Do we really need a 10 step routine to help our skin? The answer is no. The truth is when starting out with a skincare routine you can get bogged down with so many different products and watching videos of others that it can be overwhelming with what your skin actually needs.
To cut through all the confusing information, our skin specialist Charlotte goes through some top tips to help you better treat your skin while maintaining a minimal approach to a routine.
FACTS:
- The best skin routine consists of 3 stages: Cleanse, Hydrate, Protect (AM) or Renew (PM).
- It’s about quality and not quantity. Doing less and doing it right.
- Prioritise clinically proven quality ingredients over trends.
- Only add new products for specific concerns, with one change at a time.
If we listen to our skin at every stage it will help us to determine what is working and what is not. Adding too many products not only adds unnecessary time onto our routines but can cause irritation making skin feel like it’s getting worse.
Trends come and go. I’m a fond believer that quality products with proven ingredients are more effective.
It’s about focusing on formulas doing the most for your skin in a minimal but consistent way. A trending product doesn’t need to belong in your skincare.
The Steps in Beginner Skincare
The 1st step is to acknowledge what your skin needs. In order to do that you must understand your skin type. Are we breakout prone, dehydrated, sensitive, oily, dry, mature skinned or a combination? Do we have specific concerns regarding acne, aging, psoriasis, scarring or pigmentation? Once you know this information you can determine your skin type and the right products for you.
Cleaners: The next step is understanding what cleanser is going to work best for you. Cleansers remove buildup, excess oil and pollutants from your skin. Looking at ingredients to support specific concerns ie. Acne prone skin utilising mild exfoliants such as salicylic acid or dry skin utilising high moisture cleansers, using twice daily
Hydrators: Finding the right moisturiser can be a challenge if we’re struggling with a combination of concerns. Things to consider are water based vs oil based moisturisers and if there’s additional ingredients that support concerns such as hyaluronic acid for deeper hydration or calming natural ingredients such as camomile, aloe vera or manuka honey.
This is must do step even if we’re oily or acne prone. It’s about maintaining skin health; preventing transepidermal water loss and supporting the skin barrier.
SPF (AM use): Every skincare expert will advise on daily use of an SPF (suncream). Not only does this product protect your skin from harmful rays which can progress to skin cancers, but the UVA/UVB protection helps to prevent pigmentation and phot-aging (that leather skin look).
Renew (PM): Or explained by some experts as treatment products. These are used for specific concerns to help renew or target. With proven actives such as retinol, arbutin, antioxidants such as vitamin C and peptides as well as medical intervention products such as benzoyl peroxide or tretinoin (stronger prescription based retinoid). Some of these products are not limited to PM use but most recommendations advise treatment products for evening use only.
Your skin needs consistent, simple plans to maintain good practise. Additional products can always be added but maintaining a 3 step AM (morning) and PM (evening) routine will be the start to seeing results and improvement.
Things to consider:
- When adding additional products to as basic routine go one change at a time. try not to overlap too many actives at once. Try alternative morning and evening and building up usage. Try not to overwhelm your skin.
- Give your skin space to adjust. Introducing a new skincare routine, or maybe even a first time routine, can have its draw backs to begin with things like skin purging. Progress is not always lineal, persistence and consistency pays off in the long run.
- When is comes to buying skincare, think like a specialist. Choose products that list ingredients and do your research on these as to whether they’re beneficial for your skin type or concern.
If in doubt on anything listed here, speak with a specialist. It can be hard to understand your skin sometimes and a skin expert is there to help advise.
— Charlotte Smedley MGBT
