What are the steps involved in the skin care process

If we talk about the basic steps that must be done, there are actually only three steps: cleansing, moisturizing, and sun protection. The rest of the operations, such as exfoliating, applying facial masks, and introducing functional essences, are all optional based on skin type and needs, and are not a fixed process that everyone needs.

There are two completely opposite opinions on the Internet. One group says that skin care requires all 10 steps to be effective. One step less is equal to wasted application. The other group says that it only takes three steps. An extra step will burden the skin. In fact, both opinions are reasonable, but they are suitable for different groups of people. A while ago, I helped my best friend adjust her skin care routine. She has typical oily acne-prone skin. I followed the "complete skin care routine" I learned from beauty bloggers. I removed sunscreen every day (even if I didn't go out that day and only applied isolation), then washed my face twice with a soap-based cleanser, applied two layers of astringent, applied anti-acne essence, serum, lotion, cream, and finally a layer of sleeping mask. My face was stuffy and closed, so I went to the dermatologist. The doctor said that she was over-cleansing and over-packing, which messed up the micro-ecology of the skin itself. Later, she directly changed the process to amino acid cleansing + refreshing moisturizing gel + oil-controlling sunscreen. I only used salicylic acid pads on the T zone once a week to exfoliate. Within a month, 80% of the skin was gone, and even the oil was reduced a lot.

You can think of the skin barrier as the exterior wall of your home. Cleaning means sweeping away the floating dust on the wall every day to prevent dirt from blocking the cracks in the bricks. Moisturizing means filling small cracks in the wall to avoid slag when the wind blows. Sun protection means building an awning outside the wall to prevent the wall skin from falling off and aging prematurely due to ultraviolet rays. Follow these three steps If the wall itself is in place, the wall itself is strong and durable enough. If your wall itself is of good quality, it is no problem if you want to put up decorative paintings (for example, add a whitening essence) or polish the wall (for example, exfoliate occasionally). However, if the wall itself is already cracked and peeling, and you continue to paste things on it, it will only make the wall collapse further.

Of course, many friends with mature skin say that only three steps cannot meet the anti-aging needs. This is also normal. If your skin barrier is healthy and you don’t have problems such as redness, stinging, and frequent acne, it is certainly okay to add anti-aging essences such as retinol and peptides, but there is no need to add steps that your skin cannot bear in order to make up for the "complete process." To put it bluntly, there is never a unified standard answer to the skin care process. The bottom line is to do the three core steps solidly. The remaining additions and subtractions all depend on whether your skin feels comfortable after applying it. After all, what we care for is our own face, not the "standard process" mentioned by others, right?