Skincare Without the Twelve-Step Guilt Trip

At my most enthusiastic, my skincare routine had eleven steps. Eleven. I had serums for my serums. I had a spreadsheet. I’m not proud of the spreadsheet.

My skin, meanwhile, was furious with me. Turns out putting eleven different things on your face every night is less “self-care” and more “chemistry experiment with no supervision.”

The boring basics actually work

Here’s what most dermatologists will tell you, and what took me far too long and far too much money to accept. The foundation of good skincare is boring.

Cleanse gently. Not until your face squeaks. Squeaky is not a texture you want.

Moisturise. Every skin type, oily included, usually does better with some moisture.

Wear sunscreen. Every day. Yes, even if you have deeper skin. Yes, even when it’s cloudy. Yes, even if you’re indoors by a window all day. This is the one I’d fight you on.

Now here’s what most dermatologists didn’t tell me: The foundation for skincare is diet.. at least it was for me and many women around me. What you eat shows on your skin…

That’s the core. Everything else is optional.

Add slowly, if at all

If you want to try an active ingredient, add one at a time and give it a few weeks before you judge it. If you add five things at once and your skin reacts, you’ll have no idea which one was the villain.

Patch test new products. Read the instructions. Don’t layer every exfoliating acid you own on the same night. Your skin barrier is not a dartboard.

Your skin is not a failure

Skin does things. It breaks out, it gets dry, it has texture, it changes with your cycle, your stress levels, the weather and how much sleep you got. The filtered, poreless faces on your feed are not real skin. Real skin has pores. You’re allowed to have them.

If you’re dealing with persistent acne, pigmentation, eczema or anything that’s affecting your confidence or your comfort, a dermatologist will save you more money than another round of trial-and-error products.

The routine you’ll actually do

The best skincare routine is the one you’ll still do at 11pm when you’re exhausted and slightly annoyed at the world.

For me, that’s three steps. I deleted the spreadsheet. My skin and I are on speaking terms again.

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