The Anatomy of An Effective Skincare Regime

Skincare regimes can be weird and wonderful things. With the rise and rise of information on social media such as Youtube and Tiktok there are so many instances and opportunities for skincare regimes to go amiss. Before I delve into what needs to go into an effective skincare regime, it’s important to establish what a regime is and what it is not.

According to Google, the word 'regime' means:

“A system or ordered way of doing things”

I have a specific rationale for not using the words ‘routine’ or ‘regimen’ because:

1.    They have different meanings

2.    They should actually be incorporated into the regime for your skin.

Let me explain.

The definition of the word ‘routine’ is:

 “A sequence of actions, regularly followed”

And the definition of the word ‘regimen’ is:

“a prescribed course of medical treatment, diet, or exercise for the promotion or restoration of health”

On the basis of these two definitions, ‘regime’ is my preferred word because you should have a ‘routine’ within your regime which should be helping you towards achieving skin health. Additionally, a skincare ‘regime’ should form part of your ‘regimen’ but it is not the whole story. Skin is your biggest organ and so I recommend taking a holistic approach and incorporating other elements of your lifestyle such as your sleep and your diet.

 What does and effective skincare regime consist of?

First things first, skin regimes should be smart regimes. This means that steps should be kept to a minimum to help you to remain consistent and compliant. All regimes consist of 4 core steps. These four steps may have additional steps within them, but for the sake of easy understanding, the 4 core steps of an effective regime are:

Cleanse, Treat, Moisturise and Protect.

Yes, that’s literally it.

If you’ve been around reading my articles for any period, you’ll know that I am a #skinvangelist that preaches about functional beauty. I believe in keeping things simple and easy and that multiple products should not exist in a regime if there is one product that can perform the jobs of many.

Formulations have become far more sophisticated; science has advanced in skincare so much in recent years that we have moved into an era of high performance.

So, let’s get into these 4 core steps.

Step 1 - Cleanse

I cannot express deeply enough how many people get this step oh so very WRONG! Cleansing your skin (properly) is often the difference between healthy skin that functions properly and skin that doesn’t. In my professional experience here are things that people often get wrong, and to be honest, it makes the rest of your regime ineffective as your skin is not cleansed effectively:

• Not cleansing for long enough

Cleanser should be in contact with your skin for approximately 2 minutes. The ingredients in your cleanser need enough time to work and to do their job effectively. That 30 second rub around really isn’t going to cut it.

• Using a cleanser with a texture and ingredients that don’t suit your skin type or condition

If you are acneic, you have no business using a comedogenic oil to cleanse your skin. If you have dry skin, you have no business using drying ingredients such as benzoyl peroxide. Are you seeing the pattern here? Getting a cleanser in the correct texture with the right ingredients is a quick and easy way to win. If you’re going to cleanse your skin, you may as well do it properly.

• Not cleansing the relevant surface areas

Dirt gets everywhere, smog, dust, pollution sticks. Please ensure that you cleanse your entire face, into your hairline, your ears, your neck and down into your décolleté (top of your chest!)

When cleansing your skin, please ensure that you use a cleanser that can see you through your entire two minutes. There is nothing wrong with slight water activation but if you must do that more than once, it’s likely aren’t using enough cleanser. You heard it here first! Lool

Step 2 - Treat

This is the step where often people go overboard with lotions and potions.

You can use multiple products, however they must serve a function and if they can be condensed into one then that is usually what I advise.

In this part of your regime, products can be used to treat under eye circles, hyperpigmentation, acne, improve skin texture and so on. This step is important to do after effectively cleansing your skin as your skin is in prime condition to absorb the next thing that is topically applied.

Some of the problems that arise when treating skin are often caused by a lack of understanding of ingredients which leads to more skin problems or ingredient’s cancelling each other out.

Problems also arise when too much is being done and the skin becomes overwhelmed. Too many products in any quantity can lead to inflammation as well as other issues. It can also make it more difficult to identify sensitisers if you have an adverse reaction. With regards to knowing what to treat, always start with the active condition and then deal with the side effects once you have dealt with the cause. For example, deal with active acne before you deal with hyperpigmentation or other types of scarring. Under eye treatments are generally a good idea from the age of 25 upwards as this is the age at which collagen production begins to reduce.

Step 3 - Moisturise 

Moisturising is a core step in a skin regime. It’s the step that ensures products are locked in. It’s the step that aids healing, when done appropriately, and it’s also the step that restores balance. Understanding moisturising ingredients is important. I wrote about ingredients in one of my previous articles which you can read here. The key with moisturiser is understand what works for you and why it works. Texture is important but so are ingredients. Here are a few things that should be avoided when moisturising:

•  Not using moisturiser at all

Please don’t be one of these people. Your skin needs moisturiser.

•  Not applying enough moisturiser

It’s important to give your skin enough and to ensure that you are covering all the relevant surface areas. A pea sized amount usually isn’t enough.

• Applying too much moisturiser

This one is self-explanatory

• Applying the wrong type of moisturiser for your skin type or condition and for your environment.

For example, applying a heavy cream in 30-degree heat when you have acne doesn’t make sense.

When moisturising your skin, ensure that this core step is executed correctly. Believe it or not your skin will let you know if it is or isn’t.

Step 4 – Protect

Naturally, this is the step where SPF comes in and is included. As you may know from my last article, SPF is a must. Effectively protecting your skin from the sun will reduce your risk of cancer and slow down the ageing process. Another key element of this is core step is protecting your skin from free radical damage. Simply put, free radicals are unstable atoms that are present both within the body and in the environment that damage cells. The process of damage and imbalance of cells is called oxidative stress. This is where antioxidants play their part. Antioxidants are molecules that donate an electron to a free radical without making themselves unstable. This causes the free radical to stabilize and become less reactive.

Common antioxidants that you will find in skincare include Vitamin C (L- Ascorbic Acid is usually the most common form), Vitamin A (Retinoids and derivatives) and Niacinamide to name a few.

Here are a few things that sometimes go wrong in the ‘protect’ step of an effective skincare regime:

• Not applying any SPF

Please don’t be one of these people

• Not applying enough SPF

It’s nearly as bad as the first one but please ramp it up a little and cover all of your bases

• Wearing SPF and no moisturiser

Strange things are happening all the time. Please don’t leave your house with a yellow raincoat on and have no clothes underneath the coat. That’s the equivalent of not wearing moisturiser under your SPF

• Wearing SPF that’s the wrong texture

There are gels, creams, powders and sprays and there is something somewhere for you. Don’t be someone who gives up on protecting your skin because you haven’t found the right fit yet.

• Not incorporating other types of protection that your skin cells need.

Please get it together or speak to a professional if you are stuck.

• Doing the absolute most and applying too much too soon.

As mentioned before introducing vitamin C, Retinol, Niacinamide, B- Resorcinol, AHA’s and BHA’s to your skin all at once can be overwhelming. Start low and go slow.

An effective skin care regime doesn’t have to be complicated. It does need to be functional, smart and suitable.

It is quite common to not know where to begin. If this is you, you are not alone and I and many other professionals are here to guide you. I offer a range of services both virtually and in person. There are no restrictions on getting help, regardless of your location. Feel free to pop me a message for further help with building an effective skincare regime.

My hope is that you have learnt a few things and will build, simplify or upgrade your skin regime with the goal of improving or maintaining your skin health. Your skin health matters.