Historically, having a good skin care routine was something that happened in January for a week or two, quickly dissipating into the occasional face mask here and there and adding moisturizer when I felt it was needed. I don’t believe it’s because I didn’t know how important a good routine actually is. I was just lazy and skin care-beauty didn’t excite me as much as it does today. Fast-forward to today: I am a completely different person. It would actually bother me to miss a step in my beauty routine and I instantly noticed on the few occasions that I did: either my skin suffered or my makeup wasn’t flawless. I love trying new skin care products. Today, I’m going to share a few products and tips on how I made that transition from anti-skin care to anti-basic.
Step one: Set realistic expectations
Don’t convince yourself that you need all high-end products or a 10-step routine, with serums, oils, mist and mask to have flawless skin. A basic cleanser, toner, and moisturizer are just fine. Starting off with too many steps will certainly overwhelm you, so start off small with just a couple of products just to get familiar. Get the basic cleanse and hydrate in there, and you can build up over time once those have become habitual.
Step two: Only use products that are meant for your skin
Just because one product worked for someone else, doesn’t mean it will work for you and if you use products which aren’t compatible for your skin type, you’re either going to experience no effects at best or negative effects at worse. This will cause you to detour from your beauty routine. I use Lush all natural products and Aveeno moisturizer in my daily routine.
Step three: Try new products, one at a time
Try one new product for at least two weeks in combination with your normal beauty routine. This way you can effectively determine which products need to go. Seeing results from a product is the most rewarding part of keeping a beauty routine going.
Step four: Organization is crucial
Keep your products where you use them. In the past, I kept all of my products in the bathroom cabinet but quickly discovered this is not ideal. I’d often find myself missing steps because the products aren’t where they should be and I was too lazy to go get them. Now, I leave some things in my bedroom, some downstairs, and some with my makeup. I also leave hand creams on my desk.
Step five: Start your evening beauty routine before you get too tired
After a day of makeup, food, pollution and dealing with the weather, my skin needs more intensive nourishment at night. Give yourself ample time to properly tend to your skin before bed. I start my evening routine around 7 p.m. so I have a decent amount of energy to give my skin the full works.
