What does a skin care routine include?

In fact, ordinary people’s daily skin care does not require the dozen or so tedious procedures uploaded online. The core needs are only three steps: cleansing, moisturizing, and sun protection. The remaining steps are all options based on skin type, current skin condition, and skin care needs. There is no unified standard answer.

When I first got into skin care, I also fell into the trap of marketing. I followed the trend and bought a complete set of products from toners, serums, serums, lotions, face creams to eye creams and neck creams. I piled seven or eight layers on my face morning and night. Within half a month, my face was full of stuffiness and shut up. I went to the hospital to be a dermatologist and found out that many so-called "necessary steps" are actually created consumer demands. The skin's own absorption capacity is limited, and stacking too many unnecessary ingredients is a burden.

If you have dry skin and stay in a heated room in the winter, and your face still feels tight after applying lotion, it is completely reasonable to add an extra layer of occlusive cream. If you have oily skin in summer, you may feel comfortable applying a refreshing toner and a non-sticky sunscreen. Then you can completely skip the lotion and cream. There is no need to impose a complete process to make yourself suffer. As for the functional steps such as whitening, anti-aging, and acne removal, it is more of an "add-on-demand" option: If you have recently tanned and want to brighten, just apply niacinamide essence after cleansing. ； If you have redness, swelling or acne during your menstrual period, just apply benzoyl peroxide gel. There is no need to regard this as a daily routine.

However, there are two steps that have always been quite controversial, namely exfoliation and facial mask. Many skin care bloggers will say that applying facial masks 2-3 times a week and exfoliating once a week are necessary to maintain translucent skin. Many dermatologists also clearly object, believing that healthy skin itself has a fixed metabolic cycle. Frequent application of facial masks can induce hydration dermatitis, and excessive exfoliation can also damage the skin barrier. I used to follow the advice of bloggers to exfoliate my skin twice a week. Later, my cheeks became red and sensitive all the time. It took me more than half a year to recover. Now, when the T-zone is particularly oily, I use a mild fruit acid mask for topical application once every half month. I have stopped exfoliating the whole face for a long time.

My daily skin care routine is very flexible now. If I am in a hurry to go to work in the morning, I just wash my face with warm water, apply a moisturizing essence and add sunscreen, and it can be done in 5 minutes.； If you put on makeup at night, first remove it with cleansing oil, then wash it with amino acid facial cleanser. If you don’t have any makeup, just use facial cleanser. If you have time to spare, apply an anti-aging essence. If you are tired, just apply a moisturizing cream. I never put extra things on my face just to go through the process.