Skincare routine recommendations

[siawly]

Im new to skincare but id love to have a regular everyday routine. What do you recommend for everyday am and pm skincare for beginners 

[missveronika]

I like keeping it really simple in the mornings, just a swipe of micellar water and then toner (Caudalie Beauty Elixir) and then a moisturizer (currently using the Farmacy Honey Halo) and sunscreen. Then for the evenings, double cleanse with a cleansing balm (Farmacy Green Clean) if I've worn a lot of makeup, otherwise just use my normal face wash (Origins Checks and Balances), then a glycolic toner, and my serums (I usually use the Lancome Genefique and alternate between using an oil like Kiehls nighttime oil or a moisturizing overnight mask) and my night moisturizer

[Lrearden1]

The soy face wash by fresh is my go to at the moment! It has cleared up all my break outs and leaves my skin silky smooth! Good luck pullin together that skincare routine and I hope this helps a bit 😊🫶

[siawly]

@WinglessOne  i really appreciate all of the info thank you. I do have a sunscreen. My dark under eyes are genetic so i should get some concealer. And i am a stomach sleeper so ill try those products you mentioned for puffy eyes. Thanks so much for all of this

[WinglessOne]

Hi @siawly ! What do you currently use on your face? What's your skin type/behavior? Are there any specific skin issues you want to address? 

A good skincare routine can be as simple as: 

1. Gentle cleanser (PM; optional for AM) - CeraVe, Vanicream, and Cetaphil make good ones. 
2. Moisturizer (PM & AM) - See the 3 brands I mentioned above. Aveeno also makes some good moisturizers. You can also use body lotion/cream on your face, depending on what's in the product and whether your facial skin's sensitive to any of the ingredients. 
3. Broad spectrum sunscreen (AM) - at least SPF 30, applied to all skin exposed to sunlight (eyelids, ears, behind ears, hairline, nape of neck if exposed, etc.) and reapplied every couple hours, all year long, regardless of weather or season. If you frequently sit by a window that's not treated with a UV-blocking film, or drive/ride a lot in a vehicle with untreated windows, then you should wear sunscreen while indoors or in vehicles. 

Anything beyond that depends on your skincare issues/goals. 

[siawly]

I have combination skin. Yesterday i bought cleanser, vitamin c, retinol and Moisturizer.

For skin concerns i want to make sure my skin stays healthy and relatively wrinkle free in the future. Ive always had dark circles and puffy eyes, it makes me very insecure. I also have blackheads that i want to get rid of

[WinglessOne]

@siawly  Quick BIC tip: remember to @ the person you reply to so they'll get a notification. Otherwise they might never see your reply. 🙂 

Sunscreen is the best topical skincare product to keep your skin healthy and relatively wrinkle free: 

Spoiler

UV rays cause a lot of skin damage, including wrinkles and far more serious things like cancer. Do you already have one? If not, please get one. 

Which one's right for you is highly subjective; depends a lot on your personal preferences and skin sensitivities. Aside from that, it doesn't matter if the sunscreen is mineral, chemical, or hybrid, because all 3 types of sunscreen work largely the same way: one's not better or safer than the others in that regard, no matter how much anti-chemical SPF fearmongering certain brands throw at you. A good popular option is Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen Invisible Broad Spectrum SPF 40 PA +++ . One of my favorite mineral sunscreens is available at Target: Native Unscented Mineral Face Lotion SPF 30. I often use those 2 on my mostly dry combo skin. I rotate through several different sunscreens on a regular basis, though. 

Dark circles: do you know what's causing them? 

Spoiler

If they're genetic/hereditary or caused by sunken skin (usually hollow tear troughs; this is the kind of undereye darkness I have), then no topical skincare product will help. Makeup—color corrector and/or concealer—is your best bet. You can also talk with a dermatologist or your primary care doctor about in-office/clinic procedures that might help. I'm too big a baby about needles pointed at my face, so I haven't gone the undereye filler route yet. Instead, I rely on minimal and very strategic concealer application to mask the shadows in my hollow tear troughs. 

Otherwise, products that contain low strength retinol or retinaldehyde (both are members of the vitamin A family), green tea, licorice root, vitamin C, and/or alpha arbutin can help reduce undereye darkness over time. I don't know which vitamin C product you bought, but it might be safe to bring up onto your undereyes. Just don't take it all the way up to your lower lash line. I don't recommend using your retinol product on your undereyes unless it's a low strength product, especially if you're brand new to vitamin A. 

Caffeine and hydrating ingredients (hyaluronic acid, sodium PCA, carrageenan, polyglutamic acid, etc.) can help depuff your undereyes. So can a cold compress. I keep green tea and/or caffeine eye patches in the fridge for days when my undereyes are puffy. My favorites are Jayjun Green Tea Eye Gel Patch and Good Molecules Caffeine Energizing Eye Patches. You can also try a leave-on eye cream like The INKEY List Caffeine De-puffing + Dark Circle Eye Cream 0.5 oz/ 15 mL . 

More ways to reduce undereye puffiness: reduce (but don't eliminate) salt in your diet, and don't sleep on your stomach. I'm a side sleeper and occasional side-to-back sleeper (I sometimes roll onto my back in my sleep) and still trying to train myself to fall asleep on my back. I sometimes use a wedge pillow to keep my head and torso elevated; this also helps reduce morning puffiness. 

Blackheads: salicylic acid and a clay mask can help this kind of acne. A good product that contains both of those ingredients is The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Masque . Retinol (and other forms of vitamin A) may help control acne over time. Note that vitamin A can sometimes cause purging within the first month of use: that's a sudden appearance of new acne. Think of it as all that crud getting evicted from your pores. It should calm down after 1 to 1.5 months. 

[Titian06]

@siawly - Make sure to use your Vitamin C and retinol at opposite times (one in the AM and the other in the PM or on alternate days, just not at the same time).  You'll definitely want to use sunscreen since retinol will make your skin more sensitive.  For your puffy eyes, use an eye cream with caffeine such as The INKEY List Caffeine De-puffing + Dark Circle Eye Cream 0.5 oz/ 15 mL .  For your blackheads, you'll want an exfoliator with salicylic acid.  I use Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant Refillable Exfoliator 2.6 oz/ 74g , but you can use a liquid as well if you don't like a physical exfoliator.

[WinglessOne]

@Titian06 @siawly  Quick clarification: you don't have to alternate vitamin C and retinol like that. These 2 ingredients don't contradict each other. In fact, there are some products on the market formulated with both ingredients. 🙂 The only reason to alternate them is your particular skin's tolerance: some folks' skin can't handle this combo. Not saying you can't or shouldn't alternate them; just sayin' there's nothing wrong with layering them together, as long as your skin tolerates it. 

If you're brand new to retinol and you've got 2 separate products (1 retinol, 1 vitamin C), I recommend not introducing both to your skin at the same time. I say that about pretty much any active ingredient, not just these 2: introduce them one at a time to reduce the chance of your skin flipping out over something it's not used to. Pick one and use it for a few weeks. If you have no irritation, then introduce the other product. 

Many people do alternate the time of day they use vitamin C and retinol, mostly because you'll get more antioxidant bang for your buck from vitamin C if you use it in the morning. You can use it at night instead; nothing wrong with that. 

You can also use retinol in the morning if you want, though most of us use vitamin A at night. Retinol doesn't really make your skin more sensitive to the sun, at least not the same way AHA exfoliants do. Retinol speeds up the skin cell turnover cycle, meaning new skin cells are created faster than usual. Dead skin cells still need to be cleared from the surface from time to time—retinol doesn't do that—but some dermatologists say the simple act of washing your face = exfoliation. AHAs get sun sensitivity warnings per the FDA because they remove dead skin cells, exposing new skin underneath. Of course, we should all use sunscreen daily no matter what else we use on our skin. 

[Titian06]

Wow!  I totally got that wrong, @WinglessOne , @siawly !  I've read that so many times in the Q&A section on product pages.  Thanks for setting me straight! 🙂

[WinglessOne]

No worries, @Titian06 ! The "don't use retinol and vitamin C together" myth has floated around for a long time and refuses to die. Heck, there are medical doctors who still think it's true. I don't remember offhand how it started... might've been based on a faulty clinical study. Noting to self to dig around later and refresh my memory. 🙂 

While I'm thinking of vitamin A myths: another common one is that retinol thins skin, therefore making skin more sensitive to sunlight. But nope, vitamin A and its derivatives boost collagen production, which should result in stronger and thicker (not thinner) skin. 

Fun fact: retinol itself is sensitive to sunlight (unless formulated in a way to decrease that issue). So is vitamin C—in its pure ascorbic acid form—to an infamous degree. The reason some doctors tell folks to use retinol at night is to prevent the ingredient from breaking down in sunlight after it's applied to skin. But if you don't expose your skin to sunlight soon after applying retinol, and you do apply sunscreen over it, then it should be fine. If your retinol/vitamin A or ascorbic acid product is in a clear glass or plastic container, don't store it where it'll be exposed to sunlight. 

[SportyGirly125]

@siawly @This depends on your skin type.