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Your Quick and Simple Skincare Routine
“Skincare is life,” is a phrase that has shot into popularity over the years, thanks to the rise of K-beauty. More and more people have started paying attention and putting work into taking care of their skin instead of just splashing water over their faces and calling it a day. These days, people have begun to religiously follow a 10-step or more routine, using products such as a toner, moisturizer, serum, emulsion, and all that jazz to address skin concerns.
The vast number of skincare products and the amount of steps to do and finish a routine can get quite overwhelming, especially for those who are just starting out with skin care. Not only that, but some people also prefer a rather basic skincare routine than a complicated one involving too many products.
In this mini guide, we give you a quick and simple skincare routine. If you’re a newbie to the skincare game, or if you’re someone who wants to tone down and simplify your current routine, then this one’s for you.
What is a basic skincare routine?
When we say basic, we really mean basic. A no-fuss skincare routine is one that uses the least amount of products while ensuring that the skin meets its basic needs. A skincare routine starts with cleansing the face, putting on moisturizer, and patting all of that down with a sunscreen on top. Sometimes, exfoliating is added as an extra step once or twice a week. For individuals who wear heavy makeup throughout the day, it’s suggested to do double cleansing to make sure that any and all makeup gets washed off, but it’s not entirely necessary.
As an example, New York City skin expert Dr. Joshua Zeichner has a simple routine for mornings and evenings. After cleansing in the morning, Dr. Zeichner applies a Vitamin C serum before layering on his sunscreen that has an SPF rating of 30. The Vitamin C serum evens out the complexion and fades dark spots. On evenings, Dr. Zeichner swaps out the Vitamin C to moisturize and uses retinol instead.
That said, the gist of a basic skincare routine is cleansing, moisturizing, and applying sunscreen. It’s a fairly simple and straightforward skin routine that everyone can easily stick to and develop a daily habit of doing so.
What should every skincare routine include?
We’ve previously established that a basic skincare routine has three steps. Skin care experts seem to agree as, according to them, a person’s skincare routine only needs three things: a cleanser, a moisturizer, and a sunscreen. Three things yet they’re more than enough to protect and take care of your skin. It’s absolutely tempting to try and buy new products and hop on whichever is currently trending in the beauty industry but more often than not, it’s really unnecessary.
The more products you include in your routine, the more steps you’ll need to do, the more overwhelmed you’ll get. Not to mention, layering a ton of products on your skin can also have bad side effects. That’s why it bears repeating, the experts are advising you to stick to these three things: a cleanser, a moisturizer, and a sunscreen. Simple is best, as all of them say.
How do I make a simple skincare routine?
To start off your skincare journey as a newbie, or if you just want to pare down your routine, the first thing you need to do is to consider several aspects. You might be enticed to start buying products here and there but also, how would you know which product fits you without knowing your skin first?
The first step in curating your skincare routine is to figure out your skin type. Do you have oily skin? Maybe you’re of the dry skin type? Or maybe you’re someone who has sensitive skin and needs to watch out for certain ingredients? Figuring out the type of skin that you have can help you in knowing which products you’re going to need for your routine.
Most people can be categorized into five skin types. If your face is often shiny, you may have oily skin. If your face feels tight and you see flakey areas, you’re likely to have dry skin. You may have sensitive skin if you find that your face flushes easily, if you experience a stinging sensation, or you see bumps emerge.
Another skin type is the combination one, where you can be oily on your T-zone but have flakey areas on the other parts of your face. The last one is a normal skin type, where one doesn’t have dry areas, no greasy areas, rarely experiences breakouts, and one that jives with most skincare products out there.
Your Quick and Simple Skincare Routine
Once you have identified which category your skin belongs to, it’s now time to acquire the basic skincare products we mentioned earlier: cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen. This basic routine also works for all skin tones.
Cleanser
Having a facial cleanser that works best for your skin type is probably the most important aspect of having a routine. It’s best to opt for a gentle cleanser to use on your skin. A gentle cleanser often has properties and ingredients that maintain the PH balance of the skin. Harsher cleansers out there can not only dry your skin but may also give you several skin issues.
Oily and combination-skinned individuals should seek out products that have salicylic acid as one of its active ingredients. Salicylic acid can combat excessive oiliness and can drive acne away. For dry or sensitive types, products with hyaluronic acid are the ones to keep an eye out for.
It’s recommended to wash your face twice a day. Once in the morning, and once in the evening. Sensitive types are advised to wash with water in the morning, and cleanse at night. If you wear makeup, double cleansing is the recommended method; use a makeup remover before reaching for that face wash.
For makeup removers, you can try a gentle micellar water. Use it with a cotton pad and gently dab to remove your makeup.
Moisturizer
If you think a moisturizer is only for those who are of the dry or combination skin types, think again. It’s a beauty myth that needs to be debunked. No matter what skin type you may have, this step is a must. Throughout the day, your skin is bound to lose its hydration. Hydration is the one responsible for keeping your face soft and supple. Without it, you’d end up looking like a raisin left to dry out in the harsh sun, and no one wants that.
When picking out which moisturizing product would suit you, again, don’t forget to consider your skin type. Dry individuals should look out for products that have hyaluronic acid in it as that core ingredient bumps up the moisture on the skin and helps repair the skin barrier. Something with Vitamin E could work as well for it aids in skin repair. For oily types, a product that is oil-free or lightweight would be best. Sensitive types need to look for a product that is alcohol-free and fragrance-free.
You can also use a light face oil that uses ingredients like jojoba, marula, squalene, tea trea, and all that to amp up the moisture and lock it in.
Sunscreen
Sun protection is a must no matter what type of skin you may have. It’s one of the items that can protect your skin from the harsh UV rays and reduce the risk of skin cancer. Sunscreen should be applied every day and not just when it’s sunny outside. Yes, you also need to wear sun protection even if you’re indoors as the sun’s rays can pass through glass, windows, and the like. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
For sunscreen, it’s best to find a one that has a broad spectrum SPF to protect you from both UA and UV rays. Additionally, the SPF rating of your sunscreen should be from SPF 30 or above.
Bonus: Exfoliator
We mentioned earlier that you might slip in two additional steps in your skincare routine. One of them is exfoliation. Grime, gunk, dead skin cells, and all can accumulate on your skin over time and can cause irritation or even acne if not dealt with properly. Exfoliating also allows your skin to look smoother as the dead skin cells get sloughed away. It also has the added benefit of brightening your complexion.
If you’re adding this step in your skin care routine, it’s best done after the cleansing step. Also, be sure to only exfoliate once or twice a week and not every day. Exfoliating every day will do your skin more harm than good.
Bonus: Anti-aging
This is another step that you might want to add at the end of your routine. Age doesn’t matter when using anti-aging products. In fact, it’s best to start on them in your early 20’s to keep fine lines and wrinkles from developing over time. Most anti-aging products include ingredients that boost collagen production, namely retinol. Ingredients like retinol help in keeping the skin youthful and supple even as you age.
There you have it, a basic skincare routine! Your skincare regimen should be made up of three steps.
- Step 1: cleanse
- Step 2 moisturize,
- Step 3 slather on some sunscreen.
- Bonus steps are exfoliating and adding an anti-aging component to top it all off.
We hope we were able to help you curate your own simple skin care routine. Do remember that what works for others may not work for you and vice versa. At the end of the day, you’re the one who knows your skin best.
Ready to acquire the necessary items for your skincare regimen? Check out our reviews to see which ones will suit you!
Ira Arellano graduated with a degree in Multimedia Arts from the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. When she’s not busy writing, Ira uses her remaining free time fawning over groups with too many members, reading three books simultaneously, crying over animated shows and fictional people, and being salty over her lack of gacha luck.
