If you haven’t established a good skincare routine yet, 2022 is the perfect year to get started. Why is skincare important? There are a few reasons.
Having an effective skincare routine is important if you want to have youthful, healthy skin. It can help prevent acne, remove dead skin cells, and clean dirt and grime from your face. It isn’t just about vanity, either. A good skincare routine can help prevent damage down the road.
Keep reading to build your best skincare routine in 2022.
Guide & Tips
Skincare advice is abundant out there. It can be difficult to wade through it all. The following guide covers information about the skin, how to build a beneficial routine, and some tips to make your skin look and feel its best.
Skin is the Largest Organ in the Body
Your skin is the largest organ in your body. It is constantly shedding skin cells, and it is important to have a routine that removes the build-up of these cells.
Not having a proper skincare routine can lead to skin that is damaged, leathery, and aged-looking. Your skin is your body’s outer barrier, it’s important to take good care of it.
Step by Step Guide
You want to have a good skincare morning and night routine.
Establishing a morning routine is a great starting point for skincare novices. A good routine will include washing, moisturizing, and using an SPF product. Several other steps are helpful to include, as well.
Follow this step-by-step guide to learn about each part of the morning routine, and which products are helpful.
Prep Skin for the Day
The first step of your morning routine should be to wash your face. It is best to use a gentle face wash. You can even use the “double cleanse” method, which uses a very gentle cleanser such as micellar water or an oil cleanser before the facewash.
Non-foaming cleansers are usually best. Facial cleansers with foaming agents usually strip the face and leave it dry. As with all skincare products, it is best to read the labels.
Exfoliation
When it comes to exfoliation, many people think of a scrub with those little beads. It may surprise you to learn that this type of product can be harmful to your skin. Any kind of product that harshly scrubs may cause microtears and damage your moisture barrier.
Instead, consider chemical exfoliants. “Chemical” may sound scary, but it is a much healthier way to exfoliate your face. There are a few different kinds of chemical exfoliants.
Beta hydroxy acids, or BHAs, help rid your face of dead skin and help fight sun damage. It can make your face look fresher and younger.
Next, you have the alpha hydroxy acids, or AHAs, which have multiple uses. They exfoliate but also help with wrinkles, pores, and generally improve the look of the skin.
With both BHAs and AHAs, you must be careful not to leave them on too long. Lastly, there are enzymes. Enzymes are great for removing dead skin cells but are more gentle than BHAs and AHAs.
Chemical exfoliants work well, but only use them 1-3 times per week. Using them more than needed can cause damage to your skin. Also, never use chemical exfoliants on the same day you use retinol.
Moisturize
Everyone needs a good moisturizer in their arsenal. It is important to moisturize after cleansing your face to lock in moisture. You can use a lightweight moisturizer for the morning, and a heavier one for nighttime, but it’s just preference.
Everyone needs to moisturize daily. It doesn’t matter if you have dry skin or oily skin, you need a moisturizer. Find one that suits your skin type best, and incorporate this essential step in your skincare regimen. Moisturizers should be used after washing the face, but before using any toners or serums.
Toner
Toners are a category of skincare that includes some of the best skincare products 2022. If you head to your nearest skincare store, you will see a myriad of toners on the shelves, but what are they?
Toner is an umbrella term for several different types of products. Toners come in many forms, like lotions, liquid washes, or gauze face masks. Exfoliants, micellar water, tonics, and anti-aging toners with retinol all fall under the toner category.
Make sure to avoid any toners that include alcohol as an ingredient. Alcohol can cause issues with your skin’s PH. Alcohol also dries out the skin. You can use toners every day so long as your skin can tolerate them. Check the instructions for each product, however.
Generally, toners clean the skin and shrink pores. Usually, they help keep the skin hydrated and refreshed. They are a useful step to include in your skincare routine after washing and moisturizing.
Daily SPF
SPF is the most important step in skincare. The sun causes more damage to the skin than anything else. Avoid sun damage by applying a good SPF product every day, which means year-round. Not only do you need to put it on every morning, but you should also be re-applying throughout the day.
Look for a lightweight SPF lotion that isn’t greasy. If you have darker skin you will want to find one that doesn’t have issues with white casting.
SPF comes in a few forms. Lotions are most common. Moisturizers with SPF usually have lower levels of SPF, so layer this with either a lotion or a spray. Spray-on SPF, especially setting sprays with SPF, are great to wear on top of your makeup and are an easy way to re-apply while out.
Serums
Serums are light oil or water-based skincare products. Most often they come in liquid form, in a small bottle. Often a dropper is included. Serums contain concentrated amounts of active ingredients meant to target specific areas, and only a few drops are needed.
Serums help with dullness, aging, and discoloration. Different serums help with different problems. Search for ones that suit your needs.
To apply, use a few drops on the skin. Gently pat and spread the serum across the surface of the skin. Leave to dry.
If you want to include serums as a step in your routine, make sure to apply them after washing, but before moisturizing. Serums can be used twice per day, with both your morning and evening routines if you wish.
Skincare Tips
Not Just the Face
Make sure you are not neglecting your decollete area as you do your skincare routine. That is, don’t forget about your neck and chest. The skin in this area needs much the same care as the face. It is generally a good idea to apply the same cleansers, toners, and moisturizers to this area like your face.
Bare Basics
If you are new to the world of skincare, all of these steps may seem overwhelming. At first, it is best to establish a basic routine.
A bare basic routine will consist of washing, moisturizing, and applying an SPF. In the evening, you will wash and moisturize again. That’s it. Once you are in the habit of doing your routine every day, you can start adding in more steps and products like toners, serums, and chemical exfoliants.
Ingredients Matter
When shopping for new skincare products, it’s important to check the labels. Sometimes products will be made of ingredients that are not effective for what the product claims to do. Checking the label will help not waste your money on products that won’t work.
A good rule of thumb is to check the first five ingredients. These will be the main ingredients in the product. Make sure they are things that will be effective for that kind of product. For instance, if glycerin is listed as the main ingredient on a moisturizer, that’s good because glycerin is a moisturizing agent.
Also, it’s a good idea to avoid products that list fragrances in the first five ingredients. Products that contain a lot of fragrance can irritate the skin, especially if you have sensitive skin.
Final Thoughts
Skincare is important because we all want to look and feel our best, and having healthy skin is the best way to achieve that. It is important to build a good daily skincare routine because it makes your skin healthier over time. A daily routine can also help slow signs of aging.
An effective skincare routine will include washing, moisturizing, and SPF. Beyond that, you can include steps like exfoliating, using toners, and using serums. There are so many great products out there that achieve different things for your skin. Build your daily routine with products that suit your skin type and match your beauty goals.