It is important to follow a stepwise application of products, for adequate absorption into the skin so as to maximize effectiveness.
It’s best to know your skin type, especially when choosing products. Also look at the active ingredients in each product to know what’s best for your skin. Everyone’s skin is unique, so you’ll have to work with that in mind, knowing that a product that work really fast on your friend, might work slower or even not suit your skin because you both have different skin types. Research. Experiment. Consult a skincare specialist or dermatologist if you have to.
Taking the liberty to also drop a take home list at the end of this, here’s a simple face routine you can follow;
Face wash – Daily of course. Should be twice a day ideally. If you used makeup wipes to remove your make up and think you can skip washing, you’re absolutely wrong. Please try to always wash your face before bed. Your skin will love it and you’ll see what a difference that extra 5minutes it took to wash your face could make.
Face clay/mask/scrub – Normally every 3 – 4 days. Best at night time. But then, depending on your skin’s type, you can increase/decrease the frequency. Always give your skin and it’s moisture barrier enough time to keep thriving. Exfoliating – This is also an every other day thing. And by exfoliating, I mean using products that home that contain exfoliants. Not facial treatments.
Cleanse and tone – once or twice daily but depending on your skin type and health history of your skin, you can choose to use the toner once a day, use just a cleanser as toners can be drying, or none at all.
Serums – use day serums & Night serums. It’s best to use antioxidant serums (e.g. Vitamin C) and tackle hyperpigmentation during the day and treatment serums for anti-aging (e.g Retinol) during the night while the skin rejuvenates during sleep.
Eye creams – use once or twice a day, especially at night. In case you haven’t started incorporating eye care (eye masks, eye creams) you definitely should. Blinking alone is a lot of muscle movement. The skin on the lids will appreciate more care. If you’re going out, do make a habit of always protecting your eyes from the sun. The result is less fine lines from trying to squint from the sun and skin damage from UVrays.
Acne/Spot treatment – can use once or twice daily. Depending on the active ingredients, apply directly on the affected areas & also remember that sometimes you have to wait before layering other products to avoid the active ingredients in different products reacting with each other negatively.
Moisturizer – Most important step. Always apply as much as needed daily. Try to apply moisturizers while the skin is still damp and you can also go as far as layer your moisturizers in such a way that you use the most water-soluble ones first then follow up with the oil-based ones coming last.
Face massage – Mostly at night. Improves blood circulation as well as better help the skin absorb the products. Products are available in the market to serve this purpose to guarantee less germ introduced to the face while using possibly dirty fingers on the face. Jade rollers, electronic face massagers, etc. these can help massage the face. If you’re using fingers/palms, please make sure it’s clean.
Sunscreen – Can’t over stress the importance of sun protection. Use as much as needed all through the day. Whether it’s a cloudy day or your inside, always use your sunscreen because even if you can’t see the sun, the sun rays are everywhere and can definitely get to you.
Face oil blend – best to use once daily at night time to lock-in moisture and seal in the products you used for your routine before going to bed. Know the comedogenic scale of the oil you’re using. Best to pick oils low on the comedogenic scale (0-2) to avoid clogging the pores & causing breakouts. On that note, here’s a free advise; do not use coconut oil on your face. It rates 4 in the comedogenic scale. That’s pretty high. And can clog pores.
Lip care too, yes. Brush/ scrub your lips regularly and use a lip balm or a lip gloss for a soft, pink lips.
Further more:
Also extend your face routine to your neck and shoulders. We don’t want a nice face on a dull neck.
Always use a clean, separate towel for the face and use a clean and appropriate pillow case. Try your best to keep your hair as clean as possible.
Hydrate. Drink enough water, please. It’s so important to drink at least 3 to 4 liters of water daily. Not only will it flush your system and get rid of the toxins that can affect your skin, it supplies the cells of your skin the adequate water needed to function better and look healthier.
Stay away from direct heat especially UVrays, heat from fire, smoking and very hot water. These breakdown the skin molecules and do not help in getting that supple, smooth skin of your dream.
Till next time, moisturize!
