How to Build a Skincare Routine

While genetics play a big part in healthy skin, the products you place on your face are just as important—if not more so. But which skincare formulas are important and right for you? To uncover the answers to these questions, we compiled this know-all guide on how to build a skincare routine. From identifying your skin type and the most vital skincare steps to the products and techniques to elevate your daily routine, here’s everything you need to know about building your perfect skincare routine.

Building Blocks of a Skincare Routine

Complicated multi-step skincare regimens have been in vogue for over a decade now, but recently there has been a focus on getting back to the basics. After all, you truly need just a few products to create an effective skincare routine. We believe in the ancient art of purifying, polishing, plumping, nourishing, and protecting your happiest, healthiest-looking skin—no matter your skin type. When building a skincare routine, start with these 5 components.

Purify

Arguably, the most important step in building your skincare ritual is cleansing with the best cleanser for your skin type. This vital step is not just about rushing through the purification process, but actually taking the time to carefully and thoroughly cleanse for cleaner, healthier-looking skin. The trick to learning to love cleansing and transforming the mundane cleanse into a mindfulness ritual is to embrace the Japanese concept of kiyome, which translates to purification. This belief can act as not only a physical cleanse, but also an emotional one, allowing the cleansing process to be an act of letting go.

Polish

Choosing the best exfoliator is another crucial step in building your skincare routine. While exfoliation may seem like a modern technique, geishas have been using komenuka, known as Japanese rice bran, to polish the skin for centuries.

The main benefit of exfoliating is to remove dead skin cells from the surface of your skin, which can be accomplished by using a physical or chemical exfoliant and helps the rest of your products achieve their maximum potential. Chemical exfoliants are acids that dissolve the bonds that hold dead skin cells together and the most common forms are AHA and BHA. Physical exfoliants, or exfoliating scrubs, mechanically buff off dead skin cells. They often contain, as the name suggests, physical ingredients, like rice bran, to buff skin.

Plump

When simplifying or building a routine, choosing products that have multiple uses is helpful. One of the most multi-use arsenals in your skincare ritual is an essence. A classic Japanese skincare ritual has long featured these “beauty waters”, known for their ability to soften and brighten the complexion. The humble liquid can resurface, soften, plump, and boost the effects of skincare in a single step. To use, simply splash a palmful of essence into your hand after cleansing and gently press it into the skin. This plumping step can also include the addition of a serum, which helps to address your skin’s additional needs (from hydration to fine lines).

Nourish

Seal in hydration with the best moisturizer for your skin type. A moisturizer is not one-size-fits-all, instead it can come in several different formats, including lotions, gels, thick creams, or ointments. Whether it be a richly hydrating cream or a light, gel-based moisturizer, your ideal moisturizer should, on the most basic level, accomplish two major goals: prevent water from leaving the skin and deliver an optimal level of moisture for your healthiest-looking complexion.

Protect

Don’t skip the sunscreen! While it might be tempting to consider an SPF simply just a summer must-have, sun protection is a daily, year-round necessity. Apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher every single day. Some sunscreen formulas are perfected for every skin type now, too, helping to support the face by including skin-bettering ingredients, like hyaluronic acid (for hydration) or niacinamide (to visibly firm and even skin tone).

Building a Custom Skincare Routine

Understanding the basics is important, but knowing your skin type so you customize these steps to your specific skin is vital. This takes the process from just ‘using products’ to a full-fledged ‘skincare routine’.

Skin Type 

First and foremost, determine your skin type. This will help you to understand and choose the right products for you that will balance skin, resulting in a healthier, more radiant complexion. If your skin type leads to any type of discomfort, whether that be too much oil production or extremely dry skin, focus on supporting your skin type with each step of the purify, polish, plump, nourish, and protect journey.

Skin Concerns 

Secondly, consider if you have any skin concerns, which are issues that can be potentially improved with the right products. These can include common woes, like dehydration, enlarged pores, sensitized skin, redness, and dullness. Look for products within each step of your routine that can target your skin concerns, like a skin barrier-improving cleanser for sensitized skin or a brightening vitamin C serum for pigmentation.

Skincare Routine Order

Even if you have the best products for your skin type and concerns, you’re not getting the most out of them if you’re not following the correct skincare routine order. Applying and layering your skincare products in the correct order means that you are encouraging them to work to their most effective levels, allowing you to transform your daily ritual.

Weekly Treatments 

While consistency is key, adding a weekly treatment can give a much-needed TLC boost. This can include a hydrating sheet mask to give an extra dose of moisture, a clarifying clay mask to draw out excess oil and balance, or a brightening vitamin C mask to address dullness and dark spots. Choose a treatment that helps you address either your current concern or your overall skin type. Just make sure you follow the product’s recommended use guidelines, as some treatments are designed to sit on the skin for just a few minutes—or a few hours.

Daily Skincare Add-Ons

Although the five steps of purify, polish, plump, nourish, and protect are all you need when building your skincare routine, sometimes your skin craves a few additional steps, depending on your skin type. Here are a handful of popular products that might be a great addition to your morning and/or evening ritual.

Eye Cream 

The eye area features our most delicate skin, leading to a handful of common skin issues, like dryness, puffiness, and fine lines. While it’s not needed, a daily eye cream can effectively help target these woes when used consistently. While some eye creams are multipurpose, many focus on just a few products, like, for example, a weightless gel that instantly sinks into skin, visibly firming and reducing puffiness.

Face Oil 

You could easily have a successful daily ritual without a face oil, but it is a soothing and welcome addition to a skincare routine for dry skin, as well as mature skin types. When used in conjunction with a moisturizer, it can help seal in moisture and act as a barrier. The trick is to use it as the last step in your routine, right after a moisturizer (or second to last step during the day, after a moisturizer and before SPF).

Makeup Primer 

You might not require a makeup primer, but you’ll notice the difference when not wearing one. Primers can not only allow makeup to last longer, but they can also act as a ‘shield’ of sorts, giving skin a barrier between daily irritants and pollutants. Most formulas are universal, but a few primers are tweaked to skin type, helping to absorb excess oil for oily skin or adding hydration for those that suffer from dryness.

Blotting Papers 

Almost every professional makeup artist has a secret in their makeup kit: blotting papers. This humble tool can instantly absorb excess oil without altering makeup or the skin’s natural hydration. Many can be made of various ingredients, but look for a natural option, like papers made from abaca leaf.

Whether you're wondering how to build a skincare routine for beginners or you’re a seasoned pro, considering and perfecting your daily ritual is always beneficial. But first and foremost, aim to nourish and protect your skin, which is the basis of a healthy complexion. At Tatcha, we believe in putting the ‘care’ back into your ‘skincare’ ritual–one product at a time.