My Morning Skincare Ritual

Greetings, my Friends!

Little Background:

I first posted my morning skincare routine back in December 2012, but I thought since I was restarting my blog that I should share my updated routine. For the most part it hasn't changed, but I have added a few things. 

Morning Skincare Ritual:

I don't know about the rest of you, but even on my days off - I don't feel fully awake if I haven't completed my morning skincare ritual. The term "ritual" is new to my lexicon. I always thought of my skincare routine as a routine, but in reading about Asian skincare practices - I noticed that they often used the term ritual when describing the series of steps they take in their skincare practice. 

The term routine implied something that we do everyday because we must, but a ritual implied something that a person savored and cherished. I like this concept. So I would like to use the term ritual hereafter when describing my skincare practices.

One last note - I won't refer to specific products in this post (that will come in later posts). In this post I will focuses on the steps and a brief description of what I look for in each product.

My Ritual:

My morning ritual consists of eight steps broken into four skincare principles: Cleanse (steps 1-3), Treat (steps 4-5), Hydrate (steps 6-7), and Protect (step 8). My morning routine takes 12-15 minutes to complete.

#1. Pre-Cleanse with an Oil-Based Cleanser

Is this step absolutely necessary? Probably not. If you've cleaned your skin properly the night before, then the only thing that should be on your face is dead skin. But I still like to do it. I also find that it wakes me up a little bit as I massage it onto my face.

When choosing an oil based cleanser, I look for two things: consistency and whether it effect my eyes. Exempli Gratia (E.G): Can this oil double as a facial massage oil? And after applying the oil over my eye area, do my eyes sting? Is my vision blurry?

#2. Cleanse: Gentle Foaming Cleanser

Gentle is the key word. The gentler the cleanser, the better. 

When choosing a cleanser for my second cleanse, I only ask myself one thing: is it stripping? If I feel like my face is tight or "squeaky clean," then I know this is too harsh for me. I know some people love this feeling, but for someone like me - with oily or combination/normal skin - these two feelings are a sign that my skin is going to produce more sebum.

#3. Toning Lotion:

The first time I saw the term "toning lotion," I thought "WTF is toning lotion?" In all honesty, I thought it was a translation error, but toning lotions are actually very helpful products. Unlike the typical Western toner which restores the pH balance to your skin (after you've stripped it away during cleansing), toning lotions are the final step to cleansing in the K-Beauty and J-Beauty skincare rituals. They clean your face, tighten pores, prepare your skin to absorb the next product, and hydrate. 

When choosing a toning lotion, I look for one thing: does my next step absorb faster after I use this? Unfortunately, you'll have to try a few products to be able to tell which works best for you, but when you find the right combination - it's incredible.

#4. Essence: 
When choosing an essence, I look for 3 things: stickiness, absorption rate, and effect. Why waste money on something sticky (which I hate), or sits on my skin and doesn't absorb for 20 minutes, or does nothing.

What is an essence? An essence is a liquid (similar to toner in texture and appearance) that has a high-dose of active ingredients which hydrates, smoothes, preps your skin for treatments, and treats wrinkles. 

#5. Treatments:

This step varies depending on the day, but I always use an antioxidant. If I'm noticing hyperpigmentation, then I use spot treatments. If my skin looks dull, then I use skin brighteners. This step requires me to listen to my skin and to go with my gut.

#6. Eye Cream:

I used to do this step after my moisturizer, but I've recently switched to doing it before. Just like the previous step, this step tends to depend on what my eyes need. While I always use an eye cream I'm constantly treating different things - hydration, fine lines, dark circles, and on occasion - puffiness. 

When I choosing an eye cream, I look for two things: consistency and the reaction to my skin. E.G. Does my skin burn when I apply it? Do my eyes water? Do I notice a difference to my eyes in the first 2 weeks?

#7. Moisturizer:

This is simple - I need a moisturizer that hydrates without making my skin greasy. 

When I am choosing a morning moisturizer, I look for three things: consistency, absorption, and finish. These three criteria are the things that you will notice are reoccurring themes in my product reviews of morning moisturizers because of how important they are to me.

#8. Sunscreen:

This step is often combined with my morning moisturizing step as many of my morning moisturizers have SPF in them, but I still consider this it's own step. A lot of people argue that sunscreen provides moisture to your skin and you don't need moisturizer, but I say - it depends. If you find a product that can both hydrate and protect - use it! But don't assume because they look similar that they perform the same function. Moisturizer is a hydrating product and sunscreen is a protecting product. You only need to apply morning moisturizer once a day, but you should apply your sunscreen every few hours. When you take that into account - your sunscreen's consistency and how it is applied should really matter. E.G. Who wants to put a thick creamy sunscreen (that both moisturizes and hydrates) on your face again mid-morning over your make-up? My guess is not too many. 

When I choose a sunscreen, I look for three things: Whether it interferes with my other products, does it burn my skin, and the finish. Nothing is worse (in my opinion) than going through all of the steps above and putting on my sunscreen only to watch my moisturizer and other products begin pilling (the small balls of product on your face that begin rubbing off) as I wipe the product on. Or if I finish and I look in the mirror to see my face is shiny.

Well that's it. I hope this helps and again - let me know if you have any questions.

Happy New Years Day! Don't forget to eat some black-eyed peas for good luck.

JessiPedia