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Incorporate A Basic Skincare Routine For Glowing Skin

Achieve Your Best Skin with Our Basic Skincare Routine

If you’re ready to improve the quality of your skin, it all starts with a basic skincare routine. Although, with all the information out there, taking care of your skin can sometimes feel overwhelming! Are you supposed to cleanse first or moisturize? Use 3 different products… or 10? 

As experts in skincare, we suggest focusing on 3 key steps for a basic skincare routine and folding in 2 additional steps if you want to specifically focus on anti-aging and banishing wrinkles

Keep reading below to discover our optimal skincare regimen to achieve your best skin yet! 

 

Basic Skincare Routine: 3 Key Steps to Healthy Skin


Though many other blogs and articles floating around will tell you to include a plethora of different skincare products and steps into your daily routine, we recommend sticking with the basics to achieve clear, healthy skin: a cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen. 

 

Step #1: Cleanser

Using a gentle cleanser to wash away makeup, excess oil, sweat, dead skin cells, environmental impurities, and other debris is essential for clean and clear skin. 

Though we recommend using a cleanser twice a day – once in the morning and once at night – if you have skin that’s on the drier side, you can simply wash with plain water in the morning. 

When determining which type to use, it’s best to stick with a hydrating cleanser that’s free of sulfates and fragrances, as both can irritate sensitive skin. 

 

Step #2: Moisturizer 

Once you’ve cleansed your skin, it’s time to follow up with a moisturizer, which keeps your skin soft, hydrated, and radiant. It doesn’t really make a difference whether you have dry or oily skin – a moisturizer is a key to preventing over-drying. This is an especially important step if you suffer from skin disorders such as psoriasis

If you have oily skin and tend to skip moisturizing, your skin will dry out from over-cleansing and naturally begin to produce an overabundance of oil, which can further instigate skin issues like acne and irritation. A quality moisturizer is key for keeping an optimal balance of hydration! 

Similar to a cleanser, it’s best to choose one that’s fragrance-free to reduce the chances of irritation and oil-free to not block pores. Additionally, we recommend choosing a moisturizer with at least one of the following: 

    • Ceramides: strengthens the skin barrier and help retain moisture.
    • Hyaluronic Acid: boosts hydration levels and plumps up the skin for a soft, dewy look

 

Step #3: Sunscreen 

Arguably the most important step in our basic skincare routine, using a daily sunscreen is crucial for protecting your skin. You will not only ward off cosmetic sun damage, like premature aging signs, wrinkles, and sunspots but also prevent skin cancer

Make sure to choose one with a broad spectrum SPF of 30 or higher. Alternatively, you can simply choose a daily moisturizer that has an SPF 30 to cut down on the number of steps in your skincare regimen. 

 

Optional Anti-Aging Skincare Steps


The two following steps are completely optional, but we recommend adding them into your daily skincare routine if your particular skin concern is to prevent or address premature aging signs. 

 

Step #1: Antioxidant Serum


Feeding your skin with an abundance of antioxidants is one of the best ways to fight skin damage and aging signs caused by environmental factors like UV radiation, pollution, and blue light. 

These factors form a little-known by-product called “free radicals,” which are toxic to skin cells and, in turn, cause inflammation and reduce collagen and elastin levels. 

Using a high-quality antioxidant serum helps neutralize these damaging free radicals, as well as brighten, smooth, and firm the skin for a fresh, revitalized complexion! 

While many other dermatologists recommend using an antioxidant serum only in the daytime, we suggest using it twice daily for optimal skin results. 

Apply a thin layer under your moisturizer and sunscreen to fight free radicals in the day, and apply a thin layer before bedtime to fight aging signs as you sleep. 

Choose an antioxidant serum with one of the following ingredients for best anti-aging results: 

      1. Vitamin C
      2. Hyaluronic Acid
      3. Caffeine
      4. Green Tea

 

Step #2: Retinol Cream 


Belonging to the
retinoid family, which is the general term for all vitamin A derivatives, retinol cream is a powerful topical treatment that fires up collagen production and accelerates cell turnover. 

This process has a number of anti-aging benefits: 

    • Reduces wrinkles 
    • Evens out skin tone 
    • Shrinks pore size
    • Improves skin texture
    • Irons out fine lines 


When implementing a retinol cream into your daily skincare routine, it’s crucial to start off slow. Retinol cream can be highly irritating to skin that’s never seen this intense topical treatment before, so take it easy for the first few months!

Try it once a week for a couple of weeks, and then slowly start using more regularly (and that’s only if your skin reacts positively). Don’t worry – you’ll still see results even if you’re using retinol cream in small amounts, as this is an incredibly powerful anti-aging treatment

 

Youthful Skin is Yours

Are you ready to address any fine lines, wrinkles, or aging signs you might have with one of our revolutionary skin treatments? While a basic routine is necessary for everyday skincare, our cosmetic dermatological treatments can help turn back the clock more effectively than just an antioxidant serum or retinol cream! 

Schedule your appointment with one of our board-certified dermatologists today and reclaim your youthful skin. 

Contact the Dermatology and Skin Surgery Center of Wilmington for all of your cosmetic treatments, Mohs surgery, and general dermatology needs. Since 2001, Skin Surgery Center’s fellowship-trained Mohs surgeons and board-certified dermatologists have provided patients with exceptional treatment outcomes. Our professional staff is ready to provide you with the thoughtful, competent care that you deserve in our state-of-the-art facilities. Book your appointment today.

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