Morning Skincare Routine

Attempting to gauge the order in which certain products should go in your routine can be nothing short of confusing. Especially with so many products on the market nowadays. Long gone are the days of using a single cold cream to fill all your skincare needs. The diverse range of products emerging nowadays seem to have new unusual textures, various interesting functions and different unique properties. At times it can result in a level of product overwhelm. You might find you want to use a certain product in your morning skincare but don’t exactly know how or when to use it. Moreover, without the luxury of time in the mornings, morning skincare can be overlooked. In this post I will be clarifying exactly how to effectively layer the skincare products in your morning routine for best results.

Keep in mind this is an extensive version of a routine, and not necessarily products you need to be using on a daily basis. Most people, including myself, value those extra few minutes in bed and prefer to simplify their mornings to the basics. This article is purely a guideline and instructional in nature so that you are informed of how to layer your morning skincare products confidently and in which order you should be applying them.

1. Cleanse

Some may argue that they should not have to use a cleanser in their morning skincare routine. They assume that if they have already washed their face the night before, and all they did was sleep, their face must not be dirty. As a result they mistakenly reason that cleansing must be an optional part of morning skincare. I, however, am of a different stance. While you are sleeping, your body temperature fluctuates, and your glands are still secreting sweat and sebum. Your eyes may have watered over the course of the night, and there is that dreaded mouth drool some deal with.

In the morning, you want to properly cleanse in order to remove all the residue from the night before. Your cells are renewing and regenerating over the course of the night, making it the optimum time to use heavier textures and active ingredients like glycolic acid and retinol. Your morning skincare products will be lighter and not layer well over last night’s heavy moisturisers. Therefore, cleansing in the morning gives your face a clean slate and a better chance for your morning skincare products to penetrate. Simply applying your morning skincare routine over last night’s products will hinder the effectiveness your morning skincare application. So, get the most out of your products and money, and begin with a fresh face.

Does cleansing twice a day strip skin?

Those with skin that is extremely dry or reactive may be apprehensive about over-washing their face. If you feel you simply cannot wash your face without feeling stripped, at least rinse your skin with water to remove any bacteria from pillowcases or sweat and oil from the night. If you have sensitive or redness-prone skin and are worried about stripping you skin, consider a gentle, non foaming cleanser.

I have very reactive skin and struggle with redness myself so many face washes tend to trigger flushing and rosacea for me. For my morning skincare, I like to use this soothing cleanser from Clinique. It is a creamy texture that does not lather, it is extremely gentle and perfect for a morning cleanse. Unlike other face washes, it will not provoke redness. I notice that when I try out new face cleansers, I really notice the switch because my redness tends to get out of control. For this reason, I keep coming back to this particular cleanser. 

2. Toner / essence

The first product you should be applying to your face after cleansing should be the products with a liquid consistency. This is the step in your morning skincare where you pour your liquid product on a cotton pad and swipe it over your face. Alternatively, simply pour some of your liquid lotion/toner/essence on to your palms and pat into skin. For those who would like to know more about what this step does for skin, I will be explaining the function of a toner and its disparity from an essence in an upcoming blog post.

In the mornings, I prefer something non astringent and not overly harsh to prepare my face for the day. I feel like more aggressive treatments are better suited to the night, to make sure your pores are free of the day’s debris and makeup. If you’re looking for a hydrating, gentle toner, this toner from Indie Lee is a beautiful product. It also contains the antioxidant CoQ10, which of course I will be dedicating an entire blog post to very soon so make sure you are subscribed to the blog. Read this post for the fundamentals of antioxidants. Aside from being a lovely toner, the story behind the brand is equally touching. They are a relatively smaller company, but it always feels great to know you are supporting brands with a worthy ethos.

3. Liquid exfoliant

Following your toning product, you can now apply your liquid exfoliant. This is an AHA or BHA product such as glycolic, lactic or salicylic acid. Apply your liquid exfoliant on to a cotton pad and swipe over the face. Glow Tonic is a classic can’t-go-wrong AHA option. A BHA exfoliant will also help keep pores clear. If your exfoliant comes in the form of a pre-soaked pad, you may also use it in this step. A product like this Dr Dennis Gross Peel is a pre-soaked treatment and perfect to simply swipe and go.

This step can also be used in place of the toner for those who do not feel they need a toner or an essence. I suppose you could call it your “acid tone” step. I do not find I need to exfoliate twice a day so I usually skip this step in my morning skincare, but if you cannot live without your exfoliants, go ahead and apply them here. This article about the  acid exfoliant salicylic acid gives you everything you need to know.

4. Lightweight serums

This is the step in which you can apply the serums that are thinnest in texture. This may be an antioxidant serum or booster or a hydrating serum. They tend to absorb into skin quickly and effectively so are great for busy mornings. Using an antioxidant serum in your morning skincare will help to abate damage from environmental aggressors such as pollution and UV radiation. If you have read the article about vitamin C skincare, you may wish to opt for a vitamin C serum. Make sure to also take a look at this article for more about antioxidants and this one for what UV radiation does to the skin. 

5. Viscous serums and treatments

Next you should apply the serums and treatments that are more viscous in consistency. This could be anything from a vitamin C treatment to a hyaluronic acid serum depending on the thickness of the product you choose. For more on whether you should be using a hyaluronic acid serum, read this post. I found a dupe for my favourite hyaluronic acid serum from Clinique. It’s this serum from Neutrogena and it is fabulous. I am not entirely sure yet whether it will replace my Clinique one, but it is a worthy contender for a fraction of the price. 

I would not personally apply an acne treatment such as benzoyl peroxide with my morning skincare because of its texture and inability to work well under makeup. Trying to work your makeup over the top of such an ingredient can result in it being redistributed throughout the face, thus rendering it ineffective to the area you were aiming to target anyway. 

6. Moisturiser

These tend to be slightly heavier in texture than serums and do a superb job of sealing in the previous ingredients. Some may find they do not necessarily need this step in their morning skincare routine if they do not have dry skin, and that the previous products already provided adequate hydration to the skin. Others may find they prefer this moisturiser step and want to skip serums altogether. 

7. Facial oils

Depending on the finish of the SPF I choose to wear that day, I do enjoy applying a non-comedogenic, less heavy oil in my morning skincare. This should be applied after the previous steps due to the larger molecular size of the oil. If you have ever poured oil over water, you will have noticed it floats on top. Applying oil prior to a water-based serum for instance, will inhibit the serum’s penetration. 

8. Sun protection

Your sunscreen or chosen SPF product should be the final step to your morning skincare routine. This ensures that other skincare products are not diluting the SPF’s effectiveness and that you are getting sufficient protection. If you’re not already on the SPF train, read this post. It can be difficult to find an SPF that works well under makeup. The La Roche Posay SPF 50+ Ultra-Light Fluid is non greasy, undetectable on skin and works well under makeup. I’ll be sharing all the best SPF products in a blog post soon. 

9. Face Primer

If you feel you need to use a face primer to keep your makeup in place, this is the step in which you can apply it. A mattifying primer placed strategically on the T-zone can help to take down the shine of a sunscreen. If your sunscreen is already matte in texture, you may not need a primer. For those with very dry skin and like to use a moisturising primer, I would personally prefer to use a heavier moisturiser before my SPF, rather than slather another layer of moisture over.

If you want to consolidate your morning skincare a little without having to apply a separate antioxidant product, SPF and primer, there are some great options. Glossier Invisible Shield Daily Sunscreen for instance is invisible while providing antioxidant protection and SPF. I did an entire review about this recent mineral sunscreen find, explaining all the factors I look for in a great facial sunscreen that performs and plays well with makeup.

10. Makeup

Now that you have completed your entire routine, you are free to proceed with your makeup application for the day. During the day, a face base product with additional SPF is a great multitasker. Dry skin may want to opt for a tinted moisturiser with SPF while oilier skin may prefer a powder. One of my classically favourite bases for daytime is the Bareminerals Gel Cream. It gives a hydrated, dewy glow. It’s on sale right now through one of my fave beauty sites that also offers free worldwide delivery. Yay! A newer find is the BFF cream SPF30 from Trinny London, which has a lovely radiant finish that both is lightweight and moisturising. I might also skip the base altogether and just pat a little concealer under my eyes if my skin is doing well. I like this concealer from Urban Decay.

Some of you lucky ladies/gentlemen may feel you don’t even need much makeup to even out your skin tone or perfect your complexion. Others may simply enjoy the routine of applying their daily face. Have fun experimenting and seeing which products work for you. I have gone through periods where I have done a full face of full coverage every single day while other phases I haven’t been able to stand the feel of foundation on my skin. Experiment to see what works for you. But above all, just feel wonderful in your own skin.

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If you have issues with makeup wearing off

If you are steadfast on implementing every single skincare step into your morning routine, first of all I salute you. Secondly if you layer a lot of emollients, you may find you have issues with your makeup slipping and sliding. As someone who dealt with severe cystic acne in the past, I needed my makeup to stay in place. I also had to learn to keep my makeup as undetectable as possible. With textured blemishes, this is not always easy. It does require particular application methods. You want your makeup locked down until you chose to remove it. After much trial and error, I developed a number of ways to ensure long lasting makeup. Even when I have had others do my makeup, it never lasted because I know my face better than they do. This is why I encourage you to experiment to see what works for you.

As for the type of makeup I prefer, I lean towards a more polished version of yourself as opposed to a conspicuous layer of makeup. Even for events and occasion makeup, I am a huge proponent of not allowing your makeup to wear you. Over time I have developed an abundance of tricks to keep makeup looking seamless. The key to great makeup is making sure it is as realistic as possible in person, as well as studio lights. I’d love to share some tricks in subsequent blog posts to achieve makeup that looks seamless in person and photographs beautifully too. Makeup that looks flawless in pictures but like a mask in real life isn’t really to my taste or aesthetic. So, for anyone who shares similar sentiments, I’ll be giving away some secrets and recommendations in future posts. 

You don’t need all the steps for your morning skincare routine

I would like to emphasise that many of these products are entirely optional. Some people may really enjoy the entire ritual of applying an extensive number of products and that is completely wonderful. But it most definitely is not necessary for everyone. I am of the view that your routine should be based upon how your skin looks and feels on any given day, rather than forcing yourself to adhere to a strict regime with a delegated number of products. Oftentimes, overdoing your routine does not always provide optimum results. In fact, overwhelming your skin with products can be counterintuitive to achieving great skin. It is more beneficial to focus your skin’s needs on a particular day, rather than implement a strict set of products without any awareness as to the way your skin is behaving day to day.

Pay attention to your individual needs

I do not personally implement all of these products in my own morning skincare routine. At the moment my morning skincare in particular is very streamlined. It simply involves applying a non-greasy face oil after cleansing, followed by SPF, and I am ready for the day. I am even enjoying a completely bare everyday face without makeup, especially now the hot weather is upon us. It is all up to your own individual skin concerns and needs. We are all individual, we all have different needs and preferences. Tailor your routine to suit your own needs. Do not be swayed in to believing you should be using a certain number of products a certain way. Cut out the external noise and do what feels best for your needs.

I hope you found this article informative. I encourage you to please share this post so that we can help other people with their morning skincare routine. In an upcoming post I will be giving a run down of exactly how to put together your night time skincare routine.

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And let me know, what does your morning skincare routine look like? Do you have any favourite products? I’m intrigued to hear all about your routine. 

For more skin care advice check out these posts:

How to Prepare Your Skin Care Routine For Fall

9 Things You Must Consider Before Starting A New Skincare Routine

10 Valuable Travel Skin Tips You Have Never Heard Before

Wishing you boundless love, endless light, and life without limits,

Shannon xo

This post is not sponsored. All opinions are my own.