Getting Started With Your First Basic Skincare Routine
- Diana Layke, PHD
- Jul 12, 2023
- 10 min read
Updated: Aug 30, 2023
At Malibu MD, we believe it is vital to take care of your skin, regardless of age. Unfortunately, making a strategy can quickly become overwhelming, given the wide variety of skincare products on the market.
You may either develop your first fundamental skincare routine this way or start from scratch by stripping everything down to the bare minimum and concentrating on the fundamentals.
The functional beauty experts at Malibu MD have prepared a primer to assist you in understanding the essential components of a good, fundamental skincare routine and what to look for in those products.
We'll go over each essential element in this post, their effects on your skin, and the best way to use them.
What Steps Should Be Taken in a Basic Skincare Routine?
Skincare science is an ever-evolving field. Our skincare products continue to develop and change due to our growing knowledge of how the skin functions and which components are most effective. Despite all of the knowledge and study, the elements of a solid, fundamental skincare program generally remain the same.
Three specific products are entirely off-limits for negotiation. Each of these items fulfills a crucial function for the skin, maintaining its health and finest appearance. Here are the three things that every fundamental skincare regimen should include, along with some buying tips.
Skin Cleanser
A face cleanser is your first skincare item in an entire skincare program.
Aspects of the environment around us end up on our skin while awake. Until we take steps to remove them, dirt, pollutants, and other elements of our environment linger on the skin. Cleaning the skin is necessary to remove all of that buildup. It is even more crucial if you wear cosmetics or have acne-prone skin.
Cleaning the skin helps to prepare it for the remaining steps of your skincare process, in addition to removing any buildup that has occurred. Anything that prevents the product from reaching the pores, where it performs the majority of its action, is removed by a proper cleanser.
Knowing Your Skin Type
Knowing your skin type is the first step in selecting a face cleanser that works for you. Although there is much more depth to skin typing, and most skincare experts concur that there are more than just five distinct kinds, it is still essential to understand your skin's natural characteristics.
Rinse your face with water if you are unsure where you lie on the continuum. How does it feel once it has dried? Is it confined and dry? Is it a greasy feeling? Do various parts of the face perceive oiliness and dryness differently? Try to place your skin in the standard, dry, oily, combo, or sensitive skin type categories. Your skin type will help you choose the best facial cleanser for you.
Selecting the Best Cleaner
Next, browse the many available cleansers. Each of them has a unique set of benefits and drawbacks. For dry or sensitive skin, cream cleansers are ideal, while cleansing oils are preferred by those who experience frequent breakouts. Other cleaners come in clay, foam, gel, bar, and even micellar water forms.
Moisturizer
A good moisturizer is the second essential item in a basic skincare regimen. The moisture content of our skin is continually changing. Our skin primarily defends itself and counteracts moisture loss through its skin barrier.
The skin's top layer is called the skin barrier, commonly known as the moisture barrier or stratum corneum. It regulates how much water is taken in and released, keeping the skin balanced and preventing overhydration or dehydration when it is healthy and functioning at its best.
Even while the moisture barrier does a fantastic job, it could always use more support. A high-quality moisturizer can help in this situation. Moisturizers assist in sealing in moisture while also giving the skin barrier the resources it needs to protect itself. You risk making your skin more susceptible to harm if you don't use a moisturizer.
In light of this, there are a few essential components to search for when buying a high-quality moisturizer. Humectants, emollients, and occlusives are the three categories of moisturizing chemicals.
Hyaluronic acid, emollients like shea butter, and occlusives like lanolin keep moisture in the skin by drawing it in, sealing it in, and preventing it from draining back out.
Do not believe the myth that certain skin types, particularly oilier ones, do not require the usage of moisturizer. Regardless of the type of skin you have, everyone needs to stay hydrated.
Those with oily skin often have drier skin than most other skin types, creating excessive amounts of oil (sebum) to prevent harm. You should use a moisturizer even though you should be cautious while selecting one.
Sunscreen
Sunscreen is the final essential component of your daily skincare regimen. Before leaving for the day, so many individuals need to remember to put on sunscreen. Yet, the implications of doing so (especially over a lifetime) can be disastrous for your health and beauty.
UV rays are among the most important causes of early skin aging, and prolonged, chronic sun exposure raises your chance of acquiring several health problems.
A good sunscreen should have three qualities: a high sun protection factor (SPF), protection from which rays, and moisture resistance.
At least 30 SPF should be purchased while buying sunscreen. The sun protection factor calculates the amount of UV radiation necessary to cause skin burns (compared to skin without sunscreen). As you should reapply sunscreen at least every two hours, it is not a measure of how long you can stay on the skin.
Additionally, you'll need protection from UV radiation that covers UVA and UVB. Both forms of ultraviolet radiation have the potential to be harmful. However, they operate somewhat differently. UVB rays affect the skin's outer layer (causing sunburns), but UVA rays can pierce the skin further, resulting in systemic problems and early aging.
Finally, only purchase sunscreen that bears the water-resistant label. Avoid sunscreens that claim to be waterproof because they cannot be. Additionally, reapply more regularly if you are in the water or sweating a lot.
What Additional Products Can I Include In My Skincare Regimen?
It's time to incorporate more products once you've nailed down your fundamental skincare routine and feel confident and at ease. Because there are so many products on the market and they all make so many claims about their usefulness and results, this is where things can get tricky.
While we cannot offer personalized counsel, we may put you in the general direction of skincare items that can complement and benefit your current regimen.
Skin exfoliants and toners
The best skincare products to accelerate your results are toners and exfoliants. Despite falling into two different categories, they complement one another well and frequently have a lot of active substances.
Although toners once caused the skin to burn when applied, they have changed substantially over the past ten years. Today's toners can provide a deeper clean than facial cleansers, balance the skin's pH level, and deliver additional hydration and nutrients.
Toners are excellent at helping to open up the pores and get rid of any leftover dirt on the skin from cleansing. They are also simple to apply, even for beginners!
Exfoliants provide a similar means of removing as many dead skin cells from the skin's surface as possible. The ties between those cells are either mechanically destroyed or dissolved during exfoliation, making it easier to sweep them off your face.
Physical (manual) and chemical exfoliants are the two categories of exfoliating products. Dead skin cells are physically removed with physical exfoliants using friction, effectively "rubbing" them off the skin. A physical exfoliation uses brushes, face scrubs with beads, or loofahs.
On the other hand, chemical exfoliants use substances that chemically break down dead skin cells. The possibility of increasing collagen formation is a benefit of chemical exfoliation. It accomplishes this by promoting an acceleration of the normal skin cell turnover process. The body makes more collagen to help keep it protected as the rate rises.
Retinol, AHAs (like glycolic acid), and BHAs are active ingredients to search for that will confirm the product you're contemplating is a chemical exfoliant (like salicylic acid).
Be mindful that some of the more potent skincare items in these categories can be too harsh for skin that is already sensitive. If you struggle with sensitivity, you might choose a milder choice or avoid them altogether.
Safety precautions during exfoliating are also crucial. Select the suitable exfoliating method for your skin type, and apply it sparingly. Reduce how frequently you use exfoliants if your skin gets sensitive, inflamed, or red (or even stop altogether for a while).
These could indicate that your skin's moisture barrier needs a break (and help) to heal and shield the skin effectively.
Serum
Once you're prepared to move beyond the fundamentals, serums are the other skincare products you may incorporate into your regimen. Serums are solutions full of potent chemicals designed to permeate the skin and provide noticeable results. These products might be all-purpose, intended for the face, or focused on a particular problem area.
Consider incorporating a vitamin C serum into the mix for a great overall serum. One of the components that have been the subject of the most significant investigation is vitamin C, which has many advantages for the skin.
The fact that it is an antioxidant means that it can lessen the potential harm caused by free radicals, which accounts for most of these advantages. Like exfoliants, it might also aid in boosting collagen production. You can quickly see brighter, more even, cleaner skin if you use a vitamin C serum regularly.
Try our Age-Defying Eye Serum if you're searching for a serum to help target fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes. You can use it day or night to help lessen the look of crow's feet and counteract the drooping signs of aging thanks to components including Eyeliss, Matrixyl 3000, Haloxyl, and Progeline.
You can take things a step further by using an eyelash serum, which you apply straight to your eyelashes to encourage them to develop more quickly and robustly than ever.
Does a Skincare Routine Have a Correct Order?
The next step is using the products in the proper order to have everything you need for your skincare routine. To regulate your pores, utilize your products to maximize their absorption and not make any of them less effective; consistency is crucial in your skincare routine.
Getting Rid of Makeup
Always start your skincare regimen by removing your makeup and cleaning your face.
Here, the same basic idea holds. Why use skincare products on a face still covered in dirt and makeup? For the subsequent phases of your regimen to better penetrate the skin, cleansing your face helps remove as much of that as possible.
Eliminate makeup
If you've decided to incorporate a toner into your routine, use it after thoroughly cleansing your skin and removing all your makeup. As we previously explained, the correct toner can aid in clearing away any lingering impurities from the skin's surface and widen your pores to use additional products. More open pores allow the rest of your skincare to go deeper and have a more significant impact.
Use toner
Use your exfoliant after you have applied your toner. Open pores allow your exfoliator to get deep within the skin and eliminate dead skin cells, extra sebum, and other pollutants that prevent the skin from appearing at its best. The one exception is that if you're using a physical (mechanical) exfoliant rather than a chemical one, you'll want to use it before using your toner.
Utilize a High-Quality Serum
Serums come next. Applying serums in the order of their thickness, from the thinnest to the thickest, is an excellent general rule. Thus, there are as few obstructions to the pores as possible, allowing each serum to permeate effectively. When utilizing a targeted serum, you'll want to apply it first so it may act directly on the area you need it to reach. Only then should you change this order.
Hydrate your skin
Finally, moisturizing cream. Your moisturizer is a top layer to help retain the other skincare products inside the skin as part of your skincare routine. Additionally, the moisturizer aids in preventing water loss, providing another means of maintaining the skin's maximum hydration.
Look for a moisturizer with all the components of a high-quality sunscreen (SPF 30+, broad-spectrum, water-resistant protection) if you want to take things a step further. In this manner, you may protect your skin from the damaging effects of the sun without having to take the added action of remembering to apply sunscreen.
Keep in mind that consistency is critical.
No skincare routine can be only successful with consistency, regardless of the skincare products you select or the order in which you apply them. Even if you put in the effort to find the best products for your skin and skincare objectives, it will only help if you follow through. It takes weeks and maybe months of constant work to see a noticeable difference in the skin; real change does not occur quickly.
It can be discouraging when you don't get results immediately, but try to keep your long-term objectives in mind and be patient with the process. Set alarms for the morning and evening to help you remember to wash your face and go through your skincare routine.
Missing it occasionally is acceptable and not anything you should feel guilty about, but if you can't recall the last time you gave your skin the care it needs, you may need to find a more practical approach to remind yourself.
Also, remember that it can take up to two months for a habit to become second nature. It should become simpler after that if you can manage to persevere for that long. This is a gentle reminder to you that you are worth the extra time and effort and that making time for yourself is not a sign of selfishness.
After all, you must first put your own on before you can assist anyone else with their oxygen mask.
THE BOTTOM LINE
You may still develop a fantastic fundamental skincare regimen even if you are not a dermatologist. You'll be astounded by the outcomes you may get once you've mastered the fundamentals and are using them in the correct sequence. By returning to the fundamentals, you can make sure that your skincare products are practical for you and that you are providing your skin with all it requires to be at its best, brightest, and healthiest.
Extensively featured in the media and renowned publications such as People Magazine, Marie Claire, Allure, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and more, Malibu MD is making headway in the anti-aging field. Read further on our website to learn why Malibu MD products are the pinnacle of the beauty industry. Science-backed and clinically tested, Malibu MD products have been formulated by industry professionals who have dedicated the better half of their lives to helping others look younger.
We at Malibu MD are here to support you as you embark on a more effective skincare regimen. You can control your appearance like never before with a bit of curiosity. We assure you you are worth the time, so set it aside.
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