Home Cleansing Routines

If you’re not able to get to the salon to have your regular professional facials, it’s really important to try to maintain a good skincare routine at home.

If you’re unsure about what the correct routine is, I’m always happy to give any skincare or product advice, so please let me know if I can help.

In the meantime, here are a few tips to help you choose the right products for your needs and also some basic skincare routine guidelines that I hope you’ll find helpful.

These are the ideal, optimum routines but ‘something is definitely better than nothing’ if you can’t follow every step.

Before purchasing new skincare products or deciding on your personal skincare routine, you’ll need to consider the following:

Your skin type.

For example, dry and sensitive skin will not need a toner, and facial oils aren’t suited to every skin.

Your age group.

Certain products or categories of products will be better suited to you depending on your level of skin aging or hormonal imbalances.Your skin’s level of sensitivity and general skin health.Certain products or combination of products and any medication you may be taking could cause reactions or you may be allergic to certain ingredients in a product.

Your specific skin concerns.

Such as wrinkles and age related skin conditions or congested pores and blemishes.

Your lifestyle.

For example, if you’re a smoker, you’ll show signs of aging more rapidly, if you’re under unusual levels of stress or not sleeping well, your skin will suffer, spending long periods of time indoors could leave your skin feeling dry or looking dull.

So what about the confusing matter of skincare routines?

Ideally, you should have a daytime routine and an evening routine.

Both are very important in different ways.

A good way to remember what order to apply products is: thinner, water-based products first followed by oil-based, thicker products and always end with an SPF.

Daytime Skincare Routine:

Cleanse.

Exfoliator (once or twice a week or every day depending on skin type)

Tone (some skin types)

Serum/Eye serum if not using eye cream.

Moisturiser or facial oil.

Eye cream if not using eye serum.

Sunscreen.

Evening Skincare Routine:

Cleanse including eye make up cleanse.

Mask maximum once or twice a week.

Tone.

Night serum.

Night cream including night eye cream.

In addition, Retinol (Vitamin A) is becoming increasingly popular in skincare routines and should ideally be used at night after cleansing. There are important guidelines to consider before using Retinol which I will tell you about in another post.

Your skincare routine and the products you use might need to change sometimes depending on factors such as your health, how your specific skin concerns change, the time of year or lifestyle changes.

Try to give yourself time when following your routines.

Be gentle with your skin – particularly around the eye area.

Work in upward strokes when applying products.

Don’t forget your neck area.

Look out for skin sensitivity or reactions to products.

Finally, now that your skin is looking and feeling great, remember to leave time for your products to sink in before applying any make up.

When possible, have regular professional facials which incorporate advanced, professional products. The addition of facial and body massages and ‘time for you’ will help you to de stress and relax.

Your professional treatments will also help you get the very best results from your fabulous home care routine!