Your complete (daily, weekly, monthly and yearly) guide to great skin

Anyone with really beautiful skin will tell you that caring for their complexion takes a little effort and a lot of dedication. To have skin that looks young, clear, and radiant, you need to follow a routine every day, week, month, and even every year. Below is our definitive guide to getting (and maintaining) great skin all year long!

Daily skin care

To clean

Every day, morning and evening, you will want to wash your face. Facial cleansing twice a day ensures that you start and end the day with skin free of makeup, impurities and excess oil. Use gentle cleansers that have been formulated for your specific skin type to get the best results from your cleanser. There are many different products you can choose from, including rich cleansing balms, foaming cleansers, and micellar waters that require no lathering or rinsing at all! Read more about each type of detergent here. In addition to washing the skin of the face, it is also important to clean the skin under the chin! Use a mild, non-drying body wash and change your washcloth regularly as it can easily become a breeding ground for bacteria. Whether you are washing your face or body, never use hot water as it can dry out your skin.

Remove makeup

As we mentioned above, every evening you should always (even when you feel too tired to worry) remove your makeup. Leaving makeup on while you sleep can clog pores, and when mixed with excess sebum and other impurities, it can even cause breakouts. Makeup remover wet wipes are a great way to remove makeup every night without much effort. and prepare your skin for proper cleansing and other skincare routines.

humidification

Which brings us to the next point: hydration. Moisturize your skin every morning and evening after washing your face with a cleanser of your choice. For those with mature or dry skin, lack of hydration can cause the skin to become drier and even make the skin look dull and lifeless with more pronounced fine lines and wrinkles. For those with combination or oily skin, lack of skin hydration can cause the sebaceous glands to overcompensate for what they perceive as dehydration and produce even more sebum. To prevent these effects, always moisturize your skin immediately after cleansing or after using a serum. Don't forget to apply lotion or body oil to your skin after showering.

Wear sunscreen

During daylight hours, remember to always — rain or shine — apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or more to any exposed skin. Protecting your skin from harmful UVA and UVB sun rays perhaps one of the most important steps of good skin care. Not only can UV rays cause sunburn on unprotected skin, they can also cause premature signs of skin aging such as wrinkles and dark spots, and even more serious side effects such as skin cancer. Apply broad spectrum sunscreen every morning and remember to reapply throughout the day, especially on days you'll be outdoors.

Healthy Skin Tips

While there is debate about whether certain lifestyle factors can influence the appearance of skin, it never hurts to stick to healthy habits. Getting enough sleep, drinking enough water, eating well, and even getting your heart rate up with a little exercise every day will all help your complexion look its best! 

Weekly Skin Care

While your daily skin care routine is the key to keeping your skin looking great, there are steps you should follow on a weekly basis.

flake off

One to three times a week (depending on your skin type) you need to exfoliate the surface of your skin. As we age, our skin's natural flaking process—the shedding of dead skin cells—begins to slow down. As this process slows down, it can cause dead cells to build up on the surface of the skin, leading to everything from dryness to dullness. You can choose to exfoliate the surface of the skin with physical exfoliation—sugar or salt-based scrubs that can manually remove buildup—or chemical exfoliation—exfoliation that uses alpha hydroxy acids or enzymes to break down buildup. Remember that the skin on your body needs a scrub too! Exfoliation can help remove buildup Revealing a radiant skin surface and helping other skin care products work more effectively without blocking dead skin cells.

Mask

Once or twice a week, set aside some time for a masking spa session. You can use one mask or take several and join the multi-mask trend. Before choosing a mask, take a look at your complexion and assess your concerns. Do you feel like you have clogged pores? Are your cheeks missing a youthful glow? There are formulas that can help you deal with most skin care problems in as little as 10-20 minutes. One of our favorite types of masks to include in our weekly routine is clay mask which can help unclog pores, making skin more radiant.

Clean house

Set aside time once a week to wash off your makeup. brushes, blenders, towels, sheets and pillowcases - read: clean everything that touches your face. If you don't clean items around the house that come into contact with your skin, you may unknowingly sabotage your usual skin care routine and introduce bacteria to your complexion, which can lead to future breakouts and blemishes. We share A quick and easy way to clean your makeup blender is here! 

Monthly skin care

Once a month, take some time out of your busy schedule to check on a few things on your skin care checklist. 

Make settings

Every month pay attention to the climate and how it can change your complexion. As the seasons change, so do the needs of our skin. For example, during the colder months, there is usually less moisture in the air, which can dry out the complexion. On the other hand, during the warm season, we can use oil level control products to keep oil production in balance. When you notice these changes, it's important to make the necessary adjustments to your daily routine to keep your skin looking its best. You can even invest in revolutionary wearable technology -for example, My Skin Track UV by La Roche-Posay.— which can measure the harmful effects your skin is exposed to on a daily basis and develop personalized recommendations based on the results.

get faces

If it's within your budget, schedule a visit to the spa or dermatologist once a month (or every few months) for a personalized facial or chemical peel. Here a professional will assess your skin needs and give you personalized advice and Attention. Don't worry if you have sensitive skin. We have compiled a comprehensive guide to chemical peels for women with more subtle tendencies, here!

Annual Skin Care

While the last two steps don't need to be done often, doing them once a year can make all the difference!

Clean up your routine

Once a year, take inventory of your food collection and throw away any that have passed. Don't know when to quit? We asked board certified dermatologist and Skincare.com consultant Dr. Michael Kaminer to share the rule of thumb when it comes to throwing away beauty products.

Schedule a skin check

If an annual full body skin check isn't part of your routine, it's time to do so. Check your skin regularly for new or changing blemishes to catch skin cancer as early as possible. We share everything you can expect from your first full body skin check here