The ultimate skincare 101

Skincare is the best beauty investment you can make. Not only does it help your skin thrive, but it also serves as a therapeutic activity. For an effective skincare routine, it’s not enough to just have good skincare products; you also need to apply them in the correct order to maximize their potential. The ultimate skincare routine should be curated considering your skin type, the most effective ingredients and formulations, your skin concerns and the time of day.
Don’t fret, here is a basic yet highly effective skincare regime to kickstart your journey! Best part? It serves as the perfect foundation routine so you can build on this and tweak it as you go.

Cleanse
Keeping your skin clean is an essential step of any beauty regime. Pick your cleanser based on your skin type—if you have normal skin—a fruit extracts face wash will keep your skin glowing; for oily and combination skin— the best pick is a refreshing, gel-based face wash; and for dry skin, a moisturising, creamy.
To have a deep cleanse, remember to rinse your face water gently and rub a small amount, massage your cleanser in and wash it off with cold water. Pat your face dry gently with a towel.

Pro Tip: If you wear makeup, you need to first remove your makeup with a cleansing oil or micellar water. Trying to remove dedicated makeup takes a couple of minutes, you may have to cleanse twice to allow the makeup to come off more easily.

Tone
Applying a good toner is highly effective if you have dry skin. For other skin types, a toner helps to get rid of excess oil and clear your pores. Take about a teaspoon of toner on a cotton ball and lightly run it all over your skin.

Pro Tip: If your toner is exfoliating with ingredients like glycolic acid, it’s best suited for night use but exfoliating toner and retinoids cannot be used at the same time.

Serum
Morning is a great time to use a serum —like a brightening vitamin C or E serum. They have antioxidants that help protect your skin from radicals, pollution and dirt you encounter throughout the day. If you use a moisturising serum with hyaluronic acid, the best time is at night. If you are going through any anti-aging or acne treatments serums can cause irritation and dry out the skin, night time is a good time to use them and get to know your skin.

Pro Tip: Always remember that water-based serums should go underneath moisturiser; after moisturiser you should apply oil-based serums.

Eye Cream
Eye creams can help you de-puff your under-eye area. The best time to apply an eye cream is in the morning. Since eye creams tend to be thinner than face moisturisers, using an eye cream with a metal roller-ball applicator and storing it in the fridge can be hydrating.

Moisturise
Even if your skin feels extremely greasy and oily, it’s important that you give it hydration. For normal skin, pick a light day cream. Whereas if you have a dry skin type, pick something decadent. If you have combination or oily skin, gel-like moisturisers will not feel too sticky and settle into your skin.

Pro Tip: Sunscreen goes in without saying. Keep the same textures in mind when selecting your sunscreen as well. Wait for at least 20 minutes before going outside post applying the sunscreen and for it to be effective.

This skincare routine is set to catapult you into your best skincare life! Just remember to apply your products from thinnest to thickest and you’re good to go.

With inputs by Rajat Mathur, Head of Education and Customer Experience, Kiehl’s India