The Skin Care ¦ Basic Skin Care Routine For Beginners

Skin Care can be a minefield if you don't know where you going. Over the past few years skin care has really exploded throughout the blogging world and even outside of bloggers. The drugstore have really stepped up their game and have started to release some super cool products. With that, it can be pretty confusing knowing where to start if you're fairly new to skin care. I know that when I started I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't have an older sister to teach me and my mum doesn't have a routine so I was fairly lost. Through trial and experimentation I have found what my skin likes and what it dislikes and what you need in a routine. I want to stress that this is a routine that has worked for me; I experiment a lot and switch up my routine constantly but this is just a basic routine to get you started. Take from this what you will, but I'm basically giving you the skeleton and you gotta flesh it our for yourselves!

1/ MAKE-UP REMOVER

To start off with you need a BASIC cleanser to remove your make-up. This can be in any form you wish: cleansing water, make-up wipes or you could even miss this step and just go straight to your cleanser. The whole point about a skin care routine is that it's tailored to YOUR SKIN. I cannot stress that enough. For removing my make-up I like the Simple Face Wipes, Garnier Micellar Water and Simple Eye Make-Up Remover. The drugstore, supermarkets etc do so many versions of this now so you just gotta find what works for you.

2/CLEANSER

After you remove your make-up you've got to cleanse your skin. Just because the make-up is gone doesn't mean your skin is clean. You need something to purify, clean out your pores and get any spots you may have missed. This is where the cleaning really takes place. I like the Simple Cleanser and No 7 Cleansers. I'm not too picky at this stage. Cleansers are quite personal so whatever works at making your skin feel good, go for it. Don't be afraid to not like something.

3/TONER/REFRESHER

This is where you refresh your skin and inject a little bit of life back into it. This stage also helps to really make sure your make-up has gone. This is probably the most frivolous part of my routine, I don't think I've ever stuck to just one toner in my life. Currently I'm using a tea tree water concoction that I made but Simple and Garnier do some really nice ones. And if you're feeling a little bit flash Omorovicza do a rather luxurious one.

4/ SERUM

Serums can be quite a crucial part to your routine. This is the product that has first contact with your skin so it's real important you get this one right. Personally, I don't use a serum these days. I haven't found one that I love and that's affordable. It's very important you get a product that caters to your needs; if you have dehydrated/dry skin get a hydrating serum. Even if you have acne prone skin you may need to get a hydrating serum. I recommend going to see a dermatologist or some sort of skin-care expert to see what your skin type is so you can buy products accordingly. I really rate Hydraluron for this step.

5/MOISTURISER/OIL

This is the barrier for your skin. During the day you're going to want to use something with an SPF to really protect your skin from the elements. I like the Soap and Glory Youthful SunShield, but any SPF that works for you is fine. You just need something that has at least SPF 30 in it, and protects from UVA and UVB filters. I also like the Simple moisturiser for day. For night, this isn't necessary. At night is when you want your skin to breathe, you want it to be rejuvenated for the next day. It's totally personal preference whether you use a moisturiser or oil here. I say don't use an oil for day just because make-up won't sit well underneath it, but for night you want something to really get working on the surface and underneath. I don't like oils but to be honest I haven't experimented much with them. As a night moisturiser I like something that's thick, really sinks in and injects my skin with moisture. Nivea and Simple do a really good one. It's also a common misconception that because you have oily skin you don't need a moisturiser but YOU DO! Your skin could be dehydrated, this makes something under your skin produce more oil because it senses that your skin is dry, so a good moisturiser is essential!

6/EXTRAS

SCRUB - A good scrub or chemical exfoliator is necessary at removing all the dead skin cells and letting you skin heal over better. If you have acne scarring or dark spots this is an essential step for you as the exfoliators will get to work at renewing the cells. I haven't tried chemical exfoliators as I'm a true fan of using a manual scrub. I'm not picky when it comes to scrubs, they're all a much of a muchness for me so it's up to you.

FACE MASK - I also think having a good clarifying face mask and a good hydrating face mask are essential in any kit. You need something to really draw out all of the impurities of the skin at the end of the week, especially if you wear make-up the majority of the week. A hydrating mask is always handy to have because we all get dry skin in the winter!

EYE CREAM - Eye creams are personal, if you're a teen then it's a good chance you don't need an eye cream. I'm nearly 19 and I've been using an eye cream for 5 years just to get myself into the routine of it. If you want an eye cream or have a dry eye area I recommend the Simple one.

SPOT TREATMENT - Spot treatments also fall into this category. We all get that one nasty spot that comes up when we least expect it and to battle this I use tea tree oil. There are plenty of spot treatments on the market so take your pick!