My daily skincare routine

Each year, I tend to recycle the same goals and side quests, centered around one central theme: get my shit together. (Lol.) One of the most effective ways for me to do so is to both have—and stick to—a daily skincare routine.

My main issue with routine failure typically has to do with too much all at once; my all-or-nothing ADHD brain tends to jump in with an unsustainable fervor. So this time around, I’ve been working to make small changes that I feel like I can keep up with.

It’s been working. I can’t even tell you for how long, because I have been really leaning into a more casual, low-stakes approach (when I add a date or a numeric value, it adds to that same unsustainability and stop-guilt-quit cycle I’ve known so well in the past).

Anyway, here’s a peek into my current skincare routine.

Heads up! I may receive a commission from some of these product links. Read the full disclaimer here.

Goals

My main skincare routine goals (besides simply having one, lol) are rooted in a pretty basic drive to treat my skin well. I know this is the one skin I’m in, and I hope to take care of it for as long as I’ve got it.

I’ve been through the ringer with acne and subsequent acne scarring, plus extensive sun damage (it wasn’t easy growing up an outdoor sport-playing redhead in sunny Colorado, let me tell ya!). Because of this, I am trying to incorporate elements of moisture and nourishment, plus repair and resurfacing. It’s also critical for me to continue protecting my skin from further skin damage.

Daily skincare routine

Morning

• Cleanse: I use micellar water
• Apply serum: I have two different Vitamin C serums that I switch off using; BeautyCounter‘s All Bright C Serum, or some more affordable drops from Amazon.
• Apply eye cream: I recently started using the CeraVe eye cream; I’ll do a light swab around the eye area—honestly, only on days I remember. Oops! Lol.
• Moisturize: in the morning, I use the BeautyCounter Mighty Plump Ceramide Water Cream
• Apply sunscreen: I use SPF 36 (innisfree) on my face

Bonus: though technically a makeup product rather than skincare, I make sure to use a tinted moisturizer each morning. I use either the Ilia Super Serum or the It Cosmetics CC Cream; they both have 40-50 SPF, which is another layer of protection for me.

In rotation: I have a couple clay face masks I love to add in mid-week, such as the Indian Healing Clay Mask or this Vitamin C/Tumeric Mask.

Evening

• Cleanse: I use micellar water
• Apply serum: most nights, I use a retinol cream by CeraVe. Between 2-3 times a week, I swap it out for a CeraVe nighttime exfoliant cream. (Note: I love this brand because it’s no-nonsense and affordable!)
• Moisturize: at night, I use the BeautyCounter Countermatch Recovery Sleeping Cream
• Lip mask: last, I add a layer of Laneige’s overnight lip mask to my mouth before bed. I love this stuff! I use it as a daily gloss too. It’s gunky and thick and works miracles.

In rotation: every once in a while, I’ll sub out my nightly serum and moisturizer for a heavy duty leave-on skin mask. I use the Youth To The People Superberry Mask and I don’t want to mix active ingredients, which is why I use it on its own.

If I have acne with whiteheads, I’ll pop on a pimple patch overnight.

Body skincare routine

My body skincare routine is a little more relaxed than it probably should be, but I’m getting there! After I take a shower, I have been trying to moisturize with either a lotion or a body oil, to seal in that hydration. I’m really late to the game on this (28 years), but I want to again preserve the skin I’m in, plus help my tattoos stay fresh for longer.

Here are the body moisturizing products I use (typically rotating, just based on effort level):

• In-shower lotion
• Aveeno body oil
• Vaseline body moisturizing spray

Bigger purchase items

After getting a facial during my birthday celebration in Scottsdale, I felt a renewed sense of urgency to seek out professional skincare services on a more regular basis, as a form of self-care.

I want to get a facial done once a month. These can get expensive, so I have looked into services from the local Aveda beauty school to save money on costs as students perform them.

Additionally, I would like to eventually get between 3-4 rounds of micro-needling services done. Micro-needling is a major expense, but it works to stimulate collagen growth and repair the damage done to minimize my acne scars. This is quite an investment, so I’m still researching where to go, and will need to start budgeting to plan ahead (it seems to cost in the realm of $300-450 per session, from what I’m seeing!).

I’ve also always wanted to do a “vampire” or PRF facial because of its similar resurfacing benefits, but it has a similar price tag. We’ll see on that one!

---

Have you added anything into your daily skincare routine that has made all the difference?