How to build your all-natural, full body Skincare Routine
Nowadays, almost everyone has a skincare regiment.
And it’s no surprise why that is – taking care of your skin the right way can minimise sun damage, keep your pores clear, and ultimately slow down the ageing process in your skin (fewer wrinkles and pigmentation issues as you get older).
Having a daily skincare routine is key to obtaining a healthy complexion, and can leave you glowing after only a few weeks of a closely followed regiment.
If you're wondering how to build the right skin care routine for your skin type, look no further than this blog. Starting from square one, let’s go over all the steps involved with developing a functional, natural, full-body skincare routine.
How to Determine Your Skin Type
In order to customize and carefully select your skincare products, it’s essential that you know your skin type.
Skin type is generally determined based on a combination of inherited genetics and environment.
Here are the three different skin types and how to recognize them:
Oily skin
This is the easiest to recognise. If your skin easily becomes greasy or sweaty (particularly by the end of the day), you might have oily skin.
Oily skin is far more prone to acne and has larger (clogged) pores. Products for oily skin tend to focus on exfoliation, acne prevention and regulating oil production.
Dry skin
Often flakes, creases, and wrinkles with time. If, for instance, you notice flakiness on your skin during the winter or dry weather, it’s likely that you have dry skin.
Sometimes, after a wash (either in the shower or via a simple face wash), this skin type can dry out even further and become itchy. Skincare for dry skin will always focus on hydration and improving the skin's moisture barrier.
Combination skin
This is both oily and dry – it often tends to have different issues in different places. Most people have combination skin.
Those with combination skin will often have to pick neutral skincare products which both moisturise and prevent acne and pore buildup.
Once you’ve determined your skin type, make sure there aren’t any other factors that might influence the way your skin reacts to certain ingredients. For instance, ask yourself:
Is your skin sensitive?
You can usually tell if you have sensitive skin if you often get redness, burning, or any other type of skin reaction once you apply products to your skin.
Because of the high chance of inflammation, sensitive skin types need to be ultra-conscious about which products they include in their skincare routines.
Is your skin acne-prone?
Acne-prone skin is often quite oily. If your skin is prone to acne, you’ll want to make sure that you put a greater emphasis on products and techniques that clear your pores and promote exfoliation.
Let’s say, for example, I have oily, sensitive, acne-prone skin.
By all accounts, I’m going to want to focus on a technique and product inventory that differs greatly from someone who has extra dry skin.
These two skincare routines will look completely different from each other, and will require different levels and frequencies of care.
This is why it’s important to understand your skin type – to know your body is to know how to take care of your body.
Focus on the Face
A facial skin care routine is by far the most difficult thing to perfect in the realm of skincare.
It’s a calculated, trial-based process of discovering which ingredients work and how to adapt your routine to your ever-changing skin type.
Here are the basic products you’ll need to take care of your face: cleanser, toner, serum, moisturizer, sun protection, makeup remover, and masks.
Once you get situated with each of these products, you’ve already achieved most of the work – the tricky thing is getting products that agree both with each other and with your skin type.
Some products to add to your routine once you get the hang of the basics are eye cream (depending on how badly you need eye cream, this might have to be a basic necessity rather than an add-on) and face oil.
You should try to take care of your skin each day when you wake up in the morning and then once again when you go to sleep at night.
Skincare routine in the morning:
Step 1: Cleanser
The purpose of a cleanser is to get all the bacteria and dirt off your skin and unclog your pores.
When you first wake up and head over to the bathroom, apply a cleanser in circular motions to your face for about 2 minutes.
Dry it off gently by padding it down with a clean towel. Make sure the towel is clean!
Step 2: Toner
The purpose of a toner is to quickly hydrate, refresh and equalise your complexion.
With a cotton pad, apply an even layer of toner to your face. It might take a while to find a toner that works best for your skin – sometimes, toners can cause irritation.
Start by looking for something gentle.
Step 3: Serum
There are a few titles to the overarching serum category, including skin antioxidant and essence.
Essentially, facial serum gives you a lasting hydration lock and quickly delivers the active ingredients present into your skin.
For instance, if you have a Vitamin C facial serum, the serum will deliver Vitamin C into your pores and make sure the skin absorbs it by delivering lasting hydration and protection.
Step 4: Moisturiser
Facial moisturiser preserves the effects of each of the previous steps – thing of it like hair conditioner, only for your skin.
It gives you a final burst of hydration and protection for the rest of the day.
We recommend our moisturising Arilje Body Butter, a body and face hydrator with hydrating red raspberry seed oil.
Step 5: Sun protection
Sun can be incredibly damaging for skin longevity. Nothing will ensure you get wrinkles faster than being unprotected in direct sunlight.
So, when you do your skincare, sun protection is arguably the most important step on this list. Make sure to choose a lotion that is made for the face (body sunscreen can cause pore buildup) and to reapply this lotion to your face every couple of hours throughout the day.
Now, there are a few extra steps you can pepper into this routine once you get comfortable enough with it.
Eye cream, for instance, can be added in between applying serum and moisturiser. Eye cream is great for brightening the area around the eyes and preserving the elasticity of the skin.
If you’re someone who smiles with their eyes on an extremely frequent basis, or if you have problems with bags and dark circles, eye cream might be very helpful.
Another item to consider is facial oil. This should be applied after the serum step – if you’ve included eye cream in your routine, put it on after eye cream.
Facial oil serves the purpose of making sure your makeup sticks well to your skin without creasing or damaging your skin.
If you wear makeup on a regular basis, facial oil is an important step to consider.
Your night time skincare routine is just as essential as your morning routine. At night, you’ll be washing off all that your skin has accumulated throughout the day and nourishing it for nighttime.
Skincare routine at night:
Step 1: Makeup removal
This won’t apply to everyone – if you’ve worn makeup that day, however, this applies to you. Make sure to get your face completely clear of all makeup applied earlier, so that you can start your nighttime skincare routine.
We recommend our makeup removing solid oil, a natural oil that dissolves stubborn makeup products gently.
Step 2: Cleanser
In circular motions, apply a cleanser to your face to clear out your pores, just like you did in the morning.
Step 3: Toner
Again, just like you did in the morning, use a cotton pad to apply toner for the nighttime.
Step 4: Mask
There are infinite types of masks out there, but the mask that you should choose should always be one that supplies your face with a much-needed ingredient.
Although applying a mask at night doesn’t necessarily need to happen, it’s a much-recommended step. Each mask comes with its own set of instructions and applications.
Step 5: Serum
The serum you use for the night should always be a nighttime serum. Often, daytime and nighttime serums are sold in couplets.
Apply a layer of serum and let it absorb into your pores.
Step 6: Moisturiser
In order to lock in the ingredients and vitamins, you’ve applied to your skin for the remainder of the night, apply a thin layer of moisturiser to keep on until you wake up the next morning and start your skincare routine all over again.
When you pick out products to fill each of these purposes, make sure you’re taking your skin type and skin needs into account.
For example, if you have oily skin, you don’t want to purchase a nighttime serum for dry skin (hello, acne).
If you have dry skin, you don’t want to purchase a moisturiser for oily skin, or it won’t work at all.
Do your research when looking into products, and make sure you’re picking out the best possible products with the highest possible quality.
Body Care and Cleanliness
The good news? Having a body skincare routine isn’t remotely as difficult as having a facial skincare routine.
However, there are a few things to keep in mind when building that routine.
Let’s focus on some pointers to follow when you’re taking care of your body.
Shower every other day
Daily showering, as popular as it might be, is sure to dry out your skin and accelerate ageing.
Most dermatologists recommend showering every other day so that you can allow your skin to breathe.
Much of your body skincare routine should take place on the days you’re showering.
Use a body wash
For the shower, this is a no-brainer. Make sure, however, that the cleanser you’re using is made to accommodate your skin type.
Use an exfoliator
This should generally come after the body wash. Scrubs are often the best option for body skin, as they’re really efficient at rubbing the dead skin cells off and getting rid of bacteria.
Use a body lotion
Lotions lock in the skincare products used in the shower, and protect your skin from external factors once you go outside. Pick a gentle one that won’t irritate your skin, and again, make sure it accommodates your skin type.
Don’t forget sun protection
Many body lotions include SPF in their mixes. If you don’t get a combination lotion, make sure to get some form of sun protection and apply it daily.
The Importance of Natural Ingredients for Healthy Skin
Each of the products and steps listed here is essential to building your skincare routine.
When you choose to include exclusively naturally occurring, non-artificial ingredients, you’re safely, ethically, and responsibly taking care of your complexion.
Selecting skincare with natural ingredients ensures that no harsh chemicals will get in the way of this process and that you’ll keep the irritation and skin cracking to a near-nonexistent minimum while looking for your perfect combination of ingredients and steps.