Why is skincare personal?

Skincare is Personal! Every skin has its own characteristics and every skin reacts differently to products. Just because your friend with the glowy skin uses XYZ products, it does not mean that you can achieve the same results from the same XYZ products. There is really no such thing as one-size-fits-all in skincare. 

Especially before you understand your skin, we urge you to take a “pause” on splurging on more skincare products. Why? First of all, you are wasting money on products that your skin might not necessarily need. Secondly, you might be weakening your skin barrier by overwhelming your skin with all the new products at once. Thirdly, you probably will have to throw away all your new purchases. 

Most of you already know how to identify your skin type, but the problem is that your skin is very smart. Your skin conditions change based on your stress level, mental state, lifestyle, eating habits, temperature, pollution, environment and etc. Building a good personal routine solely based on your skin type might not be a good idea. 

Our aim here today is to help you build an essential, fundamental routine, and guide you on how to get to know your skin better. So, what are the steps in a fundamental routine? 

• Cleansing - Washing dirt, oil, and bacteria off your skin
• Moisturizing - Hydrating and maintaining moisture on your skin
• Sunscreen - Protecting your skin from UV rays 

That’s right. It takes only three steps for a strong and essential foundation for a skincare routine.

Cleansing 

Cleansing is a very basic yet very essential step to any routine. Our skin is always exposed to environmental pollutants, dirt, and other factors that should be gently removed. Washing your face at the end of the day is very important. If your skin type is dry to normal, it is not necessary to wash twice a day, morning and night. Washing your face too often can strip off the natural oil layer of the skin, and imbalance your skin acidity level. However, it is beneficial for combination-oily skin types to wash your skin twice a day since your skin produces more oil than the other skin types, and that could lead you to clogged pores and acne. 

Moisturizing 

Even if you do not wish to build a skincare routine for your skin, we highly recommend you to have at least an all-weather and reliable moisturizer. Essential oils are not the same as a moisturizer. Moisturizers can absorb moisture into the skin because of their water-based formulas whereas the purpose of using essential oils is to lock skin moisture in. Since we are doing a fundamental three-step routine here, facial oil is not an optimal choice for your skin hydration.  

How to choose a moisturizer based on your skin type:

SKIN TYPE	MOISTURIZER TYPE	WHAT IT DOES
Oily	Gel	Water-based lotions that are lightweight in texture and easily absorb into the skin
Normal or Combination	Lotion / Emulsion	Light yet creamy texture while providing a little bit more oil, to protect the natural oil layer of the skin, than gel-type moisturizers
Dry	Cream	Heavier and more oil-based than lotions

SunScreen

When it comes to sun protection, one of the most common misconceptions is that you only need to wear sunscreen when you are outdoors and when the sun is shining. This misconception will cause you a couple of years of youthful skin, and worse, a skin cancer. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, “around 90% of nonmelanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun”. Just forget about the money you spent on your anti-aging products if you refuse to wear your sunscreen. You will get ZERO effect of anti-aging from these products without sunscreen. Sunscreen is the most effective and cheapest way to prevent premature fine lines and wrinkles. 

No matter what your skin type is (Yes, including OILY skin type), you should be wearing your sunscreen. There is really no excuse. Here is a little tip on how to choose your sunscreen according to your skin type. 

SKIN TYPE	SUNSCREEN TYPE	Spotlight Ingredients
Oily	Water-based or gel formula	Green tea, tea tree oil, centella asiatica will help control oil production.
Dry	Moisturizing sunscreen	Ceramides, glycerin, hyaluronic acid, sodium hyaluronate ingredients will help your skin hydrated.
Combination	Mineral Sunscreen	Centella Asiatica, zinc oxide, niacinamide are good choices for you.
Sensitive	Mineral Sunscreen	Zinc oxide, titanium dioxide are the safest bet, in addition to panthenol, allantoin, and madecassoside ingredients.

Having a good fundamental routine will help you get to know your skin better since your skin will be sending you signals, where you can start putting more steps to build an effective personal routine. Some of us will experience more oil production than others with this routine because our skin is telling us that it needs more hydration. Some of us will probably be having tightness on our face because your skin needs more moisture (oil-based) in the routine. The conditions are varied from one person to the next. However, you will see that your skin is very different from what you perceive and much smarter than what you think. You will also probably learn that your skin is sufficient with fewer products than you thought it needed. 

Just remember that your skin is individual and unique just like yourself. And your skincare should be personal and special.