Amara is a blogger and writer. She has a deep knowledge of holistic health and wellness. She believes in home remedies.

What Is a Perfect Daily Skin Care Routine?

We all desire clear, perfect, and glowing skin that can look flawless without makeup.

A good daily skincare routine can help you to keep your skin healthy, beautiful, and glowing.

But after reading a dozen of skincare routines all across the internet, how can you decide which one is the most effective? Today, I will share with you a simple yet very effective morning and night skincare routine.

A Perfect Morning Skin Care Routine

Step 1: Cleanse Your Skin

So, the first step you get to do is to cleanse your skin. Do not use bar soap, ever, on your face, as they are extremely drying. There are typically two types of cleanser you should look for.

"And if your skin tends to be oily, you can likely tolerate more cleansing," says Dr. Sandra Lee, aka Dr. Pimple Popper, founder of SLMD Skincare.

"Though most people should be washing their face morning and night, it's essential for those with oily skin to give their face a complete cleanse in the morning," Lee says.

Oily Skin: If you have oily skin, you should look for a foaming cleanser to control the extra oil of your skin.

Sensitive/Dry Skin: If you have sensitive or drier skin, you should look for some hydrating or moisturizing type of cleanser or a gentle milky cleanser.

Step 2: Tone Your Skin

After cleansing your skin, ideally, the next step is toning. Unfortunately, people have been using astringents, which are typically alcohol-based toners. Due to the high percentage of alcohol in them, they make your skin apparently cold and clean. Still, the problem is that the alcohol strips off the oils and the useful bacteria of the skin called the microbiome.

Now, if you have oily skin and use an alcohol-based toner on your skin to get rid of all the skin's oil, what happens?

When you get rid of all the oil, your skin starts producing even more oil. So you might see your skin free from oil for a short time, but in the long term, your skin condition starts getting worse.

The other drawback of astringents or other alcohol-based toners is that it kills the microbiome of your skin, which like the good bacteria of the gut, help to maintain the good health of your skin. And getting rid of good bacteria means replacing good bacteria with bad bacteria, which can cause many other skin issues.

It's not bad to use a toner, but it should be the right kind of toner, like the tea tree toner, as they help maintain the skin's pH. The ideal work of the toner is to re-establish the pH, to allow the skin to be slightly acidic because sometimes the cleanser causes it to go more in a basic direction. So choose the right type of toner and make sure that alcohol is not the main ingredient.

Step 3: Apply an Antioxidant

This is the most important step in the morning skincare routine. A perfect antioxidant for your skin is a Vitamin C and Vitamin E combination.

According to Dr. Rhonda Klein, a board-certified dermatologist in Connecticut, “Antioxidants protect the skin by limiting free radical production, which can damage the skin. With daily use, they can reduce lentigines (sunspots), help combat visible signs of aging, and calm skin inflammations. Several antioxidants provide the skin with hydration and increase moisture retention to help revitalize dull-looking skin.”

Step 4: Apply an Eye Cream

After applying an antioxidant, the next step is to apply an eye cream. When buying an eye cream, it's better to buy a cream with a minor amount of retinol. This helps tighten the skin and moisturize your skin.

Step 5: Apply a Sunscreen

The final step is to apply sunscreen, and ideally, it should be SPF 30 or above, which is what the American Academy of Dermatology recommends.

Dr.Bailey from Bailey's Skincare also recommends "It always goes on after all of your other products, like acne medicine and moisturizers, except makeup.”

An SPF above 30 with a broad spectrum helps block 97% of the sun's rays. You can now also apply makeup after applying sunscreen if you want to.

A Perfect Night Skin Care Routine

Like the morning skincare routine, you have to develop a habit of taking care of your skin at night before going to bed. A nighttime routine is essential for anti-aging and overall skin health.

Step 1: Cleanse Your Skin

Like in the morning, the first step in the night skincare routine is to cleanse your face. It is super important to cleanse your face at night, and if you want to cleanse your face only once a day, then do it at night.

It's necessary to get rid of all the pollution, oils, dried sweat, dirt, and makeup of the skin, let your pores breathe, and let the skin rejuvenate at night. To cleanse your skin, you can choose a foaming or milky cleanser, according to your skin type.

Step 2: Tone Your Skin

Even in the night skincare routine, ideally, the second step is to tone your skin, but if you want to skip any step in the night skincare routine, you can probably skip this one. But again, avoid using astringents and classic alcohol-based toners.

Step 3: Apply a Retinol or Growth Factor Cream

Now, this is the most important step in the night skincare routine: applying an anti-aging cream, ideally a Retinol or a Growth factor or peptides-based cream.

According to a Healthline article, "Retinol (a derivative of vitamin A) has long-proven efficacy when it comes to fighting aging. Apparently, that’s not all it can fight, either. Retinol has actually been used for more than 3,000 years to help address all kinds of health problems, including night blindness."

Retinol should be your first choice as they are scientifically proven to help prevent skin aging, but if you cannot tolerate Retinol, you can go for a Growth factor or Peptide-based cream.

Step 4: Apply an Eye Cream

It's better not to apply an anti-aging cream on your eyes because your eye skin is the thinnest skin of all, and your eye skin can react against it. It is recommended to use a good eye cream that has a minor amount of Retinol in it. It can help your eye skin to stop sagging.

Step 5: Apply a Moisturizer

Now the final step is to apply a moisturizer as needed.

Moisturizing is a very important step if you have oily skin. If you have oily skin, stop at step 4; you do not need to apply an extra moisturizer, but people with drier or thin skin can apply a moisturizer after applying all the products.

Taking care of your skin in the morning and the night can really help your skin look young, beautiful, and glowing for much longer.

More on Skin Care

• Skin Care: 4 Products to Avoid and 2 Must-Have’s
  Here is a list of products which you may have been using for years without even knowing that they are not actually good for your skin, and two essential skin care products which everyone must have.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2021 Amara

Comments

Nian from Pakistan on August 07, 2021:

Welcome Amara.

Many Blessings and Love.

Amara (author) from Pakistan on August 07, 2021:

Thank you very much Manatita, I am glad you liked it.

I will write something on Spirituallity soon in sha Allah.

Its always nice to see your comment.. Thanks for your visit.. Salam..

manatita44 from london on August 07, 2021:

Very good article on skin care, Amara. Mines pretty dry. I did not use anything for years! Now I use some emollients and have cut out soap. Always a joy to read your work. Do some spiritual pieces: poems, essays ... only if you feel the Tao, of course. Much Love.

Amara (author) from Pakistan on August 07, 2021:

That sounds great Miebakagh. Its a good habit.

Amara (author) from Pakistan on August 07, 2021:

Thank you very much Nian.. Thanks for your visit and lovely remarks.. Salam sis..

Nian from Pakistan on August 07, 2021:

Very informative and useful article.

Thanks for sharing.

Miebakagh Fiberesima from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, NIGERIA. on August 07, 2021:

Amara, you're welcome. I do take care of my facial skin day and night.

Amara (author) from Pakistan on August 06, 2021:

Thank you very much Miebakagh. I really appreciate your visit..

Blessings n peace..

Miebakagh Fiberesima from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, NIGERIA. on August 06, 2021:

Hi, it's interesting andta good read. Thanks.