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The trick to fast skincare regimens is to keep your skin healthy. If you keep your skin healthy, you will need fewer products and your regimen will be kept to a bare minimum. However, no matter how healthy your skin is, you still have to keep some kind of regimen to make sure that it stays clean and salubrious. Here’s how to create a skin care routine you’ll be able to stick with long-term.
There are a lot of parts to good skin care so try to create two different systems: one for the morning and one for the night. Each should contain slightly different products and neither system should take more than a couple of minutes.
Table of Contents
Tips for creating a skin care routine you’ll actually implement
1. Are you an early bird, or a night owl?
If you don’t have the time to go through a regimen twice a day, wash your face at night (mainly because you should never sleep with make-up on). Then just rinse your face with lukewarm water in the morning and put on some moisturizer before you apply make-up.
Before you start a regular skin care regimen you have to realize that a product that works for one person, may not work for another. So your best friend may swear by a product that won’t work well for you. That being said, a great way to try a product to see if it works well with your skin, is to see if you can get a sample from their website or find a trail size at the store.
Also, keep in mind that there are four different types of skin conditions and types:
- Normal/Combination Skin
- Oily Skin
- Dry Skin (Mature Skin normally falls under this category as well)
- Sensitive Skin
Find out which type of skin you have so that you can look for the right types of products at the store. When you’re creating your regimen, note that you should have three basic parts to it: cleanser, moisturizer, and nighttime treatment.
2. Squeaky clean
No matter what skin type you are, you should never use soap to clean your face – always use a cleanser. Soap will dry out your face, which will cause you all sorts of problems: drying/peeling, excess oil to make up for the loss of oils, skin sensitivity, etc.
You should use a good cleanser twice a day (once in the morning and once at night). Cleansers that contain salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide are good choices (especially for ladies with oily skin). If you have dry skin, try a creamier cleanser.
3. Make your own all-natural facial cleanser
Honey is a great, natural facial cleanser for any skin type. Just take half of a teaspoon of honey, rub it in between your hands, and massage it into your face. Wash thoroughly with warm water. If you’ve got make-up on, take the same amount of honey and pour it into a wet washcloth. Sprinkle some baking soda on (just a little bit) and massage into the face. Wash thoroughly with warm water.
4. Battling dryness
To help cut down on time and money, opt for a moisturizer with broad-spectrum protection and an SPF content of about 30. If you go any higher than that, there isn’t really a point. The higher numbers don’t do any better than the SPF 30 bottles. Apply this moisturizer to your face after you wash in the morning.
If you suffer from acne, try to find one that is light and oil-free. Always apply moisturizer to your face while your face is still damp from the cleanser (just like with lotion on your hands). It will help lock in the moisture that you have on your face.
Homemade natural moisturizer
These ingredients are great for any skin type. Take an empty bottle and fill it with:
- 2 parts Jojoba Oil (or grapeseed oil, hemp seed oil, or apricot kernel oil)
- 1 part evening primrose oil (or rosehip seed oil)
- and 4-7 drops of peppermint oil (or you can try lavender, chamomile, or rose).
Mix and match to see which ingredients work best for your complexion.
ONE MORE THING BEFORE BED
Look for creams that have retinol or alpha hydroxy acids. These will help to smooth out fine lines and help to unclog pores. Just make sure that you use them for spot treatments only: blemishes and creases. If you have dark circles under your eye, use an under-eye cream that has niacinamide and/or retinol in it to help with redness and help build up collagen.
Homemade nighttime treatment
Take a half of a cup of yogurt, half a cup of mashed strawberries, and a fourth of a cup of honey. Mix together in a small bowl, massage into your face for about 10 minutes, rinse off, moisturize, then go to bed. Easy peasy!
Here are 6 more bonus skincare tips to keep in mind while you’re going about your day
1) The Importance of sunscreen
Since sunscreen stops working after a couple of hours, consider using powder sunscreen. It can be a bit pricey but can we really put a price tag on flawless skin? Powdered sunscreen is great when it comes to reapplication since it is light enough to do just about anywhere. No smelly creams or oily fingers.
2) Lotion with Low-Level Tanners (instead of sunbathing)
Tanning out in the sun or using a tanning bed is extremely dangerous for your skin. Skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the United States. More than two million people are diagnosed with skin cancer every year. In fact, in the past three decades, more people have passed away from skin cancers than all over cancers combined. In fact, one person dies of melanoma every hour.
3) Fatty Acids (and Water) for the Win
Fatty acids, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products are all healthy foods that can help you keep your skin looking great. You can find fatty acids in foods like salmon, and various nuts.
Drinking lots of water is one of the best ways that you can keep your skin clear. Water helps to flush out your pores and if you’re hydrated, your skin will be hydrated as well. Hydrated skin looks better and has that healthy glow to it.
4) De-Stress to Calm Your Nerves & Skin
When you are stressed, your skin shows it: bags under your eyes, blemishes on your face, dry or oily skin, etc. It is a good idea (not just for your skin but for your mind and well-being as well) to take ten minutes out of your day to meditate or center yourself.
5) Stop Touching Your Face
In fact, try to keep your hair out of your face as well. Both your hands and your hair have dirt and oil all over them. You may wash both often, but that won’t help the dirt and oil that you can’t see. So if possible, tie your hair back or put it in an up-do and keep your hands off of your face. Not only that, but try to wash your hands often.
6) Stick With It
The most important and universal tip I can give you is to create a short regimen that you can keep up. If you’re not able to keep up with it, there’s no point in having one.
I have sensitive skin, so I learned a long time ago not to get a lot of sunlight. When I do though, I keep the time that I’m in it directly to a minimum.
When I was younger, I have extremely oily skin. Now that I am older, my skin is much drier. However, even though I am in my 40s, I still have problems with acne. I often use a medicated skin cleanser and I rarely wear make up to try and keep the break outs at bay. I would love to have a magic potion to give me healthy, beautiful, younger looking skin.
It took me a while to find the skin care products that work best for me, but now that I have my arsenal, I am pretty happy with the results. My biggest problem is forcing myself to stick with it everyday.
I’m looking for a product to help smooth out some of the lines I’m getting on my forehead. Anyone have one they can recommend? I see that the article states that I want one with retinol. I have sensitive skin too.
I’m with you! I need the magic potion too. I’ve never been one to wear a lot of makeup. I didn’t kill my skin when I was a teen but I still have problem skin now (in my late thirties). It just isn’t fair, is it?
During the summer I have a terrible time with oily skin and acne. I think it may be due to using to many sunscreen and suntan products on my face. I am going to try using a cleanser with benzoyl peroxide to see if that will absorb some of the excess oil.
I am totally in love with rose hip oil. It’s a dry oil, so it doesn’t leave an oily residue behind. It gets completely absorbed by the skin. It also smells pretty. I have been using it for several weeks and I have noticed a great improvement in my skin.
I drink tons of water and that does seem to help my skin a lot. However, during the summer, I always get sunburned easily and my skin stays so dry. I love the idea of making my own moisturizer with added sunscreen.
It is great to know which foods will make your skin look and feel healthier. I am going to start drinking more water and adding these types of foods to my diet every day.
I drink a ton of water. I wondered why my skin was changing. I didn’t think about all the water. I am glad that I love water. I quit drinking soda, so it’s a win-win situation.
Good idea. I don’t use sunscreen on my face for that reason alone. I don’t want any breakouts. I will look for a cleanser like that too. Good thinking!
I’ve got to look this up. I’ve noticed some lines on my face too. I like that it’s a dry oil. Where can you buy it? I have oily skin.
Sunlight is bad for your skin? I didn’t know that. Why is that? I actually like the sun kissed look. I mean I know a lot of sun is bad but is a little?
I never would have guessed you could use honey as a skin cleanser – it’s so sticky! But it makes sense because I have read that it has antibacterial properties, so it is probably very good for your skin.
I love the idea of saving some money and making my own skin care products. I started doing this recently with my makeup remover. I use baby shampoo, baby oil, and water. It works perfectly and it doesn’t dry out my skin.
For sensitive skin, even a little can be troublesome. I have oily and sensitive skin. If I’m exposed to sunlight too long, my face becomes red and very oily. It takes time to heal and I can’t use any make-up during the cooling period. That becomes a problem if I have important meetings for work.
I thought the same thing when I read this. Do you think that there is a difference in the type of honey that you should be using? There are so many different ones out there, I’m wondering which one would be the best?