Let’s admit it!
We all love to take good care of our skin but unfortunately, we don’t all have the time for it! Hence, indulging in a lengthy morning skincare routine is definitely not an option!
No worries, you are not the only one, I totally get it!
You are constantly on the go and if you are a mom, it’s even harder. And that’s in addition to the giant to-do list you have, and so forth!
I can relate, and today I will share my quick yet effective morning skincare routine with you. So if you are a busy woman, keep on reading!
Notice: You might bump into some affiliate links in this article, we pick the best products with the most affordable prices for you. If you like them, use our links to help us keep this blog alive <3.
Best Morning Skincare Routine Steps For Busy Women
keep it simple!
You don’t have to spend 30 minutes cleansing your face, and another 30 minutes exfoliating and hydrating. Also, you don’t need to use many products to maintain healthy and beautiful skin.
The secret to an effective morning skincare routine can be summed up in 3 steps:
Step 01: Wash Your Face
Properly cleansing your face in the morning and night is a critical step to the health of your skin.
You might think that washing your face in the morning is not that important, especially with the new trend on TikTok and other social media platforms claiming that not washing one’s face in the morning promises healthy, clear, and glowing skin.
Wrong!
According to Dr. Christy Rainey, a dermatologist at Augusta University Health, cleansing remains the best way to eliminate dirt and bacteria that can eventually lead to breakouts!
Just imagine what happens to your skin when you sleep. Have you ever thought about that?
Your face literally rolls around in bed sheets that might be filled with bacteria, oils from your hair, saliva, dead skin cells from your body, and so forth. So imagine if you choose not to wash your face and directly apply your skincare routine on top of all that?
It’s not gonna be effective!
Besides, washing your face decreases the risk of skin infections, reduces the signs of premature aging, and makes the products used on your face more effective.
However, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, how you wash your face can make a difference in your appearance. Hence, it’s important to do it right!
- Use a gentle, sulfate-free, and alcohol-free cleanser.
- Always wet your face with lukewarm water first and then gently massage the cleanser into your skin with the use of your fingertips.
- Rinse with lukewarm water and pat dry with a soft towel.
- Wash your face twice daily and after sweating.
Here are some products I personally use for my morning skincare routine:
Oil-based cleansers
Water-based cleansers
Step 02: Moisturize Your Face Every Day
Why do you think Cleopatra used to bathe in milk?
Yes! To enhance the beauty of her skin by keeping it well moisturized. Hence, moisturizing your skin on a daily basis will help protect the skin’s barrier from irritation and dryness. It also helps fight signs of aging and helps your skin look healthier.
However, learning how, when, and with what to moisturize your skin is much more important!
Moisturizers are definitely a Must in your everyday skincare routine. In fact, according to research, moisturizers increase water content in the skin’s outermost layer, which helps relieve dryness and enhances the skin’s capacity to hold water.
How to moisturize your skin?
Here are simple steps to follow:
- Cleanse your skin first.
- Gently & lightly exfoliate your skin with a baby washcloth or cotton pad to help remove dead skin and allow the moisturizer to deeply penetrate into the skin.
- Apply your moisturizer in circular motions. Don’t forget your neck and decolletage.
For a reliable guide on how to apply your moisturizer the right way, check these two links that we have chosen for you:
- How To Apply Moisturiser from Elemis
- Beauty tutorial: How to apply your moisturizer correctly from Vogue Paris.
How To Moisturize Your Skin Naturally?
One of the best natural things to use to moisturize your face is aloe vera or algae gels. These two are known for their soothing and moisturizing qualities.
Personally, I LOVE aloe vera and I always use it to moisturize my face. According to a 2006 study, freezing-dried Aloe vera extract may be used as a complement in the treatment of dry skin.
My favorite moisturizers:
When to moisturize?
Moisturizing should come after cleansing your face, and it’s preferable that you include it in your morning and night skincare routine.
It’s also good to note that moisturizing your face immediately after taking a shower or a bath is a brilliant idea as it will help seal in the moisture. Therefore, give you a soft and healthy-looking skin!
Step 03: Protect Your Skin
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prolonged and unprotected exposure to UV light is considered a significant risk factor for many types of skin cancer. Hence, protecting your skin from harmful UV rays is a step you should NEVER EVER skip!
Sunscreen is probably one of the easiest ways to prevent skin cancer and early signs of aging.
How to choose your sunscreen?
- Use UVA and UVB sunscreen.
- Make sure the sunscreen is water-resistant.
- With an SPF of 30 or higher.
- Opt for mineral sunscreens.
How to use it?
- Apply sunscreen 15 minutes before going outside.
- Reapply every 2 hours.
- Don’t forget your ears, the back of your neck, and your scalp if you have thinning hair.
In brief, you don’t have to spend ages doing your skincare routine. These 3 important steps shared with you above are the most important and can give your skin all the glow and protection it needs from external damaging factors. However, beautiful and healthy-looking skin is much more than products you apply topically to your face, it’s rather what you eat and how you live.
My favorite sunscreen:
Bonus Step: Lifestyle Tips
A skincare routine means nothing if you don’t take care of the basics. Here are some priceless tips for busy women who want to glow inside out:
Get enough ZZZs
Are you getting enough ZZZs? If the answer is NO then it’s time to do so! Research says that ONLY one night of poor sleep can give you all these scary things:
- hanging eyelids
- swollen eyes
- dark circles
- paler skin
- more wrinkles and fine lines
- more droopy corners of the mouth
So imagine if you get poor sleep every day? Okay, you’d better not imagine at all!
But seriously, getting the recommended amount of rest (7 to 9 hours) each night can help your skin look younger and healthier.
Why it’s so important to have a good night’s sleep every day? Simply because sleep is that time of the day when your body repairs itself. Well, your skin too! In fact, when you are sleeping, the skin’s blood flow increases, therefore, the skin rebuilds its collagen, which eventually leads to repairing the damages caused due to the harmful UV exposure and also reducing the risk of developing wrinkles and age spots.
Avoid Stress At All Costs!!
It’s okay to feel stressed from time to time. Everybody does! But when stress becomes chronic, many serious health problems come to the surface!
This is how chronic STRESS can leave a mark on your face:
- Give you acne: A 2017 study found that higher levels of stress positively correlated with acne severity.
- Make you look older: Research shows that stress caused by sleep deprivation can lead to the formation of fine lines and wrinkles, reduced elasticity, and uneven skin tone.
- Lead to serious skin conditions: such as psoriasis, eczema, and contact dermatitis.
- Causes your hair fall: most common stress-related hair loss types are Telogen effluvium (TE), Alopecia areata (AA), and hair-pulling disorder.
Eat a healthy, balanced diet
Want good skin? Then you’d better start treating your skin kindly and start optimizing your daily nutrition by adding antioxidant-rich vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats to your plates.
A healthy diet won’t only help you look your best, but also help you feel your best. As researchers learn more about diet and the body, it’s increasingly clear that you are what you eat and that what you eat can significantly affect the appearance of your skin and its aging process.
Here are the best foods for keeping your skin healthy:
- Fruits & vegetables
- Fatty fish
- Avocados
- Walnuts
- sunflower seeds
- sweet potatoes
- red or yellow bell peppers
- broccoli
- tomatoes
- soy
- dark chocolate
- green tea
- red grapes
Exercise For Healthy Glowing Skin
Here is another reason for you to get moving! Exercising can help nourish your skin cells and keep them vital by stimulating blood flow and therefore delay the appearance of skin aging.
However, keep in mind that working out is not the only way to maintain good skin, there is face yoga too! This is again another natural and affordable option that will help you look and feel better.
See you next time!
Much love, XoXo
