Basic Skin Care Routine

Many people think that having a daily skin care routine will take up too much of their time and will involve jars and jars of potions and complex steps.

Contrary to popular notions, an effective skin care regime need not be at all time-consuming. In fact, it can be done within a matter of minutes even for beginners. However, the rewards for spending these few minutes each day are immense.

Below is an outline of a basic skin care routine which everyone can benefit from:

Step 1: Cleansing (Twice daily) Time required: 1 to 2 minutes

Cleansing is the most fundamental step in your skin care routine. No matter what kind of condition your skin is in, be sure to use a gentle cleanser that will not leave behind greasy residues or dry out your skin. Avoid using soap to wash your face as facial skin is more sensitive because soap is very drying to the skin. This applies especially to fragile, acne-prone skin. To save time, facial cleansing can be done while you are in the shower. The entire process should take only 1 or 2 minutes.

Step 2: Toning (Twice daily) Time required: 1 minute

Besides refreshing and balancing your skin, a good facial toner will help to prepare your skin to receive the goodness of skin treatment serums and moisturizers. Always use toners that do not contain any synthetic colors, fragrance or alcohol as these ingredients are bad for the skin. Here’s a tip to applying toners: instead of cotton pads, pour a small amount onto your palms and pat it lightly onto your face and neck until it is completely absorbed by your skin. During the day, toner can be used to keep your skin fresh and rejuvenated.

Step 3: Exfoliating (2 to 3 times a week, at night only) Time required: 1 minute

To keep your skin smooth and clear of excess dead skin cells, it is important to exfoliate your skin regularly. However, as the use of abrasive scrubs can be damaging to the skin over time, we do not encourage using facial scrubs. A better alternative would be to use an exfoliator made up of fruit or flower acids that gently dissolves away dead skin cells and unclog facial pores at the same time. As you can see, we have listed exfoliation as Step 3 after toning. This is because Vitasence exfoliating product, Cell Renewal Serum, has been specially formulated as a leave-on serum that works through the night while you are asleep to support the skin renewal process.

Step 4: Treatment (Twice daily) Time required: 1 to 2 minutes

This is a flexible step which you can adjust to suit your skin’s special needs. E.g. if you have pigmentation, you can start applying your skin whitening serums at this stage. Sometimes, this step may call for more than one products. E.g. if you have pigmentation and fine lines at the same time, you can applying anti-aging serum followed by the whitening treatment. Applying each product should not take up more than a minute of your time.

Step 5: Moisturize (Twice daily) Time Required: 1 minute

Applying a good, light moisturizer helps to ‘seal in’ the goodness of the treatment serum which you have applied in Step 4. However, if your skin is on the oily side, you may find that the treatment products are more than sufficient to keep your skin hydrated. On the other hand, if you have dry, normal skin, an extra dose of moisturizer will keep your skin healthily hydrated all day. To avoid getting breakouts and clogged pores, it is important to choose a moisturizer that is not too heavy.

Step 6: Protection (Once daily, in the morning) Time required: 1 minute

Pigmentation, wrinkles and many other skin problems are the result of accumulated sun exposure. Hence, it is essential to use a good, broad spectrum sunblock that can double up as a light moisturizer during day time. I hope from the brief article here, you can see how in less than 10 minutes twice daily, a good skin care routine will give you healthy, beautiful skin for life.

Coreenna Ong, co-founder of Vitasence, is an expert in the use of Chinese and Western herbal actives in skin care. Her articles have been published in various national newspapers and magazines and she has appeared in numerous TV programs to share her expertise. She has also authored 2 books on beauty and well-being. To learn more about starting your own skin care routine, visitBasic Skin Care Routine