HOW TO MAINTAIN A GOOD SKINCARE ROUTINE ?
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SUMMARY
- Understanding your skin type: The foundation of an effective routine
- Key steps for a successful facial routine
- Lifestyle hygiene, its vital importance to complement the facial routine
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Understanding your skin type: The foundation of an effective routine
It all starts here: understanding your skin type is indeed the key to developing the best facial skincare routine. Commonly, there are four main skin types: dry, combination, oily, and normal. Sensitive skin is a special case because it can coexist with other skin types, whether it's combination, oily, normal, or dry.
Learn more about your skin type with our article "What are the different skin types?"
How to define your skin type ?
Dry Skin: It can be rough, scaly, or dull with a tendency to feel tight, especially after cleansing. The pores are fine and barely visible, and the skin surface may show redness and be particularly reactive to heat and cold.
Oily Skin: Generally thick, the skin is shiny and greasy to the touch. The pores are open and visible. Oily skins are prone to imperfections such as blackheads and acne due to excess sebum.
Combination skin: With a typically oily T-zone and the rest of the facial skin being normal or dry, combination skin, as the name suggests, is a mix of different skin types.
Normal skin: Normal skin is generally smooth and flawless. In other words, it could be described as the perfect skin type. Neither too dry nor too oily, it is well-balanced with small and inconspicuous pores.
Sensitive skin: Sensitive skin is thin and tends to overreact to external stimuli (wind, rain, heat, etc.). It frequently suffers from itching, redness, or tingling. This delicate skin requires special and adapted care as reactions to active ingredients are common.
Key steps for a successful facial routine
Your facial skincare routine should not become a chore. To prevent it from taking up too much of your daily routine, it's best to simplify it by focusing on the essentials. Just a few key steps are enough to maintain effective skin hygiene.
Daily cleansing, in the morning and in the evening
Cleaning your face morning and night is crucial to remove impurities, excess sebum, makeup residues, and pollutants. Opt for a gentle cleanser suitable for your skin type, such as Beau Domaine’s Cleansing Emulsion (gentle and antioxidant). To choose the right product, consult our blog article "Which facial cleanser to choose?" Your personal preference, such as whether or not you like contact with water, can also influence your choice of cleanser, as some formulas offer no-rinse options. However, with this last point, we believe it is crucial to always rinse off your treatments. If you cannot tolerate frequent contact with water (in the case of sensitive skin, for example), you can swap water for 100% natural floral water.
Toning Phase (optional but effective)
This is a step that's often overlooked, yet it greatly benefits the skin. Applying a toner or essence morning and evening, just after cleansing, helps rebalance the pH of the skin, dissolve calcareous residues from the water, perfect the cleansing, and prepare the skin to better absorb the subsequent treatments. Again, make sure the product is suitable for your skin type.
Regular exfoliation, but without excess
It's important to integrate gentle exfoliation into your routine. Count on 1 to 2 times per week, depending on your skin sensitivity, and avoid overdoing it, as even normal skin can suffer. Use gentle scrubs like chemical peels (those with fruit enzymes do wonders) or cleansing brushes. After exfoliation, don't hesitate to apply a mask tailored to your specific needs (hydrating, nourishing, mattifying, anti-aging, etc.) to pamper your skin, which will be all the more receptive to care after a good exfoliation.
Targeted care, according to specific needs
Whether your skin is oily, dry, combination, or normal, this step focuses on your skin's specific concerns. Use targeted serums or treatments morning and evening for needs such as anti-aging (retinol), radiance (vitamin C), reducing signs of fatigue (hyaluronic acid), diminishing spots (glycolic acid), managing shine, treating imperfections (niacinamide), sensitivity (vegetable oil, ceramides), or specific eye contour care.
Hydration, the most essential phase
You most certainly know that the promise of a beautiful skin is primarily through good hydration. Apply a moisturizing cream every day, morning and evening, suitable for your skin type and specific needs to maintain hydration, protect the skin barrier, and defend the skin against external aggressions. Depending on your needs, choose creams containing active ingredients such as shea butter for nourishment, or hyaluronic acid for hydration. At Beau Domaine, our The Cream combines the nourishing action of shea butter to protect the skin, olive oil to soften it, and organic grape water to hydrate it.
Sun protection, a new essential gesture for a successful routine
Never underestimate the importance of sun protection. Whether winter or summer, SPF protection must be applied every day of the year. Use broad-spectrum protection with an SPF of 30 to 50, suitable for your skin type, even on cloudy days. This is the final touch to your facial care ritual. Nowadays, several brands offer formulations that are increasingly innovative to make applying sunscreen enjoyable and just as effective.
Lifestyle hygiene, its vital importance to complement the facial routine
Nothing beats a good lifestyle. While small deviations are allowed from time to time, it is important to maintain a course of conduct over the long term to allow your skin to radiate all its beauty.
For example, quality sleep is crucial for skin regeneration. During sleep, the skin repairs and renews itself, which helps combat the signs of aging and maintain a glowing complexion. It is advisable to sleep between 7 and 8 hours a night to optimize the benefits of your nighttime routine. Of course, this depends on your metabolism, it has now been proven that some people need more or fewer hours of sleep than the average.
Physical activity is also at the center of a healthy body and therefore beautiful skin. It increases blood circulation, which helps nourish skin cells by bringing more oxygen and nutrients while helping to eliminate waste and toxins. Exercise can also help reduce stress, a known factor that can exacerbate skin problems such as acne and eczema.
Finally, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats provides the vitamins and minerals essential for skin health. Antioxidants, for example, protect the skin from damage caused by free radicals and promote a radiant complexion. Incorporate foods rich in vitamins A, C, E, and omega-3 fatty acids to support the elasticity and hydration of your lovely skin.
Admitting the evolution of your skin and adapting to changes
Please note that your perfect routine is not fixed; it will evolve over time just like your skin. Its needs will not be the same in summer or winter, and time will also do its work by making your skin more sensitive or less prone to imperfections. The real key is to know how to adapt and stay tuned to your body to examine even the smallest change that could result in the need for a new routine. And as a wise man (or woman) once said "Always go with the flow".
