Where To Start

By botemp, please do not copy or distribute without permission.

The Basics

Keep your face away from the shower water, it's too hot. Embrace the sink as your face’s new best friend.. Tepid water, clean flannel every day. Wash hands before starting routine. Acids need to be introduced slowly, some purging may occur but should not continue, nor should continued irritation with any product. Generally introduce products slowly (cleansers are exempt from this), 2 weeks apart.

Inform Yourself

You’re probably already well on your way. The most important thing is to start mapping out the time you’ll take for yourself on the daily. The routine which will allow you to see more of a difference is in the PM and this is often at the risk of being hurried or forgotten. It really is a point of it becoming a habit which it’ll become soon enough with continued use but some tricks to actually make it happen are the following:

• -Tying it to dental care: cleanse first, then brush teeth etc. (assuming you’re at least dedicated to this 2x a day), then finish up routine.

• -Doing your routine as soon as you get home from work/after dinner/with DC around bedtime or equivalent to have it done early in the evening around a set moment and not needing to worry about it or feel too tired for right before bed.

• -Moving everything but your cleansing routine out of the bathroom so you can’t be harassed out of there during the morning rush, take time in a more peaceful setting or whilst doing other things, etc.

Equipment

 In terms of tools it’s probably worth getting a set of dedicated flannels to be used once a day (I prefer the plusher top of the line ones from Primark, the ones from Ikea 10 for a pound or thereabouts are a bit rougher and not suitable for sensitive skin but may be fine for others, some may prefer muslin, sponges, etc.)

What to Invest in First

Product wise you’ll want to find an SPF you’ll enjoy wearing on a daily basis first and not an SPF in another product such as moisturiser or makeup. These are rarely broad spectrum and often don’t provide the promised coverage. You’ll want an SPF30+ in winter and SPF50 come summer time. If you can find one you like that is sweatproof great, otherwise, you’ll most likely need a separate one when spending long periods of time outdoors and/or doing exercise.

If you can only manage the bare minimum on the daily then it should be cleansing + SPF in the AM and cleansing + moisturiser or facial oil in the PM. In saying that it’s also a good strategy to keep your routine small to start to keep it both manageable and achievable but also to avoid the inability to track possible incompatible products.

 Relegate products that aren’t working for you now to body care.

Order of Things to Buy and Try

Phase 1 

SPF + Oil Cleanser (for PM) + Cream or other gentle cleanser (for AM and possibly double cleanse if necessary/wear makeup)

Phase 2

Moisturiser and possibly a Hyaluronic Acid based serum for hydration

Phase 2.1

If at this point you still feel like you could use a bit of extra moisturiser a facial oil at night will help out.

Phase 3

Start researching Active Ingredients that will address your specific needs/help address your skincare goals eg. Exfoliating Acids, Vitamin C, Retinol, Niacinamide, etc.