I wish I lived in a world, where we all could walk around with glowing skin saying: "I woke up like this". The reality is that we all know to achieve healthy glowing skin we must have a daily skin care routine in place. In this post I am going to share with you my 7 steps daily skin care routine.
Step 1: Make Up Remover
You should always remove your make up after spending a whole day wearing it. Make up makes your face look amazing. However having some much chemicals on your face for an extended period of time can do more harm than good to your face.
It is always better to use a make up remover than using regular soap as regular soap usually does not completely remove all the make up on your skin. To remove make up I use make up remover Garnier SkinActive Micellar Water together with cotton pads.
Step 2: Cleanser
The first part of any skin care routine after removing make up is cleansing your face with a cleanser. Cleansers remove dirt and any remaining excess makeup from your skin. You can buy cleaners for different skin types such as dry skin, oily skin or even for sensitive skin.
For my daily cleansing I use Shiseido Foaming Cleaning Fluid. It is cleansing mouse that is suitable for all skin types. To cleanse my face, I put some of the lotion on a facial cleansing sponge from The Body shop and gentle massage it on my face in circular motion to gently cleanse my face and then rinse with water.
Step 3: Exfoliate
Why exfoliate? Exfoliation eliminates old dead skin cells. It also cleans and unclogs your pores making it smoother less prone to breakouts. Dermatologist recommend to not Exfoliate more than three times a week as it can cause you have more breakouts than before.
To make sure I do not damage my skin by over exfoliating, I exfoliate only once a week using Clinique Exfoliating Scrub. I put a small amount on my face and use my fingers to massage on my face and complete with rinsing with water.
Step 4: Toner
A face toner is an absorbing liquid that helps to remove excess dirt and traces of oil and that also helps control acne. Due to my somewhat acne prone skin, toners are a must in my daily skin care routine.
The toner I currently use is the Clinique clarifying lotion. It is very strong toner and it really clarifies my skin intensely, this is mostly likely as it has denatured alcohol as one of its ingredients. I use the lotion on a cotton pad after my cleanser/exfoliation before getting ready to moisturize.
Step 5: Face Mask (optional)
Face masks are a great way to improve your skin completion concerns as they can contain many beneficial ingredients to help restore and hydrate your skin. Using a face mask is also a nice way to treat yourself from time to time.
With so many types of brands of face masks, I do not particularly use one type or one brand of face mask. Because the face mask is an extra in my daily skincare routine, I enjoy going to the drugstore and trying out different types of face masks. I tend to buy face mask that are made to hydrate the skin. Currently I use the face sheet mask by Earth Kiss from the U.K. company Montagne Jeunesse. After using the toner in step 4, once a week, I apply the sheet mask to my face for around 20 minutes and then rinse off with water.
Step 6: Serum (optional)
Serum are designed to nourish the skin, they deliver powerful ingredients directly into the skin to better its condition. They are usually thinner and lighter than moisturizers. There are two types of serums water-based and oil-based, both nourish the skin but the main difference is in their formulas. Recently I have been using The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 vitamin which is a water based serum. Just a few drop on my face during my morning routine before putting on my moisturizer.
Hyaluronic acid is natural substance that can be found in the skin that keeps it refreshed, stable and encourages skin cell renewal. Hyaluronic acid also has water retention properties that re-hydrates the skin and will minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It also helps protects the skin from sun exposure and other harsh chemicals.
Step 7: Moisturizer
As you age, your skin’s ability to retain moisture decreases. This is why it is important to use face moisturizers daily. Applying a moisturizer to your face can increase the moisture level and will keep your face hydrated. Similar to face cleaners moisturizers are made for different skin types.
Depending our your needs you might decide to use day moisturizer for the morning and a night moisturizer. A day moisturizer will usually be more lightweight in order to facilitate putting make up and also contain SPF to protect your face from the sun aging effects during the day. While a night moisturizer will have other ingredients that might help with for example skin repair after a long day of being outdoors.
I use The Ritual of Namasté Radiance Anti-Aging Day Cream as both my day and night moisturizer cream. I like that the cream is lightweight and that the fragrance is last on the ingredients list. Many face moisturizers tend to have fragrance as one of the top main ingredients and I prefer my skin care products with little or no fragrance to avoid my skin being irritated.
There it is, the 7 steps daily skin care routine. While I am not a dermatologist or an expert in skin care. This daily skin care routine is based on time spent researching on the internet and talking to friends and my own experiences from using the products listed. There is no time like the present to start taking care of your skin.
Do what makes you happy.
Ms. George