MORNING
During the day your skin occupies itself with warding of external aggressors (like pollution and the sun’s harmful rays), so choose products that team-up with this cycle to treat and defend.
If you’re living in a major city it’s important to use products that address high pollution indexes. A good way to deliver these ingredients to your skin is via a fine textured serum, as they absorb quickly and are able to penetrate the skin’s layers. But serums aren’t moisturising enough to be the final step in your routine – you need hydration and SPF too.
Your day cream should fulfill the role of a shield – except for around your eye area, where using a lightweight eye product is preferable. For pollution-protection, seek out a day cream that uses Acai plant stem cell extract that’s packed with antioxidants, boosts hydration and targets free radicals. And don’t forget your SPF, many day creams will contain SPF15 and above, but check the label just in case.
AFTERNOON
Sitting at a screen all day may be doing more harm to your skin then you realize. A relatively new field of study, it’s thought that HEV (high energy visible rays) emitted from your phone and computer may cause fine lines, sagging, hyper-pigmentation and redness – also known as the signs of ageing.
During the day, boost your skin’s natural protection process by redelivering antioxidants to it via a spray-on toner (like this one by Ecobeauty). And as oil production naturally peaks in the afternoon, leading to an oily T-zone, keep some blotting papers in your purse for this time of the day.
EVENING
We all know how a lack of sleep affects our moods, but it also impacts our skin health too, speeding up ageing and inflammation. That’s why good skin health relies so heavily on a good night’s sleep – while you rest, your skin get’s to work.
Cleansing should be a well-established step in your evening skin care routine – it’s essential for removing makeup and oil that builds-up during the day. You’ll find that many toners contain a combination of hydroxy acids (like salicylic, glycolic or lactic for example) that help stimulate cell renewal, as do serums, like those by NovAge Ecollagen and True Perfection. By gobbling up dead skin cells, these hardworking products boost the repair process that happens whilst it’s dark.
And as dehydration peaks as you sleep, a rich night cream that delivers moisture to the skin, and protects from the natural breakdown of collagen is a must.