Summer Skincare Routine
Over the last six months, I’ve become super into skincare and trying different products and techniques, I guess with the extra time at home in lockdown, it’s given me some free time and time to practice self-care. Skincare for me is absolutely a form of taking care of myself. It’s a time to unwind, slow down, and be intentional about what I’m doing. I thought it would be fun to share with you some of my favourite skincare products, new finds, and current obsessions.
Rewind back to January, I was feeling fed up with my skin. My skin tone dull and uneven and my face was sporadically breaking out no matter what I was eating, doing, or using on my skin. So, I reached out to Bloomfield Beauty Co, had a virtual skin consult with Annie, and got a bunch of new medical-grade skincare products to try! Honestly, my skin changed within a week or two of trying these new medical-grade skincare products. I was using all ZO Skin Health products, in the last few months I’ve started integrating other products into my routine and my skin still looks better than ever.
Just as a heads up, I have completely combination skin. My nose and chin get oily while my forehead and cheeks get very dry very easily.
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Key Steps in the Routine
Step 1: Cleanse. I'm totally in love with this cleanser. It’s gentle but feels deep cleaning. Plus, it’s pretty clean and contains fulvic acid which promotes very gentle exfoliation. It’s a great cleanser for anyone with dry, oily, or combination skin because it’s a really gentle formulation.
Step 2: Exfoliate. Depending on who you ask, your skin type, and the products you’re using, you can exfoliate daily or just a few times a week. I do the latter, I exfoliate twice a week otherwise my skin is just too sensitive and isn’t happy. I highly recommend the ZO Skin Care Exfoliating Polish or this exfoliant from Sephora. Both are amazing and work really well! Exfoliating is key for smooth skin, tightening pores, reducing blackheads and sebum plugs (which is the precursor to a pimple).
Step 3: Treat. I only do this step once a day, either morning or night, but not both. This is because I don’t want my skincare routine to take hours, but also because the products I use to treat my skin are pretty powerful and only need to be used once a day. I start with these Complexion Renewal Pads, which I cut into quarters. Then I use a vitamin C serum. I think exfoliating consistently and using Vitamin C has made the biggest difference in my skin.
Step 4: Hydrate. I only do this step at night in the summer, in the winter I hydrate morning and night. All year long I start with hyaluronic acid as a base. Then I go in with a moisturizer or serum. This is where I’ve really switched things up from Winter to Summer. In the winter I used a much richer moisturizer and follow it up with a serum. I absolutely love this serum and in the summer, I just use this serum at night and forego a moisturizer.
Step 5: SPF. Whether it’s sunny or cloudy, cold or hot, I always always use sunscreen on my face. After some skin cancer scares in my family, I take sunscreen very seriously. Plus, the biggest cause of premature ageing is sun damage, so sunscreen it is and I’ve also been trying to wear a hat more often when we’re spending lots of time outside. I’ve used two tinted sunscreens over the last couple of years and I love them both. This is the one I’ve been using this year and I love the glow it gives! If you’re looking for matte sunscreen, this is the one I love.
Bonus: Once a week, usually on Mondays when I’m watching the Bachelor or Bachelorette, I love doing a face mask. Lately, I’ve been really into this mask because it’s non-toxic, has really healing ingredients and also helps with gentle “chemical exfoliation” and resurfacing your skin.
Summer Skin Faves
Now, you may be thinking, “Elizabeth, there’s a lot of steps here, it must take FOREVERR". To be honest, while I love experimenting with skincare, I’m pretty low maintenance and if it took me forever, I just wouldn’t do it. On a nightly basis I cleanse my skin and apply my favourite serum, that takes about 5 minutes. In the morning I use a complexion renewal pad and do a swipe of it all over my face, then I use hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, and finish with SPF. My morning routine takes 5-10 minutes. If I’m wanting to exfoliate or do a face mask, then I’ll do my nighttime routine after dinner so that I’m not too tired to do it when I’m getting ready for bed.
If you’re looking for one or two products to completely upgrade your skincare game, I highly recommend adding an exfoliator and vitamin C to your routine. They are total game-changers and by sloughing off the dead skin, it means the rest of your products will work so much better and get deeper into your skin!
