Taking care of your body extends beyond healthy lifestyle choices and eating habits. To truly enjoy everything that your body has to offer, you may also need to perform a daily skincare routine—or two!
But studying the correct order for skincare products can be challenging, especially due to conflicting information on the subject. This can make it nearly impossible to develop a safe and beneficial routine. However, this guide can help.
Let’s learn more about the simple skincare routine order you should be following:
Morning Routine
Mastering the morning skincare routine is often more challenging than doing the same with the nightly one. That’s because it’s easy to fall into bad habits during the morning hours.
Individuals that aren’t “morning people” may forget to start their day with skincare products, opting instead to wander to their coffee maker and snack on breakfast foods. While eating breakfast is an essential part of eating right, it can distract you.
Exercise, also a healthy habit, can be equally distracting. To make matters slightly worse, rigorous exercise can also make you sweat. If you don’t wash away this sweat, it can clog your pores, resulting in irksome acne.
Consequently, it’s vital to work at your routine. Try to apply skincare products after exercise, showering, and breakfast. This way, your skin and stomach can both start the day off right.
Every morning skincare routine can be boiled down into five essential steps. These steps are:
- Cleanse
- Tone
- Add Oils
- Moisturize
- Apply Sunscreen
Let’s go ahead and jump right into these steps so that you can know exactly what to do to achieve a flawless complexion that lasts all day long. To start things off, you’ll need a cleanser.
Cleanse
The very first thing you should do when starting your morning skincare routine is cleansing your skin. You can do this with warm water and dermatologist-approved soap, or you could use a cleanser. For Instance, using skin care goat milk soap regularly, can keep your skin free from bacterias and give it a natural glow.
As the name of this product might suggest, a cleanser will help wash away any dirt or oils clinging to your skin. When applied with warm water, it may also help your pores open up, allowing for deeper cleaning.
Tone
Once you’ve washed your skin, it’s time to apply a toner. Many toners function as anti-acne products, which may benefit those suffering from oily, acne-prone skin.
The purpose of a toner is to remove any stubborn grease and grime, resulting in a more even (or toned) complexion. Though it may seem odd, once you’ve removed these hard-to-reach pockets of dirt, you’ll be ready to apply fresh oils to your skin.
Add Oils
If you use specific types of oils, serums, or essences, now is the time to apply them. Just be sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions when applying such skincare products.
And if you’re going to exfoliate, only do it up to three times a week. Otherwise, you may be doing more harm than good. If you’ve been exfoliating daily but forgetting to moisturize, now is the time to change that.
Moisturize
Even if you have naturally oily skin, it’s worthwhile to apply a moisturizer. This is especially true of those who’ve cleaned and exfoliated their skin during their morning routine. This step should feel like a soft hug for your face, so enjoy it!
Apply Sunscreen
Though you may not be terribly afraid of excess sun exposure, especially if you spend the majority of your time indoors, it’s crucial to apply sunscreen during your morning skincare routine. Melanoma is more common than you might think.
Most forms of skin cancer form after excessive exposure to radiation, including the kind that comes from our sun. If you spend time near windows or plan on going outside at all during the day (even for just a moment), you’ll need sunscreen.
If you’re primarily an indoor person, you might be able to use a sunscreen with a low SPF. However, individuals that are often out in the sun should invest in a product with a high SPF.
Still, depending on the UV index for the day and the time spent outdoors, they may also need to reapply the sunscreen throughout the day.
Night Routine
Your nighttime skincare routine is going to be very similar to your morning one, with some slight changes. Most notably, you will not be applying sunscreen during this routine. Instead, you’ll be able to finish up with a little moisturizer.
Generally, a nighttime skincare routine consists of four simple steps. They are:
- Cleanse
- Tone
- Apply Serums
- Moisturize
For healthy skin, be sure to follow these steps in succession. It’s also crucial to be aware of the things you’re applying to your skin, as some ingredients have negative interactions with each other.
Still, just as with your morning skincare routine, you’re going to want to start with a nice gentle cleanse. This way, your skin is a blank canvas that is open to receiving the products you’re about to apply.
Additionally, you’ll want to apply a toner before moving on to the next product. In this way, the night routine is precisely the same as the morning one. However, when we get to serums and oils, things change.
Apply Serums
If you’re using an anti-aging product that contains retinol, you can go ahead and apply it now. If you use an anti-acne product to help eliminate pimples, this is also the time to apply it.
However, under no circumstances should you put both of these products on your face simultaneously or right after one another. That’s because retinol reacts poorly with certain chemicals and compounds.
Salicylic acid, one of the most common active ingredients in acne-fighting products, is one such compound. Should you accidentally apply salicylic acid and retinol within the same routine, you may immediately notice redness, dryness, and blotching.
If you’re determined to use a salicylic acid product and a retinol one, employ the retinol option in the evenings only. This way, you can apply your salicylic acid treatment during the morning and your retinol at night.
Moisturize
Lastly, you’ll want to apply a gentle moisturizer to your skin before hitting the hay. You can also choose to massage a nighttime moisturizer into your skin. These tend to be less oily than daytime varieties, helping to reduce pillowcase stains.
Learn the Correct Order for Skincare Today!
Learning the correct order for skincare products could help make them more effective. Besides, putting on your products in the wrong order can also be somewhat detrimental, especially if you’re using retinol.
Be sure to start your skincare routines with a quick cleanse before applying toner. After that, you can apply your serums and oils, then moisturize. During the morning, you’ll also want to add sunscreen to your routine.
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