Beautiful Skin Starts With a Healthy Skincare Routine

Beautiful, healthy skin not only looks good, but feels amazing. There are so many skin care systems and product lines that it can be overwhelming to choose what would work best for you. Knowing the basics of a good skincare routine helps you to wrap your head around the vast amount of options that are out there. There are some pro tips that both men and women can use to start their journey to establishing a good skincare routine:

1. Know your skin type - Understanding your skin, its flaws and benefits, will dictate the skincare products you will need to buy and what will be the steps in your daily care regime. For example, if you have oily skin, you do not want to use products that have oils in them because that can lead to clogged pores and acne breakouts. You will want to use water-based, oil-free moisturizers and makeup instead.
2. Use sunscreen daily. No matter your skin tone or type, or whether you work from home or not, wearing sunscreen daily is a must. It protects skin from UVA and UVB rays that can cause premature aging, discoloration, and skin cancer.
3. Give your skincare and makeup products time to absorb and set. Even if you have dry skin or you use non comedogenic products (items that do not clog pores), layering too many products too quickly can still lead to acne and blackheads. Between each application, allow a few minutes for them to sink in. Also, layering them in the correct order (thin or water-based products first, thicker or oil-based ones last) will give you the best results.

Healthy Skincare Routine for Women

Women tend to have more steps in their skincare routines because many of them wear makeup. A morning skincare routine should like something like this:

1. Cleanse your face with a cleanser that is good for your skin type. Women with dry skin types may prefer a cream cleanser while those with an oily type may like a foaming cleanser more. Make sure to pat your face dry to retain some dampness for when you apply moisturizer.
2. Apply moisturizer(s). Do so gently so you don't pull at your skin unnecessarily. Start with your water-based serum or lotion, and finish with oil-based ones if you use them.
3. Put on sunscreen. Many face lotions and makeup products come with an SPF level, which could save you a step. There also is no such thing as too much sunscreen.
4. Apply face primer and makeup.

A night routine may have a few extra steps in order to remove makeup, dirt, oil, and grime from the day. You may use a makeup remover before and or after washing your face to get off all of your makeup. Toners, face masks, and scrubs can be more useful to use at night because they will help lock in your night moisturizers, which tend to be a little heavier. Clay or sheet masks do not need to be used nightly. Depending on your skin type, they can be used two or three times a week at most.

Healthy Skincare Routines for Men

Men are starting to hop on the skincare band wagon and products targeting their needs are growing in popularity. Lots of guys do not even know where to start, so here is a basic daytime routine they can adopt.

1. Cleanse your face with a cleanser that is appropriate for your skin type. Gently pat your face dry with a clean towel.
2. Apply moisturizer(s).
3. Apply sunscreen.

Make sure to really work in the cleansers and moisturizers if you have facial hair. You want to make sure that the product reaches your skin. If you use beard oil, take care that the product does not cause breakouts or ingrown hairs. Exfoliation is paramount for men with beards to prevent these, whether they use a beard oil or not. Exfoliating acids may be useful because they can penetrate the hairs and reach the skin more easily.

Men tend to have oilier skin than women because they have larger sebaceous glands (that's probably why regular bar soaps have worked in their favor for centuries), so clay masks can be a great addition to your skin routine. Depending how oily your skin can get, a deep pore cleansing mask can keep your skin clear and bright. Night and eye creams are excellent additions as well to stave off wrinkles, crow's feet, and dry skin.