Facial care: How many creams do I need to achieve a complete daily routine?

Even before we started taking care of our skin, we never stopped hearing how important it is to maintain a correct facial care routine, made up of different products to treat not only the different conditions and needs of the skin, but also for each area. That if the eye contour, that if you have to anticipate aging so you have to use an anti-wrinkle cream, then be aware of the barcode of the lips, also be careful with acne... in short, an endless number of facial creams and products savers to write down and take into account, but the truth is that, yes, they warn us of all the care that the skin may need but nobody finishes specifying what we should use every day in our facial routine and how.

Using too much is just as bad (or worse) than using too little

What happens in the end is that we end up using a lot of products "just in case" and trying what works for our mothers, friends, sisters or cousins ​​in order not to leave a single need uncovered: "The truth is that There is a wide range of facial care products, so that the consumer can choose the most appropriate based on many parameters, such as price, sensory characteristics, active ingredients, etc. Although I also recognize that the fact that there are so many products and so many brands makes it very difficult for the consumer to choose as they are overwhelmed by so many different products”, says Ana María Molina Ruiz, dermatologist doctor at the Jiménez Díaz Foundation and professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid . “On top of that, some of these brands use marketing with highly exaggerated cosmetic claims that promise skin effects they don't deliver and do consumers a disservice,” she adds.

So this can be just as counterproductive as using fewer products than are needed: “following a routine with too many products can even be counterproductive, producing what we call 'asphyxiated skin' that although it has no scientific basis, we use it to name those skins 'asphyxiated' from so many cosmetic products one on top of the other, without any kind of criteria. This type of skin, far from looking better, appears even less healthy, with a slight sallow-greenish color and excessively dull”, points out Dr. Molina.

And the worst thing is that these products are often the same over and over again: “Many people use multiple creams in their daily facial routine, but when you look at the ingredients you realize that all the products they are using are practically the same , moisturizing creams with a greater or lesser content of water, colorants, perfumes, which make them very pleasant to the sensory, but which do not include effective active ingredients to improve, renew and restructure the skin of the face”, says the expert.

How many creams do we really need to use?

So we keep asking ourselves, even more, the eternal question. As can be expected, this information, like what type of facial cream to use, can depend on age first and then on the specific needs of each one. But there are a series of facial creams that yes or yes we should all use and there are not many.

“In general, dermatologists have always defended that less is more. We usually recommend a simple routine, since this will facilitate compliance”, says Ana, and the truth is that, many times, our skin suffers damage because we do not carry out the facial routine correctly due to laziness in the face of so many products that we have targeted. to use and instead of doing a basic one, which would be enough, we procrastinate and stop doing it.

For this reason, the basic and fundamental facial routine is based on, as the dermatologist points out: “having a good facial cleansing product, a moisturizing cream rich in antioxidants, a good 50+ photoprotector and, if possible, a night skin care that includes active ingredients that have been shown to be effective against aging”, that is, an anti-wrinkle cream or a firming cream. But if one day we do not have time to comply with all this, "we could even do without some of these products and if we had to simplify to the extreme, a good skin cleansing product and a good facial photoprotector with moisturizing active ingredients would be enough. ", Add. "The important thing is to use products rich in active ingredients that have proven effective, such as antioxidants, hydroxy acids or retinoids," says the expert.

These antioxidants can be some such as vitamin C and E, which is very fashionable as an ingredient in many cosmetics. They protect against free radicals, preventing aging and correcting its signs, restoring luminosity and unifying the tone, reducing the appearance of spots. One option is this day facial cream, the Estée Lauder DayWear Creme moisturizer, rich in these two antioxidants. It also contains SPF15, which protects against solar radiation. It is available for 24 euros.

Estée Lauder Moisturizing Day Cream with Antioxidants (€24). Divinity.es

As far as hydroxy acids are concerned, some are included such as AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids, such as glycolic, lactic, citric) or BHAs (beta hydroxy acids such as salicylic), among others, and now we do not stop talking about them as powerful exfoliants for the skin. Among the properties of the former is to eliminate dead cells and promote rapid skin renewal, so they are really useful from the age of 25. As for the latter, they cleanse the skin from within, balancing fat and eliminating dirt, so they are indicated for oily skin, with blackheads and for those prone to acne but also to cleanse sensitive skin in depth.

For their part, retinoids, specifically retinol, derived from vitamin A, stimulate cell renewal and prevent new cells from aging so quickly, as it also stimulates collagen production. It also serves to combat acne, as it smoothes the surface of the skin, and hyperpigmentation.

In addition to all this, to give extra hydration and make the facial cream and treatments penetrate better, we can also apply a serum. Just doing it at night will be enough. And if you have a lot of dark circles, bags or the skin around the eyes that is too thin, an eye contour will not hurt to apply an eye contour to avoid wrinkles and dryness in that area and congestion and that the thing goes to worst.

In what order should I use the products?

As it is a basic and simple routine that we must do to have healthy skin, carrying it out will be very easy. “In general, a cosmetic routine can be built with very few products. For example, I use a good cleanser morning and night that respects the pH of my skin and is not excessively abrasive. In the morning I use an ampoule that includes antioxidants and emollient active ingredients. Afterwards, a good tinted sunscreen. At night I cleanse the skin again and apply a product rich in hydroxy acids and retinoids and that is formulated in a moisturizing base so as not to dry out the skin excessively.” In this way:

In the morning: first we wash the face with the cleanser, as the specialist recommends, that respects the pH so as not to damage the skin, then we can apply, as in your case, the ampoule with active ingredients and antioxidants and then the moisturizer with antioxidants which we will use next. We can even dispense with that cream and use a colored sun cream, that is, an all-in-one that simplifies the routine, since the ampoule can provide the hydration, principles and nutrients that our skin needs. Otherwise, we would apply the moisturizing cream and then the sun cream or directly a moisturizing cream with protection and then the makeup that we wanted.

Cream with solar and moisturizing color from Isdin and on sale at Sephora (€ 24.99). Divinity.es

An example of this type of cream is this one from Isdin, Fusion Water Color, which is moisturizing and contains antioxidants and 'antiaging' active ingredients in addition to SPF50. It also acts as a natural makeup base. It costs 24.99 euros.

At night: We wash the skin again to free it from make-up, pollution and various dirt from the whole day, we apply, if we wish, a serum that enhances the night cream, which can be an anti-wrinkle cream or a firming cream, but on everything has to be moisturizing. As Molina points out, this should be the one that contains the most active ingredients and repairing ingredients for the skin, since it really works at night. An option that meets the specifications of the also professor is the Olay Regenerist Retinol24 at night, with retinol. It costs 29.50 euros.

Night cream with retinol from Olay and for sale on Amazon (€ 29.50). Divinity.es

Both in the morning and at night, before the moisturizer, we must apply the eye contour.

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