Beauty routine: what is it and why you need it - The Moisturizer
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Beauty routine: what is it and why you need it

Header The Moisturizer - Beauty routine: what is it and why you need it
You don’t have a skincare routine yet? Your beauty routine allows you to keep your skin healthy, beautiful and protected. It’s key to use the right cosmetics, so in this guide I’ll tell you which beauty products are essential and which ones aren’t as necessary. I’ll show you how to take care of your skin!

 

Hello! How are you? Today I bring you a post that I have wanted to do for quite some time and with which I inaugurate this Learn section. As you can see in my other publications, I usually emphasize the importance of having good beauty routines that allow us to take care of our skin as it deserves. And before going into more detail, I know you might ask yourself: but do I really need a beauty routine? Yes. Or you may think: if I do not have any skin problem, why do I want a beauty routine? Well, because you want to avoid having those problems later.

With this post I want to cover a series of basic points that I think it’s always good to have in mind (and refresh some ideas we all should know, of course). At the end of the day, even though you have spent years striving to take good care of your skin and rigorously comply with your routine, that does not mean that you can not be interested in remembering why each step is important. Also, for those who now want to learn a little more about the subject, it will be good for you to better understand your skin and its needs.

In this post we will see:
1. What is a skincare routine?
2. Why do you need a skincare routine?
3. What does a skincare routine provide you?
4. Basic steps of all skincare routines.
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1. WHAT IS A SKINCARE ROUTINE?

We are already very used to reading this expression, so much so that sometimes we forget to stop and think about what exactly a beauty routine is. The answer may seem simple, but it has some depth into it. We could define it as the set of steps that we perform in a specific order to keep our face clean, hydrated and cared for.

A good routine is the best beauty trick, it is the key to delaying as much as possible the visibility of the signs of aging. We all want to look young, to maintain the skin we had at 20 until the age of 60, but sometimes we forget that, to achieve that, we have to make a small effort. Sure, you’ve read it countless times, but I’m not going to be happy if I do not insist on this post that the sooner you start using a good skincare routine the sooner you’ll start seeing results.

Of course, the way we look is not everything, a routine brings you much more than a radiant and young image. If you respect your beauty routines you will achieve something more, you will improve your health. We are so used to thinking about our skin and our face as part of our image that we forget that the skin is another organ of our body (the largest, in fact). Sometimes we do not realize it, but our skin constantly faces the sun, cold, pollution and a thousand other elements that damage and wear it. The use of a good routine of cleansing and hydrating allows us to better protect ourselves from all those damages.

Reading this blog you will read many tricks and beauty tips, but for me this is one of the most important. One of the keys to have a radiant look and a well-groomed skin is to give it everything it needs every day. Yes, daily. And yes, morning and night.

I want to finish this part with something that’s key: it is not enough to just wash and hydrate our face once a day, it is insufficient. On the one hand, as I said, you must have a morning routine and a night routine. In the morning we will prepare our skin for everything that you have to face during the day. At night we will help our skin recover its balance after all the damage it has faced and we will nourish it so that it rests well during the night. In addition, a routine is much more than soap and moisturizer, as we will see later, for a beauty routine to be effective several steps must be taken, each one bringing something special and relevant. But before going into detail about how your routine should be, let’s see why it’s so important for you.

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2. WHY DO YOU NEED A SKINCARE ROUTINE?

A beauty routine is essential because it allows our epidermis (the outermost layer of the skin) to remain healthy and balanced. I do not want to go into too much detail in this matter, firstly because I could write paragraphs and more paragraphs and secondly because I do not want to bore you by deviating from the subject. The outermost layer of the epidermis, the stratum corneum, is the one which protects us from external agents first, and is made up of a series of dead cells filled with lipids (fats), and the acid mantle or skin barrier (which contributes to the skin its slightly acidic pH to favor the presence of beneficial microorganisms and prevent harmful microorganisms). Thus, with a good beauty routine we will allow the skin to maintain its hydration while avoiding the damage that may be caused by the different external agents.

An important aspect and that sometimes makes us not comply with our beauty routines is time. I am very lazy, I admit it. Sometimes I get a horrible laziness to wash my face, especially at night or when it’s very cold, but that does not stop being rigorous. We must always comply with our beauty routines. Seriously, always. Yes, always, excuses are useless. It does not take me more than five or ten minutes (depending on the steps I take), and in those five minutes we can do a lot for our skin. If you think about it, it’s not so much, right? The next time you lazily wash your face you know, think that in just five minutes you can help your skin to stay healthy, young and radiant.

At this moment I want to emphasize a very important point and that, despite being very basic, we tend to forget: everyone’s skin is different. Your needs and mine are different, so the routines that I use may not be useful to you. You will have to learn step by step which products are most useful to you and which ones give you the best results.

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3. WHAT DOES A BEAUTY ROUTINE PROVIDE YOU?

We have already seen that a beauty routine is essential to take care of our skin, and in this other post I explain how to create a basic skincare routine. However, it is necessary to understand what your main objectives are in order to understand the importance of each of your steps. With all beauty routines we will seek to provide four benefits to our skin: cleansing, toning, nourishing and moisturizing. If we neglect any of those aspects we will be neglecting our skin and we will not get the most effective result.

As I have mentioned on other occasions, daily facial cleansing is essential. With it we remove the remains of dead skin, excess oil and particles that have been deposited on our face throughout the day (or night). And what happens if you do not wash your face daily rigorously? Well, little by little, your pores will get clogged with all those particles, unbalancing the pH of the skin and facilitating dehydration and damage that may be caused by harmful microorganisms. This can only lead to two things: less healthy skin and a more aged appearance.

Toning is also fundamental. With it we restore the balance in the pH of the skin while giving our skin an extra dose of hydration, as we already talked about.

Many beauty treatments emphasize hydrating and nourishing the skin, although they ignore the importance of the aspects I have already mentioned (cleaning and toning). Nutrition and hydration go hand in hand, but they should be analyzed separately. There are products (such as serums) that give our skin extra nutrients that other products are not able to give us, among these nutrients are retinoids, peptides and vitamins, among others. These elements have mattifying, illuminating, antioxidant, anti-aging properties, etc. that we can not achieve so effectively with other products.

Moisturizing products work in two ways that can be understood as very similar, but which are very different in their result. On the one hand, we can find products that help to retain the natural hydration of the skin, avoiding the loss of water. On the other hand, there are products that focus on absorbing the environmental hydration so that it is incorporated into our skin and thus keep it elastic, firm and young.

To all this we must give it another twist: your day and night routines should not be the same. Why? Because your skin has different needs at the beginning and end of the day, just like you. The morning beauty routines should focus on keeping the skin free of excess oils, hydrated and well protected throughout the day, as it will face cold (or heat), sun radiation, pollution and all the rest agents that can damage it. Also, your morning routine always (ALWAYS) must include a sunscreen. On the other hand, the main function of the night routines is to cleanse the skin of all the elements that have been deposited on it during the day, to nourish it with those particles that it needs to absorb during the night to maintain a young and healthy appearance, and moisturize it in depth. Keep in mind that some products can only be used in our PM routines.

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4. BASIC STEPS OF ALL SKINCARE ROUTINES.

By now you must be aware of the importance of your beauty routines and what it means to comply with them daily. To be effective, all routines must have a minimum of steps, although they can always be extended with other products (in fact, Korean beauty routines incorporate up to 10 steps). Do you want to know what are the minimum steps that your routine has to take? Let’s go!

This graphic aims to help you understand in which part of your skincare routine you should use each product.
You don’t need to do all the steps from this routine (but you should always cleanse, moisturize and use sunscreen).
Remember it’s key to do a patch test every time you consider adding new products to your skincare routine.

 

 

  • Cleanser:

We have already seen that daily facial cleansing is essential to remove dead cells and particles that are deposited on our skin and clog pores. Find a cleanser that meets your needs, it will give you a fantastic result, without leaving your skin feeling tight or dehydrated. We should not abuse cleansers (especially if they are exfoliating), as they may end up unbalancing our skin barrier.

You may have read in some of my posts mentions to double cleansing. I practice it regularly in my PM routines (in the morning ones you can do a simple cleanse with your water-based cleanser), and it’s a right time to talk about it. It consists in first applying an oil-based cleanser (such as milk, oils and similar products) to remove the sunscreen and the particles deposited on the skin, and then apply a water-based cleaner (such as a gel) to remove the sweat and the remains of the first cleanser. The idea behind double cleansing is to achieve a more effective result and a deeper cleansing, more adjusted to our needs, while being gentle with our skin. To me, as the first step of double cleansing, I like the Klairs Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil, which you can find on Wishtrend and on Yesstyle. As a second cleanser I would recommend you to try the ByWishtrend Acid-Duo 2% Mild Gel Cleanser, which you can get on Wishtrend and on Yesstyle.

 

  • Toner:

I have hesitated to put the obvious, but I could not resist writing the dumbest phrase of the year: the toner tones (ha!). Retaking a bit of sanity, the importance of the toner is in that it allows to rebalance of the pH of the skin after unbalancing it throughout the day (and with cleansing) and improve our skin’s hydration. Keep in mind that the toner is the first product of our routine that our skin absorbs, preparing it for the following products of the routine, so imagine how important it is. A beauty trick that may interest you: try to avoid toners that incorporate much alcohol among its ingredients. If you are looking for a good moisturizing tonic you should take a look at the Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner, which you can get on Yesstyle, it’s a wonder.

 

  • Serum:

Many people think that it is the same as a moisturizer or even that one can replace the other, but nothing is further from reality. The serum is characterized as a lighter product than the moisturizer, so it can reach the deeper layers of the skin more quickly and effectively. That’s why some serums incorporate molecules with special properties, turning them into authentic anti-aging beauty treatments. You see that it is fundamental, so you should look for a good serum that suits your needs (luckily there are thousands in the market), so try to find one that gives you what you are looking for, whether they are antioxidant, anti-aging, brightening, etc.

One of my favorites is the NIOD Copper Amino-Isolate Serum 2:1 (CAIS 2), which you can find on DECIEM (recommended).

 

  • Moisturizer:

Interestingly, this is the step that most people comply with. It seems we all have internalized that using moisturizer is necessary. But nevertheless we have already seen that applying the moisturizer without having complied with the rest of the beauty routine is practically useless. Moisturizing a skin that is not clean does not make sense. With this I do not want to minimize the importance of using a good moisturizer on a daily basis, as it will allow us to keep the water in the deepest layers of our skin and the balance in the hydrolipidic barrier (which we talked about earlier, remember?). When you use a moisturizer you should look at whether it is designed to be used by day or night, since its properties are different. Normally day creams are lighter and softer and can incorporate sun protection. The night creams, on the other hand, tend to be denser and thicker and usually provide nutrients that our skin can absorb while we sleep. A great moisturizer that I always like to recommend is the Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin E Mask, which you can find on Wishtrend and on Yesstyle.

 

  • Eye contour:

The eyes are the mirror of the soul. I needed to say it, okay? Although it is a classic cliche, it is true that with a good eye contour we can get a much younger, active and awake look than if we do not use it. Genetics has a lot to do with dark circles and bags, but by frequently using the right product we can reduce their visibility and thus look less tired. Surely you can find an eye contour that suits what you are looking for. Those who have a roll-on type applicator usually provide, in addition, a good refreshing effect that gives you an instant result to relax and decongest the area. Do you want good beauty advice? Keep them in the fridge for an even more efficient result. Right now among my favorite eye contours are The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + ECGC, which you can find on DECIEM (recommended) and on SkinStore.

 

  • Sunscreen:

Every day you see more moisturizers that try to emphasize that they incorporate sunscreen in their composition. However, the proportion is usually so low that it is clearly insufficient. It is necessary (NECESSARY) to use sunscreen daily to protect our face from radiation. I can give you a thousand tricks and beauty tips, but none will be as important as using sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 30 every day. If you want to take care of your skin and keep it young, the sunscreen is your ally. Also, since melanoma cases increase every year, you’ll do yourself a huge favor by incorporating it into your day-to-day life. The sunscreen does not have to be dense, thick and greasy like the ones we usually use on the beach, there are many on the market that can give you a good result, so look well until you find yours. If you want to know what sunscreen will suit your skin best you can check this comparison I wrote.

 

 

I have tried to make this post an exhaustive analysis about the importance of routines. Now you know why it is important to have a good beauty routine and how it should be to give you the best possible result. In any case, if you have any questions do not hesitate to leave a comment and I will reply as soon as possible. Soon I will upload new posts to this category, stay tuned!

 

If you enjoyed this post you’ll definitely like checking these out:

Do you want to learn to take better care of your skin? You can see an index of all my informative posts here

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The Moisturizer

I’m Nacho and I’m passionate about skincare. I really enjoy learning and sharing my knowledge about skincare and I read scientific papers so you don’t have to. I want to break stereotypes because I believe skincare has no gender: skin is skin.  

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