Basic Skin Routine – 3 Easy Steps

Here is the truth, not everyone knows how to take care of their skin.  People young and old, from all walks of life, never learned a proper skincare routine.  Unfortunately, if your parents or caregivers did not know or never taught you, you probably did not receive the proper skin education. 

Here is the good news!… you are reading this so you are going to receive any easy starting point.  These are three simple steps to get you started!

1. Do not jump into a 10 step regimen on your first attempt. If you are currently not using anything or using only one product, purchasing an entire regimen to get started may not be the best move for you. There are a few reasons for that: A) It can be very overwhelming to use five different products every day and night if you have never done that before. Start with one or two of the most important products (more on that later), get acquainted to those, and then slowly incorporate more condition-focused serums and creams month by month. B) Skincare products are not cheap. Buying a ten step regimine can cost several hundred dollars. If you become overloaded and don’t end up using any of them, you may as well have flushed the money down the toilet. C) Skin care is customizable. While it may seem easiest to buy every acne or aging product in a line, that can be irritating to the skin and will not address all of your needs.  Starting with one or two great products to build upon will be your best bet.
2. Starting a new skincare routine does not need to be complicated. When clients come to see me about their concerns, we go through what products they are currently using and fill in what is missing. The three essentials for everyone are a cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen. If you can find a sunscreen with SPF, all the better! If you are moisturizing, but not cleansing, it’s time to pick up a cleanser that is appropriate for your skin type. Serums, exfoliation products, and masks are important but can take a back seat to the essentials.
3. Talk to a professional. If you’ve never taken care of your skin on a daily basis, it is hard to know where to start. You may hit the store and pick out products that just are not right for you…. in my opinion, that’s more of a waste of money then spending a little extra to talk to a professional or invest in professional products. A Licensed Esthetician will talk with you about your current products, if there are any, and advise you on where to begin. For example, there are many different type of cleansers available and they are not all appropriate for all skin types. An Esthetician will most likely recommend a professional product to you, for many reasons.  However, even if you don’t want to buy what they have to offer, they can stear you in the right direction for products at the beauty counter. 

We only have one face. That face has to represent you for the rest of your life. If you haven’t started a skin routine yet, late is better than never.