Not all of us are born with perfect skin. It's unfair, but that's life, and unfortunately, not everything is within our control. Many characteristics of our skin, such as its type, are genetic. Some of us have dry skin, some oily, and others a combination or normal skin. It's not something we can change. What is within our control, however, is the ability to take care of our facial skin, nurture it, nourish it, and enhance it. And here, as they say, the plot thickens.
It's very easy to fall for every new skincare trend, from gold masks to Slugging. Undoubtedly, each has its benefits, and there's no argument about how enjoyable they can be. However, if you sometimes find yourself lost amidst all the options, it's important to know that your facial skin doesn't necessarily need all of that to be and look its best.
To be healthy, radiant, and glowing, and to become the best version of yourself, your facial skin primarily needs a proper basic routine, consisting of three steps:
1. Cleansing2. Exfoliating3. Moisturizing
To ensure we're doing it right, we turned to Janna Sendik, the leading trainer of the skincare brand Clinic, who gave us some important tips.
First Step: Cleansing the Skin
Every skincare routine always starts with cleansing the skin. "At night, we sweat," says Janna, "the skin renews itself, so the morning skincare routine should begin with a facial cleanser that thoroughly cleanses the skin, removes dead skin cells, and prepares the skin properly for the next steps of the skincare routine. In the evening routine, on the other hand, when we want to clean sweat, dirt, sunscreen, and makeup from our faces, more thorough cleansing is required, so in the evening, double cleansing is necessary."
"The double cleansing," she continues, "includes using an oil-based cleanser or cleansing oil, and only then using a facial cleanser. Why do we need both steps in the evening? Because oil-based cleansers are able to break down the 'oily dirt' - residues of makeup, sunscreen, and the like - in the best way possible. They do this without leaving the skin oily because upon contact with water, their oily texture turns into an emulsion and they rinse easily from the skin. The facial cleanser that follows complements the action and removes the remaining dirt from the skin."
As an example of an oil-based cleansing ingredient, Janna highlights one of the popular products in the double cleansing niche, Clinic's iconic "Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm," which, from our experience, everyone falls in love with. It easily removes dirt and makeup without the need to scrub the face, rinses off easily, and leaves behind soft and smooth skin, ready for washing with soap.
Second Step: Removing Dead Skin Cells and Preparing the Skin for Nourishing Ingredients
Removing dead skin cells, Janna explains, is an essential part of an effective skincare routine because it allows better absorption of the skincare ingredients that will follow. Without removing the top layer of dead cells, even the best skincare ingredients won't be able to penetrate the skin and achieve the desired effect.
"In principle, dead skin cells can be removed using various types of exfoliants," she says, "but not all exfoliating products are suitable for daily use, especially if they're abrasive scrubs that can be very aggressive to the skin."
"Clinic's exfoliating lotion - Clarifying Lotion - is a real dermatological breakthrough, it has changed the rules of the skincare game," she continues. "Clarifying Lotions include, among other things, salicylic acid, which helps remove dead skin cells, and of course, they are fragrance-free and non-allergenic."
Third Step: Nourishing the Skin with Moisture
It's not for nothing that Janna emphasizes the fragrance-free aspect of the exfoliant. It turns out that fragrance is a crucial element in choosing our skincare products, something most of us are completely unaware of.
"Fragrance has no value in our skincare products; it doesn't provide any benefit to the skin, but only harms it," she explains. "Fragrance is the number 1 allergen, weakens the skin's immune system, and makes it much more vulnerable to sun damage, environmental damage, weather changes, and anything that healthy, strong skin can deal with without harm. In fact, if you use skincare products that include fragrance, even a 20-step skincare routine won't make your skin its best."
This is true for all of our skincare products, and certainly also for sunscreen, the next step in the skincare routine. The main goal of a moisturizer is to provide immediate and long-lasting moisture to the skin, but the variety of existing creams allows us to choose the one that suits us exactly and deals with the relevant skin concerns for us - pimples, wrinkles, reducing puffiness, and more.
As with any chosen skincare product, we'll want our moisturizer to contain only the necessary ingredients to perform its task, and not ingredients that could irritate the skin, so it's recommended to ensure it's fragrance-free and allergy-tested.
Wait, what about serum? And sunscreen?
In conclusion, all your skin needs to be and look healthy is the detailed routine above. However, it's possible and even desirable to add serums for targeted skincare concerns to this basic routine.
"A serum is a concentrate of active ingredients consisting of small molecules that effectively penetrate the skin," explains Janna. "The role of the serum is to provide targeted skincare for specific skin concerns, and using it complements and maximizes the benefits of the skincare routine. You can use several different serums to address different skin concerns, and they should come after exfoliation and before moisturizer, which 'seals' them into the skin and allows them to be most effective."
And finally, after cleansing and nourishing, it's important not to neglect protection, especially in a hot country like ours, and here too Zana has some important highlights.
"Paying attention to fragrance-free products is especially important when choosing sunscreen. As mentioned, fragrance makes the skin more vulnerable and combined with sun exposure, there is a higher risk of pigmentation and additional sun damage. In addition, there is importance to the type of sunscreen. Mineral sunscreen, unlike other creams, does not filter the radiation reaching the skin but blocks the sun's rays, and the protective effect it provides is active immediately, right after application, unlike other types of sunscreen that require a wait of about twenty minutes before sun exposure because only then do they start to be effective."
That's it, that's all you need, a simple basic routine and some important highlights. If you adhere to this routine twice a day, just like brushing your teeth, your skin will thank you, and believe us - you'll thank it no less.