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Article: Creating a Skincare Routine

Creating a Skincare Routine
education

Creating a Skincare Routine

Ever get confused by the plethora of products available for your skin? We all know the basic cleanse-tone-moisturise routine, but when is the best time to do it? Where does exfoliation fit in? And serums? And oils? And treatments??

It can be overwhelming and you, like many of us, may have a drawer full of beautiful products you forget to use or aren't getting the most from.

We sat down with one of Vanessa Megan’s Skincare and Beauty Ambassadors, Alex Owens, and asked her to demystify this process of setting a skincare routine and to share her expertise on what a good routine looks like and how you can create your own.

What makes a good skin care routine and why is it important?

A good skin care routine is essential if you want your skin to look and feel fresh, clear and stay as youthful as possible. Just as we look after our teeth and hair, we should also respect and give our skin some TLC to help it to function better and look it's very best. I do not believe we should have a lengthy and complicated routine each day, but quite simply a few good quality products, which actually work (active ingredients is a must).

This should include:

Cleanser - Cleansing is essential once a day in the evening to remove pollutants, make up, oil and dead skin cells from our face and neck. Cleansing should feel comfortable and not strip your skin and dry it out.

Cleansing should take place in the evening to take off the day. If you wear makeup during the day, it's best to do a double cleanse at night to ensure all traces of make up are removed and not left sitting on your skin as you sleep.

Apply cleanser with circular motions paying particular attention to creases where oil accumulates, such as corners of the nose and the chin. Some cleaners are gentle enough to use around the eyes. Don't forget the neck area too. Either rinse away with water or wipe with a damp face cloth.

Toner and Moisturiser - I'm not a huge fan of toners. I believe they generally can over-sensitise and strip the skin as a lot tend to have alcohol, acids and harsh chemicals.

I do however LOVE to use Rose Water, of the purest kind. To save a step you can mix Rose Water into your moisturiser day and night and pat, then massage into the skin. This aids the absorbency of the moisturiser, leaving your skin fed and nourished without feeling overloaded and greasy.

This should ideally be done twice a day. Depending on your skin type and current condition you can either use the same moisturiser day and night or a different one. In place of moisturiser you can also use serums and oils, again all depending on your current skin situation. As a living organ growing as we grow, our skin is ever-changing. Lifestyle, stress, age, health and genetics are all variants.

What about special products – serums and treatments and exfoliators? Where do we fit those in?

Vanessa Megan's Collagen Boosting Gel is a great way of stimulating your skin’s collagen every single day. Just use under, or mix with your moisturiser morning or night.

Eye treatments such as eye creams and serums are great to prevent early aging and help control puffiness and dark circles. Always use on clean skin before moisturiser or serum. Using just a pea size amount on your ring or little finger, gently tapping around the eye bone.

In the day it is OK to apply closer to the eye but a night do not go closer than the eye bone, as it can cause puffiness while you sleep if it gets into your eyes.

Speciality products can be added into your routine as and when needed. Exfoliation is very important. If you don’t exfoliate, moisturisers and serums will just sit on a layer of dead skin cells and not achieve their true potential for you. Exfoliation is also what makes our skin glow and brighten, as it's stimulating the blood circulation and smoothing the texture.

Some exfoliators are designed to be used daily, and some just a few times per week. You need to chose what is right for your current skin type and condition, but Vanessa Megan's Prebiotic + C is gentle enough for just about everybody- and it's amazing, too. 

Masks and advanced actives such as Vitamin C serums can also be added into your routine as a pick me up ‘SOS’ treatments or weekly maintenance as and when your skin needs.

For example if you have been sick, just as vitamin C will help your immunity internally, it can be the very thing your skin needs externally to get that healthy glow back.

If you are using active products (and I highly recommend you do, as these tend to be fast-acting, results-driven products), I generally advise you start using them in your evening routine so they can work while your skin sleeps. Once your skin has gotten more used to them (28-30 days) then you can incorporate them into your morning routine. 

Generally I believe active ingredients work better on our skin when we are peaceful, relaxed and still.

As mentioned previously every skin is different, depending firstly on our genetics and then our environment, lifestyle and age. Each skin needs something different and this can vary month to month for us all. Just as the seasons change, each season of our life will require us to adapt our skincare to suit the changes in our skin.

Can you give us an example of a simple but effective skincare regimen that utilises both the basics and the extras?

Obviously you can adapt your own skincare products to this regimen, but I will use the Vanessa Megan products in my example.

Advanced Active Routine

AM - Daily

  1. Eye Cream or serum, such as our Pineapple Enzyme Eyelift Serum
  2. Active face serum, such as our Collagen Boosting Gel
  3. Moisturiser if needed, which you could also mix with serum. Our Vitamin A+B+C Face Cream is a good option.

PM - Daily

  1. Cleanse with the appropriate cleanser for your skin, our Petitgrain Cream Cleanser is designed to suit all skin types and ages
  2. Eye Cream or serum, such as our Pineapple Enzyme Eyelift Serum
  3. Intensive serum, such as our Super C Illuminating Serum
  4. Moisturiser, such as NEO mixed with Rose Water or Marine Collagen Firming Night Cream

WEEKLY

Feature image: Kade Beasley