What does a skin care routine include and what?

We usually say that the core of a complete skin care process is divided into two parts - daily basic care and periodic special care. However, in recent years, the concept of minimalist skin care has become more and more popular. Many dermatologists and practitioners believe that skin care does not need to be divided into so many modules. As long as the three core steps of cleansing, moisturizing, and sun protection are enough, redundant processes will burden the skin.

Let’s first talk about the daily basic care that everyone is most familiar with. To put it bluntly, it is the skin care actions that you do every morning and evening. There are college students around me who rush to get up to eight in the morning. They wipe their faces with water and apply sunscreen before rushing to the classroom. There are also sophisticated working girls who spend 15 minutes in the morning. From cleansing, refreshing spray, essence, eye cream, lotion to sunscreen, apply them all in order. These two types actually belong to the category of basic care. The core is to meet the daily basic protection and moisturizing needs of the skin. It depends on the person, your skin type and time schedule.

Daily care is the "basic" for maintaining skin condition. If you want to improve some minor problems in a targeted manner, you need to use periodic special care. For example, I have oily skin, and my T-zone is prone to blackheads in the summer. I spend 10 minutes every week applying a cleansing mud mask to cleanse the oil plugs in my pores. My colleagues with dry skin rarely cleanse, but apply intensive repairing medical masks twice every two weeks to hydrate the skin. Some girls go for photorejuvenation or hydration injections every 1 to 2 months to improve dullness or dryness. These care items that do not need to be done every day and have a specific frequency fall into the category of special care.

Oh, by the way, as for whether to break down such a detailed care process, people with different skin types actually have very different experiences. I used to have a friend with sensitive skin. I always thought that the more comprehensive the skin care routine, the better. I bought a bunch of whitening, anti-aging, and anti-acne essences and applied them every day. Within half a month, my cheeks became red and stinging. I went to see a dermatologist and was asked to stop all functional products. She used only mild amino acid cleansing + repairing cream + physical sunscreen every day. After persisting for less than a month, her skin returned to stability. She is now a typical advocate of minimalist skin care. When she meets everyone, she says that too many skin care steps are not accurate, and that a process that is not suitable for her is a burden.

In fact, after all, there is no standard answer to the skin care process. Whether it is divided into two major modules to do a complete set, or just stick to three core steps, as long as the skin condition is comfortable and stable, it is a good process for you.