How do I figure out a skin care routine?!

[Adalind]

Hi,

I'm looking for pointers on figuring out a skin care routine... At the moment, it's almost non existent. My skin is hyper sensitive and flairs up constantly. It somehow manages to be dry and patchy in places, oily in others! I'm starting to come out of the baby/ toddler fog and am finding an extra few minutes a day to look after myself but feel clueless as to what would suit my skin! I'm in a budget too so any advice on where to start would be much appreciated

What are you using currently, if anything? Do you know what your sensitivities are/cause the flare ups? Products are difficult to recommend without this knowledge. Also, are you wearing makeup daily?

The most basic of routines would be a cleanser and moisturiser, ideally adding in an SPF at the end but I'd wait with the SPF until you have a cleanser and moisturiser that works for you on account of the sensitivity/flare ups. An exfoliator would help with the dry patches and/or oils but since you're sensitive I'm hesitant to recommend acids (chemical exfoliator) right off the bat, I'm sensitive myself and only use them very rarely because of it. Using your cleanser with a flannel to take it off (use a clean one every day) will work as a very mild physical exfoliator but you'll have to see if it's enough.

Hi botemp,

At the moment, I use a kelkin face wash and vitamin E cream in the morning; just the wash before bed. I use a tinted moisturiser some days but find it tends to clump on my forehead

My skin tends to get red and splotchy all the time, so it never really looks clear or particularly healthy! I was better at taking care of it before the kids but can't seem to get it together since!

I'm not familiar with the Kelkin products so I can't say for certain they're making you skin condition worse or not. The ingredient lists are rather contradictory to their claims of what is and isn't in their products so I'm not even sure if they have the right ingredient lists up on the site or if the claims are false.

Have a look at this thread for more product suggestions, I think you'd benefit from using Cetaphil cleanser (with a flannel), the Superdrug Simply Pure Hydrating serum, and a simple moisturiser suitable for your skin type, can even be almond oil. Focus on your night time routine, cleansing is most important then and should be followed up with moisturising ingredients.You might not benefit from using cleanser both in the AM and PM, water and a flannel only being sufficient for AM so see how you go with that.

Have a look at moogoo for their msm and other moisturisers. Very gentle and soothing, fewer chemical nasties.

I have reactive skin too and never had a single issue with their products

Great, thanks for that botemp! The kelkin moisturiser seems ok but the wash leaves my skin feeling stretched. Will have a look out for Cetaphil. What's the difference between a serum and a moisturiser?

My local chemist stocks the moogoo products apparently so will pop in there this week, thanks Mrst

From my understanding, serums treat particular concerns, whereas moisturisers- erm... moisturise

So you might use different serums on different bits of your face if there are different things going on. Or the same one all over if it's a general concern.

Hope that's right :) serums go straight on the skin after the cleansing/balancing (toning/exfoliating) steps and then moisturiser is the last "pure" skincare step before the skin 'gets dressed' (I like to think!) spf/primer/makeup etc