How good is your skincare routine?

Every week I meet new clients and every week I am amazed at how many ladies don’t have a good, regular skincare routine in place to protect skin and give it what it needs to do its best for you. I have developed a very practised ‘not horrified’ face, but really ladies - I am horrified!

These ladies (and gentlemen, of course) have come to my skincare clinic, DPC Clinic, because they are concerned with the way their skin is ageing and want a youth-boost. Yes, I can supply a youth boost through many and varied methods, but really - at least meet me halfway here! Any skin treatment I can do for you, from laser to needling to injectables, will be far more effective and have far more impact (and make you far happier) if the skin we are working with is as hydrated, exfoliated and generally loved as it can be. Indeed, I often send customers away with strict instructions to get themselves really embedded into a daily (and nightly) skincare routine before they come back and see me for a treatment. Fresh, glowing skin speaks for itself, and anything we do in terms of youth-boost will be vastly enhanced (and much better value) when we’re working with healthy, loved skin.

When I ask these clients why their skincare routine isn’t so great, there are two answers I hear every time: “I don’t have time” and “it’s all very confusing, I don’t really know what’s best for my skin.”

Well, as to point one: make time! Ten minutes in the morning and at night will make a vast difference. I look on it as mental self-care as much as physical self-care. It’s my ten minutes which is all about me. I can drift off into a semi-meditative state, while feeding my skin all the love it needs to perform at its best. Win win.

For point two - I hear you! There is SO much information out there it’s hard to know where to start. Of course, for my clients we can sit and work out a skincare routine on that first visit, write it down and explain not only the whats, but the whys. I also do telephone consultations for customers just discovering, or expanding their collection of, SkinGoal - what, why and when all sorted with ease.

I believe every woman and man should understand the basics of good skincare, however, whether they are a client or not, so here’s my guide to a starter skincare routine that will have a visible benefit to the skin, and make you feel good, too.

Morning skincare routine

Now, you can if you choose go down the rabbit hole of the whole Korean 10-Step skincare routine, but for most this is at least seven steps too far! I prefer to start people on an easy three step skincare routine to follow each morning, which takes barely ten minutes but pays dividends all day.

Three step skincare routine

Cleanse

In an earlier post I talked about the Double Cleanse, which I do recommend for those ladies who wear full makeup every day. It’s not absolutely necessary however, if you maintain a decent nighttime routine, which I shall come to in a moment!

Cleansing skin serves to strip away dirt, dead cells and oily residues, leaving clean and clear skin that will respond better to your skincare products.

In the morning, what we are seeking to achieve is to clear away the remains of the night cream you applied eight hours ago, and lift away any dead cells that could be blocking a clear run to your skin. I know my clients are time-poor, so a cleanse followed by an exfoliate isn’t always what my clients want, so I developed my fabulous Prep Wash gel for just this purpose. Not only does it lift away any oily residues from your night cream, but it has a very gentle exfoliating action, due to the inclusion of AHAs (Alpha Hydroxy Acids), that lift away the dead cells your skin produces every day.

Why is it important to exfoliate? As we age, our skin’s normal processes slow down - new cells are produced, but less efficiently, and dead cells slough off, but less efficiently. By proactively lifting those dead cells, dirt and oil from our skin, we not only reveal the healthier, newer skin cells below, but actively encourage more production of those skin cells. Back in the day an abrasive exfoliator was the only option, but these are not great for sensitive skins and also many are made using those evil little microplastics that then go into our waterways and to the sea. No thank you very much! AHAs, BHAs and retinols (more later) a gentle, smarter alternatives and there’s a solution for every skin type.

Serum

You were expecting me to say ‘tone’, then weren’t you! I do have a smashing toner I recommend for older, more sensitive skins, but I promised you a three step skincare routine, so here it is.

Serums are boost skin with a flood of one single, highly beneficial ingredient and you choose your serum according to your most urgent need. For most people, this is hydration. We are pretty rubbish at hydrating ourselves as much as we should, and (yes, again!) as we age our skin is less efficient at producing our natural hydrator - hyaluronic acid, HA.

HA is a naturally produced substance known for its incredible ability to hold moisture, and perhaps the most vital ingredient in our skin’s matrix - hydrated skin is more efficient at doing what it’s designed to do: produce fresh new skin cells, produce lovely bouncy collagen and lovely stretchy elastine, all of which is needed to get that fresh glow we all seek. It also boosts skin’s outer layers, softening wrinkles, deleting fine lines and giving softer, smoother skin. WE LOVE HA! One of the very first serums I created was my Power HA, and if you want just one power product in your lineup, this is it.

There are of course other options you can add to your three steps. In summer I absolutely recommend my Vitamin C serum, Serum C, or for those heading to sun-filled holidays, the Power AOX serum. If you want to learn more about the benefits of Vitamin C, check out this post.

For sensitive skin, my Serum Serene is wonderful, and for breakout-prone skin, my Serum L is deesigned just for you.

Moisturise

We need to do two things for our clean skin - hydrate (as in feed the skin moisture-boosting HA) and moisturise. Hydration feeds the skin’s lower layers, and moisturising lubricates the skin to prevent moisture from escaping, leaving skin feeling soft and supple all day. I recommend my Cream Solar SPF 20 for daily, daytime use. It’s great for blocking those nasty UVA and UVB rays indoors, and for brief forays outside, but really if you spend a lot of time outside, you need to apply an SPF of at least 30, and preferably 50.

Yes, I am aware this is a fourth step, but it’s one to take when you head outdoors, not necessary every morning as part of your routine! Try my Solar 50, it’s lovely and light and will keep your skin safe and moisturised even on a very sunny day,

Nighttime skincare routine

Hurrah - here I am quite happy to recommend just a two step routine, cleanse and moisturise!

At the end of the day your skin has dealt with internal and external stresses, from lack of water (you know what you need to do) to cortisol (the stress hormone) to dirt and pollution and the sun. So we need to treat it gently and give it a good feed, just as if it were a delicate blossom.

Cleanse

At night you want a gentle but powerful cleanser that lifts away makeup without dragging on your skin, and leaves it feeling soft and smooth and ready to be hydrated.

My solution to this need is my Prep Cleanse. When designing this I had nighttime gentleness in mind, so not only does it gently clean the day away, but contains anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory ingredients to settle skin down, and even boosts the production of collagen. Quick and easy to use, you’ll love how your skin feels afterward.

Moisturise

At night, your skin wakes up and gets busy responding to the day’s stresses, becoming more active in skin cell repair and regeneration than during daylight hours. This makes it the ideal time to feed skin, providing everything it needs to be at its most efficient best. I recommend you choose a night cream that works in harmony with your skin - helping skin push away dead cells while boosting collagen and elastin production by giving it what it needs for the production of new skin cells. For this I developed Cream Revive - it has masses of fabulous skin reviving ingredients, and is really beautiful for menopausal skin, which can often be sensitive. Click here to read my blog all about it!

So there you go - establishing a quick, easy yet powerful skincare routine is as easy as 123. No more excuses, it’s time to start taking care of that most valuable and visible asset, your skin.

Love, Penny xxx