A daily routine for your face is one of the most important foundations for soft and rosy skin. But what does a facial care routine actually look like? Which cleansing products and nourishing preparations do you really need and in what order should they be used?
Develop routines and support skin regeneration
Your skin is exposed to many different influences every day. UV radiation, make-up, and also germs and bacteria lead to irritation, redness or blemished skin. Small blackheads and other skin impurities can form, sebum clogs the pores and the skin's appearance deteriorates. With a facial skincare routine, you free your skin daily from these stresses, support its regeneration and also reduce skin aging. The following care steps will help you to develop a skincare routine.
#1 Remove make-up (evenings)
Even if it's sometimes tiring – removing make-up is a must, every day. By removing make-up, you free your pores. At the same time, invisible dirt is removed from your skin. For example, when you remove make-up, you also remove dirt from the air that can cause skin problems.
So be sure to include make-up removal in your skincare routine. This is completely independent of skin type, by the way. You should always remove make-up, not just for blemished skin.
#2 Cleanse your facial skin (mornings and evenings)
Every morning begins and every day ends with cleansing your facial skin. With a cleansing gel or lotion, you free your skin from all remaining impurities that are still on it. Use a soft cloth or your hands for facial cleansing. Apply the gel or lotion to damp skin and make circular and lightly massaging movements. This also stimulates blood circulation in your skin. This makes your skin look rosy and healthy and your skin radiant.
#3 Use a light peel (twice a week)
Even if a peel is not part of your daily facial care routine, it should be included in the process. Choose one to two days a week when you will do a peel in the evening after cleansing. This peel removes dead skin cells and flakes and dissolves sebum. If you are very prone to blemished skin, it has a clarifying effect on your complexion and can reduce skin impurities.
But even if your skin looks visibly smooth and healthy, it is an important part of your facial skincare routine.
#4 Use clarifying toner (mornings and evenings)
Toner has a clarifying effect and ensures that your skin can then absorb care products better. Take a cotton pad, put toner on it and dab your skin. This step of the skin routine is also recommended in the morning and in the evening. You may have to experiment a little to find the right toner. Cleansing products have a different composition. If your skin tends to react strongly to certain ingredients, a clarifying toner that contains as few substances as possible is the better choice.
#5 Special care for rich nourishment (mornings and evenings)
For the prevention of skin aging, the supply of nutrients to your skin and also for the treatment of blackheads and pimples, special care is recommended. These are usually serums.
A serum contains active ingredients in a highly compressed form and therefore has a high effectiveness. In addition, it penetrates deep into the skin and thus permanently improves the skin's appearance.
After using toner, it's time for the highly concentrated serum in your facial skincare routine. It can be applied in the morning and in the evening. Pay attention to the recommendations on the packaging. Some active ingredients are so highly dosed that you should only use the serum once a day.
Spread the serum in your palms and then gently massage it into your facial skin.
#6 Eye care (mornings and evenings)
The skin around the eyes is very sensitive, so it's good to give this area special attention with an eye care product in your skincare routine. There are special eye creams that contain many active ingredients against wrinkle formation and dry skin.
Eye cream is best applied with your fingers in the morning and in the evening. Take a little cream on your finger and gently dab the nourishing cream in. Make sure it doesn't get into your eyes.
Do you tend to have dark circles? In that case, it's good if the eye cream has a cooling effect. This has a decongestant effect.
#7 Apply day cream or night cream
One of the next care steps is to supply your skin with further nutrients. For facial care, a day cream or a night cream is suitable. Since the cream should be applied both in the evening and in the morning, both products are helpful.
Apply the cream to your face and neck, but leave out the eyes. Depending on your skin type, you should also take a close look at which facial care is suitable for you. Combination skin has different needs than dry or oily skin. If you suffer from redness and inflammation, you need a product with ingredients that soothe your skin.
In general, it's good to look for a moisturizing product. As you age, your body produces less collagen and hyaluronic acid. As a result, your skin can no longer retain as much moisture. Rich moisturizing care is recommended.
By the way: In winter, it's good to use an oilier facial care product. Water on the skin can further damage the skin at low temperatures.
#8 Sunscreen should not be missing (mornings)
Before you start your day, you should definitely apply sunscreen as part of your care routine. This is not dependent on the seasons. Harmful UV radiation is still active even when the sun is not shining or the sun does not yet have a warming effect.
Therefore, do not go a day without sun protection factor. It is recommended that it is as high as 50 as possible. Let the sunscreen absorb briefly. Afterwards you can start with your make-up.
Tip: Sunscreen for the face is also available as a fluid. The texture is much lighter. The cream does not settle in wrinkles and leaves no oily shine.
The importance of antioxidants for your skin
When looking for the right products for your skincare, you will often read that the preparations contain antioxidants. But what exactly are they? Especially in terms of skincare, they are often used. In fact, your skin will never get enough of them. The better it is if they become an important part of your care routine.
To better understand why you shouldn't do without antioxidants, here's an overview of their most important properties:
- Protection against negative environmental influences
Environmental pollution also stresses your skin. It ensures that wrinkles form faster, your complexion loses its radiance and your skin looks saggy. This is where antioxidants come in. Some of them are perfectly suited to counteract the effects of environmental pollution on your skin. Look for products that contain ubiquinol or glutathione.
- Firming your skin
Antioxidants give your skin strength. If they are part of your daily care routine, your skin will increasingly gain firmness. They build up the skin barrier and help skin cells to regenerate. It is optimal if the care products also contain retinol. Together with antioxidants, your skin will be strengthened. Products containing flaxseed oil or almond oil are well suited.
- Soothing effect on your skin
Is your skin very sensitive and reacts quickly to changes with redness, dry patches or impurities? Antioxidants can also be a great help here. Some of them have a very soothing effect, such as beta-glucan or active ingredients from green tea.
- New radiance for your skin
Does your complexion not look fresh? Is it rather sallow? Some antioxidants are able to change that. We are talking about vitamin C. Ascorbic acid is also known as tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate. So if you are looking for a product with ascorbic acid, this may also be on the list of ingredients.
- Effective against wrinkles
There are always studies on how to combat wrinkles. Here, antioxidants also play an important role. Various studies have shown that an interaction of different antioxidants can do something against wrinkles. The more antioxidants your skincare routine contains, the better it is.
Tip: You can find highly concentrated antioxidants in serums. Many serums are enriched with antioxidants. This allows the active ingredients to penetrate directly into your skin.
A facial care routine is highly recommended
Using a cream now and then? A peel every few weeks? Of course, that's better than doing nothing for your skin. However, it's even better if you develop a comprehensive care routine and follow the same skincare steps every day for your face.
When choosing the right products for your routine, it depends on whether you have dry, oily or combination skin. Very blemished skin needs different care than skin without blackheads and pimples. After just a few days, you will have gotten used to the routine and will instinctively reach for the products and do something good for your skin.
