With skincare routines ranging from a simple three steps to some as long as nearly twenty steps, it can be easy to forget what you SHOULD be doing in your routine.
On top of that you have to pay attention to the type of products and the ingredients in them to make sure you're not adding anything to your routine that can react negatively with your skin.
So, if you’re new to the world of skincare or if you’ve been here a while, it helps to keep the following tips in mind regardless of what your skincare routine looks like:
Don’t forget the neck
When applying your facial care products, it can be easy to forget your neck. Lots of people tend to stop right at the jaw, but it's important to apply it on your neck (and upper chest) especially when it comes to sun protection. Sun damage doesn’t just occur on your face. And for that matter don’t forget to also apply sunscreen on your ears (and any skin that is going to be exposed to the sun).
Plus, if you’re worried about aging skin, you can always apply your normal face moisturizer to your neck to help keep the skin moisturized and protected.
Applying sunscreen even on cloudy days
Hopefully by now, sunscreen is a staple in every routine. But, just because the sun may be hidden doesn’t mean you can skip this step. Unfortunately, clouds don’t exactly act as a sun protection substitute since they don’t block all UV rays from damaging the skin.
So, even if the sun isn’t out during the day, it’s good practice to always apply sunscreen before going outside.
Test new products before adding them to your routine
With tons of new skincare launches every month, it can be exciting to want to try out the latest innovations. But, while it's perfectly fine to add new products to your routine, you have to be mindful of whether the new product will vibe well with your skin.
If you have some new products you want to incorporate into your routine, then first patch test the product if you have any concerns about it. This can be especially useful for sensitive skin types who may struggle with finding products that won’t trigger reactions.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), you should ideally test a new product for seven to ten days. You can apply the product to an area like the underside of the arm or bend of the elbow twice a day for those seven to ten days. If you have no reaction then it should be okay to add into your routine.
Use the right product according to your skin type
Not every product is right for every skin type. Like take the slugging trend for example. In this trend you apply a good layer of Vaseline to the skin and sleep with it on overnight. But, if you have oily, acne-prone skin, this may not be the trend for you. Typically heavy products don’t mesh well with oily, acne-prone skin.
Similarly, some skin types, like dry skin and sensitive skin, should be extra careful when it comes to potentially irritating products like AHAs and retinoids. This doesn’t mean you have to completely avoid products with these ingredients but you may need to limit your use of them and seek out lower concentrations.
Skincare does not have to be expensive to work
Along with the myth that “if it burns it’s working,” hopefully we all know by now that skincare does not have to be expensive to work (who has $200+ for a moisturizer anyway?!). The more important factors to consider are: does it work for your skin type, are the ingredients safe, and does it tackle your skin concern.
Lots of products on the market are affordable and do actually yield great results. Like the Hanhoo blemish patch collection is pretty affordable (under $10 for each patch) and they help target a variety of different blemish types without drying out the skin, like some traditional spot treatments are known to do.
The takeaway…
Ultimately, it's important to do a little research anytime you are thinking about adding anything new to your routine. And, when it comes to sunscreen, if you're wondering whether you really need to apply it daily, the answer is yes you do. For most other things, always consider what exactly you’re adding to your routine and keep in mind whether it’ll work with your skin type and concern.
