I have prepped a lot of faces at seven in the morning, and the ones that look best under a light are almost never the ones with the biggest shelf of products. They belong to people doing about six boring things consistently. Here are ten of those things, in the order I would actually build them.
In Short
- Work out your skin type first, because it decides your cleanser and your moisturiser.
- NHS guidance is a sunscreen of at least SPF 30 with a four or five star UVA rating, worn all year.
- Exfoliate once or twice a week at most, less if your skin stings.
- Sleep and fluid intake show on a face faster than any serum does.
Start by knowing what you are working with
1. Identify your skin type honestly
Oily, dry, combination and sensitive are the four broad categories, and they are defined mostly by how much oil your skin produces. Wash your face with a plain cleanser, apply nothing at all, and look at it two hours later. Shine across the whole face means oily, tightness and flaking means dry, shine confined to the forehead and nose means combination, and redness or stinging from ordinary products points to sensitive skin.
2. Buy for your type, not for the packaging
Oily skin does better with light, non-comedogenic textures that do not sit on the surface. Dry skin needs richer creams with ingredients that hold water in place. Sensitive skin wants short ingredient lists and no fragrance. This single decision saves more money than any sale ever will.
The daily basics that do the heavy lifting
3. Cleanse twice a day, gently
Once in the morning, once at night, with lukewarm water rather than hot. Squeaky clean is not a goal, it is a warning that you have stripped the lipids your skin uses to hold moisture. If your face feels tight straight after washing, the cleanser is too harsh for you.
4. Always remove makeup before bed
A full face left on overnight sits in the pores along with the day’s oil and pollution, and I see the consequences on skin that gets made up several days a week. A balm or micellar water takes ninety seconds, which is less time than most people spend scrolling before they turn the light off.
5. Moisturise while your skin is still damp
Apply within a minute of washing, while there is still water at the surface for the cream to seal in. Same product, different timing, noticeably different result. Oily skin still needs this step, just in a lighter texture.
6. Wear sunscreen every single day
UVA passes through cloud and window glass and is present all year, which is why dermatologists treat daily protection as the single most effective anti-ageing habit available. NHS advice is at least SPF 30 with a UVA rating of four or five stars, applied generously, around two teaspoons for the face, neck and arms, and reapplied every couple of hours in strong sun. Most of the myths around this are worth unpicking, which I do in my piece on the anti-ageing claims that do not hold up.
7. Exfoliate sparingly
Once or twice a week is plenty for most skin, using a mild chemical exfoliant rather than a gritty scrub. Over-exfoliating produces exactly the dullness and irritation it is supposed to fix, and it is the most common self-inflicted problem I see on set.
The habits that happen away from the bathroom
8. Sleep like it counts, because it does
Adults generally need seven to nine hours, and skin does its repair work during that window. Short nights show up as dullness and shadowing under the eyes before they show up anywhere else, and no concealer fully replaces them. A consistent bedtime beats a long lie-in at the weekend.
9. Drink enough, and eat properly
The Eatwell Guide used by UK health services suggests 6 to 8 glasses of fluid a day, and tea, coffee and lower-fat milk all count towards that total. Alongside it, a diet with plenty of vegetables, fruit and oily fish gives skin the raw material it needs. What it will not do is override sun damage or a harsh cleanser, so treat it as support rather than a cure.
10. Keep your hands and your phone off your face
Touching, leaning on a hand at a desk and pressing a phone screen against your cheek all transfer oil and bacteria to the same spots repeatedly. Wipe the screen, change the pillowcase weekly, and try to notice the habit. It costs nothing and it is the tip people report back on most.
Three questions worth answering
How long before a new routine shows results?
Hydration improves within days, but texture and pigment changes are usually assessed over three to six months. Change one product at a time so you can tell what actually did the work.
Do I need a separate eye cream?
Not necessarily. The skin there is thinner and more delicate, so a gentle formula matters, but a fragrance-free moisturiser you already tolerate is fine for most people.
Is expensive skincare better?
Not reliably. Formulation and consistency beat price, and some of the best-tolerated cleansers and moisturisers on the market cost very little.
This is general information from my work as a makeup artist, not medical advice. For persistent acne, eczema, rosacea or any changing mole, please see a pharmacist, your GP or a dermatologist.
Sources: NHS guidance on sunscreen and sun safety; NHS Eatwell Guide fluid recommendation; NHS advice on dry skin and washing; British Association of Dermatologists sun protection advice.
Which of the ten do you actually skip?
Mine used to be reapplying SPF in the afternoon. Tell me yours in the comments and we can be honest about it together.