Get Up and Glow - Morning Skincare Routine
Myth: A few facials every now and then is all you need for flawless skin.
Fact: Flawless skin can be summed up in one word: routine.
The truth is that our day is made up of a million little choices from the clothes that we wear to the amount of cream we put into our coffee. Although the amount of cream in my coffee does indeed matter (I’m not the only person who has a silent panic attack when the Starbucks barista pours a breve amount of cream when I asked for an Americano, right?), there are more essential choices I have to make during my morning routine—like, what can I do for my skin today that will help me tomorrow.
Here is an even better question: What can I do for my skin today that will help me for the rest of my life?
It takes 21 days to build a habit. That means in takes 21 days to cultivate a routine. How do you feel about crafting the perfect skincare routine and trying it for the next 21 days?
Come on beauties. Join me.
For the next 21 days I want you to follow these basic skin care routine steps I have outlined below. Just look at it like this. The amount of time you spend fashioning that picture on Instagram of your acai bowl or avocado toast is almost the exact amount of time you need to complete your skincare routine from start to finish! Easy.
Step 1:
Coffee in bed. Duh. With a little cream (not a ton. Please refer to paragraph one).
Step 2:
Take your cold roller from the freezer and roll it on your face and neck. Cold rolling is not a new phenomenon. Celebrities for ages have immersed their heads in ice filled sinks to reduce the puffiness and redness of their skin. Other benefits to cold rolling are as followed: improve blood circulation, reduce swelling, calm redness and irritation, minimize large pores and create some shine under your eyes.
Glow Skincare (use code Beautynurse10 for 10% off your order until March 9th, 2019)
Step 3:
Cleanse your face. Have you ever thought about the dead skin cells that flake off your face at night? On a side note, how often do you wash your pillow covers? I digress! In order to craft your face into flawlessness, you have to start with a clean, clear canvas. Clean skin allows for the ingredients in your products to absorb with ease. Morning skin care is about protection and longevity (whereas a nighttime routine is about regeneration).
For an added benefit use a cleansing tool to help your cleanser to do a better job. Our hands just won’t cut it. My favorite cleansing device (not sponsored) is the ZOE. This device is made with silicone bristles that work at over 6000 pulsations per minute to cleanse your skin.
ZOE (use code BTYNRSZOE for 10% off your order).
Step 4:
Exfoliate (If you didn’t do it the night before). I love the ZO Skin Health Exfoliating Polish as it is gentle enough for AM or PM use. This exfoliating polish uses magnesium crystals to gently polish the skin to restore smoother texture and a healthy glow. It also removes dead skin cells to help prevent clogged pores.
ZO Skin Health Exfoliating Polish
Step 5:
Toner. Good toners prep your skin for the products to come and will balance the pH levels of your skin. We have enough to balance in our schedules, we don’t need to balance our own pH levels too. Let the toner work for you. My current favorite for my acne prone skin that tends to be more on the oily side are the ZO SkIn Health Oil Control Pads. These help remove oil, normalize pore size as well as smooth the skin’s surface and reduce irritation. They contain salicylic acid in them so they can’t be used during pregnancy.
ZO Skin Health Oil Control Pads
Step 6:
Topical Treatments/Serums. I use an antioxidant serum daily as well as AHA/BHA and other treatments if I am dealing with acne. My current favorites antioxidant serums are: ZO Skin Health Daily Power Defense and Skin Better Science Alto. The Daily Power Defense helps tighten and firm the skin while helping to repair the DNA in the skin. The Alto delivers 19 antioxidant ingredients into the skin, promotes a more even tone and enhances vitality and radiance in the skin.
For other treatments depending on how my skin is which can change daily, I use the ZO Skin Health Exfoliating Accelerator or ZO Skin Health Acne Control.
Step 7:
I love love love facial oils and beauty balms. I always recommend a blend of medical and natural/organic products to get your skin in proper shape. Look at it this way, medical products help with anti-aging, reducing acne, removing pigmentation etc. Natural products are the vitamins and nutrients for your skin. The combination of the two is what makes for the flawless skin you’re looking for.
Step 8:
If you are using oils, then this is a good time to use your jade or rose quartz roller for a few minutes. Don’t forget the area around your eyes; something so delicate needs extra tender loving care! Jade/Rose Quartz rollers help your product seep deeper into your skin, as well as plump you up! Who doesn’t like to have fresh, healthy and plump skin? See my blog post to learn more about jade rolling here. My favorite rollers are found below. I encourage you all to be sure you’re purchasing quality stones. There are several websites out there who sell artificial or acyclic stones which are harmful for your skin. I have done the research for you all and have found my favorite brands.
Step 9 :
Eye Cream. Don’t forget about this area! The skin around our eyes is different from our entire face. It’s as thin as tissue paper if you can believe that! Here are my favorites eye treatments that actually work!
Step 10:
SPF. If you haven’t guessed by now…oh sister, you may never learn! Sunscreen is quite frankly the most critical part of your skincare routine. Research shows that 88% of aged skin is the result of sun damage. Beauties, this is a choice. Remember all those choices I was talking about at the start of this journey into the abyss of skincare? Choose to protect your skin. I have trialed many sunscreens and here are my favorites:
Here is your mission beauties. For the next 21 days, try these 10 steps. Put a reminder on your phone, slab a pink sticky note onto your bathroom mirror or line up the product in the order you use them. Do whatever it takes to get yourself into a routine. Your routine may not be my exact routine, and that is okay! Choose a skincare provider you trust to take this journey with you, because it can at times be a windy road. Email me at info@thebeautynurse.net if your interested in setting up an online skincare consult.
If you’re feeling extra daring and adventurous, why not make the commitment to do the next few steps with me? I promise you won’t regret it.
Step 1:
Water. For every cup of coffee you drink, try drinking 8 oz of water. You want to hydrate after dehydrating your body with caffeine.
Step 2:
Get 8 hours of sleep each night. Did you know that the optimal time of sleep and the time when our cells detox and regenerate is from 10pm-2am? If you aren’t sleeping during that time frame than you are seriously missing out on a free detox.
Step 3:
Move. You’ve heard it once. You’ve heard it a million times. When you activate yourself, you are releasing the endorphins in your brain. If you’re not moving, then you’re missing out on a free high.
Step 4:
Gratitude. Give yourself some space each day to reflect on what you are grateful for, even if it’s something as small as cream in your coffee (Can you tell I love coffee?).
Step 5:
Call your Mom. I’m only partly kidding here, but seriously, connect with someone! We aren’t meant to live as islands. Put your phone away and say I love you to your spouse. Look the person you are talking to in the eyes. Touch the shoulder of your patient with love and kindness. Connect.
Water | Sleep | Move | Gratitude | Connect
I believe you can get through anything in 21 days. Are you in?
Shine on beauties.
Shine on.