Did you want to start taking care of your skin, but you couldn’t find the time or know where to start?
Starting to take care of your skin for the first time can be daunting. You don’t know where to start and what products will be good for you. It can take some experimenting with different products to find the right products that work for you because everyone is different.
Although other people can suggest or recommend products that can be good for a particular skin type, your skin can react differently to other people’s experiences, such as your sensitivity to the ingredients compared to another person. Furthermore, the environment you live in can be varied, such as how strong you are to sun exposure or the hotness of your living environment.
Also, using multiple skincare products can be pricey and stress your skin if the skincare products are not suitable for your skin and the environment you may be living. Following this information, this simple 3 step skincare routine would be great if you want to start taking care of your skin.
1. Cleanser
You may think that it is okay to use a standard soap or shower gel to wash your face. However, that would likely not be a good idea as there are things that you would need to consider before applying to your face skin. Also, standard soap here means soap not explicitly designed for the face.
Using regular soap can be too stripping for your face. Stripping the skin means that the soap can remove too much from your face, such as oil and beneficial bacteria. You might have felt it before if you ever washed with regular soap, but it can feel like your face is quite dry. This might be a similar case if you used shower gel to wash your face as you might be stripping too much from your face.
Additionally, the shower gel ingredients and regular soap may be too intense for your face, such as having too many fragrances. Fragrance can sometimes be irritating for some people, and other ingredients in the soap and shower gel may be as well. Also, regular soap and shower gel would most likely have a pH that is not suitable for your face and ingredients used to make them (which should be between 4.5 to 5.5 pH).
Actually, the cleanser can even be considered the most important because one of the most common causes of troubled skin is some things around us that we are exposed to every day, such as pollution, dust, germs, dirt, and bacteria. Cleansing is vital to keep your skin clean and stay healthier.
The basic and common type of cleansers would usually comprise cream, milk, gel or foam cleanser, which can cleanse the skin of most things that we are exposed to daily that can cause problems for us. When choosing a cleanser for the first time, it would be recommended to select the basic and common types and try the gentle cleansers on the skin.
If you want to choose a cleanser more specifically rather than the gentle cleansers which can work for all skin, it would be best to select a cleanser according to your skin type, which most people would refer to as oily, sensitive, normal, and dry. Some cleansers even target a skin problem if you want to explore those cleansers, such as ageing signs, acne, and dry skin.
One of the easiest ways to identify skin type can be to visit a skincare store and ask to get the skin type check which is usually free. Identifying skin type can be one of the easiest ways to narrow down a fair amount of products and focus on other factors. The factors that may depend on the individual include age, sensitivity towards certain ingredients, and living environment conditions.
The factors can be everywhere, and you could feel overwhelmed when considering them. So, the best way to check if the cleanser is most suitable for you would be actually to test it out and experiment. To save money and time and reduce your stress to find the right cleanser, you can start with the gentle cleanser suitable for your skin type.
Also, feel free to ask for free samples of other cleansers that may suit you while you buy the gentle cleanser so you can try other cleansers without spending more. Although, it could take between 2 to 8 weeks for your skin to get used to the new skincare product or routine. You could still give other cleansers a try to see if there are any immediate side effects or if you like them, and that could be the following product to try.
The recommended usage is to use once during the day and night daily to not over-cleanse and strip your skin. After using a cleanser, you should start to feel and see the positive effects of keeping your skin clean. The positive effects can include reducing ageing signs, possible skin trouble like acne, and even hydration if the cleansers have that function.
Just to leave a note in case you are wondering if there is a way to cleanse deeper or more because you might be using thicker products like sunscreen or do makeup. As you find cleansers that suit you and get better at finding products for yourself, you may choose to explore other types of cleansers, such as oil or milk cleansers and exfoliators.
Related Post: Best Ways To Cleanse Your Skin
2. Toner
The second skincare routine to this simple 3 step skincare routine is toner. Although some people think toner is unnecessary, toner still plays a vital role in the skincare routine and brings positive benefits to the skin. A few reasons why some people don’t think toner is necessary is that some cleansers in the market provide a similar or weaker effect of toner when you use them.
Some of the role of toner in the skincare routine is that it cleanses your skin further, balances the pH of your skin, hydrates your skin, and texturise your skin for the skincare products you would use after toners such as moisturiser and sunscreen. Also, when you use toners, your skin pores can even tighten or minimise. As previously mentioned, some cleansers in the market have been made to cleanse gently without stripping the skin and hydrate the skin, which you might consider a similar effect to a toner.
However, toner is quite gentle on the skin and provides many beneficial properties depending on your toners. Therefore, I still think toner is an excellent addition to this simple skincare routine. When you consider choosing or trying a toner, you can think about what effects you want the toner to have, such as calming, hydrating, and anti-ageing effects.
For your first time using a toner, you may wish to take a similar approach to cleanser and choose a gentle toner for all skin types. You might decide to adapt your skin with the gentle toner slowly, so the skin knows that you have started to use skincare products. As you get better at finding out what kind of skin type you have and what you need to treat, such as acne, you can try other toners. Also, consider if you are sensitive to some ingredients like fragrances as many toners may have fragrances in their ingredient list.
Just as a side note, as you use skincare products and if you base your skincare products on skin type, it might be a good suggestion for you to check skin type from time to time as your skin type can change depending on various factors such as skincare products you have been using. Also, your need for toner such as acne treatment would change as your skin improves from the skincare routine.
Furthermore, there are different types of toner or what you could call types of products that provide toner effects, such as mists and essence, which you can explore. However, toner would be recommended to be used once during the day and night daily when you first start your skincare journey as it is one of the gentlest skincare steps and provides excellent benefits for your skin.
Related Post: How A Daily Skincare Routine Can Improve Your Quality Of Life
3. Sunscreen/Moisturiser
Step 3 of the simple skincare routine is sunscreen and moisturiser. Depending on what you think, you might be wondering that four products are recommended when it is 3 step skincare routine. However, the reason is that sunscreen is used for day and moisturiser at night because you would need sunscreen only when the sun is up, but you can use sunscreen for the night if you want it instead of using another moisturiser.
After prepping your skin by cleansing with the cleanser and normalising your skin with the toner, you should use sunscreen to moisturise and protect your skin against the sun. The sun is one of the elements that you are exposed to daily that can be pretty damaging to your skin without the protection of SPF (Sun protection factor).
By using sunscreen during the day, you will be able to protect yourself from the sun and, at the same time, keep your skin hydrated, as most sunscreens have a moisturising formula. I recommend you use at least SPF 30 and over for sufficient protection against the sun and its UV light. You may choose to use SPF 50 if you live in an area with intense sunlight.
When you choose your sunscreen, you can buy a sunscreen specifically designed for the face, so the product is suitable for your face skin with the pH and beneficial ingredients. The sunscreen for the face would be more beneficial than the usual sunscreen that you use on your body as the body have different pH to your face skin. Also, you may want to get a sunscreen that has specific features such as non-tint, stickiness, and shine but matte.
When you start your skincare routine, just using sunscreen will still provide many benefits for your skin, and you will begin to see such as reduction in damage to your skin and fewer acne breakouts. As you get used to the skincare routine and your skin adapts better, you can start adding additional steps for other effects such as serum or moisturiser before applying sunscreen.
If you are not planning to use sunscreen as a moisturiser for the night, you can find a moisturiser that is suitable for yourself. You might consider getting a moisturiser that may have less risk, such as fragrance-free lotion or cream when you start. As you get used to using the moisturiser, other options you might want to explore include night cream, which is thicker than your usual lotion or cream that you use during the day.
As you use sunscreen and moisturiser, you should start to see the positive benefits of reduction in ageing signs, acne, and having more radiant skin. With the positive results you see, you would know that the products you chose would be suitable for your skin, and from there, you can explore more products that fit your need.
Related Post: Do You Really Need A Night Cream Separately?
Skincare has been increasing in popularity, and the need to use skincare products, whatever your gender, seems to be growing. Everyone should be given a chance to use skin care products without feeling that you should not be using them because you are a particular person. This simple 3 steps skincare routine would be an excellent start for anyone who wants to start taking care of their skin or even those who want to refresh on their skincare routine.
The first step was to use a cleanser twice daily, day and night, to cleanse your skin. Using the cleanser would keep your skin clean and healthy from many skin problems caused by daily exposure to dirt, dust, and pollution. The second step was to use a toner twice daily, day and night, normalise your skin and refresh your skin without stripping them, and hydrate your skin to prepare for the further skincare routine steps. The third step was to use sunscreen during the day and moisturiser during the night to keep your skin radiant from receiving the hydration and nutrients that they need.
As you start trying out different skincare products and your skincare routine, you will learn what skincare products are suitable for you. Depending on your needs, you will also explore additional products such as serum to add to your current skincare routine. However, the simple 3 step skincare routine is a great start composed of gentle products that can provide positive benefits and get your skin used to the skincare products.