Help appreciated!

[juuzago]

Hi Community!

I would love to have some help on finding a good skincare routine for myself. A little background, I’m 23, spouse and mom of a toddler so no much time to myself, currently using a neutrogena face cleanser during shower and some shiseido sample serum afterwards. I did try a toner (black rice hyaluronic toner from Haruharu Wonder) and loved it, it’s already on my Amazon list to buy soon, but am now trying to find a good cleanser that does also remove makeup, and a good night moisturizer and then a day moisturizer also to use before? Or after my sunscreen (currently using la roche posay anthelios clear skin). 
Gladly I do not have many concerns with my skin, I would say it is combination more towards a dry skin and I do have some winkles coming up on my eyes and forehead that make me feel sad since I’m so young. 
My budget is not high but I am willing to spend some money on good brands/ products if they are worth it!

I really appreciate any recommendations, thank you so much in advance!

[Bertik123]

Try Haruharu Wonder's  Black Rice Hyaloronic Cream & Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Cleansing Gel.

Great for also removing makeup and moisturizing. 

[WinglessOne]

Hi @juuzago ! Sounds like you just need a good simple skincare routine to keep your skin healthy. Eh, maybe with a little something extra if you want to address wrinkles—though I'll also say everyone gets wrinkles around the eyes, and you'd have to commit to never making facial expressions again if you want to prevent more undereye lines. 🙂 There are ways to soften the look of lines, though. 

My skincare suggestions, starting with a night routine: 

PM

Spoiler

1. Gentle cleanser (nightly) - On my mostly-dry combo skin, I use CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser Bar on my face and body in the shower. (I'm a night shower person.) I've also used CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser a few times on my face and enjoyed it. I don't wear liquid/cream foundation but I do use sunscreen daily, plus I sometimes wear blush, concealer, and eye makeup. Both CeraVe cleansers I mentioned remove everything but eye makeup. For that, I use a makeup remover before my shower; my favorite is Paula's Choice Gentle Touch Makeup Remover (the liquid version, not the wipes) which can remove pretty much anything. But I also like to use a cleansing balm, either The INKEY List Oat Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm 5 oz/ 150 mL or Paula's Choice Omega + Complex Cleansing Balm 3.5 oz/ 104 mL . A friend of mine uses Neutrogena's fragrance free body oil as a makeup remover because it's mostly sesame oil. 
   
   
2. Treatment(s) (as needed) - This is where you'd use serums, non-astringent toners, essences, etc. to treat skin issues. You mentioned a Haruharu Wonder hydrating toner you like. If you want to use it at night, apply it here. 
   
   For wrinkles, most folks would recommend vitamin A (retinoic acid and its derivatives: retinol, retinaldehyde, etc.) which isn't a bad option. Just know that you should start slowly with any vitamin A product: use it just once or twice a week for a few weeks, then increase usage to 2-3 times a week, and keep gradually increasing usage til you're at a comfy-for-you frequency—which could be daily, every other day, or even every 3rd day. Retinol's the easiest form of vitamin A to find over the counter. Rather than recommend a separate retinol serum, I'll list some moisturizers in the next step. 
   
   Another option for wrinkles is The Ordinary Argireline Solution 10% Serum for Facial Wrinkles 1 oz/ 30 mL . Argireline's often compared to Botox but it's nowhere near as potent. It can soften the look of lines, though. It works by reducing some muscle motion. You can use it anywhere you want to target wrinkles. I use this under my eyes and sometimes on my eyelids. I pair it with FaceTheory Ocuwake eye cream which contains Meiview, an ingredient said to target undereye wrinkles. 
   
   
3. Moisturizer (nightly) - To keep your routine simple, consider a moisturizer that contains retinol: something like Paula's Choice RESIST Barrier Repair Moisturizer with Retinol 1.7 oz/ 50 mL (low strength retinol), Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Cream (not sure what % of retinol's in it), Paula's Choice Clinical 0.3% Retinol + 2% Bakuchiol Treatment 1 oz/ 30 mL , or Paula's Choice Ceramide-Enriched Firming Moisturizer (mid-strength retinol at 0.1%). In order to start slowly with retinol, you may want to use your AM moisturizer most nights of the week while ramping up retinol usage. There's no reason you can't use a morning moisturizer at night, by the way: if it keeps your skin moisturized during the day, it should do the same at night. 

AM

Spoiler

1. Gentle cleanser (optional for AM) - I don't often wash my face in the morning with a cleanser. Sometimes I just gently wipe my face down with a wet plush microfiber cloth. If I do need a morning wash, I use something even gentler than my PM cleanser—for me, that's either Paula's Choice RESIST Optimal Results Hydrating Cleanser or one of the 2 cleansing balms (by The Inkey List and Paula's Choice) I mentioned earlier. And sometimes I use a cleanser only around my eyes instead of my whole face. I try to avoid over-washing my face; this reduces dryness and irritation. (I have rather reactive/inflammation-prone skin.) Another good inexpensive option is CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser, a very popular non-lathering cream cleanser. 
   
   
2. Treatment(s) (optional, as needed) - You could use that Haruharu Wonder toner here if you want. You can also use argireline again in the morning. 
   
   
3. Moisturizer (daily) - What do you currently use? My usual AM moisturizer is Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer. It's a lotion textured, squalane based moisturizer. Vanicream Moisturizing Cream is another good option. So are CeraVe Moisturizing Cream and CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion. If you want something Sephora sells, and shea butter's moisturizing enough for your skin, consider The INKEY List Peptide Moisturizer 1.7 oz/ 50 mL . I've also used The Inkey List Hemp Oil Moisturizer which isn't available at Sephora anymore (at least not the US site) but can be bought direct from the brand. Some folks really like SEPHORA COLLECTION All Day Hydrator Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizer 1.69 oz/ 50 mL and SEPHORA COLLECTION Nourishing Moisturizer for Skin Barrier 1.69 oz/ 50 mL . Whichever one you choose, apply it while your skin's damp (but not soaking wet) to seal in hydration instead of dryness. 
   
   Or, if your sunscreen is moisturizing enough on its own, you can skip the moisturizer step. In warm weather, I often rely on sunscreen to double as my moisturizer. But during winter, I absolutely need a moisturizer under my sunscreen to prevent water loss. 
   
   
4. Sunscreen (each day skin's exposed to sunlight, all year long) - I'm glad you already use one! Have you tried using it without a moisturizer? Definitely apply it as the last step of your skincare routine: if you use a separate moisturizer, always apply it under sunscreen.