The 8 Best Skin Care Habits to Implement in 2024

Mar 28

It’s never too late to start your path towards curating the “perfect” skin care routine. From celebrities and influencers to college students and the rise of middle school girls obsessed with Ulta Beauty, skincare is for everybody. It is never too early nor too late to start.

Developing healthy skin habits, especially in your younger years, helps to combat the signs and impacts of aging years down the line. Establishing a consistent routine for your skin is essentially an investment in your health long term. But where do you start? That can be a daunting question for anybody. With the endless amounts of skincare products on the market, it can easily become overwhelming to know what’s right for you.

Ultimately, it’s important to be in tune with your skin. It’s the same way that one is often in tune with their body and knows when a food or ingredient isn’t reacting well with your stomach or head. Being able to observe the cause and effect of something is the first step to figuring out what works for you.

These are a handful of questions to ask yourself:

Is my skin oily, dry, or in between?
Is my skin sensitive?
Is acne a major problem for me?
Is hyperpigmentation a problem for me?
Is eczema a problem for me?
Are dark circles a problem for me?
Is redness a problem for me?
Do I currently have a daily skincare routine? And how many products am I using?

Also ask yourself:

How much sleep am I getting each night on average?
What foods make up the majority of my diet recently?
Have I been stressed out recently?
Does my menstrual cycle align with skin issues I find myself having?
What air quality am I exposing myself to consistently?
Do I travel often?
Do my family members have similar skin issues?

So with the answers to those questions in mind you should be able to have a general idea of what your main skin issues are. The next question that arises is which skincare practices are best. The simplest way to figure out what works for you is to seek professional advice and simply try different things. Everyone's skin and genetics are different so there will never be one completely perfect routine that will be one size fits all. The best skincare routine is one

customized and curated specifically to your skin and what it reacts well to. You will never know what your skin likes best if you don’t try new things.

Social media can also be a blessing and a curse when it comes to discovering new products. Apps like Tiktok give every user a voice to express their routines and favorite products. With the hyper success of many beauty companies within recent years, many celebrities have also jumped on the bandwagon of launching their own skincare brands. All of these things can add a lot of confusion for the consumer.

In order to help navigate the constant products and changing routines put in your face we’ve developed a short list of 8 key habits that you need to implement in your life regardless of your specific skin issues. These habits go beyond oily or dry skin and cystic acne or hyperpigmentation.

1. Pimple Patches

Let's begin with the source of many people’s skin issues. Acne is something that is common within younger individuals but doesn’t necessarily disappear for everyone as we age. Whether it's medications you’re being prescribed, pregnancy, or health related issues, acne can come back at any point within your life. So knowing how to handle them is key to preventing a slower healing process.

Pimple patches are a great way to tackle pesky pimples. But what are “pimple patches” and how do they actually work? To simply put it, they are small stickers that you apply directly on your pimple. These stickers are medicated with ingredients to help decrease the size of the pimple and prevent the user from further picking at it. Not picking the spot prevents bacteria and dirt from worsening the pimple. This also allows the wearer to feel less self conscious about having an exposed pimple on their face.

“Pus” is what is inside of the pimple and is what needs to come out to start the healing process. The sticker helps bring the “pus” out and the moisture of the fluid becomes trapped underneath the sticker which helps speed up the healing process. Pimple patches have become very popular within recent years. Younger generations like Gen Z and Gen Alpha have helped to destigmatize pimples through wearing the patches throughout their daily lives. It is important to further educate yourself on which brands to buy from as there are many pimple patches on the market from colorful stars designed to stand out to clear circles designed to blend in with your skin.

2. Oil Based Cleanser (Double Cleansing)

Using an oil based cleanser is an essential for your skincare routine. Cleansing and what to use can be daunting since there are so many types of cleansers. Narrowing your cleansers down to

simply an oil based cleanser and a water based cleanser helps you to focus on the essentials. This is called “double cleansing.”

Getting a cleanser that is oil based allows you to remove all excess product, makeup, and oil from your skin so that all of the products you put on afterwards work how they’re supposed to work. Imagine putting moisturizers and oils on your face when your pores are still clogged because your cleanser didn't remove all of it. You’d probably guess that your products won’t be working to their full potential, which would be correct.

To start, not all cleansers are created equal. Oil based cleansers are the ones specifically designed to actually lift up all of that dead skin and makeup from your face. An easy way to identify this cleanser is if the product comes out feeling oily. It is also important to pour the product directly into your hands rather than a cloth or sponge. The cloth or sponge will be absorbing most of the product before it even goes onto the face. By applying it with your hands you will start to see the product develop a “soapy” look on your skin. That is the goal so that it actually penetrates your skin.

Then after letting the product sit on your skin for about a minute you can then go in with your washcloth or sponge to help rinse it off. Using an oil based cleanser is best at night before bed as it helps remove makeup and skincare products after a long day while leaving you with refreshed skin.

3. Water Based Cleanser (Double Cleansing)

A water based cleanser is the next step that follows an oil based cleanser in the double cleansing process. An easy way to identify water-based cleansers is through products that have a lightweight gel, foaming, or water texture. This cleanser is what helps remove water-based impurities like dirt and sweat. Using this after an oil based cleanser at the end of your busy day is that extra step needed to leave your pores clean and ready to absorb the oils and moisturizers that you use to nurture your skin afterwards.

4. Rosewater

Rosewater spray can treat a wide range of issues from signs of aging, eczema, redness, scars, hyperpigmentation, and more. Toners are often a valid product used in many people's skincare routines and rosewater acts as a more gentle alternative. A lot of toners can leave the skin feeling dry but rosewater helps hydrate the skin while giving it a healthy glow.

It can be applied throughout the day and is a great product to put on your skin in the morning after a night of double cleansing. When double cleansing at night there isn’t a need to cleanse (with product) again in the morning. So spraying rosewater is a great way to wake up and revitalize the skin before a busy day.

5. “Slugging”

“Slugging” is a skincare technique that has become viral within recent years. It is usually the last step in a nighttime skincare routine and seals in the moisture as you sleep. When the moisture on your skin is trapped it allows it to better heal. This technique involves the use of a petroleum jelly product. A decent chunk of product should be applied to the surface of the skin leaving a “slug” like effect. This allows your other skincare products to work better and leave you with soft, plump, and youthful looking skin in the morning.

6. Sunscreen

Sunscreen has also become a top skincare essential within the last several years. Many people have learned that sunscreen is not limited to the beach or lighter skin complexions. The benefits of sunscreen range from preventing premature aging and skin cancer to uneven skin tones and UV ray damage. Many experts suggest reapplying sunscreen every few hours, but getting in the habit of applying it daily is a good start.

Outside of the fact that sunscreen helps slow down signs of aging, it can also help if you struggle with hyperpigmentation. Blemishes and dark spots on your skin often worsen when exposed to light. This can be from the sun or simply the light coming from a light fixture in a room. By using sunscreen you are preventing and treating those dark blemishes on your skin. Take time to find the right sunscreen for you. Consider things such as SPF, the heaviness of the product, and whether or not the sunscreen will leave a white cast on your skin complexion.

7. Facials

Professional facials provide many benefits from blood circulation to stress relief. Facials offer a targeted approach to skin concerns specific to you. It is essentially a deep cleanse for your skin that can include extractions, cleansing, exfoliation, and massaging that will leave your face looking healthy and rejuvenated. Facials are great things to get on a monthly basis especially as you get older. As we age our skin loses its ability to shed dead skin cells as quickly as it used to do regular facials assist with regulating the process.

8. Beauty Sleep

Many of these things happening within our body as we sleep actually help with supporting the health of our skin. Proper sleep can do the following:

Help reduce the appearance of eye bags & dark circles
Decrease dull looking skin
Keep skin smooth
Maintain a youthful appearance

Blood circulation is important as we sleep. So the less time we spend sleeping, the less the blood has time to circulate to every part of our body, from head to toe. This is what can lead to a dull appearance in the skin. Collagen and cortisol are also released as we sleep and that is what helps maintain a smooth skin texture and a healthy appearance. Ultimately avoid letting your nighttime skincare routine go in vain by allowing your body and skin enough time to absorb it all through a good night's rest.

Conclusion

As we continue to go through 2024 it is important to remember that it is never too late to find the right skincare routine for you and your lifestyle. Although skin is just the surface of a person, it does play a role in the first thing people see and how you feel about yourself as you interact with others throughout your day. Finding what really works for you can take years, especially if you aren’t actually listening to what your skin and your body is telling you. When you finally acknowledge what makes your skin unique then you can better find products and services that are designed to bring the best out of your skin.

Additional Recommendations:

- Vitamin c based products

- Vitamin Supplements

- Embrace a healthier diet/lifestyle

- Drink plenty of water

- Use astringent after cleansing