Today’s topic is daily skin care routine. A regular skin care routine is essential – so to say – to achieve a long-lasting beautiful and refreshed looking skin.
The internet provides us with all kinds of information about that, which makes it really difficult to differentiate between what is the best for us and what is rather used to advertise a product.
Well, like we pointed out, there is a vast amount of information, skin care tips and product recommendations.
Actually for me it is most important to show you a simple and reasonable skin care routine which you can follow every day and step by step to achieve a better complexion.
This skin care routine does really depend on the kind of skin type you have. So necessary for me was to find the right skin care and product recommendation for every skin type. If you’d like, let me know in the comments below, if I managed to do so.
We are starting with the skin types first before we go into detail about every other aspect of a good skin care routine.
Table of Contents
Definition of skin types for the facial skin care routine
Normally there are 5 skin types, each of them demanding a special skin care routine:
Normal skin:
- The least-maintenance skin type
- Neither too many nor too little wrinkles
- Small to medium sized pores
- Neither too greasy nor too dry
- No excessive skin impurities or other distinctive features worth mentioning
- But even normal skin needs a basic skin care which is important to keep it “normal” for the future, too, so it doesn’t become high-maintenance.
Greasy skin:
- Attracts attention by having that greasy shine
- The skin on your face feels pretty damp, the pores are often rather enlarged and skin impurities sadly appear on quite a regular basis.
- Greasy skin needs a different kind of skin care routine – one that is rather mattifying than being too nourishing.
- We’ll let you know more about the greasy skin type and what it needs in a bit.
Dry skin:
- Often has raw patches, which can be red or even have flakes of shed skin.
- The complexion is uneven and there are often also wrinkle formations (especially the so called dryness wrinkles)
- With dry skin your essential skin care routine needs to be nourishing and moisturizing.
Combination skin:
- Combines all the features of the three skin types above.
- Depending on the area of your face it can either get greasy or dry.
- Most of the time your t-zone will get greasy and your cheeks rather dry, whereas the rest of your face keeps being normal.
- With combination skin you need a special skin care routine to balance all the different parts of your skin and keep them nourished and even.
Last but not least is the sensitive skin:
- Acting like a bit of a diva, this skin type reacts very sensitive to every kind of skin care product and especially their ingredients.
- When it comes to its endurance or simply being stable, this skin type usually shows redness and skin irritations.
- To find a suitable skin care routine for sensitive skin, first of all you need to learn how to handle this type of skin correctly.
- What you essentially need to find out is which ingredients are not good when it comes to this skin type and its care and also which strengths and weaknesses it has.
- But you will only manage to find out if you test as many products as possible to find the perfect skin care routine for your face.
You should look for the products that fit you best only after you found out your skin type. And even then you have to be careful to keep in mind that if – and only if – your skin has any special skin care needs, you should take them into consideration. That’s the case if you, for example, have acne or rosacea.
The basics of every skin care routine
Every skin type is different and even if it all seems black and white, there are sadly no clear limits in between the skin types, like it may seem.
Because of that it is of utmost importance to learn the basic skin care routine for you and to understand it and obviously to use it step by step.
Depending on the skin type you can optimise this beauty routine by varying the products, skin care intervals and active agent concentration.
The basics of every skin care routine should contain the following steps:
Step 1: Cleansing, cleansing, cleansing
A thorough cleansing of your skin is every expert’s and dermatologist’s recommendation. Keeping your skin clean is the most important action when it comes to avoiding or getting rid of acne, skin unevenness and impurities.
If you have greasier skin or even in warmer months it is recommended to cleanse your skin twice and to remove your make-up separately. Like that you make sure that no residual make-up clogs your pores and it has been removed completely because if that doesn’t happen this residue can enlarge your pores or even get as far as giving you skin impurities.
Attention: Remove your make-up!
It doesn’t matter how late it is or how tired you feel – make-up should always be removed. Always.
If I could give any kind of tip to my 16-year-old self, it would be this: Wash your face every morning and every evening. A thorough facial cleansing is the most important feature of the skin care routine.
If you really are too tired, you should at least use a make-up remover wipe to remove most of your make-up. You won’t regret it in the morning.
What do you need to keep in mind when it comes to facial cleansing?
- Gentle cleansing products remove the residual make-up without irritating or affecting the skin badly.
- The cleansing product might be a bit too aggressive, if your skin starts to show signs of tension or dryness. Gentle lotions can solve these problems and others like causing redness before they even arise.
- You should cleanse your skin twice a day – in the morning before you apply your make-up and in the evening before you go to bed. Only this way ensures that your skin can breathe and also regenerate itself.
The right facial cleansing for your skin care routine:
- Wash or better even disinfect your hands. Your face already has enough bacteria on its own. 🙂
- Now to open the pores and to make you skin smoother, you should use some warm water on it.
- Then apply the cleansing product in circling motions and – if necessary – let it soak for a few minutes.
- Wash the cleanser off thoroughly or just wipe it off with moist cotton pads.
- Now rinse your face with cold water, so the pores can close again and also because it stimulates your circulation which gives your skin a fresh glow.
- At last the remaining moisture should be dabbed off with a clean towel.
Using a fruit acid peeling (combination of AHA and BHA) could be really beneficial and just the right product for your skin.
Attention: If you have drier skin you should rather use a low-dose peeling because it shouldn’t dry out your skin more than it already is. And if you have greasy skin the fruit acid concentration can certainly come at a higher dosage.
Step 2: Applying a toner to regulate the pH-value
Washing your skin usually changes its pH-value. That means getting back to that value is very important, otherwise the products you use after that probably won’t reach the desired effect. It also strengthens the skin’s own protective barrier, which is important, too.
So when it comes to your facial skin care routine, you shouldn’t miss this important step.
A few minutes after cleansing your face, you should apply a toner. Just put a small amount on a cotton pad and apply it on your face using said pad. Just avoid the sensitive skin around your eyes because it isn’t recommended to apply it there.
The toner won’t be rinsed off most of the time. You just let it sink into your skin, give it a few minutes and apply your daily skin care routine afterwards.
There are different kinds of toners. Usually the ones which simply balance out your skin’s natural pH-value or the fruit acid toners, which have this peeling and disinfecting effect.
Our experience says that the RAU AHA Tonic is a really solid choice. It is a very gentle toner with low concentrations of fruit acid and it is suitable for all kinds of skin types, even for sensitive skin.
Step 3: Applying moisturizing skin care
Our skin needs several doses of moisture throughout the day. We often forget to give it enough of that, especially in younger years. And yet a good moisturizing skin care is a really important step in your daily skin care routine.
Back in the days I thought that greasy skin didn’t need any additional moisturizing skin care. So I went without using moisturizing creams at all until the moisture in my skin got measured. I found out that my skin was actually on the verge of being dehydrated!
Nowadays I do know that even greasy skin can lack moisture. That is why it’s important to use hydrating products which have a light and fluid or almost gel-like formula. If the skin care is too nourishing, it can make your skin even greasier and also put an unnecessary strain on it.
With skin care you need to know: try as many as possible. You will find a variety of products that you probably can use. Lotions, creams, body milk, moisturizing serums and gels – these all should be hydrating and nourishing for your skin.
If you want to use products for the area around your eye, there is also a separate line for that. Opinions on these products vary though: some say they are very useful, others simply find them pointless. Most think these eye creams are just more expensive and smaller versions of the usual moisturizing creams.
In my opinion an eye cream can be really useful. I do have to say though that it depends on the situation, since the eye area obviously does differ from any other part of the face.
The skin under the eyes is way thinner and therefore needs special nourishing ingredients. If you used a normal moisturizing under the eyes, it might cause redness or irritation up to an itch.
My tip: You don’t have to try the newest or even the most expensive anti-aging products because it is better to use the products which you already tested and which you know are good for your skin.
Even lower-priced skin care products can be suitable for your daily skin care routine. Start with the mid-range products and if you need to, “work your way up” to the higher-priced ones, too, especially when you have uncomplicated skin.
Step 4: Applying sun protection (only for your morning routine)
If your moisturizing cream doesn’t contain a sun protection factor, well then it is necessary to use additional sun protection on your face.
The most significant cause for our skin to age are UV rays. Only the protection from these rays completes the skin care routine.
According to experts’ opinions, the UV-protection is effective starting at SPF 15. It does depend on the skin type though. With extremely dry or sensitive skin I would at least recommend SPF 30.
Special features of skin care routine for the individual skin types
Now we name a few of the special features of skin care routine for the individual skin types:
- Normal skin can mostly just use drugstore products which actually don’t have to be the cheapest product from the shelf because we know that they should also contain an effective anti-aging prevention.
- With greasy skin you simply do your thorough cleansing and every other day after that cleansing you should use a fruit acid toner. It makes the shine go away and also unclogs the pores. After this routine just apply a nourishing moisturizing cream.
- If you have dry skin, use a Hyaluronic Acid Serum as a step in between and just before you apply your moisturizing skin care because it gives your skin a hydrating touch. After that apply your nourishing moisturizing cream.
- You can use a gentle fruit acid tonic (BHA) for combination skin, too. It smooths the skin, unclogs the pores and helps against skin impurities. Apply a light moisturizing gel after that to let the skin breathe freely and regenerate itself.
- Sensitive skin needs a gentle, soap-free cleansing lotion. With this skin type, too, you can use a hyaluronic acid serum because an intensive moisturizing skin care is very important. Attention: Always test new products on a small part of your skin and wait for a reaction before you use them on your whole face.
My conclusion of the ideal skin care routine
- No matter what skin type you are, a thorough cleansing is very important.
- Using a toner after the cleansing can be really useful to strengthen the skin’s barrier. It seems to be an unimpressive yet very important anti-aging component.
- The most important part of the basics of every skin care routine is the moisturizing skin care because it regulates the water balance of our skin which makes it look fresh and smooth.
- Sun protection is a must-have for every morning routine – no matter the seasons or temperatures.
- The skin care routine we presented you with should be done twice a day – in the morning before you apply your make-up and in the evening before you go to bed.
- Last but not least, you should keep your food intake well-balanced and grant your body as much sleep as it actually needs. If your mind and body are relaxed, you facial skin care routine will work even better.
