A complete skincare routine is not about buying multiple products and following a million steps. In only a few minutes every day, you can have a routine with the essential elements that dermatologists recommend. Experts emphasize the importance of sticking to just a few key steps: cleaning, moisturizing, and protecting your skin. By keeping things simple and using the right products, you can easily achieve healthy and glowing skin.
Ready to dive in? Here’s a basic 10-minute or less skincare routine you can follow, plus some suggestions to customize it based on your skin type and specific needs.
Follow these 3 steps for a basic skincare routine
These 3 steps are the foundation of any routine and apply to any skin type:
- Cleanser: Start with a gentle cleanser to remove dirt, oil, and any impurities that may have accumulated throughout the day or night. This prepares your skin for the next steps and guarantees the products you apply next are properly absorbed.
- Moisturizer: Use a hydrating facial moisturizer to strengthen your skin barrier, your defense against pollution and harsh weather. Choose products with ingredients like hyaluronic acid that keep water in the skin and ceramides to seal hydration.
- Sunscreen: This is the key step every skin expert will insist on. Apply a broad-spectrum SPF of at least 30 every morning before going outside. Apply it half an hour before being exposed to the sunlight and reapply after 2 hours of exposition. Sunscreen protects your skin from UV damage and prevents aging, dark spots, and skin cancer.
Dermatologists recommend following these steps twice a day, once in the morning and once before going to bed.
Complement and improve your skincare routine
Depending on your skin type and special characteristics, you can enhance your routine with these optional products:
- Treatment: Between the cleanser and the moisturizer you can add a special treatment for specific concerns, like retinol at night to promote cell turnover, a vitamin C serum during the day to reduce hyperpigmentation, or niacinamide to minimize pores and even your skin tone.
- Eye cream: Apply a special eye cream to hydrate the delicate skin around your eyes and prevent puffiness and early signs of aging.
- Hydrating mist: Ideal for dry skin, this product boosts hydration before moisturizing. People with dry skin would also benefit from a richer moisturizer at night.
- Salicylic acid cleanser: If you have oily or acne-prone skin, experts suggest incorporating an exfoliating cleanser or toner with glycolic or salicylic acid. The toner must be applied after the cleanser.
- Fragrance-free products: People with sensitive skin should look for products with calming ingredients like niacinamide to avoid irritation and undesired effects on their skin.
- Anti-aging products: Besides retinol, which is the star for anti-aging results, mature skins would also benefit from a vitamin C serum in the morning to brighten the complexion and add antioxidant protection against environmental damage.
These recommendations are key to crafting the perfect skincare routine for you, but remember that consistency is key. You don’t need to buy many or too expensive products, but the ones with the right ingredients for your needs and type of skin.
Remember to test new products on your wrist before applying them to your face to avoid adverse reactions, and complement your routine with a balanced diet and proper hydration. Skincare doesn’t need to be complicated —start with the essentials and build from there. You can always adapt the routine as you go along.