Why do we need skincare?

Your skincare routine doesn’t need to be complicated to achieve healthy, happy skin. We’ll step you through each element of a basic skincare routine for your healthiest complexion ever.

Creating a skincare Routine That Actually Works

What skin type do you have?

Creating a skincare routine that works for you starts by knowing your skin type. This gives you a good understanding of why your skin looks, feels and behaves as it does.

Most importantly, you’ll know how to choose the right skincare routine for your skin type.

Skin is generally classified into one of 5 different skin types - normal, oily, dry, sensitive, and combination. If you aren’t sure we recommend reading our guide to The Different Skin Types to help you determine what type you are.

Building a Skincare Regime to Address Specific Skin Concerns

Next, you need to understand the specific skin concerns you’d like to address - hyperpigmentation, signs of ageing, acne, dehydration, dryness, dullness, etc.

Some of these may link closely to your skin type; for example, oily skin is usually more prone to breakouts. Other concerns like hyperpigmentation, dehydration, and signs of ageing occur in all skin types.

Knowing the specific concerns you want to treat means you can assemble a skincare routine with active ingredients to target them.

Daily Skin Routine: What Order to Apply Skincare

The skincare products and order to apply them for a basic routine include:

Daily treatments

• Cleanser
• Serum (hydration)
• Moisturiser
• Sun protection (Morning only)

Weekly treatments

• Exfoliation (after cleansing)
• Deep masking treatment (after cleansing)
• Let’s take a closer look at each element of a basic skincare routine 

Step One: Using a Cleanser 

Your cleanser sets the tone for the rest of your skincare routine.

While every cleanser has the same basic goal - to clear the skin of debris, excess oil, bacteria, dead cells - all cleansers are definitely not created equal.

Many strip the skin entirely of its natural oils and moisture. They certainly ‘clean’ the skin but by removing all oil and moisture they also damage the delicate skin barrier. This can lead to a range of skin concerns from excess oil production to heightened sensitivity and excessive dryness.

Signs your cleanser is too harsh? Your skin feels tight and extremely dry after washing your face and you might also experience irritation.

For the best cleansing experience, regardless of your skin type, choose a gentle, non-drying cleanser to maintain the delicate balance of oil and moisture on your skin.

Gentle yet effective ingredients for cleansing formulations include;

• Aloe vera: Containing mostly (95%) water, aloe vera is hydrating and calming for skin. It also has excellent cleansing and very gentle exfoliant properties.
• Green tea extract: Brimming with antioxidant activity, Green tea is also an anti-inflammatory with the ability to soothe and calm redness.
• Stearic acid: Helps cleanse debris from the skin while its emollient properties protect skin's surface against water loss.
• Capric triglyceride: Helps to reduce skin dryness by minimising moisture loss by creating a barrier on the skin's surface.
• Active ingredients to target specific concerns

Your cleanser can also include active ingredients to help target specific skin concerns. If dullness and hyperpigmentation are a problem, for example, you may choose a cleanser formulated with brightening ingredients, like Vitamin C.

We recommend The Uncomplicated Cleanser (All skin types)

Infused with aloe vera to calm and heal and the protective, antioxidant properties of camellia leaf (green tea) extract the cleanser balances skin and won’t leave it dry or tight, just clean, calm, and supple.

We recommend using The Uncomplicated Cleanser in both your morning and evening skincare routine. Double cleanse in the evening to remove all traces of build up.

Targeting a specific concern? You may like to try one of the following cleansers:

• The Uncomplicated Cleanser plus Anti-Redness - Redness concerns
• The Uncomplicated Cleanser plus Brightening - Hyperpigmentation and dullness
• The Uncomplicated Cleanser plus Anti-Ageing - Ageing concerns
• The Uncomplicated Cleanser plus Charcoal - Congestion and oiliness

Step Two: Exfoliating Your Skin

Put simply, exfoliation is the removal of dead skin cells and build up from your outer layer of skin - the epidermis.

Why exfoliate? It helps prevent clogged pores that can lead to congestion and acne. By removing dead cells and debris, exfoliation also reveals the brighter, fresher skin underneath helping skin appear smoother.

There are two different ways you can exfoliate your skin;

Chemical exfoliation (not as scary as it sounds!) which includes alpha hydroxy acids, beta hydroxy acids, and fruit enzymes. These ingredients work to unglue and lift dead cells and debris from the skin without the need to manually ‘scrub’ your skin.

Physical exfoliation includes products like facial scrubs. You need to physically massage it into the skin to remove buildup and clear pores.

We recommend reading our Guide To Exfoliation for an in-depth look at different ingredients and methods. This will help you better understand what type is right for you.

Using a specific exfoliation product isn’t something you should do every day. Like those harsh cleansers, over-exfoliation leads to a damaged skin barrier.

However, your cleanser may contain ingredients that offer mild exfoliation properties for a very gentle daily exfoliation activity.

The exfoliation type and frequency best for you depends on your skin type and concerns. We recommend to start slowly and gently and monitor how your skin reacts before making adjustments.

We recommend: Detoxifying Exfoliating Charcoal Serum

Chemical exfoliant properties

Suitable for most skin types with congestion and acne concerns

An exfoliating charcoal serum with gentle chemical exfoliation properties to tackle blackheads, acne, and underlying skin congestion to help draw out impurities and unclog pores for smoother looking skin.

We recommend: Rose and Bamboo Gentle Foliant

Chemical and physical exfoliant properties

Suitable for weakened or sensitised skin barrier, acne prone, and dry skin.

A delicate, restorative exfoliation experience for skin needing TLC. Gentle bamboo extract and fruit enzymes help leave skin soft, luminous, and purified while luxurious rose oil aids in calming and moisturises.

Step Three: Hydrate and Moisturise

Hydration is crucial for healthy skin. Your complexion is brighter, clearer, and more supple looking when your skin is well hydrated.

Both moisturising and hydrating ingredients play important roles in keeping hydration levels up.

Hydrating ingredients (known as humectants) attract water to the deeper layers of skin and rehydrate cells from the inside out. Moisturising ingredients (emollients and occlusives) work to lock hydration into the skin.

Your skincare routine should include a hydrating product (ideally a serum) to add water and a moisturising product to seal it in.

• Moisturising products

Help minimise water evaporating off the skin

Support a healthy skin barrier

Achieve the above with occlusive and emollient ingredients

Depending on the formulation, some moisturisers may offer humectant ingredients

• Hydrating serum products

Water-based and penetrate the skin more deeply than moisturisers

Hydrate the skin from the inside

Support a healthy skin barrier

Achieve the above with humectant ingredients like hyaluronic acid

• Face oil products

Help minimise water evaporating off the skin

Support a healthy skin barrier

Achieve the above with occlusive and emollient ingredients

We recommend: Hyaluronic Hydrating Serum

All skin types

The esmi Hyaluronic Hydrating Serum is like a big drink of water for your cells containing triple action Hyaluron which increases hydration by 25% within 2 hours. The hydrating serum contains niacinamide (Vitamin B3) to aid in skin repair, restoration, and help regulate oil flow. 

Sun Protection

No skincare routine should skip a daily dose of SPF. Wearing sunscreen daily is absolutely your best defence against slowing the visible signs of ageing and hyperpigmentation.

Include a broad spectrum SPF30 sunscreen in your skincare routine - 365 days a year. No matter the weather, no matter the season.

We recommend: Skin Shield Natural Sunscreen SPF 30

All skin types

Comfortable, non-greasy broad-spectrum SPF 30 coverage for all skin types, especially sensitive skin. Skin Shield Natural Face Sunscreen is easy-to-apply and enriched with antioxidant protection of carrot root oil, hyaluronic acid, and green tea to help support hydrated, smoother skin.

Other Skin Routine Considerations

What you eat is a different kind of skin care but just as important as your skincare products.

We’ve put together a list of healthy skin foods but the basics are eating antioxidant-rich fruit and vegetables, healthy fats from oily fish and nuts, and drinking plenty of hydrating fluids.

At Home Facials and Treatments

A face mask is an ideal at-home facial treatment to target any specific skin concerns or when your skin just needs a little pick-me-up. We all have those days!

We recommend: Ultra Nourishing Booster Mask

Ideal for dry skin types

De-stress dry skin and help slow cellular ageing with colloidal gold, free-radical fighting green tea extract, and a nourishing oil complex to aid in skin renewal, repair and protection.

We recommend: Bouncy Brightening Silky Booster Mask

Suitable for most skin types

Suited for lightening hyperpigmentation, age spots and sun damage, this face mask helps even out skin tone for a smoother, brighter complexion.

We hope covering the elements of a great skincare routine will help you build one ideally suited to your skin. If you would like any guidance in building a more specific skincare routine, book your free skin consultation with our team of skin experts. We’re here to help!