What should every skincare routine include?
It seemed pretty clear-cut about ten years ago: cleanser, toner, moisturizer.
But today there are a million or more choices when it comes to products you can add to your skincare routine.
It’s all become a little overwhelming.
So in this post, we wanted to dial it down to the basics. What do you really need in your skincare routine, and which product is the most important?
What Should Every Skincare Routine Include? First, Personalize It!
The first thing you want to realize is that everyone’s skin is different. So what your skin needs may not be the same as what someone else’s skin needs.
So as you go through the process of building your skincare routine, you want to consider how you can personalize it. And there are many ways to do that. You can personalize:
The products you use
The order you use them in
How often you use them
When you do your regular skincare routine
What special treatments you give yourself throughout the week
For the healthiest, most youthful-looking skin, you’ll want to become an expert at knowing yourself. That means understanding not only what your skin requires to look it’s best, but how stress affects you, how diet affects you, and when your skin may need a little extra TLC.
You also want to think about your schedule. When do you need the fastest, most efficient routine, and when can you slow down and spend a little extra me-time?
If you can create a combination of both, your skin will thrive.
Second, Go with the Basics
There’s a reason why basic skincare goes like this: cleanse, tone, moisturize.
These are the nuts and bolts of skin care. In other words, if you do nothing else, as long as you do these three tasks every day, your skin will be in good shape. You do need to pay attention to a few things, though.
When Cleansing
The biggest mistake people make when cleansing is being too rough. Many of our customers have sensitive skin, so we always recommend that you use a gentle, creamy cleanser. If your skin feels dry and tight after cleansing, you’ve got the wrong product. You want one that leaves your skin feeling moisturized, soft, and clean.
When Toning
Despite what you may have heard, it’s best to always use a toner after cleansing. It will help your skin better absorb your moisturizer. When skin is dry, other ingredients will just sit on top of it. When it’s hydrated with a toner, ingredients can penetrate to work more effectively.
The biggest mistake people make is choosing toners that have a lot of alcohol in them. Toners used to be created to help rid the skin of any last bits of dirt, grime, and bacteria, and alcohol is an effective cleanser. But alcohol dries your skin. The longer you use it, the more your skin will suffer with dryness and dullness.
Today, we know that the best toner is one that rids your skin of any remaining impurities while preparing it for moisturizer. That means your toner should help rebalance your skin after cleansing. Look for alcohol-free options that feel refreshing and stimulating, like our Rescue + Relief Spray.
It’s a great choice especially if your skin is dry, gets easily irritated, suffers from rosacea, or is prone to blemishes. The spray is formulated to nourish, balance, and treat your skin with the nutrients it needs to stay healthy and problem free, restoring radiance and clarity.
Plus, since it’s oil free and pH balanced, it can help all skin types stay balanced and clear, and won’t clog pores or cause an outbreak of acne or eczema.
When Moisturizing
The biggest mistake people make in this step is choosing just any ol’ moisturizer. The truth is that moisturizing may very well be the most important part of your skin care routine. Choose a quality product and your skin will look soft and hydrated throughout the day. Choose the wrong one, and your skin will feel dry and tight with exacerbated fine lines and wrinkles within an hour or two.
What Should Every Skincare Routine Include? Third, Focus On Your Moisturizer
The reason why your moisturizer is so important is that it does a lot more than simply moisturize.
Moisturizer Helps Diminish the Look of Wrinkles
When you have a moisturizer with plumping, hydrating ingredients, it helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, while also slowing down their development. According to one study, moisturized skin produces wrinkles at a much slower rate than dry, unmoisturized skin.
Moisturizer Helps Prevent Skin Problems
If you moisturize with a quality product every day, you minimize your chances of developing skin problems like dryness, flaking, wrinkles, inflammation, and even oiliness. (Yes, oily skin needs moisturizer too!) This can save you a lot of hassle and frustration in the future.
Moisturizer Prevents Water Loss
Skin looks young when it has enough water inside. But every day, your skin wages battle with the atmosphere around you. Particularly during the cold winter months, the cold, dry air steals moisture from your skin, which is why your lips get chapped and your skin feels dry much more quickly than it does in the summertime.
Using an efficient moisturizer helps your skin trap moisture so it doesn’t lose it so easily, keeping it smooth and plump.
Moisturizer Tames Inflammation
Inflammation is enemy number-one when it comes to skin health. It is at the route of many skin problems, including redness, acne, and conditions like eczema, rosacea, and psoriasis. Keeping skin calm and free of inflammation is something you should aim for every day. Choosing a calming, anti-inflammatory moisturizer can help you do this.
We recommend our Calming Moisture, as it is formulated with powerful anti-inflammatory ingredients. More on that below.
Moisturizer Helps Fight Acne
This may seem counterintuitive, especially if you have oily skin, but even oily skin can get dry. In fact, your skin may be oily because it’s overreacting to dryness. When skin gets dry, it signals the sebaceous glands to produce more oil, which can then result in breakouts. So even if you have oily skin, choosing the right moisturizer is important to controlling acne.
Moisturizer Soothes Sensitive Skin
If you have sensitive skin that is often irritated or reactive, you need a soothing moisturizer that will help calm it down. When you find one, you’ll notice that your moisturizer can go a long way toward helping your skin to feel calmer and more comfortable.
Moisturizer Slows the Appearance of Aging
Even your mother knew that applying a quality moisturizer every day was a good idea if she wanted to look young as long as possible. That hasn’t changed. It’s still true that well moisturized skin will look younger for longer. In many ways, moisturizer is still the key to a youthful, radiant complexion in your older age.
What Should Every Skincare Routine Include? Our Calming Moisture!
As long as you have a quality cleanser, toner, and moisturizer, you’ll be well on your way to creating a healthy skincare routine.
When it comes to choosing that quality moisturizer that is so important, we recommend our Calming Moisture. Perfect for all skin types, it calms redness and deeply hydrates while repairing skin to boost radiance and create a healthy glow. After cleansing and toning, apply all over the face and neck to enjoy the soothing benefits. It also makes a great primer for your foundation!
Do you agree that moisturizer may be the most important part of your skincare routine?
Featured image courtesy Ron Lach of Pexels.
