Spring is just around the corner, making it the perfect time to reflect over the beginning of the year and start setting goals for the rest of 2020. With longer days, more hours of sunshine, and rising temperatures, resolving to take better care of your skin and revamping your skincare routine can help you perfect your skin in time for summer.
If you’re not layering your skincare products in the right order, or if you’re using the wrong cleanser with the wrong toner, you risk rendering your skincare routine ineffective—or worse, irritating your face and worsening your breakouts. If you’re interested in starting a fresh skincare routine in 2020, here’s a step-by-step guide to help you figure out how to layer your products.
Step 1: Cleanser
According to Mona Gohara, M.D., “for ingredients to properly absorb, you need clean skin that’s totally free of oil and grime.“ Before slathering skincare products on your face, start by removing your makeup and washing your face. To reduce waste and ensure your skin is completely clean, skip the makeup wipes and opt for a cleansing oil or micellar water, which dissolves makeup without drying your skin. Follow up with a gentle cleanser before moving on to the rest of your skincare routine.
Step 2: Toner
Most people associate toners with drying alcohol-based liquids that irritate your skin and leave you with a burning sensation; however, choosing a toner with gentle, hydrating ingredients can bring your dry skin back to life, exfoliate your skin, and help treat acne. Toners “aren’t meant to sit around on your skin and [feel] heavy,“ says Dr. Gohara. Instead, toners are for “priming your face for ingredients to be better absorbed later on.“
If you have acne, invest in toner with either BHA (beta hydroxy acid, like salicylic acid) or AHA (alpha hydroxy acid, like glycolic acid), which exfoliate the skin, unclog pores, and prevent breakouts. If you have dry skin, opt for water-soluble AHAs. On the other hand, if you have oily skin, choose oil-soluble BHAs.
Step 3: Serum
According to Dr. Gohara, “serums are essentially just shots of extremely concentrated nutrients, hydration, and antioxidants.” They hydrate, brighten, and protect skin from inflammation while helping to lighten dark spots over time.
If you’re not sure where to start, CBD beauty products leave skin feeling hydrated and help de-stress the senses, allowing you to feel and look relaxed and refreshed. The Seratopical Super CBD Serum utilizes a high concentration of active ingredients including peptides, plant stem cells, and CBD to reduce the appearance of fine lines, improve the look of skin discoloration, and improve elasticity.
Step 4: Moisturizer
It’s important to incorporate a hydrating moisturizer into your daily and nightly skincare routine, as it infuses your skin with deep hydration and helps trap other skincare products underneath to make their ingredients more effective. Whether your skin is oily, broken out, or dry, moisturizer is the key to keeping your skin barrier healthy.
In the morning, opt for a light, gentle hyaluronic-based moisturizer to keep your skin hydrated without feeling greasy or heavy. At night, choose a moisturizer filled with ingredients your body naturally produces, like hyaluronic acid, lipids, and proteins.
Step 5: Sunscreen
Because sunscreen acts as armor to protect your face against the outside world, it should be the last step in your skincare routine. But before you tell yourself that the SPF 15 in your daily moisturizer is enough to protect your skin against the sun, remember that you need at least an SPF 30 sunscreen to prevent premature aging, increased cancer risk, and worsened acne scars.
The lightweight sunscreen mist by LUMASOL offers SPF 50+ protection, reducing your chances of sun damage so you can enjoy the positive effects of sunlight without the risk. According to Forbes, you can reapply LUMASOL after your makeup, meaning you won’t have to worry about sacrificing your mascara or eyeliner for sun protection.
Whether you have dry skin, oily skin, or you’re prone to breakouts, finding the right products for your skin type and layering your products in the right order can put you on the path toward perfect skin.
