It's easy to just wing-it when it comes to your skin, but having a skincare routine is actually not as much work as it sounds. Today I have an easy step by step guide for you to follow and how to stick with it.
So first things first, why should you have a skincare routine? It's important to take care of your skin because the effects of bad habits don't show now, but will in years to come when it's too late to do anything about it. When it comes to your skin, prevention is key.
Day:
Cleanse/wash - Depending on the type of cleanser you have you should wash your face in the morning. If you have a very strong cleanser or just have sensitive skin, just rinse your face thoroughly with water. The reason for this is to remove dead skin cells that accumulated from your night's sleep.
Toner - Your toner might have specific instructions on the bottle, so follow those. If you don't have a toner or prefer a more natural route, Rosewater is life-changing. You can either spray the rose water onto your face or pour some on a cotton ball and wipe your face gently with that. Rosewater can be bought at Indian food shops and is extremely cheap. I highly recommend using it. Toner is important because it removes excess dirt and dead skin while also balancing your skin's ph.
Cold spoon/ ice cube - Use a cold spoon, (you can leave it in the fridge) or an ice cube to wake up your face and look less like a zombie after waking up. When using an ice cube, just rinse it with water before you apply it to your face so that it doesn't stick. This is refreshing as well and helps promote blood flow to your face which is good for healthy tissue.
Serum - Using a serum is an awesome idea, serums work wonders on your skin and just leave it looking healthy and glowing. A serum is not a must though, so if you don't have the means to buy a serum it's perfectly okay. But, if you do, I highly recommend using the super serum or the gold serum by By Black, click here to go to their page. Their serum is made in South Africa and is organic and vegan friendly.
Face massage - This is something I only recently added into my personal skin routine and it feels amazing. When putting your serum onto your face (if you don't have a serum you can use moisturizer) use it to massage your face. 5.1) First, start with your chin and rub in circular motions.
5.2) Secondly, follow your jawline using your fingers. Apply slight pressure.
5.3) Thirdly, create an L shape with your thumb and index finger and drag it from the bridge of your nose all the way to your hairline.
Lastly, take three fingers and apply pressure to your forehead. Drag your fingers up from your eyebrows, to your hairline.
For a full tutorial, click here and skip to 10:34. Thank you Alexa Chung.
6. Moisturizer - Let the serum absorb a little bit and when most of it has soaked into your face, add your moisturizer to your face and neck. Using a good moisturizer is very important. If you tend to have very oily skin, make sure that your moisturizer is not too rich and if you have very dry skin, check that your moisturizer is rich enough.
7. SPF- This could possibly be one of the most neglected steps, but also the most important. If your face cream doesn't have SPF inside (which I don't recommend anyway), then you should apply SPF before a single sun ray hits your face. Apply it to your neck as well, reapply every 2 to 4 hours. SPF protects your skin from the sun and thus prevents aging, blackheads, and leathery skin.
Night:
Cleanse - Before you go to bed you need to wash the day off your face. At night I make sure to wash my face with my cleanser twice, especially when I wore makeup that day. It's important to wash your face properly because dirt and makeup that get leftover are what causes breakouts and blackheads.
Toner - Your toner might have specific instructions on the bottle, so follow those. If you don't have a toner or prefer a more natural route, Rosewater is life-changing. You can either spray the rose water onto your face or pour some on a cotton ball and wipe your face gently with that. Rosewater can be bought at Indian food shops and is extremely cheap. I highly recommend using it. Toner is important because it removes excess dirt and dead skin while also balancing your skin's ph.
Serum - Using a serum is an awesome idea, serums work wonders on your skin and just leave it looking healthy and glowing. A serum is not a must though, so if you don't have the means to buy a serum it's perfectly okay. But, if you do, I highly recommend using the super serum or the gold serum by By Black, click here to go to their page. Their serum is made in South Africa and is organic and vegan friendly.
Moisturize - Let the serum absorb a little bit and when most of it has soaked into your face, add your moisturizer to your face and neck. It's most important to moisturize right before you go to bed, this is because while you're asleep, your skin regenerates.
Spot treatment - This step you should only do when it is extremely and necessary not every night. If you are having any breakouts, apply a spot treatment to those areas and leave it overnight. Rinse it off in the morning.
Weekly:
Exfoliate - Use an exfoliator or natural scrubs (click here for diy face scrubs) to exfoliate ONCE A WEEK. You should never over-exfoliate, so be gentle with your skin. Exfoliating removes dead skin cells and gives your skin a healthy and gorgeous glow.
Sheet Mask - Sheet masks are perfect for a Netflix and chill type of night. My absolute favorite sheet masks are from Skin Republic and are so good. I definitely recommend using any of their face masks. You can buy them at Dischem or clicks. Click here for a link to see what they look like.
Nose - If your nose looks like mine, and you struggle with blackheads, you might want to exfoliate your nose another time in the week as well.
How to stick with it?
Sometimes it seems like a lot, but incorporating these habits into your skincare routine has proven and magnificent results on your skin in the long run. You can make a sticky note with a list of your day and night steps and stick it on your bathroom mirror. In this way, you won't forget a step and before you know it you'll be doing them without any help!
Love your skin and take care of it, because it's the only one you have.
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