The Ultimate Step-by-Step Skincare Routine

A few years ago, I wrote a post for my old beauty blog about the ideal skincare routine. I was absolutely gutted to realise that I accidentally deleted it without saving it (rookie mistake!), but with the weather in the UK reaching heatwave temperatures, I thought now would be the perfect opportunity to get out of the sun and start writing the post again.

This post for me, is one of the most important skincare posts I will do. It's the one I direct friends to, to ensure they are on top of their routines and using the right products, and it's the one that has made the biggest difference for my skin overall. Below you'll find a step by step routine for morning and evening explaining everything you should be doing to maintain clear, soft skin.

I've included a few tips because time and time again, I see people making the same mistakes and not getting the results they're looking for.

Morning

This routine assumes you have followed the night routine below and fully removed any make-up and slept in clean skin. If you haven't (tut tut!), you need to follow steps 1 and 2 of the night routine first, then follow on with this routine starting at step 1.

1. Cleanse. The most important step in the morning, this gets rid of dead skin cells and any residue on the skin. Use a cream cleanser, cleansing milk, oil or gel with a hand-hot flannel to wipe off.

2. Tone. Unlike your classic rose water toner, I always recommend acid toners. Although a very small minority people may not be able to handle any kind of acid, even in its mildest form, 99% of you should be absolutely fine. To decide which acid is best for your skin type, read my article here. Remember to start with the mildest version of the acid that you can find (typical strength of 2-5%) just so your skin can get used to it. Once you're comfortable after 6 weeks or so, you can start moving up in strength.

3. Serum. This is your treatment stage. Your skin is the cleanest it's going to be at this point which means it's also the most receptive to whatever you add next. Use a serum to target any specific concerns, e.g. Vitamin C to brighten skin, Hyaluronic to hydrate etc. Feel free to use any serum you like.

4. Moisturise. Moisturising the skin is incredibly important. It is different to hydrating the skin but in either case, you need to remember that the water you drink doesn't make it all the way to the outer layer of the skin to hydrate it. You do need to add something topical from the outside to ensure your skin is getting all the help it needs. I recommend gel moisturisers because they sink in easily and are light to apply in summer. Again, use any moisturiser your heart desires.

5. SPF. SPF is always the final step in your skincare regimen. It needs to be on the outside of everything else to protect the skin. I always suggest a solid SPF 30 but make sure you do re-apply this. A common mistake is only applying once and wondering why you're still getting burned. Also check the packaging so that you're protected against UVA and UVB rays. 

Evening

The evening routine is much the same. The only difference is the additional step before step 1 above which is make-up removal.

1. Make-Up Removal. You only need this step if you were wearing make-up and/or SPF during the day. Use a balm or oil cleanser specifically to remove make-up before moving on to Step 1 of the morning routine. Excellent make-up removers are products like Ultimelt by Soap & Glory, Moringa Cleansing Balm by Emma Hardie or the Cammomile Cleansing Butter from The Body Shop. Massage in and wipe off with a hot cloth.

2. Move on to step 1 of the morning routine and follow through to step 4.

3. Moisturise - You won't need SPF clearly if you're going to sleep but a good moisturiser is key. In the summer I'd stick with something light like a gel, although in winter it's worth swapping this for a thicker, richer moisturiser. Winter skin deserves the equivalent of a comfort blanket to deal with the cold.