How to Build a Skin Care Routine

Submitted by Patrick Hatfield on

Building a skin care routine is extremely important if you want to have healthy and beautiful-looking skin.  Good skin does not just come from your DNA, but obviously it can help.  Good skin has to be earned and daily skin routines must be in place to ensure that your skin is treated properly.  There are three main steps to skin care including, cleansing, toning, and moisturizing.

Cleansing

Ensure that you are cleaning your face twice a day, once in the day and once at night.  Find the formula that works for your skin type.  If you have dry skin, the cleanser should be in a cream or lotion formula.  If your skin is oily or prone to acne, a foaming liquid is the best option.  Sensitive skin is usually cleansed with an oil-based cleanser.  One universal cleanser is micellar water.

Toner

When it comes to toning the skin, the purpose is to remove any leftover products that the cleanser may have missed.  It is also an ideal time to throw some nutrients in to your skin routine, when the pores are open and clean.  Alpha and beta hydroxy acids will remove dead skin cells and improve the dullness of skin.  Rose water and green tea can calm irritation and redness.  Vitamin C and E can help with the aging effects to your skin.

Moisturizing

Serums

These can be used to moisturize or help with wrinkles and fine lines.  Hyaluronic acid can help remove the dull, top layer of the skin to show the fresh, underneath layer of the face.  Vitamin C can help brighten skin and help with fading of dark spots.  Retinol helps to bring back elasticity and remove the appearance of fine lines.  Colloidal sulfur can help with removing redness and irritation, especially when acne is present. 

Moisturizers

When selecting the best moisturizer for your skin, you must revert to the skin type.  If you have oily skin, you should consider a gel-based moisturizer.  If your skin is normal, lotion-based products work well.  If your skin is dry, the cream version of moisturizers must be used.  If you skin is very inflamed and sensitive, there should be a balm moisturizer used.  Day creams are lighter in texture and usually have sunscreen to help protect your skin throughout the day.  Night creams are much thicker and have products like retinol to help repair damage in the skin overnight.  Eye creams can be very soothing and hyaluronic acid and caffeine can help eliminate wrinkles and puffiness.

Whatever skin routine you choose for your skin type, stick with it for awhile.  Be consistent with your skin products and ensure that you give them 6-8 weeks to see if there is a difference in the way your skin looks and feels.  If you want to add a new product, do so one at a time, so you can truly tell if it is working with your other tried and true products.