Skincare is a tricky business, it is extremely personal and should be tailored to your individual needs. It can also be rather complex and difficult to understand with there not being a ‘one product fits all’ solution. All of this with the added stress of feeling insecure about your skin can make for one big headache… we’ve all been there.
Hopefully I can impart some of the wisdom that I have learnt along the way in regards to skincare routines: how to make one, stick at it and some general tips! Importantly, I want to make clear that you do not NEED a skincare routine, this is just a bit of advice if you feel a little insecure about your skin and want to give one a try!
What do you want to achieve?
It is important to make sure that you think about your skin type and what you want to achieve from your routine. For me, that was easy I wanted to get rid of my spots and redness- sounds ideal, right? There might be other problem areas you want to tackle though. To find your skin type try doing some research online, talking to professionals or your family. Once you’re armed with these two bits of information, you are ready to enter the world of skincare…
Trial and error
It can be a tricky minefield, the wide world of skincare. The shelves in Boots are filled with products that make lots of promises of perfect skin and you can easily feel overwhelmed. What I would remember is that you’re not going to pick out the best products straight away and everything won’t necessarily work immediately.
Although it isn’t what you want to hear, creating a skincare routine is all about trial and error. Keep your skincare and troublesome areas in mind when testing out new products – for example, look for ‘hydrating’ products if you have dry skin.
Less is more
Despite all those never-ending shelves and the endless skincare routines that seem to have about 10-steps posted online… Less really is more. Particularly if you’re young with teenage skin, piling on the products is not necessarily the best thing because you could end up just clogging your pores. You might think you need all these steps like eye creams, serums, oils and masks but what I’ve learnt is to always start off by perfecting your basic products. Focusing on getting the right cleanser, target treatment and moisturiser is key- don’t feel pressure to buy lots of expensive products! A good way to minimise the steps is with multi-use products, like having some SPF in your moisturiser which is really beneficial for your skin, even in winter!
Consistency is key
Being persistent with your skincare is fundamental in achieving a good skincare routine. This means making sure you make time for it, even when you wake up a bit late for school or you’re too tired just a quick cleanse and a bit of moisturiser can really help and you’ll always feel better for doing it. Something else that I struggled with was being consistent with the products, I often expected quick-fixes and felt down-hearted when I didn’t wake up the next morning glowing and spot-free… but these products need time to work. Some might take a couple of weeks to really work with your skin, so just keep at it and be patient before quickly changing to another product.
Hopefully after reading this, you are feeling less overwhelmed about the world of skincare routines and this has broken it down into some more manageable chunks of advice. Everyone is different when it comes to their skin, so there is no use in comparing yourself to others.
Ultimately, your beauty comes from within and, when I’m feeling insecure about my skin or overwhelmed, I take comfort in this Bible passage: “You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you” – Song of Songs, 4:7
