Skincare 101- How To Build A Routine If You Have No Clue

Skincare is so hot right now. The world and his wife are talking about it. But what does it all mean? Here is a step by step introduction into entering the world of proper skincare…I was hanging around with a non skincare friend the other day. We got to talking about anti ageing skincare and she said “None of it really works though does it?”. Yes, actually, it really can, but you have to do your homework and put the time in. If you want serious results then a micellar wipe and some moisturiser just won’t cut it, I’m afraid.

I’m absolutely fascinated by skincare, I read about it whenever I have a spare minute. My addiction hasn’t started affecting my relationships yet, but there may come a day when my husband says “It’s either me or the retinoids”. I’m not entirely sure what my answer will be. I understand that for a novice it’s all very bewildering, but I’ve got everything you need to make a start. In this post I am going to try and distill my everything I’ve gathered into  handy little nuggets for you. It’s pretty long, grab a comfy chair.

*You may also like my post on choosing your first The Ordinary products, there’s a handy app to generate the best product for your age and skin issue*

Just so you know, the links here are affiliate. This means if you click and buy something I get a few pence. Which of course I spend on more skincare to review.

How To Build A Skincare Routine- The Basics

I suppose a pertinent question is “Do I need to get into skincare”. Of course if your skin looks great and you have no concerns for it’s future, then no. But if you have skin complaints that aren’t improving and want to remain as young looking as possible for as long as possible, read on. We have ways to fix you.

I haven’t split anything into skin types. There are as many skin types as there are people. You can’t lump everyone into one of four simplistic categories and expect them to behave exactly to type.

How To Build A Skincare Routine No 1- Sunscreen

The absolute basic foundation to all skincare gain is sun protection. The radiation from the sun is making you look old. This one study stated that the UV exposure could be responsible for 80% of skin ageing.

What the hell is the point in buying skincare designed to make you look younger and then walking into the sun’s glare unprotected, which assuredly makes you look older.  Not to mention the cancer. But it’s ok right? I have SPF 15 in my foundation. Sorry no, you are unlikely to use enough foundation to actually give you that much protection. Also you need a broad spectrum protection, you need to know that that cream will block out all hazardous rays.

All of the sunscreen you have tried is white and greasy? I know. There are some wonderful products that will protect you an won’t leave you looking white and shiny. There is no joy in wearing something uncomfortable. You are unlikely to use enough cream or feel the urge to reapply if the product is horrible. So find a nice one.

I’ve posted about sunscreen before so go ahead and feast your eyes on that. A good tip on sunscreen is to look east- asian sunscreen generally has a much nicer feel to it. I don’t know why but they seem to know how to do it right. And they generally pretty cheap too. Yesstyle is my favourite place for browsing sun protection and Asian skincare in general, it’s a fun shopping experience.

To achieve the promised protection you will need to apply 1/4 teaspoon of product and reapply every two hours.

My currents faves are

• Canmake Mermaid Gel SPF 50– A lighter than air watery gel that melts to nothing. It’s alcohol free and broad spectrum. You must try it, trust me, it’s unlike any other sunscreen I’ve tried, from Yesstyle
• Misssha Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF 42– This is a medium coverage BB cream which is very comfortable and can replace foundation for day wear, from Amazon
• Neostrata Sheer Physical Protection SPF 50– A lovely light tinted sunscreen with broad spectrum physical sun protection, from Amazon

Other recommendations

• Biore Watery UV Gel from Amazon
• Elta MD  from Amazon

Once you have sunscreen sorted, you’re off to a flying start. You will need the sunscreen if you want to incorporate any acids or retinoids as they sensitise your skin to sun damage.

How To Build A Skincare Routine No 2- Toss The Junk

Next thing you must do is stop doing what you were always doing. It may well be that you fell for the pile of junk that cosmetics companies have been telling you. You need to eye your existing skincare collection with suspicion. It may smell nice and leave your skin so so squeaky clean, but it may be causing the problem that you’re trying to solve. I want you to head to your bathroom and read the ingredients lists of your face wash, toner and moisturiser etc.

If you see any of these things on the list then bin or repurpose it-

• Sodium Lauryl and Laureth Sulphate– A mega cheap, mega irritating foaming agent which will dry skin out. Most of the foaming cleansers contain sulphates, they give you that squeaky tight feeling you get after cleansing. Tight is not how your skin should feel after washing, that means that it’s dehydrated. For lots more information on cleansing head to my big and very informative cleanser post.
• Fragrance or parfum– Known for sensitising the skin. Can contribute long term to skin damage and ageing. Why they put it in skincare I don’t know.
• Essential oils– for the same reason that I would avoid fragrance, because they’re sensitising.
• Alcohol– Seen in toners and sunscreen mainly, they give skincare a fast drying feel and helps ingredients absorb. It’s also very drying and can kill skin cells. If you can see Alcohol or Alcohol Denat high up on an ingredient list, then avoid. (Note- there are some good alcohols, namely fatty alcohols like cetearyl, cetyl, lauryl, stearyl and oleyl. You don’t need to avoid these)
• Oxybenzone– A chemical sunscreen you may well find in your sunscreen and day moisturisers. It has questionable safety, according to EWG. It has been found to disrupt reproductive hormones and cause skin cell damage.

There may be other ingredients that you personally can’t get on with and that’ll be your own learning curve. You must cease trusting what beauty companies are peddling and figure out what is sabotaging your face. Once you start reading those ingredients, you’ll realise just how many products for the face contain perfume.

To check the safety of ingredients for your skin type, try Skincarisma.com, it’s a really handy reference.

How To Build A Skincare Routine No 3- Get Your Cleansing Sorted

One of the biggest skin saboteurs is incorrect cleansing. I’ve done a full on cleansing lesson before and I’ll summarise here for you. As I said in the paragraph above, you don’t want your skin to feel tight after cleansing. When you cleanse, you need to strike the balance between effectively removing dirt, makeup and sun protection and stripping the skin of it’s moisture barrier. You may find that just tweaking your cleanse could sort a skin issue you might have. Here are the main points-

• Foaming cleansers can be drying. Particularly ones containing Sodium Lauryl Sulphate.
• Oil cleansing is a great way to deep cleanse without drying the skin or altering the skin’s pH.
• Double cleanse with gentle cleansers for deep cleaning at the end of a day of makeup wear. Typically people use an oil cleanser to remove the day, then a foaming cleanser for an extra clean. You can just use an oil twice.
• Try to keep the skin’s pH acidic. I know this is a tricky one to achieve without pH paper. But, know this- bar soap is too acidic for the face, it will disrupt the acid mantle and cause spots and or dryness (unless you have skin made of iron). Oil doesn’t alter the skin’s pH so it really is a safe bet.
• Micellar water and wipes are ok as long as they are just a first cleanse, you still need to wash your face with water.

Products that I love and can use with gay abandon include-

• Hylamide High Efficiency Cleanser from Hylamide
• Simple Oil Cleanser from Boots

These are my personal favourites. I love them because they are bland, unfragranced, not pH altering, they are oil based but rinse off easily. If you are married to foaming cleansers CosRx Low pH Foaming Cleanser is a well respected choice.

How To Build A Skincare Routine No 4- Exfoliation

Most skin types will benefit from regular gentle exfoliation to remove dead skin cells, unblock pores and brighten the complexion. The best advice I can give you is to forget physical exfoliation- i.e. scrubs, brushes, and switch to acids.

A gentle regular acid exfoliation will be kinder to the skin than a scrub. Scrubs create micro injuries in the skin that open the skin to attack from bacteria and can damage capillaries. So bin off the St Ives Apricot scrub and instead choose something acidic. You can either have a weekly peeling treatment or a more regular acidic toner or serum. Here’s my guide to the Ordinary acid products.

Acids in skincare are either Alpha Hydroxy Acids (like glycolic, lactic, mandelic, tartaric or malic acid) or Beta Hydroxy Acids (salicylic acid). AHAs are water soluble and work by breaking the bonds between dead skin cells. BHAs are oil soluble and dissolve what is in the pores.

Even dry and sensitive skin types can tolerate some gentle acid exfoliation. I wouldn’t use acids every single day or you could damage your moisture barrier- every other day or a weekly peel will do just fine. Also avoid the Beta Hydroxy Acids if you’re pregnant.

Here are some suggestions-

• 5% or 10% Lactic Acid by The Ordinary– good for dry skin particularly as it draws moisture into the skin. My skin loves it.
• Glycolic Acid Toner by The Ordinary
• Non Acid Acid Precursor by NIOD
• Pixiglow by Pixi from Marks and Spencer’s
• Alpha H Liquid Glow from Marks and Spencer’s
• Ren Glycolactic Radiance Mask from Marks and Spencer’s
• Neostrata Exfoliating Wash from Amazon I really like Neostrata, the products are clinical and full strength, but a bit more expensive.

How To Build A Skincare Routine No 5- Hydration

Discovering the the difference between hydration and moisture was a real light bulb moment for me. Hydration just means water that your skin is holding. If you have a problem with too much oil production, it could well be that your skin is compensating for dehydration. The best way to hydrate the skin is to not allow it to dry fully after cleansing then immediately follow with watery skincare products.

After you have cleansed and exfoliated, do not pass go, do not collect £200, immediately spritz with a facial mist. Facial mists I would recommend are NIOD’s SDSM and Hylamide Hydra Density Mist. Both very hydrating and refreshing. You work up in viscosity, packing in the hydration before sealing it in with something oily. Find nourishing hydrating serums and layer them by patting into the face. Layering  numerous hydrating products is a very asian approach to skincare and it’s an approach that is definately worth exploring for all skin types.

Hydrating layers I love, in order of density, include-

• Serozinc by La Roche Posay is very light an refreshing, contains thermal water and zinc, good for acne prone skin
• SDSM by NIOD this is my favourite hydrator, I will not be without it
• Hydra Density Mist by Hylamide– contains marine polysaccharides and is very hydrating
• Snail Bee Essence by Benton
• MMHC by NIOD
• Sub Q Skin by Hylamide
• Buffet by The Ordinary
• Simply Pure Hydrating Serum by Superdrug
• Flash Hydro Boost Instant Plumping Emulsion from Marks and Spencer’s
• Marine Hyaluronics by The Ordinary
• Amino Acids + B5 by The Ordinary

Then seal in the precious watery nourishment with more greasy oily layers, such as-

• Daily Complex by Freederm from Amazon
• Natural Moisturising Factors by The Ordinary
• 100% Squalane by The Ordinary. This is an emollient that is naturally present in the skin, great for oily skin.
• Roseship Oil from Naissance. It’s naturally high in Vitamin A, known for it’s skin perfecting abilities.
• Grapeseed Oil from Naissance, this is high in linoic acid and great for acne prone skin

The important message is not to shy away from hydration and nourishment, even if you don’t have dry skin. If you wish to introduce anti ageing actives, you need to support skin function.

How To Build A Skincare Routine No 6- Actives

Now for the bit that you have probably been waiting for, how to actually make yourself look younger/better/brighter.  No amount of actives are going to work effectively unless you have the other points above nailed. There is no sense in trying to get rid of your wrinkles if you use a cleanser which is drying out your skin and making it wrinkly. No sense in trying to reverse sun damage when you go out into the midday sun unprotected.

If you don’t know much, it can be daunting. Don’t feel under pressure to get them all or any of them. The steps above may well be fine. Or just choose one thing  that you feel really suits you. The most important thing to know about actives is that you should take your time introducing them. Ideally, patch test first and start one at a time. This way you can tell if something causes a reaction.

Acids come under the heading of actives strictly speaking as they deliver benefits, but I separated then because they should be used in the first step after cleansing before moving on to light hydration. Actives to me are ingredients that have some proven skin benefits. Here are some that you may wish to consider-

• Retinol and Retinoids– I have a guide on this already prepared, it focuses on The Ordinary Advanced Retinoid but the principles are all the same. Retinoid is the term that covers all vitamin A derivatives- Retinol, Granactive Retinoid, Retinol Palmitate. They have the potential to reverse ageing and normalise abnormal skin. They can be transformative but cause initial irritation. And you must use sunscreen, that goes without saying.  Suggested products- The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid in Squalene.  Neostrata Skin Active Retinol plus NAG
• Vitamin C– A tricky ingredient which is unstable and difficult to get into a face product. Here is my full Vit C guide for more information and product tips. check out Timeless 20% Vitamin C E and Ferulic
• Peptides– small sections of protein molecules which give signals to skin cells. Notably Matrixyl, Argireline, pentapeptide-7, Copper Peptides. They work in different ways and as they are gentle and non irritating are welcome skincare addition. There are peptides in loads of anti ageing creams, L’Oreal, No7 etc. but you want it in a formula with no perfume, which is surprisingly hard to find. My faves are CAIS by NIOD, hailed as magic in a bottle or Sub Q Skin by Hylamide
• Azeleic Acid– For lightening marks and tackling acne. Not a true acid like glycolic, Azeleic is about the same pH as the skin. It had antibacterial, anti inflammatory action and blocks melagogenesis. Try the Boots Acne Clinic for prescription strength Azeleic or The Ordinary Azeleic 10%
• Niacinamide– Controls oil production, has an anti aging antioxidant effect, reduces pigmentation, boosts the moisture barrier, it’s an all round skin goodie try Freederm Daily Complex, the Niacinamide is high up in the ingredients list and there are no troublesome ingredients.
• Antioxidants– There are so many- Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, Superoxide Mutase, EUK 134, Resveratrol, Ferulic Acid. Get them on you, I say. They will reverse the damage the sun inflicts, they are the key to staying young forever. I love Resveratrol and Ferulic Acid and splash it on liberally. Alpha Lipoic Acid is amazing stuff, it can take years off overnight.
• Caffeine– I don’t know about caffeine, It’s meant to constrict the blood vessels and help with puffiness and fluid retention. I get really puffy eyes and it doesn’t do anything for me, but I know lots of people it works for. Try Caffeine Solution 5% and EGCG by The Ordinary 
• Anti Pigmentation agents– There’s Kojic Acid, Hydroquinone, Alpha Arbutin, maybe more. You won’t find them in many British skincare products, they are more commonly seen in Eastern skincare. Pigmentation issues don’t seem to be that well catered for here.  Hydroquinone is banned in the EU.  Alpha Arbutin takes a long time to have any effect. If pigmentation is your issue try Re Pigment by NIOD and read my review here.

I’m sure there are more actives that I’ve missed, it basically means anything that has a biological effect on the skin so I’m sure there are many more. In terms of order of layering, I would always recommend getting those tasty ingredients as close to the skin as possible. If you have used an acid exfoliant be aware that some actives don’t play in low pH situations. Niacinamide and Retinoids particularly, so you have to split them into different skincare sessions.

Give an active a few weeks to see if it works for you. Retinoids and acids can cause a purge of acne which can last from 3 to 8 weeks. It’s very difficult to know whether you’re in the middle of a purge or if a product doesn’t work for you. The only way to find out is to stick it out for a month and if it doesn’t get any better, then the product isn’t for you.

If you feel that a product is irritating your skin, but you’re not sure which,  then stop everything. Strip your routine down to the bare bones and gradually reintroduce products one by one while focusing on hydration.

How To Build A Skincare Routine No 7- Eyes

The under eye area is a bitch to sort. It starts looking old before everywhere else, so you use products, but it gets irritated really easily  and looks worse. So you give up and go home. With old looking eye skin. To my mind there are a couple of approaches-

• Botox– This stops the muscles around the eyes crinkling up the skin. It works really well but costs around £200 and only lasts three months.
•  Retinoids– I cannot stress enough how effective retinoids are for reversing ageing. I use The Ordinary Retinoid in Squalene on my under eye area  with no problems, but it isn’t designed for eyes. There are specific eye products that contain retinol, Dr Dennis Gross Ferulic and Retinol Eye Cream has lots of fans, including Caroline Hirons. Sub Q Eyes from Hylamide , contains Nonapeptide-3 Retino-Complex which has the effects of Retinol but not the irritation. Sub Q Eyes is my choice of eye product.

Skincare 101- The Basics Of How To Build A Routine- The Take Home Message

The order in which you use your products roughly goes like this-

1. Cleanser– your double cleanse at the end of the day, any mask you use,
2. Exfoliation– i.e. acid serums, acidic toners- make sure your skin is dry or the acids may irritate,
3. Hydration– hydrating toners, light essences, mists- the really watery stuff,
4. Serums – peptide serums, water serums, work in order of consistency- thin to thick, (if you use sheet masks they go after this step). Then suspensions like The Ordinary Azeleic and Vit C 23%. Wait a few minutes between steps for products to absorb,
5. Oils– plant oils, oil mixtures, Retinoid in Squalane could go here (skin must be dry again)
6. Creams– lotions, night cream, sleep packs… moisturisers go after oils, it really helps them absorb. It also helps with any pilling you might get when you put oil on top of serums.

This is a rule of thumb, I’m sure there are exceptions to this order depending on brands etc. If you’re not using this order I’m positive you’re not going to suffer any harm.

Your skincare sessions should be a lovely, sensory time that you devote to yourself. To take it seriously, you will need to devote some effort into learning what works for your skin. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Skincare is a marathon not a sprint. Take your time and have patience.

I hope I have simplified matters rather than complicated them. There is so much more I could have added! If you remember nothing else, remember this- Sunscreen is imperative.