem to flaunt their flawless skin. Why is their skin so clear? What are they using to clean their face and maintain such healthy skin?
First, you need to understand that there is no miracle lotion that will do the job for you. Great skin comes with a little effort, and that requires self-discipline and routine. But that doesn’t mean that you need to have hundreds of steps in your skin care routine.
We like to keep things simple – use only what you need and not what everyone else is using. Your skin type plays a part in how you structure your skin care routine, but this guide will provide you with a good idea on how and where to start. Because really, there’s no better time to start taking care of your skin than today!
Perhaps you’ve heard of the Korean skin care routine which has up to 10 steps. Or you’ve already started researching and are feeling confused with all the different skin care products out there – toner, serum, essence, vitamin c, sheet mask, face oil, sleeping mask…please don’t be scared off! There’s no need to feel overwhelmed. Take a breath, sit tight and relax.
Our first tip for your skin care routine is to remember just four basic steps:
- Cleanse
- Tone
- Moisturize
- Protect
As you start to build your skin care routine, you will probably add some steps in between. Perhaps your skin needs more hydration, or you want to target some dark spots. These treatments will come in between the four basic steps and we touch on them as we break down the steps in building a beginner skin care routine for you.
Cleanse
It is important to start off with a clean surface. Whether you are waking up in the morning or winding things down in the evening after a long day, your skin needs the chance to be cleansed before you apply products on top of it. Washing your face helps remove your make up, get rid of the tiny particles of dirt on your face and any build up of oil and grime. Trust us, your pores will thank you for this step!
We recommend using gentle cleansers, no matter your skin type. Gone are the days when we want to feel a squeaky clean face – in fact, we find that our skin feels too dry and tight if the cleanser gives us a squeaky clean finish as it has stripped all the oil from the surface.
If you wear makeup, start with an oil cleanser to remove it before using a water-based cleanser to finish off.
Klairs Cleansing Oil
Heimish All Clean Balm
Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser
Tone
Toners are the next step in your skin care routine. Once upon a time, this meant putting some alcohol-based product onto your skin. These days, toners are seen to be the skin-prepping stage and good toners will be hydrating and help neutralize the pH of your skin surface.
Pixi Glow Tonic
Huxley Secret of Sahara Toner Extract
Isntree Green Fresh Toner
SKII Facial Treatment Clear Lotion
Moisturize
Once your skin has been prepped with a toner, it is ready to absorb and rehydrate. The moisturizing step can be broken down into several smaller steps, as you will now take the chance to spot treat your skin. Here, you may want to target issues like wrinkles, dark spots or acne scars. If you are spot treating your skin, it is important to be aware of the active ingredients in your skin care products, as some react to the UV rays during the day and should only be applied at night.
As a beginner, we recommend just focusing on finding a product that will moisturize your face and a good eye cream to target the eye area. Get to know your skin type so that you can find the right type of moisturizer for your skin. As a rule of thumb (because there are always exceptions!):
Oily Skin Type
We recommend gel based products as they are lighter and can be absorbed easily.
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel With Hyaluronic Acid
Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner
Paula’s Choice Invisible Finish Moisture Gel
Cerave Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum
Normal Skin Type
Use a light lotion that has moisturizing ingredients such a hyaluronic acid to rehydrate your skin.
Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum
Belif The True Cream – Aqua Bomb
Innisfree Jeju Orchid Enriched Cream
COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
Combination Skin Type
This skin type has a mixture of needs. Apply lotion or cream to the drier areas and use a lighter skin care product for the oily parts.
COSRX Oil Free Ultra Moisturizing Lotion
Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair
Tony Moly Chok Chok Green Tea Watery Essence
Dry Skin Type
Cream products are oil based and heavier, providing more moisture and rehydrating your skin type more effectively.
Mizon Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule
Pyunkang Yul Moisture Cream
Innisfree Youth-Enriched Rich Cream with Orchid
If you have sensitive skin, patch test new products on an inconspicuous area of your face, such as the underneath of your jaw line or on your neck near the ear area. If your skin reacts negatively through redness, swelling or any discomfort, wash the product off immediately and don’t use it any further.
We find the area around the eye quite delicate and like to treat it with extra care with eye products. Depending on your skin type and treatment, you may wish to use lighter gel eye care products or heavier eye cream to moisturize the area.
Keihl’s Midnight Recovery Eye
Pyunkang Yul Black Tea Time Reverse Eye Cream
Protect
Last of all, you want to protect your skin. During your morning skin care routine, you will finish off with a layer of sunscreen. You may find some daytime moisturizers also have SPF protection, but we personally prefer to use a separate daily sunscreen for our layer of protection. Use a broad spectrum sunscreen to protect you from both UVA and UVB rays.
La Roche-Posay Anthelios Light Fluid Sunscreen
Cetaphil Sheer Mineral Face Liquid Sunscreen
At night, we like to finish off by layering a face oil or sleep mask on our hydrated and treated skin. This layer provides extra protection and seals in all the skin care products used in the moisturizing step.
Laneige Water Sleeping Mask
Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate Face Oil
Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin E Mask
The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil
As you become more familiar with your skin and get into your skin care routine, you will find that some products will become your ‘go-to’ products. Enjoy your new glowing skin and how refreshing it feels now! If you’re ready to turn your skin care routine up a notch and get a little geeky with how ingredients can be used to treat different skin conditions, then check out our guide on how to build on your skin care routine here.