A beginner’s routine fails in one of two ways: it is too small to matter, or it is a twelve-step performance that lasts four days. The useful middle is unglamorous. Cleanse. Moisturise. Protect. Do it until the sink expects you.
Know the skin you actually have
Wash your face with a gentle cleanser. Wait an hour with nothing on it. Then look. Grease in the T-zone and open pores: oily. Tight, flaky, rough: dry. Oil in the centre and dryness on the cheeks: combination. Redness, sting, a tendency to argue with new bottles: sensitive. This is the bare-faced test. It is not glamorous. It is accurate enough to shop with.
Oily skin wants gel or foam cleansers and a light, oil-free moisturiser. Dry skin wants cream cleansers and a richer cream. Sensitive skin wants fewer ingredients and no perfume. Combination skin wants the oil-free formula in the T-zone and patience everywhere else.
Skincare is not a personality. It is three products, used until they are boring, which is when they begin to work.
Morning, then night
Morning: cleanse overnight oil, moisturise while the skin is still slightly damp, then a broad-spectrum SPF of at least 30 — even when the sky is grey. Clouds do not cancel ultraviolet light. Reapply if you are outside for more than two hours.
Evening: cleanse as if you mean it, especially if there is makeup or sunscreen to take off. A toner is optional hydration. A serum — antioxidant or retinoid — is how you address a specific complaint, not how you begin. Finish with a night cream and go to bed. The skin does its serious work while you are not watching.
The mistakes that undo the rest
Over-exfoliating. Skipping sunscreen. Buying for a skin type you do not have. Starting six actives in a week. Inconsistency. Exfoliate one to three times a week, not nightly. Give a product a month before you decide it has failed you. The glow you want is usually just the absence of interruption.
