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Everything You Need for the Basics of Skincare

Skincare can be confusing when you start out but it only takes the right tips, the correct information, and mastery of the basics to set you on the right path. Want to be acne-free, and have a baby's smooth and even skin tone? Here is everything you need to know to build a solid and effective skincare routine.

Identify Your Skin Type

If there is one thing you always need to remember when it comes to skincare, it is that the choice of your products will always depend on your skin type. There exist 4 skin main skin types and based on their characteristics you can either have oily, dry, mixed, or normal skin. Once you identify your skin type, you will be able to understand better what your skin needs and how to go about building a solid skincare routine.

A picture showing the skin of a dark skinned woman.

Choose the Right Products

Once you figure out what your skin type is, the next step is learning how to pick the right products. Here are some general guidelines based on each skin type;

Oily Skin

To find the right products for your oily skin always consider the following;

  • Avoid pore-clogging oils like coconut, olive oil, lanolin, or mineral oil. 

  • Pick foaming and ph balanced cleansers 

  • Avoid heavy creams but gravitate towards lightweight or gel-based lotions

  • Avoid products that are too stripping on the skin to prevent skin dehydration

Dry Skin

If you have dry skin here a pointers for setting up a good routine 

  • Avoid foaming cleansers and stick to gentle hydrating, creamy, or milky cleansers 

  • Use products that contain hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid 

  • Avoid cleansers with harsh detergents such as sodium lauryl sulfate

Combo/Mixed skin

With combo skin, the key is finding balanced products that can cater to both oily and dry parts of the skin.

Normal Skins

If you have normal skin, finding products wont be too hard. Simply avoid harsh skincare products but rather focus on picking products that will address any skin concern you may be struggling with e.g acne, hyperpigmentation etc.

Establish a Simple Morning Routine

Now here is the good part, how should you go about building a solid skincare routine? As a beginner, starting and nailing the basics is essential irrespective of your skin type and skin conditions. The most essential steps in your routine should be to cleanse, moisturize, and protect your skin from the sun.

Cleanser

Now here is the good part, how should you go about building a solid skincare routine? As a beginner, starting and nailing the basics is essential irrespective of your skin type and skin conditions. The most essential steps in your routine should be to cleanse, moisturize, and protect your skin from the sun.

Moisturizer

After cleansing, the next essential step is to apply a good moisturizer to trap moisture in your skin and keep your skin properly hydrated. Moisturizers contain humectants that draw moisture into the skin, occlusives that trap this moisture and prevent transepidermal water loss, and emollients that soften the skin. A good moisturizer should contain a blend of these categories of actives to guarantee the skin’s barrier health. A great example of a moisturizing that does this is the Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors. 

Sunscreen

Exposure to sunlight is the number one reason for skin premature aging, hyperpigmentation, and inflammatory conditions like acne. This is why using sunscreen is essential in your skincare routine. Always wear your sunscreen as the last step of your routine and 15 min before stepping out.

Reapply every 2 hours and also, make sure when choosing your sunscreen to pick one with an SPF value of at least 30. 
If you wear makeup on a regular, find a hydrating and lightweight sunscreen that can also serve as a good base for the application of your foundation. To reapply with makeup on, invest in a sunscreen spray, stick, or sunscreen powder.

Various hydrating and moisturizing products from skincare brands Cerave, Olay, Centella, The Ordinary, Eucerin, and TIAM

Establish a Simple Night Routine

Oil Cleanser

Gone are the days of makeup removers and hello oil cleansing. If you have never heard of this practice before, it consists of cleansing your skin with a cleansing oil or balm to get rid of excess sebum, makeup, and sunscreen residues effectively. If you wear makeup often oil cleansers should be your besties because they are more gentle on the skin as opposed to makeup wipes or classic makeup removers. One of our favorite oil cleansers is the Ordinary Squalane cleanser.

Cleanser

If you do not wear makeup or sunscreen (which by the way you should) then use a regular water-based cleanser to wash your skin at night. If you do wear makeup you can double cleanse after your oil-based cleanser with a water-based product for a deep cleanse.

Toner

Toners are optional but adding a toner to your routine is a good way to intensively hydrate and soothe your after a long day. Toners usually contain repairing ingredients that allow the skin to repair it self at night.

Moisturizer

Again just like in the morning moisturizing your skin at night is a must to help your sskin to stay hydrated.

A Glycolic Acid Toner from the skincare brand The Ordinary, placed in a wooden box along with a few cotton pads.
A gentle retinol serum from skincare brand Versed.

Going The Extra Mile for Skincare Basics

Once you have mastered the basic skincare steps it is safe to go ahead and introduce more products to boost your skin’s health and target any specific concerns you may have.

Exfoliate Twice A Week

Exfoliating helps shed dull and dead skin cells found on the outer layer of the skin acer help unclog the pores. This results in smoother, brighter and healthier skin.The rule of thumb is to exfoliate 2-3x a week to maintain a smooth skin texture and tone.

Add A Few Actives

For specific skin concerns like acne, signs of aging, rosacea psoriasis, dehydrated skin…etc, using products with actives ingredients that treat these concerns is the way to go. For a more effective skincare routine knowing what these actives are and what they do can help you achieve better results. Here is a short breakdown of a few popular skincare actives and their benefits.

Retinol

Retinol is a derivative of vitamin A and probably the most well-researched skincare active in the skincare industry. Its benefits range from treating acne to brightening and smoothening the skin. It is known to speed up the skin cell renewal process and boost collagen production for firmer and brighter skin. Retinol is a holy grail in skin care however it does have significant side effects and as a beginner, you want to start a low dosage of this active and work your way up.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that tackles hyperpigmentation issues and improves skin tone uniformity amd skin texture. Adding this to your daily routine is a great way to brighten and protect your skin from free radical damage and sun-induces skin discoloration.

A picture of a dark skinned woman with suncreen on her face.

Eat Healthy

Your skin’s health depends highly on the quality of food you ingest. As such keeping a healthy diet is essential.

Your skin's Health depends highly on the quality of food you ingest as such, keeping a healthy diet is essential to maintaining healthy skin. To prevent dry dull and dehydrated skin avoid eating highly processed foods high sugar foods and dairy products. 

 

These usually trigger inflammations in the skin that weren't skin conditions like acne rosacea leading to more frequent breakouts.  make sure to drink enough water on a daily basis it's high protein food and ingest all foodstuff that contains vitamins like vitamin C vitamin A vitamin E and vitamin K.

Change Pillowcases

One of the aspects of skincare that mostly gets disregarded is attention to personal hygiene. Having good personal hygiene guarantees a lesser risk of experiencing frequent breakouts. As such always pay attention to changing your bedsheets and especially your pillowcases frequently, at least two times a week to reduce the risk of infections especially if your skin is prone to acne.

Final Thoughts

One of the aspects of skincare that mostly gets disregarded is attention to personal hygiene. Having good personal hygiene guarantees a lesser risk of experiencing frequent breakouts. As such always pay attention to changing your bedsheets and especially your pillowcases frequently, at least two times a week to reduce the risk of infections especially if your skin is prone to acne.

FAQs

Why Is Skincare Important?

Skincare is super important for reinforcing your love and self-image because a lot of people struggle with skin disorders that make them complex about who they are.  By taking care of your skin and showing yourself some self-love, you boost your esteem and become a happier person.

Can Skincare Products Expire?

Absolutely! Skincare products do expire and the expiry date usually depends upon when the product was opened so each time you purchase can get the product checked on the packaging it always has the POA date which states how long you can keep the product after it has been opened. This usually varies between 6 to 12 months

How Many Skincare Products Should I Use?

The number of skincare products you will use will depend on the length of your routine. for a basic skincare routine three to four products are enough. For more extensive routines with treatments for targeted skin concerns you can count anything between five to seven or eight products.

What is the Order of Skincare For Beginners?

Skincare routine for beginners counts three steps; a cleanser or moisturizer and a sunscreen.

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