AM & PM Skincare Guides

Whether you’re looking to start a skincare routine or to revamp your current regimen, you’ve likely got some questions! For example: How many products do I need to use? Which ones are right for my skin? Which order should I be applying them? What do these products even do? We get it, skincare can be confusing! 

To get the most benefit from your skincare regimen, follow these steps daily: cleanse, tone, prevent, treat, hydrate, exfoliate, and protect. Most people are familiar with cleansing, moisturizing, and exfoliating, but what does "treating" your skin actually entail? It means using serums and creams that are chock full of ingredients like vitamin-C, vitamin-A, AHA’s & BHA’s, hyaluronic acid, antioxidants, EPG’s, and more! Adding a few additional steps between cleansing and moisturizing is really important. It can make a huge difference in not only the appearance of your skin but how quickly it will age. Below, we offer a step-by-step skincare routine to use as a blueprint for your own regimen, with product recommendations. Keep in mind that everyone's skin is different, so adjust based on factors like lifestyle, age and current skin conditions.

AM Routine

Step 1 - Cleanse

Cleanse the skin with an appropriate facial cleanser. If your skin is oily or prone to breakouts, opt for foaming cleanser. If your skin is dry, dehydrated, or sensitive, choose a cream or oil-based cleanser. DO NOT use body wash, soaps, or other cleansing agents as they’re too alkaline and strip the skin of its natural moisturizing factors.

Step 2 - Toning

an often-overlooked step but absolutely necessary for product penetration and/or removing excess oil from the skins surface. Oily/Acneic skin will benefit from a degreasing toner that has ingredients like salicylic acid, which helps remove sebum and dead skin cells. Normal to combination skin types should look for spray toners full of hydrators and antioxidants. Our skin is hydrophilic which means it loves water and is waterproof! When the skin is hydrated it does a much better job of protecting us from environmental assault. Water is both a performance and functional ingredient and can significantly increase product penetration.

Step 3 - Prevent

visible aging and UV damage with powerful antioxidant serums. Antioxidants protect against free radical damage known to cause skin aging. The anti-aging benefits of antioxidants are due primarily to their anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation is a leading cause of skin aging and regular use of topical antioxidants combined with UV protection has been demonstrated to slow down skin aging, reduce inflammation, and improve the skins overall appearance.

Step 4 - Moisturize/Hydrate

all skin, regardless of skin type, needs hydration. Cleansing removes structural lipids from the skins surface. Lipids are incredibly important as they help to comprise the skins NMF’s (natural-moisturizing-factors). In a dryer skin condition lipids help to fill in the spaces between cells increasing the skins protective properties. In an oiler/acneic skin type moisturizer helps to replace lost surface hydration and prevent the skin from overproducing oil. Heavier moisturizers create more occlusion making them a terrific option for dryer skin while light weight moisturizers provide more breathability and are a better option for oily/combination skin. In a truly acneic skin that is overproducing large amounts of sebum an oil free hydrator that contains hyaluronic acid is a great choice to keep skin smooth and supple.

Step 5 - Protect

skin daily with an SPF 30 or higher. All skin, regardless of color, needs protection. The hype you’ve heard about darker complexions not needing sunscreen is absolutely false. Darker skin has more built in protection in the form of melanin but that doesn’t mean it’s safe from skin cancer, sunburns, or free radical damage. 80-99% of visible aging is caused from UV exposure so unless you want Father Time marching right across your lovely face, use sunscreen! The SPF number isn’t nearly as important as the amount and frequency that you apply. A minimum of SPF 30 should be used every 90-120 minutes while skin is exposed to UV light and more often if you’re swimming or perspiring excessively. Hate the dreaded sunscreen reapplication? Considering adding a mineral powder as the last step in your skincare regimen. Due to the non-aqueous nature of mineral powders, they don’t metabolize on the skin as quickly and can provide UV protection for up to 8 hours!

PM Routine

Step 1 - Double Cleanse

to remove dirt, makeup, sunscreen, and environmental toxins from the skins surface. Start with a cream or oil-based cleanser to loosen surface debris and massage into skin for 1-2 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and administer your second cleanse using a foaming cleanser. Foaming cleansers will remove excess oil from the skins surface allowing your treatment products to penetrate more effectively. Consider using a treatment cleanser that contains AHA, BHA, or exfoliating beads.

Step 2 - Toner

use an appropriate toner for your skin type and condition. A spray toner will provide extra hydration and allow your skin care products to work more effectively. A wipe on toner helps to remove excess oil that can impede ingredients like Vitamin-A and Salicylic Acid from penetrating into the deeper layer of the skin.

Step 3 - Exfoliating

daily with a chemical, physical, or enzymatic exfoliant can help keep skin smooth and supple but only if your skin is not compromised!  Exfoliating compromised skin will lead to further irritation causing the skin to age faster. We often tell our patients that their skin will tell them a story; red and irritated equates to angry and reactive. Use common sense, exfoliating removes surface skin cells and if your skin is irritated or inflamed it shouldn’t be exfoliated.

Step 4 - Treat

with ingredients like Epidermal Growth Factors and Retinoids. Epidermal-growth-factors (EFG’s) are polypeptides that significantly speed up wound healing. EGF’s stimulate skin growth at the deepest cellular level and are most promising for their healing and restorative properties. Studies have also shown that EGF’s increase collagen production and thicken the epidermis. Retinoids (tretinoin, a.k.a. trans-retinoic acid) have been well documented and widely used for their skin thickening and rejuvenating effects. They have a multitude of benefits, which include: cell growth and differentiation, sebum regulation, collagen and elastin synthesis, and reduction of telomere shortening.

Step 5 - Moisturize

with a heavier weight moisturizer in the evenings. How you apply moisturizer and the type of product you use matter more than you may think. Sure, slathering on a bunch of cream and calling it a day is better than nothing but to get your smoothest, softest, brightest skin you’ll want to use the heaviest moisturizer your skin can tolerate without causing congestion. When skin is moisturized, it's plumper, smoother, and it looks years younger. We call that a win-win!

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Want a customized skincare routine? Not sure where to start? Book a skin consultation with our Aesthetician! Call us at 415.409.6500 or book online!

To learn more, contact our San Francisco office and call us at 415.409.6500.