Just the Tips: Morning Skincare Routine
*Disclaimer: I hope you know I’m not REALLY a doctor, even though I play one on social media, and nothing in this post should be considered medical advice. For any medical treatment, please seek out someone who actually has a medical license.
Oh, also, this post contains affiliate links, which makes my ability to do shit like this possible. If you make a purchase through these links, I may make a commission from it. And I really appreciate it!
Since I walked you through my nighttime skincare routine, I thought it only made sense to also take you through my morning routine. Here’s the thing though - there’s really not as much of a morning routine. And for good reason.
First, many products we use at night (specifically for anti-aging) stimulate cell turnover, which means you want to be cautious about getting sun exposure right after using them. Like, yes, you *could* apply your retinol in the morning, but you better be on your shit about applying and reapplying sunscreen throughout the day.
Second, nighttime is when your whole body is working on healing and repairing and doing all the WERK so you can be gooped and gagged by breakfast time. Your body just doesn’t work the same during the daytime, so it’s not always worth it to apply many products in the morning. Of course, I would never miss a chance to throw an affiliate link your way, so I’ve got a mini-routine I do that I’ll walk you through today.
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I’m going to admit something controversial, yet brave: I do not wash my face in the morning. There’s a few schools of thought around morning face washing, and you’re welcome to do whatever the fuck works best for you. But I choose not to wash my face for a couple reasons:
All I did was sleep. I’m a nighttime showerer (the only kind to be, imo), so my skin and body are clean when I get into bed. I don’t feel as though my skin needs to be cleaned and stripped of all its good oils first thing in the morning.
I applied a lot of expensive shit to my skin before going to bed - why in the absolute hell would I wash all that down the drain less than 12 hours after applying? No…no, I won’t be doing that.
I find that my skin does very well with only one face washing a day, so I stick to that. You can actually watch my full face washing routine on YouTube (spoiler alert: I use oil to wash my face), and while you’re there give it a subscribe, would ya?!?!
So, I don’t wash my face in the morning. What I do do, however, is give it a quick rinse with cold water. This helps give a little shock to my system to help me wake up and also helps to reduce puffiness and water retention in the face. After I pat my face with a clean towel, I move onto my quick routine.
The routine
Following the same methodology as we do with nighttime skincare, I apply my products in order of thinnest to thickest consistency. To that end, I start with my Vitamin C serum.
Retinol is to nighttime skincare as Vitamin C is to morning skincare: they are the GOAT. Vitamin C helps to fight against pigmentation caused by sun exposure, which is why it’s best used in the morning. It not only helps with pigmentation, but also helps reduce fine lines but it will not, I repeat, will NOT get rid of wrinkles. That’s what Botox does, babeeeeeeyyyy!!! Even though I’m the 38-year-in-a-row winner of “Finding Things Wrong With Myself,” I can admit that my issues with pigmentation aren’t that bad. Although tell me that on a day after a breakout clears up and I’ll give you a tongue-lashing so emotionally damaging, your grandkids will need therapy. So, I don’t feel like I see the results of Vitamin C the way some people do (a lot of women with pregnancy-induced melasma swear by it). Glycolic acid works much better for me in this way. Nevertheless, I use it because just in case it could help, I don’t wanna miss out! I’m using this one by Naturium and it’s fine. It’s a good price point and according to people who know more than me, it works really well.
Next, I apply a hydrating serum to help reduce any dry skin my nighttime product might drum up. Hydration is important at any time of day, but I really try to focus on it in the morning because hydrated skin is also the key to making sure your makeup lays down well, and also your haters. It’s also an important element of reducing sebum production in your skin. Often, the reason your skin is producing oil is because it’s dry. WILD, RIGHT?!? Yet another reason I like to oil cleanse. If you find that you’re blotting oil from your face multiple times a day, you might need to look at your product lineup. Chances are, you’re overdrying your skin and not moisturizing enough. The Ordinary Buffet serum is a wonderful all-purpose serum designed to beautifully hydrate your skin without leaving you feeling like you’re covered in vaseline.
I don’t use the caffeine serum every day, but when I do, it really works! Caffeine works in a similar way for the skin as it does for your brain - it sort of perks everything up. The Ordinary Caffeine Solution works so well under eyes, especially if they’re puffy or you have dark circles. But just know it takes more product than you think. You’ll want more like a full dropper full for both under eyes than just one pea size drop. And it can ball up after 20 minutes of applying, so if you are using it, be mindful to wait to do any under eye makeup so you can remove the excess product first.
OBVIOUSLY, I’m gonna talk to you about applying sunscreen in the morning. I rotate through a few different options, depending on the look I’m going for for the day. Some mornings, I don’t want to wear makeup, so I apply Supergoop Glow Screen for an illuminated yet naked look. Some mornings, I want a little more coverage, and I’ll use my EltaMD tinted sunscreen. But a lot of mornings, especially at 6 AM just for my morning walk before I get fully ready for the day, I’ll use this Pacifica Collagen moisturizer with SPF. In my experience, it takes a lot of trial and error to find a sunscreen you like, so the best one is the one you actually use.
Last, but certainly not least, my absolute favorite, can’t-live–without DHC eye patches. I wear a pair almost every morning, and the only reason it’s not every morning is because I run out of them before my next Subscribe and Save delivery shows up. I should really change the frequency on that thing! I put these on right after I wake up and before I go on my morning walk. Yes, I wear them outside the house and yes, people see me in them, and no, I don’t give a flying fuck. There’s a lot of things that help reduce your overnight face and eye puffiness, including…just being awake and moving around, but I really believe these help mitigate some of the initial puffiness and also provide a good hit of moisture to a very sensitive and aging-prone area of the face. I wear them for about 30 minutes, but never more than 40 minutes, because they do start to dry out. The DHC patches are very large and self-adhesive so they stay exactly where you want them. I’m actually obsessed with these and will never stop talking about them.
And that’s it, y’all! It’s not much, but it’s just enough to ensure I’m getting the biggest bang for my buck with my more thorough night routine.
Coming next: devices and tools I use for my skin! I’m talking microneedling, LED light masks, face rollers, and even facial massage!
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