It's No Secret, We Need Routine: All About Skin Care
By: Laura Chingarire
Sticking to a familiar routine is beneficial to our mental health. The same applies when it comes to our skin; consistency is always key. With most of us practicing social distancing and being confined to our homes, we have the opportunity to take extra time to get our skin back to its most balanced healthy state. No matter what skin care brand you choose, I personally believe the sequence needed to maintain the skin’s health and keep PH levels balanced, pretty much stays the same. Sticking to a daily routine, using plant-derived high-performing products both in the am and pm.
No one is going out during these strange times… We could easily spend all our days lazing about in our PJs, which is honestly quite tempting. So it’s easy to forget about our normal skincare routines ... Why really bother when no one is looking. Skincare is more important now more than ever. Neglecting our routines whilst indoors, getting less daylight, and possibly not eating as healthy as we should is a recipe for breakouts, dry skin and many other negative reactions. Instead, we should be perfecting our routines during isolation, so when we come out on the other side of this corona-induced hibernation we’re ready to debut a rejuvenated and consistent healthy balanced glow and clear complexion.
First thing is First – Cleansers
I recommend a cleanser that is lightweight, nothing too creamy or foamy. And something that includes Vitamin C is ideal. As a powerful antioxidant, Vitamin C works to strengthen and protect your skin from any environmental attacks. With its added protection, Vitamin C helps to even out the tone and texture of skin, adding a natural radiance to your complexion. It also works to encourage collagen production making it a superb anti-aging ingredient for your skin.
Toners, Treatment Lotions, Essence
To put it simply – A toner is used to balance your skin’s PH level and get rid of any impurities left on your skin after cleansing. They prepare your skin for further treatments such as your serums and moisturisers. They can also work as an exfoliator, depending on the brand you choose to use.
A Treatment Lotion and an Essence are a bit like toners; in that they are water weight liquids that you apply after cleansing, before serum and moisturiser. The difference is they are more so like a large glass of water for your skin that saturates your skin with oil free moisture which you then seal in with your serum and moisturiser. Often, they are packed with brightening agents, soothing extracts and botanical ferments that don't just soften and balance pH, but also go to work on signs of ageing and irritation. They work, and I am a huge fan of them. But choosing to stick with a toner is just fine, your skin will not suffer terribly without using an Essence or Treatment Lotion and to be honest they can be very expensive.
Next Step – Eye Creams
Do you really need to use one? The truth of the matter is, eye creams are not miracle cures. When it comes to the skin around your eyes, it is thinner and more sensitive than skin around the rest of your face. Eye creams can be beneficial to the delicate skin around your eyes. It may nourish and brighten your skin to help it appear smoother if you have fines lines and wrinkles. Having said that, if you are staying up late, not drinking enough water and your diet is not what you know it should be, no eye cream is going to help. Drinking more water and taking care of yourself the way you should be will most likely make the biggest difference. And just to put it out there, you can also inherit eye bags or deep creases from family, so lifestyle changes are not likely to change your anatomy. It is best to stay out of the sun or use an eye cream with an SPF to protect that area when you are in the sun, so that the damage does not emphasise any fine lines and dehydrate the area. Some eye creams can also help reduce puffiness around the eyes, but I have yet to find one that totally makes puffiness disappear. If you are going to use an eye cream, apply it before your serum or moisturiser to make sure it is the first thing to penetrate the skin in that area.
Serums – Are so worth it
Whether your skin care routine consists of 3 steps or 15, this is the one product I encourage you to prioritise. Serums are developed to deliver a high concentration of active ingredients in a direct penetration to your skin. You have to apply these before your moisturiser, mainly because they are made out of smaller molecules in comparison to the moisturiser, so they sink deeper into the skin and are more effective. They are usually very light in texture and the skin absorbs them very quickly, making them potent.
Do you need to use both a serum and moisturiser? - the simple answer is yes; moisturisers are thicker and creamier than serums. They hydrate the skin and prevent water loss whilst keeping the moisture barrier intact. Depending on the needs of your skin and the brand you use, moisturisers can have added anti-aging, skin clearing or even brightening ingredients to work even better. To really address a difficult skin care problem, like sun damage/discolouration or reactive skin you'll want to combine your moisturiser with a quality serum.
Lastly the Protective Barrier – Moisturisers
Moisturisers help to protect the outer layer of our skin; they prevent water loss and lock in all the ingredients from your previous skin care routine steps. Even if you have acne prone skin, a light moisturiser with water as the dominant ingredient is still a must. Added to this the fact is that your makeup will not sit as seamlessly unless you deal with any dry patches on your skin first. Moisturisers with acids in them are the most popular as they help with the skin’s natural exfoliation process. This gives the skin a more refined and radiant finish. The great thing is that no matter the needs of your skin, there is now such a wide variety of treatments to choose from, you will surely find the most effective one for your skin.
To recap, your daily facial skin routine should follow these steps to achieve consistent results:
1) Light Cleanser 2) Essence 3) Eye Cream 4) serum and lastly 5) Moisturiser. I truly believe these five steps followed twice daily, morning and night, are key to bringing your skin to its most natural balanced healthy state. I recommend whenever you try a new routine to at least try it for 35 days because this is when skin cell renewal occurs. As the skin renews itself every 35 days, it will allow you to see clearly if your skin has improved or not with your new routine.
In addition to a new skincare routine, check out my post “How to eat your skin beautiful - Food to eat for glowing skin in 8 weeks”:
https://beautyglowgetter.com/food-for-glowing-skin-care-tips-for-glowing-skin/
Happy Skin care shopping,
Laura
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Laura is a full time online consultant for Origins skin care and a lifestyle blogger at www.beautyglowgetter.com who loves helping women on a daily basis find high-performing skin care products that give visible results in creating skin they are proud of. After years working as a television make up artist at Aljazeera News London, she found herself naturally transitioning into the field of skin care after discovering that when both science and botanics are married together the results are indispensable!
She uses her own experience with acne, one of the most common skin conditions, to help advise her clients on manageable, relaxing and effective skin care routines.
Connect with Laura on Instagram: @beautyglowgetter. She is happy to use her vast knowledge across drug store brands and luxury skin care brands to provide advice on skin care routines and help find effective skin care products to suit every budget.