WHY AND HOW TO BUILD A BASIC SKINCARE ROUTINE?

Why do we need a skincare routine?

Skin is one of the major organs of our body and like any other organ we must take care of it to function properly. As we all know, it’s basically the covering that guards all the other organs, so, show some love and take care of it now. And, trust me, your skin will thank you in the later years. Some follow an intricate skincare routine of 10 steps and others a minimal routine of 3-4 steps. In either case, your skin is the one who gets benefitted. In this post, we shall discuss about how to create a minimal routine irrespective of our skin type. Skincare should be considered as an approach of connecting to yourself and not just dabbing products with ‘moisturizer’ written on it.

Whether you have skin issues or not, following a skincare ritual is extremely important and, as I have already mentioned, you will get to see the results later in your life. I’m in my mid 20s with reoccurring adult acne. I haven’t had any severe acne issues but, since last 6-7 months my skin has been a mess. I had maintained a skincare ritual before that but, took to some serious ingredients hunt from then onwards. I have attached a photo below to show the change in my skin issues post maintaining a revised skincare with some effective ingredients.

P.S. this is the result of my overall lifestyle along with topical skincare and not because of just one particular product.

  

Start a basic skincare routine now and this short guide can help you figure out the basic needs. This routine is a general sheet and folks with particular skin type and conditions should keep in mind their needs before any purchase.

A basic skincare regime:

MORNING                             NIGHT

CLEANSER                                         OIL CLEANSE or,

TONER                                                 DOUBLE CLEANSE

SERUM                                                  TONER 

MOISTURIZER         

FACIAL OIL (optional)                        TREATMENT

SUNSCREEN( during the day)          MOISTURIZER

                                                FACIAL OIL

FOR DRY SKIN TYPE

• Creamy cleansers/mild cleansers
• Hydrating toners(floral hydrosols like Rose hydrosol)
• Hyaluronic acid/ Vitamin C serum( everyday, AM)
• Rich moisturizers with emollients and occlusives

            Or, Face oils(PM)

• Sunscreen in the form of  lotion/cream with hydrating ingredients        

 

 

FOR OILY SKIN TYPE

• Low pH cleanser/gel cleanser/acid based/ mild cleanser
• Toners with ingredients such as green tea or tea tree(can use every day);

      Or, exfoliating toners with AHAs/BHAs(at                    night,    2-3 times a week)

     or, hydrosols such as lavender/calendula/holy          nbasil...and so on(everyday).

• Niacinamide, hyaluronic acid(everyday in the morning);

           Salicylic acid serum(2-3 times a week at                  night)

• Gel moisturizers(with humectants/green tea/aloe vera/centella asiatica)
• Sunscreen which is light weight, gel formulas, non-comedogenic(AM)

 

FOR COMBINATION SKIN TYPE

• Mild/gel cleanser/low ph cleanser
• Toners such as calendula/lavender/tea tree hydrosol(everyday)

    Or, exfoliating toners(AHAs, BHAs sometimes)

• Niacinamide/VitaminC/ Hyaluronic acid(everyday, usually in the morning)
• Gel moisturizers.
• Light weight sunscreen

 

• The actives mentioned are those which are known to be good for the skin type. You may try other actives too. First, know your skin concern and introduce the right actives into your skincare. Do not introduce too many products with actives together. Start with a lower concentration and wear sunscreen as actives increase photosensitivity. Without sunscreen your skincare won’t show any effect so, never miss out on that.

• Also, because every skin type is different you must listen to your skin needs and choose products and ingredients accordingly. This is a very generic cheat sheet made keeping in mind what a skin type might need.

• Start a basic skincare now, learn about more ingredients and add it slowly to routine. No single product will heal your skin concern. All you need are the right ingredients for your skin, patience, consistency, love and acceptance towards yourself.

All skin types should AVOID the following ingredients and opt for better and nourishing ingredients:

Mineral oil

Artificial Perfume

Petroleum

 

In case you want to know more, we can always chat here or in my latest instagram post. Take care.

Thanks for stopping by.

Xoxo.