Creating a skincare routine and incorporating it into your everyday lifestyle will not only enable glowy skin now but will prevent premature wrinkles. In fact, the majority of wrinkles come from sun damage. That’s why SPF is the top most important skincare product you can use. It is more efficient, cheaper and better for your skin health to prevent rather than fix the skin concern at a later date. And many effects from neglecting to care for your skin aren’t able to be reversed.
Utilising the skincare steps will only take a matter of 10 minutes a day at a minimum and can be very affordable if you use brands such as The Ordinary. To fully care for your skin, you have the option to implement additional tools such as facial treatments, face masks, gua shuas, face rollers, derma planners and more. Here, we’ll dive into each important step and simply explain the basics.
- Cleanser
It’s crucial to cleanse effectively or remaining dirt, pollution and makeup can cause breakouts. In addition, the skincare items you put on your skin simply can’t act as they are meant to.
Some people are surprised to learn you are actually meant to cleanse your skin twice in an evening even if you don’t wear makeup as SPF and grime needs to be cleaned first before you can give your skin a deep clean in the second cleanse. This process is called double cleansing and refers to cleansing first with an oil-based cleanser, such as an oil, balm or milk cleanser, followed by a water-based cleanser, such as a foaming, gel or cream cleanser. Use approximately a big fat grape sized amount for balm, heaped teaspoon for milk cleanser or a few drops of oil cleanser. In the mornings, use the second-step water-based cleanser. Use around a level teaspoon cleanse for around 30 seconds to achieve an efficient, deep clean.
- Eye Cream
The thinnest area of skin on your face is around your eye and for this reason, there are specialist eye creams to use. These often come in 15ml or 30ml tubes and jars. The recommended amount is a rice-sized amount for each eye area. Applying too much can clog the area, causing keratin build up which results in small white dots called milia. It’s very important to be aware of just how sensitive the eye area is – any pulling, tugging or rubbing will directly cause damage. Instead place ensure you use your ring finger (the finger next to the pinky) to gently pat the eye cream underneath your eye, along the crow’s feet area, inner corner and brow bone.
- Serum
An additional element many people aren’t aware of is the fact moisturiser doesn’t actually moisturise – it locks in the existing moisture. In order to add moisturiser, you will need to apply serum. Skincare specialists often recommend that if you are going to invest in a more expensive skincare item, then serum is the one. This is because it holds the key moisture ingredients as well as actives or antioxidants which will be absorbed, unlike cleanser which just washes off. For optimal results, apply antioxidants such as vitamin c or niacinamide in the morning and a hydrating serum in the evening. You should choose serums that target your own specific skin concern, whether that’s acne, hyperpigmentation or others. A pea sized amount is enough as serums are highly concentrated.
- Moisturiser or oil
Now is the step to lock it all in. You can either use moisturiser or oil, or for extra moisture and glow, you can use moisturiser and then oil. Purchase ones suited to your skin type. Contrary to common belief, oil is great for oily skin prone to breakouts as it regulates your oil production. Using either a hazelnut-sized amount of moisturiser, or 3-4 drops of oil, ensure you rub the item over your hands and press into the skin. If you have time, give your face a gentle face massage.
- SPF
SPF should be applied daily, rain or shine, and reapplied every two hours if you are going to be in direct sunlight. UV rays still can damage your skin even on cloudy days and through windows. Therefore, the first thing you should do when you wake up is your skin care routine topped off with SPF. Ensure you purchase specialist face SPF (ideally at least SPF50+) as body sunscreen can appear greasy or even break you out. Apply a half teaspoon on your face, neck and chest. It will initially seem like too much, but this is white cast is normal – simply rub this in gently.
Olivia Fairhurst is a business owner and content manager for various clients, including Ultra Shield – specialists in glass protection. Olivia studied a degree in communications, majoring in journalism and has past experience as a journalist and Senior PR executive.
