Ask A Pro: The Skincare Routine
I can’t write about the skincare routine enough! Add to that the fact the most of us are quarantined at home right now, and no better time than the present to refresh on our at home skincare routine. What’s your routine? Are you sticking to it with being home so much more right now? Do we need to still go through the whole thing twice a day if we never leave the house or see sunlight? And what about SPF!? So many questions, but for starters, let’s make sure we are all on the same page as far as what that routine looks like.
This is going to be a short blog (surprise! I am not going into paragraphs of research) addressing those questions I posted above is a good place to start, except that first question as I can’t answer that for you and my routine is a little on the “extra” side….
Are you sticking to it with being home so much more right now?
Hopefully the answer to this one is yes! Keeping up with consistency is key for so many reasons, but also you are still doing some activity and starting and ending your day with a little self care is going to help you not just physically, but mentally. I mean you’re still showering right? And brushing your teeth? So your skincare game shouldn’t fall off the wagon either! You are cleansing off all the toxins your body excretes at night when you cleanse in the morning and at night we remove all that stuff we pick up throughout doing whatever it is we are doing. Now that we are all aware of how much we touch our faces, cleansing and caring for them twice daily should make a little more sense.
Do we need to go through the whole routine twice a day even if we aren’t going outside or seeing sunlight?
Yes. I could go into this one more, but for sake of space, your skin care routine is like feeding your skin healthy nutrients and sunscreen can actually be beneficial to your skin for more reasons that blocking UV rays. Zinc is quite the skin healer and known to have many beneficial properties for acne prone skin. However, if you really are not going to wear SPF at this time, at least moisturize and consider an antioxidant-rich mask twice a week.
The Routine:
Morning:
Cleanse skin for 90 seconds
Tone skin, either mist or apply with cotton ball
Apply serums, I recommend a hydrating serum or Vitamin C serum in the morning
Moisturize, one for your face skin with SPF (please do not use body lotion on your face) and if you have it, an eye cream with SPF for the delicate skin around your eyes.
Night:
Cleanse skin twice this time. Once with a creamy or oil based cleanser to lift off makeup, previous moisturizer, SPF, etc. The second cleanse is for your skin, so use skin type appropriate cleanser.
Exfoliate, this will vary depending on the type of exfoliant you use. If is daily, then you will always follow your nightly cleanser with exfoliating. If it is 2-3x weekly, then choose what nights you want to use it on and stick to that. If it is like mine which is a once a week pumpkin exfoliating mask, then you will use it once a week, leave on for 5-7 minutes and remove.
Tone either using a spray toner or wipe gently over skin with a cotton ball. This helps reset the pH of your skin and remove any excess debris. Also can help you following products absorb into skin.
Apply facial serum, you might use more than one. There are also exfoliating serums, like those with Retinol or other AHA, these you will skip the exfoliation step, tone and then apply exfoliating serum. If you are not sure what the heck a serum is, click on over to my Back to Basics blog and learn what they are and which ones might be best for you.
Eye cream is an often underused product, which is a shame when you think about how that is one of the first things we tend to freak out about as we age. Apply with the tip of your ring finger of either hand to the delicate skin around your eye. You should use the size of an uncooked kernel of rice for both eyes, not one kernel of rice each eye. A little bit goes a really long way!
Moisturize your skin last, this seals in all that goodness you just did. You shouldn’t need a glob to feel hydrated, if you do then you are using the wrong weight of moisturizer and potentially just the wrong product all together. A little shy of a nickel should cover your face and neck with luxurious hydration.
There are a lot of additional tools and products that you can use, I won’t go into all of them but here are a few you might not know when is best to add in to your home routine:
Masks
These are amazing when you get the right one for your skin type! Use a hydrating mask weekly during your night routine, before the serum step. If you are using a clay based mask, make sure to use it in the areas that are producing oil, this might not be your whole face. Always use a fresh washcloth to remove or a disposable facial sponge.
Serums
I mentioned that Back to Basics blog about serums and definitely want you to check that out for a deeper understanding. The reason I put this here is because you can have some serums that you don’t use everyday. These are treatment products, and even though I think every person needs a hydrating serum, not everyone is going to use them in their home care routine. If you are adding one in, try using it at night first as that is when we recommend using your more active skin care products.
Clarisonic/Exfoliating Cleansing Brush
You can use this either morning or night with your first cleanser. Try to not use this with any exfoliating cleansers as they don’t need any extra help doing their job. You also don’t need to use pressure with this, just let the bristles glide over your cleanser helping to lift off dirt and debris. If you use it in the morning, maybe don’t use it at night especially if you also are using a nightly exfoliant.
Jade Facial Roller
This little gem is great to use especially right now as it can aid in lymphatic drainage. Use this last in your routine, you can either use it on top of your serum, or on top of facial oil. If you mix your facial oil into your moisturizer, then just use your facial roller over your moisturizer. More about this guy later, or you can check out my Pinterest Board here
Check out my Back to Basics Blog series to get a refresher on what each step really means for your skin. Take care and stay healthy out there!
Till next time, be good to your skin and even better to yourself,
xx eri