How to design a good skincare routine

Hiya and welcome to SteadyHealth forums... :). That's cool, that you're into making sure you're doing right by your skin and not just engaging in damage control once spots pop up and your skin turns all shiny, LOL. Prevention is better than cure, as they say... First off you need to know what your skin type is and get products designed for that skin type. Is your skin oily? Or combination? As for cleanser it needs to be right for your skin and definitely not just plain old soap but don't have to be expensive to work well for you, know what I mean?? Don't wash like 100 times a day though 'cause that will just make your skin oilier in the long run!

I'd also start off with a good moisturiser for your skin type. Again nothing fancy, defo not anti-wrinkle at your age, LOL, just a basic moisturiser that will keep your skin fed and make a good base for makeup too. Finally go for an exfoliant twice a week or so. Something with alpha hydroxy acid would be cool if you have blackheads. This will really help.

OK that's just for starters. If you have any specific questions please let us know and we'll all do our best to answer them :).

Good topic, excellent questions. This is such a personal topic though. Every single person will give you different answers, and indeed every person will have different skincare needs.

Here is what I do.

MORNING

1. Cleanse. I use a gentle cleanser.
2. Use a toner.
3. Use some serum when I feel like it, which is not every day.
4. Moisturize.
5. Eye moisturizer.
6. (Makeup.)

EVENING

1. Cleanse again.
2. Tone.
3. Moisturize with night cream, which is richer.

I scrub my face with a gentle skin exfoliator when I remember to, the goal being twice a week. I also sometimes use facial masks. My skin is generally OK with occasional premenstrual breakouts. I am an adult of reproductive age.

For oily skin you're right to wash twice a day. Other skin types though may benefit from just once a day washing, depending on whether you have makeup to remove or not. Sometimes overdoing things is bad. Same with moisturizing. The basic idea is to use something that moisturizes your face. Plenty of people get away with just those things and nothing else, no facials, no scrubbing, what have you. I am on the low maintanence end of things myself and it works out. When I was a teen I had no idea what I was doing of course. There were fewer products out there though and less you were "supposed" to do as a bare minimum. It worked out OK in the end when the ugly stage subsided. Now I just do whatever. If I feel my skin needs some extra love I do a storebought facial for $2. Nothing fancy.

I'm 17 and here's what I do:

1. Wash face with a solid soap bar specifically made for washing the face... NOT regular old hand soap, which isn't good for your face!!!
2. Moisturize!!! I use Neutrogena Healthy Skin Facial Lotion. Can't say enough good about this moisturizer. It's perfect. Doesn't clog pores. Really awesome stuff.
3. Lip balm! But I have dry lips.

Then at night, I wash my face again and use a night cream. Clearasil Overnight Face Lotion is the one I use and it's again really good, made for teens and just what my skin needs.

Hope that helps you.

This is a broad topic alright! This discussion could go on forever, with no two people agreeing exactly on what the right skincare routine is. At the end of the day, everyone simply has to work this out alone, with the help of information on what is currently available. I have been using the oil cleansing method (look it up!). This is completely against everything you will typically hear about caring for oily skin, which I have, but it has helped me a lot. My pores are a lot clearer thanks to defying the "wisdom" that using oily products makes skin oilier. Nothing is less true. Just look it up I say and you might learn a lot.

Yeah, Rosie. I'm both weary of that and at the same time really interested as well. We've definitely all been sold the story that you need commercial stuff to have great looking skin and yeah, even when I buy my organic cosmetics, which I'm doing more and more of, I'm still not simplifying to the point of just using olive oil or something. Can I ask you how long you have been into natural skincare and if you've ever had any sort of issue with it at all? What advice would you have for people trying to get into it?

Cool topic :).

I think what not to do is at least as important as what to do.

For those who think that wash and hydrate is all there is to skincare, they are likely to miss out! Yes, cleanse and moisturize your face twice daily with products designed for your skin type. But also tone, to restore your skin's ph balance! Don't forget to exfoliate once or twice every week. No, it doesn't have to be like sandpaper but you still do want to be removing those dead skin cells.

What not to do. Sleep with makeup on. Neglect to change your pillow case every week at least. Pick at pimples. Rub your eyes and your face right after you've been all over town touching all manner of dirty things and shaking the hands of people with nasty bacteria on them. These steps alone will prevent the bulk of little infections.

I am 31 and find the concept confusing still. I always wonder whether there is honestly and right and wrong way to go about skincare. I do not have a consistent routine besides washing my face twice a day with a cleanser and sometimes (yikes) an unfragranced soap bar. I have three different moisturizers in my bathroom and use which one I want depending on what I feel like. I go for the light one when my skin feels a bit oily, the heavy one with my skin is dry, and the "normal" one when my skin feels normal, which changes with the weather and my diet and how stressed I am. I exfoliate when it seems like my face could do with it, and apply a drugstore random facial once in a blue moon when I feel like it or I have blackheads or something.

Is there anything wrong with this way of doing things? Will I get more wrinkles in the long term because I am not using anti-age now or "doing it right"?

Again great food for thought, LOL. I realise that most of what I do to my skin is stuff I've read about in mags and on the web over the years and am doing not 'cause I know from experimenting and experience that my skin actually needs that stuff to look best but 'cause that's what we're being sold. I do believe that overwashing the face is bad because it does strip natural oils off. Exfoliation is necessary to achieve proper cell turnover which you need for healthy skin I think, I know a bunch of stuff comes off every time I do it so I do feel I need it, you know? As for serums and stuff, that's nice to have and can make you (me anyways) feel luxurious and pampered and have a nice feel to my skin but at the same time I survive fine when I do not have it. Same with eye moisturisers. And night creams while you're at it. I try to do things so my skin looks best but have never really experimented too much.

M... off to read more about the potential benefits of a minimalistic approach to skincare!

Hello!

I have recently streamlined my skincare routine. I'm 28 and just getting into that stage where taking regular care of the skin to prevent wrinkles etc is becoming more and more important. I wash twice a day like most people, with a gentle cleanser for sensitive skin even though I have normal skin. After cleansing I use a toner, and then moisturize. I use a daycream during the day followed by sunscreen, then a nightcream at night. I use an eye moisturizer when I remember to put it on and also currently castor oil to grow my brows.

I also exfoliate once or twice a week, and use a serum and/or facial/foil mask when I am noticing that my skin needs it.

I don't know what you think of this, but it does work for me so I'm sharing ;).

Hi, I'm 14 and I like to experiment with makeup too. My skincare routine: First, I wash wash my face with soap and water but not any kind of soap, gentle soap. Then I use toner, after that I use moisturizer. Sometimes I use a special moisturizer for under the eyes, my mom's. After that I use makeup. I use all different kinds but right now I'm wearing some blush, pink lipstick, and purple eye shadow, which look very pretty. And once or twice a week I use a facial mask or face scrub. I really like using face scrub, it feels really nice. Facial masks are cool too.

kitty master do you work here