what is the best skin care routineWhen it comes to looking after our skin, what is the best skin care routine? I will hold my hand up and say I have no clue! I know I have always suffered with oily skin, so I have never really known what is the best skin care routine. Your skin is the largest organ, so really and truly, we should do all that we can to care for it. It is NEVER too late to start.

In the past I have tried moisturisers, used make up remover, but never understood all the stages in between that you should be doing. At one point I even used milk from the fridge to cleanse my skin and used eggs whites to tone it! I can honestly say my skin felt amazing then. Cleopatra used to bath in milk, so I kinda thought it had to have some kind of benefit! 

At the moment I am 42 years young, still with oily skin and only splashing water on my face to clean it. I don’t know what is the best skin care routine, but I know I should be doing more to look after it. I love learning, so researching into skin care routines was as good an opportunity to learn something new.

WOW! There are so many products out there, and it does feel a little overwhelming to know what products I would benefit from. So, I thought my first stage of learning is to understand what a skin care routine should consist of.

To answer what is the best skin care routine, I have discovered that there should be 6 stages and it doesn’t have to be time consuming either. So here are the stages to implement for a good skin care routine:

STAGE 1 – Remove Make-Up and Cleanse

 In order for any product to have it’s maximum absorption and benefit, the skin needs to be dirt free. Removing all sweat, dirt and pollution is the first thing to do, as this can all build up over a 24 hour period. Opting for a gentle cleanser is best, nothing that will strip the skin, and it is advised to do this morning and evening. Use the make up remover first (if you wear make up) and then cleanse.
A local beautician advised that to cleanse the skin properly, you need to clean the skin in an upwards motion to ensure you are removing the dirt from the pores and for it to go against gravity. Yes, gravity! Upwards motions encourages a lift in the skin, 
My God! There are so many different types of cleansers for all different types of skin. So I feel this needs a separate blog otherwise you will be here all day! Be sure to read up on the different types to ensure you choose the right one!

STAGE 2 – Toning

After removing all your make-up and then cleansing, the next step is to tone, and it is advisable to do this morning and evening too. From what I can understand cleansing and toning is like a husband and wife cleaning the bathroom! he husband is the cleanser. He will clean the bathroom to the best of his ability, but will leave some of the grime around the bath. The wife, aka the toner, will come in and go over the husbands work and remove the leftover grime, 
So the toner plays an important part ensuring a deeper clean is present. For oily skin – note that if Niacinamide is an ingredient in the toner, this can balance the skins oil level.

STAGE 3 – Serumwhat is the best skin care routine
This is where I usually get lost, because I don’t have the knowledge to understand why this is needed. But from what I have learnt, serums contain high concentrated ingredients that work through the layers of skin. Because of this, the results last longer, but it depends on what ingredients are present for what results you get as all serums do different things. Check out the next blog for more information on this.
 
STAGE 4 – Face Oilwhat is the best skin care routine
This scares me. Why would I want to put oil on oily skin? But then you learn that when you strip the skin of it’s natural oils with harsh products, it will cause your skin to produce more oils to compensate for the loss. Face oil does not moisturise the skin, it hold the products used in stages 1-4 in place. Otherwise the products applied in stages 1-4 will evaporate into the air. This was a big eye opener as you naturally think it will moisturise the skin, not become a barrier. So I am not feeling as scared anymore,
STAGE 5 – Moisturiserwhat is the best skin care routine
If you asked anyone what the most important thing for your skin is, I guarantee they would all say to moisturise it. Although we understand this, we don’t always know what moisturiser to apply. This is where I have come unstuck many a time as, I find it just makes my skin more slimy and shiny and then I stop using it.
What I also didn’t know is that a different moisturiser should be used for the morning and evening and even for different seasons. I did not realise that in summer your skin needs hydration, whereas in the winter it drys out. So it makes perfect sense now that you would need different ones.
When shopping for the right moisturiser, you should consider the following:
1. What is your skin type?
2. What does it need?
3. What problems does your skin have?
A morning moisturiser will need to be lighter and easier to absorb, whereas a night cream will need to be packed with ingredients to repair and regenerate the skin whilst you are sleeping.
STAGE 6 – SPFwhat is the best skin care routine
Research says that SPF is always last to apply as you need it to sit on the surface of your skin to prevent harmful UV rays from damaging the skin. the higher the SPF, the more protection from the sun. Too much sun exposure can lead to skin damage and early ageing of the skin. Even on a cloudy day the sun’s rays can still reach you.
 
** An additional stage is exfoliation**
Exfoliation should take place 2-3 times a week for normal skin
Once a week for dry skin
3-4 times a week for oily skin 
2-3 times a week for acne prone skin
Exfoliation should take place in this routine after cleansing and toning and before applying any serums, treatments or moisturisers.
 
 So what have I learnt? I have learnt that in order to give my skin the best routine, it takes 6 stages. I have to make sure that the products are suitable for my skin type (oily) and to do the routine morning and night. Remove all the make up, cleanse, tone, apply serum and facial oil, moisturise and then a must is to protect my skin with SPF. My biggest lesson is that it is not too late to start and that washing your face in the morning is a must as bacteria surfaces during the night.

I hope this helps ladies and if you want to share any other tips, or recommend any products, then please leave your comments below.