By: Madeleine Woon
The fact that you are here reading this very blog suggests that you already have a strong grasp on the ins and outs of a good skincare. Your skincare routine might be satisfactory. It might be good. Heck, it might even be great! ‘It means well…’ the more sassy among us might remark. But is it perfect?
There’s a lot of questions when it comes to building the perfect day and nighttime skincare routine. How many products should I bring into the fold? Which ones are right for my skin? In what order should I be applying these products? What do those products even do?
All the answers you seek are buried within this article, where we also offer an extensive breakdown of all the ingredients we use to formulate our skin-spoiling products. Speaking of spoilers: We're not perfect! We're not claiming to be perfect! But we do happen to be good at getting skincare routines as close to perf as poss. LFG!
THE AM ROUTINE
Step 1. Cleanse. The most basic and essential step of any routine, cleansing is the first cab off the rank when it comes to your morning routine. Rinse that beautiful visage with lukewarm water—using the same care as Cleopatra did when lowering her famously luminous skin into tubs of donkey milk—before applying a cleanser suited for your skin type. Those with oily or dull skin, look for a formula with AHA’s, and for drier skin types, an oil cleanser. Massage in gentle, circular motions over your face and neck, then rinse off with lukewarm water and gently pat dry with a towel.
Step 2. Apply your serum of choice. Filled with concentrated doses of active ingredients, the skincare elixirs we have come to know as ‘serums’ can mitigate a multitude of skincare woes. Pending your specific concerns, the heavyweight ingredients to look out for are: hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, Retinol and niacinamide. Have multiple concerns? You might want to consider using multiple formulas.
Step 3. Moisturize. Now that you’ve treated your skin, it's time to moisturize. Moisturizer keeps your skin hydrated and helps strengthen your skin barrier, while also preventing dryness or oiliness from occurring.
Step 4. SPF time. The most crucial step in your skincare routine is also the most *exciting* thanks to our new sunscreen, MEGASHADE. Long gone are the days of pore-clogging sunblocks that leave behind unsightly white streaks. MEGS is a comprehensive SPF 50, combining the best of both mineral and chemical lightweight formulations into one glorious little bottle of SPF that protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Formulated with 3 antioxidants, it improves the photo-protection of the skin alongside SPF, helping to prevent aging caused by the sun and hyperpigmentation. It will also go into battle with your acne, thanks to the cocktail of niacinamide, tea tree oil and colloidal oatmeal. Lather it on lovingly.
Step 5. Patch things up. Spy a lone pimple or a crop of zits taking up residence on your face? Use one hand to shake your fist at the sky and the other to reach for whatever trusty ZitSticka patch is in your arsenal. (The type of patch will depend on what kind of blemishes you’re prone to—see below!). Not only are they formulated with skin-reviving ingredients that have a vested interest in your healthy skin, they’ll also prevent you from picking at your zits during the day.
For superficial zits (a.k.a whiteheads), your patch of choice is a GOO GETTER. As the name suggests, it sucks goo out of your pores faster than an energy vampire sucks the life out of a party. More technically speaking, it absorbs fluid and impurities from your surface-level zits to hastily shrink its appearance. Unlike most hydrocolloid patches, it’s infused with derm-backed ingredients, like niacinamide, salicylic acid, vitamin c and tea tree to press the fast forward button on skin clearing and renewal.
Hormonal, that-time-of-the-month pimple popping by to say hi? Rest assured, it’s no match for the KILLA patch. (Poet, didn’t even know it etc). The KILLA patches go deeeep thanks to its signature microdart technology and accompanying CLEANA swabs. CLEANA is the perfect hype-person for the patch, with its salicylic acid, tea tree oil and vitamin E prepping the skin for total blemish domination. The patches are concocted with a skin-saving, pimple-destroying mix of hyaluronic acid, Oligopeptide-76, salicylic acid and niacinamide. Shut the door on your way out, zits.
Acne mark or dark spot you’d really rather live without? Say hello to our little friend, HYPERFADE. An infiltrative patch that lightens and brightens the residual dark spots after a zit has run its course, it owes its magic to a brightening concoction of hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, vitamin C and licorice root, among other tings.
Step 6. Supplement your topical products. Some skincare saviors were made to be nom’d on, like our SKIN DISCIPLE and BLUR POTION.
If you’re concerned about hyperpigmentation and UV damage—melasma, sun spots and post-zit dark spots, and the like—then BLUR POTION is the pill for you. An antioxidant-rich blend of skin-reviving nutrients and plant extracts proven to fade and blur all forms of sun damage, it works from the inside out. It’s known for curbing skin pigmentation, boosting hydration and glow, and pumping the brakes on collagen breakdown, and is intended to be taken once daily. The MVP ingredients? Oligopin, Grape seed extract, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Lutein, Zeaxanthin.
More concerned with easing surface level irritation, regulating sebum levels and balancing skin-supportive bacteria? Might we recommend popping a SKIN DISCIPLINE pill daily. A cocktail of vitamins, minerals, probiotics and fatty acids all wrapped up into one smol and easily digestible pill, it’s sole purpose in this blessed life is to give you good skin. Like, really good skin. All this is made possible thanks to its stellar lineup of ingredients: Zinc, Probiotic Blend (10 Billion CFU), Chromium, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Selenium, Pantothenic Acid, Copper, and Omega-3.
THE PM ROUTINE
Step 1. Cleanse. Refer to the first step of your morning routine.
Step 2: Mask up. Exfoliants should be your go-to in addition to hydration if you’re after clear, blemish-free skin. Take ZitSticka’s wonder mask PRESS REFRESH: Salicylic acid (a BHA) penetrates the pores deeply, taking care of all of the oil and grime that gets pushed to the center of these pimples. Glycolic Acid (an AHA) tames the bumpiness working in tangent with Lactic Acid (also an AHA, but slightly different) to boost the integrity of your moisture barrier and also brightening! Because the process can be a little irritating to the skin, ZitSticka bundled this exfoliation effect with Niacinamide (a soothing agent), Hyaluronic Acid for hydration, and Allantoin - skin replenisher, hydrator, elasticity encourager, skin savior.
Step 3. Patch work. Refer to the fifth step in your morning routine. While patches definitely have a place in your morning routine, it’s imperative you slap one on at night too. They actually work best when you sleep, since your skin is in repair mode and not protection mode.
Step 3: Serum. Sub out the sunscreen for a retinol or vitamin C antioxidant serum, which will fight for your right to luminous skin while you put in the Zzz’s.
Step 4. Moisturize. Before you tuck yourself into bed like the toasty little cinnamon bun that you are, be sure to round out your perfect skincare routine by applying a night time-apropos moisturizer. This will seal in moisture and repair compromised skin barrier, so you wake up, refreshed, to soft and hydrated skin. Delish!
Need some more skincare inspo? Click here for 3 dewy influencers' nighttime skincare routines.
