Best Skin Care Routine for Healthy Looking Skin
So you’ve done a little research and you’ve realized what type of skin type you are. Great, now how do you go about looking after and taking care of it? Celebrities and social media influencers seem to make it so easy to achieve the perfect skin, but it comes with some effort on your part.
If you are a beginner to skin care, take a look at our Beginner Friendly Skin Care Routine Guide here. As you become more familiar with your skin care routine and aware of how your skin reacts to products, you may find that you want to build on it. Incorporating products that treat specific areas of your face and neck or target different skin concerns you may have can help you get into the nitty-gritty parts of your skin care routine and create glowing, healthy looking skin.
We don’t want to encourage adding products and steps into your skin care routine just for the sake of it though. We truly believe that you should only use products that help improve the complexion and health of your skin. The key to doing this is to look at the beneficial ingredients that are used in your chosen products and what they are designed to spot treat. For example, hyaluronic acid is a well known skin care ingredient for its hydrating properties. Salicylic acid, on the other hand, can be used to help reduce acne as it exfoliates the skin surface.
In saying that, do skin care routines like a ’10 step skin care routine’ add any value? We’re not here to criticize people on their decisions. Whether your routine ends up being 3 steps long or 15 steps long, we stand by our rule of thumb: as long as each product used in your routine is doing its job in looking after your skin, then who are we to judge you?
Based on our personal experience, we have put together a skin care routine for clear and healthy looking skin. Here, we are building upon the four steps in our Beginner Skin Care Routine and adding targeted spot treatment steps in between. Remember – add only what your skin needs and skip those that are just creating extra steps!
Cleanse
Always, always, always start your skin care routine with a clean surface. You wouldn’t eat off a dirty plate, so why would you apply moisturizers and serums to an unclean skin surface? Cleansers come in all shapes and sizes, and we recommend a double cleansing method to ensure that your skin is clean and ready for all the hydration that is coming. Note though, that clean doesn’t always equate to a nice squeaky feeling!
Use an oil cleanser to help remove make up or sunscreen from your skin before using a water-based cleanser to make sure all dirt and grime has been removed. No matter your skin type, we recommend using a gentle cleanser. We personally don’t like harsher cleansers that leave our skin feeling ‘too clean’ as it removes all natural oil from the surface and dehydrates the skin.
I’m from…Fig Cleansing Balm
Cosrx Good Morning Gel Cleanser
Cerave Hydrating Facial Cleanser
The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Oil Cleanser
Tone
Applying toner to your now clean skin is a perfect way to rebalance the pH level of the surface. Besides this, toners also help remove the remaining residue you may have after cleansing and prepare it to absorb the hydrating products in the following steps. When investing in a toner for your skin care routine, think of what you would like it to do. For a focus on exfoliation and minimizing acne scars, you may want to look for key ingredients such as glycolic acid or azelaic acid for its exfoliating properties. If hydration is more your focus, keep an eye out for key ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and witch hazel.
Moisturize and Spot Treat
Now that your skin is clean and prepped, it is time to hydrate it. As you are moving on from the Beginner Skin Care Routine and are more aware of your own skin type and its response to various products, we think it is important to dive a little deeper. We find that moisturizing and applying spot treatments to address a skin concern usually overlap, and there are so many products nowadays that do more than just moisturize your skin. When we’re talking about spot treatment, we meant targeting areas of your skin, such as dark spots, acne scars, fine lines or another treatment.
You may have started with the knowledge that people use different product types depending on their skin type. While this is not entirely untrue, we believe that no matter if you have dry skin, normal skin, oily skin or combination skin, there is no harm is starting off with lighter skin care products in your routine and building up on it if required. That’s why we recommend using lighter, runnier or gel consistency products in this step. Essences and serums are great as they are light, yet provide the moisture that your skin needs to be rehydrated again.
When applying products in this step (yes, this step may have multiple products!), we apply in the order of lightest consistency to heaviest. Think about it, if you start off with a heavy duty cream based moisturizer, will your ampoule spot treatment be able to penetrate through that layer? If the answer is no, then you probably will want to reverse the order of application!
Don’t forget about your eye area in this step. With the skin around the eye being so thin, we like to use a dedicated eye product to look after this area. Whether you are looking for something moisturizing for the eye area or want to target the dark circles, there are great eye products out there for your skin care concerns.
Protect
Finish off by looking after your skin. In your morning skin care routine, it is paramount that you apply sunscreen in your final step to minimize sun damage. For good sun protection, find a product that blocks both UVA and UVB rays and has a high and broad spectrum SPF rating.
La Roche-Posay Anthelios Light Fluid Sunscreen
Cetaphil Sheer Mineral Face Liquid Sunscreen
In your night skin care routine, replace sunscreen with a protective final layer of hydration. A good face oil or overnight mask will form a protective barrier and help seal in all the goodness you have applied in the previous steps.
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
Most of all, know that your daily life will also play a part in the health of your skin. Eat well, stay hydrated and try to minimize stress. All of these things will all help you achieve the ultimate glowing and amazing skin!