Simply put: It depends on your skin. But let’s break it down to the basics:
- Wash face (skip the cleanser)
- Add a toner or serum according to your needs.
- Moisturize.
- Add a sunblock adapted to the face.
Is it really that easy to have a great morning face routine?
Yes, it is. But the road to the perfect routine might be long. Here’s the thing, we are all subjected to billions of dollars in marketing. A new product with some fancy pansy ingredient that makes wonders, is pushed on us through social media and ads everywhere. We see them and our wallets quivers with fear, or is it just me?
Anyway, we see new products every single day and if you’re just starting your skin care journey you’re lost, and you may end up buying products for hundreds and hundreds.
How to find the right products
It’s tricky because there are no right or wrong answers. I would start by finding good sources online where you can get recommendations. Also, look for affordable products that you can find in your local drugstore, pharmacy or whatever shop you have nearby that sell these products.
Combine with products that you can order online. Now, it’s almost impossible to recommend products because the availability is different depending on where you live.
Where to start…
Ok, so I’m assuming that you at least have a Face cleanser and a moisturizer if not: now it’s time. There are different types of cleansers, and I would recommend one that is either gel or oil based. If it’s targeted to sensitive skin, good. If it’s fragrance free, perfect.
“But you said in the beginning not to use a cleanser??” Yup, that is true, and I mean it. But you must at least own one and there might be days where you might feel that you need it in the morning too. Just make sure that it doesn’t strip your skin from your natural oils, you will need them throughout the day (yes even if you have oily skin). Personally, I just stick to washing it with luke warm water and that’s it for my Morning Face Routine.
Your second step in a good (or awesome) morning face routine
Second step is where you start adding those extra ingredients that you want your skin to have. This is a crucial step for many but also where many of us fall for the temptation of over doing it. That includes me.
When adding a so-called “active” ingredient you need to make sure that you prioritize. You cannot just slather yourself with everything under the sun and hope that they will all work. You also need to be conscious of that there are some ingredients that do not work well together at all, they may cancel each other or even worse, damage your skin.
Is your skin very dry in the morning, then you might want to add hyaluronic acid to your morning Face Routine. Do you suffer with acne, use salicylic acid. A really good ingredient for the morning skin care routine is Vitamin C and it also works together with both mentioned BUT together with salicylic acid it may cause some irritation. It also depends on the strengths of the active ingredient in the products.
The wonders of Vitamin C in your morning face routine
So, what does the Vitamin C do? Some of the known effects include:
-Brightens your skin from dark spots like darker acne scars thanks to inhibiting melanin production.
-Evens out skin tone.
-Acts as a barrier help against UV exposure (SPF is still important though).
-Gives a glowy skin.
Some products are stronger than others and may be irritating so include it slowly into your skin care just to be safe. This is a rule of thumb with ANY new ingredient.
Another ingredient that is in all the rage right now is Niacinamide. I’m not going to try to be all science-y about it but to summarize it a bit and jut give you the known benefits:
-Minimizes redness and inflammation in the skin
-Minimizes the appearance of pores
-Regulates the oil production and therefore helps with acne.
-Treats hyperpigmentation (like Vitamin C)
One thing though. Niacinamide can potentially be irritating. Ok two things, it seems like it doesn’t work well with Vitamin C, so I recommend using it in your nighttime skin care routine instead.
Keep your face hydrated and safe from water loss
To make sure that you lock in those ingredients that you’ve chosen to bless your face with, you want to make sure that the effect stays on your face as long as possible, but also that your face doesn’t become dehydrated. Your moisturizer may also have some ingredients like those above but just make sure that it leaves your skin feeling soft and supple, not dry and itchy.
With an oil in the moisturizer (as in formulated with an oil NOT adding it yourself) you also lock in the ingredients from above, like I said, but if you have an oily skin you may want to use a moisturizer that is gel based. You just have to try it out to find one that suits you.
Last step and oh so important one
No, it’s NOT the make-up. It’s the sunblock. Now, sun blocks have come a long way (depending on where you live it seems) and there are now alternatives that do not leave that terrible white cast making you look like a ghost, or without that strong sunblock smell that stings your eyes. I, myself, use one that is mattifying but still leaves my face with a nice shine. No white cast. SPF 30 to 50 of course, especially during summer months.
During winter in Sweden, I might use SPF 20 and only if I’m stepping foot outside, which, to be honest, I avoid doing at all costs, but I do get hungry sometimes.
JUST PROTECT YOUR FACE FROM THE SUN, will you?
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