Everyone needs the same basic ingredients to obtain healthy, younger, smoother, and breakout-free skin. We can’t stress this enough. As we explain in Chapter 3, Skin Type vs. Skin Concern, all skin types—and we mean ALL skin types—need the same vitally important skincare ingredients, which include antioxidants, skin-repairing ingredients (sometimes called barrier-repair ingredients or skin-identical ingredients), and cell-communicating ingredients. Each of these is mandatory, and we mean imperative, if you are to obtain the best skin of your life, and that goes for everyone on the face of the earth.
Knowing how to balance the needs of your skin type with the needs of your skin concerns is how you create the best skincare routine possible. Identifying skin type is the first part of putting together a great skincare routine because your skin type determines the kinds of product textures you should be using for your core skincare routine. Cleanser, toner, exfoliant, moisturizer, and sunscreen are the core skincare products everyone needs with the basic ingredients we mentioned above, but depending on your skin type they will have different textures (which we explain in the next rule).
Once you understand that aspect of skincare, the next step is to determine what skin concerns you have, which can be one or a combination of problems such as skin discolorations, breakouts, wrinkles, uneven skin tone, very dry skin, very oily skin, acne, blackheads, sun damage, and so on. These concerns will determine what additional treatment products you may need. Balancing the core products you need for your skin type with the treatment products you need for your skin concerns are the pieces of the puzzle whose answers will enable you to create the best skincare routine for you.
Product texture is everything. Now that you know everyone needs the same fundamental, crucial ingredients for their skin (antioxidants, skin-re-pairing ingredients, and cell-communicating ingredients) the next step is to understand how skin type determines the texture of the products you need to deliver those ingredients to your skin.
In short, as mentioned above, the texture of a product is determined by your skin type. That means if you have normal to dry skin, you should generally be using lotion- to cream-textured products. If you have very dry skin, you should be using very emollient, richly textured products. If you have normal to oily/combination skin, you should be using only gels, liquids, lightweight serums, or thin-textured lotions. If you have very oily skin all over, liquids and gels will probably feel the best. The same vital ingredients should be present, but the products should have different textures based on skin type.
Treatment products that address your skin concerns should have lighter-weight textures because they are inserted into your core skincare routine.
Layering products can make all the difference. It is possible to maintain and achieve great skin with a relatively simple skincare routine, but that’s true only if you have few or no skincare problems or concerns. If you are not one of those lucky few, than layering skincare products can make all the difference in the world. We describe layering more in Chapter 3, but for now just be aware that specialty treatment products for advanced sun damage, oily areas, rosacea, extremely dry skin, breakout-prone skin, blackheads, and many other problems will require a more advanced skincare routine.
Diet plays a role. It’s hard to have the best skin of your life without paying attention to your diet. Ample research shows how an unhealthy diet loaded with sugars, processed foods, saturated animal fats, and too much alcohol are all pro-aging for your body and for your skin. A poor diet can even make acne-prone skin worse, because so many foods that aren’t good for us cause inflammation. When it comes to skin aging, the damage may not show up when you’re young, but the calamity for skin is certain if you keep eating an unhealthy diet—in the long run your skin will pay for it. On the other hand, a diet rich in antioxidants, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, whole grains, and many other healthy food groups, can be anti-aging and anti-acne. Without question your skin, heart, and your entire body will thank you for it.
Sunscreen. By the end of this book you will surely be tired of hearing this, but nothing is as vital as sun protection. Despite the abundant research showing how damaging unprotected sun exposure is and how tanning causes irreparable harm to skin, less than 20% of the population wears sunscreen on a regular basis (which just causes our jaws to hit the floor). That’s why we keep repeating this: Sunscreen is a cornerstone of getting the best skin of your life now and forever!
Chapter 3
Skin Type vs. Skin Concern
One of the more confusing aspects of developing an effective skincare routine is finding products that work for your skin type and that also address your skin concerns. It’s important to understand exactly what you should be using for each (skin type and skin concern) and why. Here’s how it works.
Skin type is the primary feel of your skin: how dry, oily, combination (meaning oily in some areas dry in others), or normal it is (normal meaning neither oily nor combination nor dry, just normal). Some people would add sensitive skin as a skin type, but because the research shows that skin is reactive to the environment and to everything we apply to it, whether we feel it or not, everyone truly has sensitive skin and must treat it as such.
Once you’ve determined what your skin type is and you know whether it’s normal, dry, oily, or combination, you can then determine what type of products you will need for your core skincare routine. You must look for products that are identified as being appropriate for your skin type. Products for the core routine include cleansers, toners, exfoliants, moisturizers, and sunscreens. These products, with textures appropriate for your skin type, will meet the basic needs of your skin every day of your life. Creamy, rich-textured products will be best for dry skin, lotions for normal skin, and gels and watery serums or liquids for oily/combination skin.
Next, identify your skin concerns so you can add the appropriate treatment products to address those needs. The most typical skin concerns are wrinkles, loss of firmness, brown spots, red spots, sun damage, advanced sun damage, blackheads, acne, occasional breakouts, rough skin, patches of flaky skin, redness, rosacea, keratosis pilaris, and sebaceous hyperplasia.
Because you will use your treatment products in conjunction with your core skincare routine, the textures of the treatment products should generally be lighter weight so as to not feel heavy on skin. They can be absorbent serums, liquids, light lotions, or fluids.
Once you’ve determined your skin type along with your skin concerns, you can begin assessing what types of products and formulas you can combine to get the best results.
Not every skin concern will need a separate treatment product because many treatment products can address more than one concern, and sometimes your core skincare routine is just right to achieve unbelievable results. But, the more concerns you have or the more stubborn they are, it can take multiple products to get your skin concerns under control. This is especially true if you’re dealing with multiple concerns, such as breakouts, wrinkles, advanced sun damage, and skin discolorations.
To sum up: If you have oily/combination skin, you should be using products with a liquid, gel, lightweight serum or thin, matte-finish lotion texture. If you have dry skin, you should be using rich emollient creams and lotions. If you have normal skin, the product textures you should be looking for are soft-feeling lightweight lotions.
Keeping these factors in mind, use them as your guideline to assemble a skincare routine that addresses your skin’s everyday needs. Your skin type is the basis for a routine that should include a cleanser, toner, AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) or BHA (beta hydroxy acid) exfoliant, daytime moisturizer with sunscreen, and a moisturizer without sunscreen for use at night.
Now that you have your basic routine, it’s time to identify your skin concerns and determine what additional targeted treatment products, if any, are necessary. For example, in some cases, a concern (such as clogged pores) might be handled beautifully by one of the products in your basic skincare routine, such as a BHA exfoliant. However, if you also have brown spots, you’ll want to add a skin-lightening treatment to your regular routine to address the discolorations in a more