Best Practices: Skincare Edition

As I’m sure you’re all aware, skincare is an extremely complex practice. Whether you learned this because you struggle with acne, or just by building your own skincare regimen—you know there’s a LOT of information out there. So I’m sure this will only be my first of many skincare guides. In the future I will provide explanations on the order in which to apply products, and what these products do for your skin. I’ll also be sharing my own AM/PM routines and the products I use. If this all sounds interesting to you please let me know via social media comments, or by using my contact page on the site! I would love to hear what you are interested in seeing!

For now, here are some best practices I have learned and implemented into my own skincare regimen. 

1.     For cleansers/exfoliators gently use circular rubbing motions. You’re not trying to scrape off the top layer of skin.

2.     Exfoliate 2-3 times a week. We lose approximately 50 million skin cells a day, so exfoliating helps to get rid of any excess that might still be clinging to your face. However do not over-exfoliate as it can cause dryness and irritation, and you’ll be fighting acne and skin damage for those reasons.

3.     Replace makeup wipes with micellar water. Micellar water contains “micelles” which are tiny molecules made up of surfactant ingredients acting as magnets to dirt and oil. It is recommended you apply using cotton balls or rounds, as this helps makeup, dirt, and sebum adhere to it.

4.     Apply Micellar in a downward sweeping motion. This is because the hair follicles on your face tend to fall downwards. So when you wipe up, it lifts that hair cuticle up exposing the pore more prominently and wiping dirt deeper into it. Also try starting in your t-zone and working your way outward.

5.     Before applying Hyaluronic Acid (or any water magnetizing substance), dampen your face with a layer of water first. HA works by drawing moisture into your skin through its water attracting humectants. By skipping this step you could actually be drying your skin out farther, as now the HA will be pulling out the water from the deeper layers of your skin, drying it out rather than hydrating and plumping. 

6.     Do not rub in your serums. Instead, press or tap them into the skin. Put 2-3 drops into the palms of your hands, (not the fingertips as the product will fall into your finger crevices and not make it to your face). By applying this way you are being gentler with your skin which is always ideal, and serums are not a product that requires a rubbing motion in order to be effective.

7.     Like your serums, you are going to want to tap in your eye creams. The skin around your eyes is by far the most delicate. So you’ll want to avoid rubbing or pulling in the area, as overtime it can lead to increased wrinkles from continuous stretching.

8.     To apply moisturizer, this time you are going to want to sweep in an upward motion, because now you want the product to enter you’re your skin’s deepest layers. Be sure to use a moisturizer no matter what- even if your skin is oily or acne prone, just find one formulated for this skin type. Moisturizers act as a protectant barrier and help to infuse your skin with hydration, as well as trap your products underneath. Reversing the order can impede on the absorption of your other products. A good rule of thumb is to apply products thinnest to thickest in consistency.

9.     Do not forget your hands and neck! These are the first signs or aging and actually harder to reverse! A tip by dermatologists, and skin care professionals, is to use the excess product on your hands in these areas. However, I personally like to apply a separate moisturizer to these areas as using the “excess” just doesn’t feel like enough to me. But rather than using my more expensive face moisturizer, I use a cheaper “hands and chest” moisturizer to cover these areas.

10.  Use sunscreen. Do it, do it, do it. Whether it’s sunny, rainy, cloudy, if you’re going outside or staying in. Apply. Sunscreen. You could have the most flawless skincare routine imaginable, but it is all completely pointless if you do not use your sunscreen. There are countless articles and studies of the effects the sun has in the photo-ageing process. A commonality in the statistics across these articles stated the estimated amount of damage caused by sun exposure is 80-90%. Folks, ask any doctor, dermatologist, esthetician, skincare expert, (or any of these viral skincare tiktokers lol…), the number one most important step in your routine is sunscreen. The best anti-aging combatant is to prevent, not correct. I could go on about the science of this, and maybe one day I will, but for now trust me on this one, use the sunscreen. There are so many products on the market today designed specifically to not have the scent or thick, sticky consistency of regular sunscreen. If you hate it that much, at least go for a moisturizer with SPF 30 at the minimum. 

11.  Use charcoal, and other oil absorbing masks sparingly. I know it can be exciting when you first see/feel the results of all that oil leaving your face, but your natural oil production is healthy. Using these masks are only to help balance your oil production. So even though you may feel like an extra oily person, you don’t want to dry out your skin. Your body will combat this with increased oil production which will only lead to more potential acne and irritation. Let your body produce its’ natural oils, just help to maintain them. If you do this frequently, be sure you are still putting that moisture back in with hydrating masks, lotions, or serums. If you’re skin is feeling tight or rough and flaky, you’ve done too much. 

12.  If using a jade roller or gua sha massage tool, go over an area 3-5 times. For a jade roller, you are using to either roll out skin wrinkles, press in products, or soothe the skin if using it cool. A gua sha is more so for lymphatic drainage, use the same technique of going over an area 3-5 times for it to be effective. Also be sure to apply an oil or thick moisturizing agent before giving yourself a facial massage, as again we do not want to pull too hard at our skin.

13.  Create your day routine based on the idea of protecting the skin. You are going to want to consider sun exposure, dirt, makeup, weather, and air pollution when prepping your skin for the day. You are not going to want a lot of heavy products when you’ll have a layer of makeup, sweat, and oil. You’re face may end up looking like a melted mess. Try using serums with protectant qualities, and a thinner sunscreen and moisturizer. 

14.  Create your night routine based on the idea of repairing the skin— as that is what it is doing at night. Your routine should be providing your skin with what it needs in order to get the job done. Also try using a heavier moisturizer at night if you think you’re skin can handle it. 

15.  Controlling your breakout- Likely your first reaction to noticing a breakout is over washing/cleansing. But now you are completely drying out the top layer of your skin. Your body combats this by now over-producing oil which can worsen a breakout or slow its healing process. So now you have a lot of oil production and build up in the deeper layers of your skin, but are dry up top.

16.  Adapt to your environment. Where you are, is it dry or wet? If you are traveling, your skin will notice this, and it’s important to have the necessary tools on hand to combat the change in climate. 

Just remember, any part of your skincare routine is only helping to balance your skin. If you are on the oilier side, you are not trying to completely strip yourself of all natural oil. Don’t mistake it for only bad and acne-causing. And on the other hand, if you have dry skin you’re not trying to overcompensate by dunking your face in oils. Maintain a healthy amount of whatever you feel your skin is asking for. Like your body, your skin talks to you too. Just listen to what it needs.