9 Things To Consider Before You Start A New Skincare Routine

With the abundance of new products streaming into the market on a daily basis, it is easy to be enticed by all the latest and greatest. I know that my overwhelming curiosity with new skincare certainly has compelled me to make a number of purchases in the past. Unfortunately, constantly switching up your products can lead you to lose track of what is and what is not working. While it might be tempting to entirely replicate someone else’s routine based on how their skin looks, I would not necessarily advise it. I always advocate for tailoring your routine to your own personal needs. And even gauging based on how your skin feels on any given day. In this post I give you a guideline on all the things you should consider before you start a new skincare routine.

1. Have you been consistent with your current skincare routine?

More than ever, people are drawn to the promise of instant gratification. With technology perpetually at our fingertips, we are growing more and more impatient. From the click of a button, we can have food delivered to our house. One day shipping enables our entire shopping cart to arrive within a 24-hour window. It is easy to be seduced by the promise of instant results. So, you would not be entirely remiss to overlook the fact that the human body does not give the instantaneous response of a machine.

You can easily fall into the trap of deciding to abandon a product if, after only a couple of days or weeks, you see little visible results. Trust me, I’ve been there too. The truth we may not always want to hear is that certain skincare ingredients can take up to 2-3 months to see visible results from. Yes, months. You can use 5-minute sheet masks as much as you like for that instant gratification factor. But the truth is, the results you obtain from a one-off treatment will never compare to the long term results from a consistent daily routine.

Although I will say, if you have the luxury of time for sheet masks, this Asian brand brightening sheet mask is absolutely adorable. Beauty Bay ships it worldwide so we all have access to this cute product and it isn’t exclusive to Asia anymore. The packaging is pink and has a Panda on it – what more could a girl ask for?! Oh, and it does produce pretty satisfying instant “glass skin” results too. 

Ask yourself whether you have truthfully been consistent with your routine. Have you allowed enough time to actually see visible results? Or have you kept with it ‘for the most part’. That is, aside from the couple of times a week you have gone to bed without removing your makeup. Perhaps travelling has interrupted your ability to carry out your normal routine. Again, I’ve been there. But before you rush start a new skincare routine, consider how consistent you are. And remember, patience will reap the greatest results.

2. How much time are you willing to devote to your skincare routine?

K-beauty and Asian multiple step routines are hot right now. And you might feel you want to jump on the trend of including many skincare steps. I have an entire post dedicated to Korean Skincare Products; I love asian skincare. However, if your routine consists of many redundant steps with no aim, you may be wasting time and not reaping real benefits. It would be much more beneficial to narrow down your routine to a designated few products that you know make a difference. As opposed to fluffing it up with as many products as possible.

While some relish their skincare ritual with many products, it may turn others off completely. While the thought of an elaborate twelve-step routine may appear intriguing to some, it is not always more beneficial. Nor is it always the most practical. There is no reason that an effective routine has to have an extensive number of steps. The best kind of skincare routine is the one you will stick to. There is no point purchasing twenty different products when the thought of committing to using them all is overwhelming.

You may enjoy dedicating the time to an elaborate multi-step skincare routine every day. If you enjoy it, go for it. But if you prefer to only use the most effective products and take the shortest amount of time, there is no shame in that. Apply your skincare and move on with your other tasks. Decide how much time you are willing to spend on your skincare application before you establish a new skincare routine.

3. What is your primary skin concern?

You are aware that you should be taking care of your skin. But are you simply using products without really having a proper plan of attack? Are you just using skincare for the sake of using it without really knowing what you are trying to do for your skin? Before you start a new skincare routine, think about how well your current routine is serving you. You can then gauge what mode of action to change.

You might be thinking “but I want to fix everything”. Trying to start a new skincare routine might seem like the ideal fix. This may even lead you to overdoing it on the advanced anti-ageing treatments, acne treatments and harsh peels. We want to go in guns blazing and fix everything at once.

You have to understand that if you are trying to target everything, you will not be effective at targeting anything. Rather than aimlessly purchasing a number of products, get clear on your main pain points. Look for the key products that target your main skin concerns. Then, once you have that area under control, zero in on something else.

When it comes to your skin, there is usually a specific zone you pay particular attention to over others. You may struggle with acne breakouts or have significant areas of hyperpigmentation. Perhaps you have a skin condition like psoriasis or eczema. Or maybe you just want to target the general signs of ageing. Get clear on that before overhauling to start a new skincare routine.

4. How much money are your willing to spend on a new skincare routine?

It is critical to consider the budget you are willing to allocate to your skincare. Before being influenced into purchasing your favourite celebrity’s entire skincare routine from a magazine article, consider this. How sustainable would it be for you to maintain that skincare routine, after you have run out of the products? It is all well and good to fall in love with a set of products. However, if you will not be able to potentially re-purchase these items again in the future, you might not be able to maintain your results.

You may have the luxury of being able to invest in the best high-end skincare. You may enjoy the experience of luxury brands. But if you are on a budget like most people are, it is important to keep in mind how sustainable your new routine will be. You do not want to be selling your first-born child or going in debt to maintain a routine you cannot afford.

Decide which areas you would like to splurge on and where you would like to save in your skincare routine. You may find it more worthwhile to spend on cleansing tools such as a Foreo cleansing device and opt for affordable cleansers. Designate a budget to your beauty routine and work from there.

5. Do you have any known ingredient intolerances?

Before purchasing a new set of products, keep an eye out for ingredients that may cause irritation. This may involve some trial and error to see what your triggers are, but you want to make sure that the products you are using are not making the situation worse. Some people cannot tolerate certain active ingredients like retinol or certain acids. Search for alternatives and do not force your skin to use an ingredient if it does not tolerate it. Speaking of which, if you do find you are intolerant to retinol, I have an entire blog post about a natural retinol alternative that does not cause irritation but still works wonders. 

Ingredients that have caused me a great deal of irritation and contact dermatitis in the past have been menthol in certain acne products, and essential oils in all-natural products. Many people swear by all-natural skincare. However, my skin is extremely sensitised to the fragrant essential oils often used in such products. Certain preservatives like methylisothiazolinone have also caused me intense swelling and reactions.

A particular skincare product that tends to cause me issues is face cleanser. For a long time I thought that, because cleanser is only on the skin for a couple of minutes, I would not have to be so careful. However, I find that using the correct cleanser in my routine makes the biggest difference to how red and irritated my skin gets. When my skin is acting up, I tend to pare back my routine and opt for gentle, cream based cleanser. I am loving this gentle cleanser at the moment.

As I have mentioned before, I have very sensitive skin and am very acne-prone and suffer from eczema, so it is likely I experience more irritation than the average individual. Find out what triggers you and tailor your product needs around that. You do not want to start a new skincare routine only to have it not agree with your skin.

6. What is your skin type?

Knowing your own unique skin type is a vital part of constructing a proper skincare routine. You want to choose products that work with your particular skin type, and not against it. If you are prone to breakouts it is probably not a good idea to be using a lot of comedogenic products. If you have very dry skin, you will want to take it easy of astringent toners and the like. For very oily skin, you do not need to be skipping moisturiser all together, but you also don’t want to be excessively oiling up your skin.

If you aren’t sure of your skin type, pay attention to how it feels completely free of product. A simply rule of thumb is to wash your face, dry it and do not apply any additional products. After thirty minutes, examine your skin. If your skin feels tight and parched, you likely have dry skin. Oily skin will have areas of shine on the forehead, nose and cheeks. If you have some oil through the T zone and are not uncomfortably dry, you may have combination skin.

7. How happy are you with the current condition of your skin?

Some may have no significant issues with their skin’s current state. In this situation you might want to assess how your skin will react to an entirely new routine. It might seem exciting to start a new skincare routine, but you might not actually need it. You don’t have to fix what isn’t broken.

I liken it to a person who is already in good shape, unnecessarily going on a fad diet. Or leaving a great relationship to explore what is out there. Just make sure you are not walking out on something that is already good. If what you are doing is working for you, you might want to consider sticking with it and not being mesmerised by the new best thing.

You may be sticking out a certain routine but are still not happy with your skin. If you have been consistent in your application for months already, and are seeing zero changes, it might be worth looking to alternative treatments. For those with bad skin, it can be daunting to start a new skincare routine. You might fear that it will cause your skin to get even worse.

Bombarding your skin with a myriad of products, even if they are tried and tested efficacious formulations, might be doing you a disservice. It may be better to actually dial down your skincare for a while and see how your skin acclimates. Then slowly reintroduce new products if the thought of a complete overhaul is too daunting for you.

8. What does your lifestyle look like?

If you are unhappy with the condition of your skin, it may not be a matter of the skincare products you use. You may be purchasing streams of all the very best product formulas and applying them diligently. You may start a new skincare routine every couple of months. Yet still no results. In this case, it may be better to assess your lifestyle before deciding to commit to a brand-new skincare routine. You might need to address certain lifestyle factors that are interfering with the potential results you could be experiencing from your skincare.

A person who has been chain smoking for decades will likely find it extremely difficult to combat dullness and lines. They will not be able to achieve plump and glowing skin. Regardless of the amount of money they invest in skincare products and treatments.

If you have a chronically low intake of vitamin C, it is likely you will experience collagen loss. I suggest you read this article for more on vitamin C. Likewise, chronic yo-yo dieting also depletes collagen over time and leads to premature ageing. If you are not getting adequate quality protein on a daily basis, you will not have the amino acid foundations of healthy skin, nails or hair. Being extremely sedentary will also play into it.

If you do lead a relatively healthy lifestyle by most standards but still experience skin issues, you may even have an underlying problem. Everyone is different and our bodies all need different amounts of exercise and nutrients. Your DNA and microbiome are completely distinct from anyone you know. You might want to do further investigation if even after adjusting all these factors, you experience no improvement.

9. Do you have realistic expectations?

You must remember that there is only so much skincare can do. Marketing campaigns and advertisements may lead you to believe otherwise, but skincare is not intended to work miracles. There is no such thing as a permanent face lift in a jar. If you are spending exorbitant amounts of money on products, you might want to reassess your expectations of skincare. Rather than jumping to a new routine, determine how much you really expect.

We can sometimes be influenced into believing that products with such high costs must be effective. The expectation is that, with such a high price tag, it must be able to live up to its claims. And also raise our children in the process. Although certain ingredients certainly do play a role in tackling the appearance of skin, there is only so much ‘lifting’ and ‘firming’ it will do for you. You may be better saving the money you are spending on extravagant skincare promising the world. Invest it in an actual face lift if that is the result you are looking for. It is important to manage your expectations. Not so you avoid disappointment, but to understand that while skincare will do a lot for you, it cannot do everything.

And lastly, don’t be so hard on yourself. We can fall into the trap of wanting to fix this flaw and that flaw and never truly appreciating who we are in the moment or how far we have come. Spending time obsessing over every individual flaw is a waste of energy that could be more beneficially spent growing you as a person and helping you thrive in other areas of your life.

Set your skin up for success

Now that the seasons are beginning to change, we are all considering switching up our routine. By taking these factors into account before you start a new skincare routine, you are that much closer to a successful regimen. This guide for how to layer skincare will tell you everything you need to know about how to devise your routine once you have decided on products. Remember to Subscribe to the Blog for so much more upcoming content about all things Skin Care. 

Until then, check out these blog posts for more skin care advice:

Top Korean Skincare Products You Need to Try

How to Transition Your Skincare Routine From Summer to Fall

How to Properly Layer Skincare for Maximum Results

The Natural Retinol Alternative That Actually Works

The Top 10 Essential Skin Tips You Need to Know For Travel

What new products are you excited to try? How often do you switch up your skincare routine? 

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

Shannon xo

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