The alarm goes off, and you're in a race to get yourself -- and everyone else in the house -- dressed, fed, and out the door. Your sleep-weary face is nowhere near ready to make an appearance at the office, but you haven't got time to go through an entire skin care routine.
Don't stress! Morning skin care is so much simpler than you might think. You don't need to apply every toner, serum, exfoliator, and other supposed "essential" that some department store salesperson talked you into buying. Keep your morning regimen simple.
You can refresh and reinvigorate your skin in just three steps -- and 5 minutes.
Step 1: Cleanse
Every morning, before you do anything else to your skin, wash your face. "Overnight, your skin can build up a lot of oils," says Carolyn Jacob, MD, founder and medical director of Chicago Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology. "There can still be dirt left over. And if you didn't wash off your makeup from last night you have to get that off too."
Really pressed for time? Save a step and wash your face right in the shower.
When choosing a cleanser, you don't need anything fancy or expensive. Always be mindful when buying astringents and toners, since these can dry the skin. "You're going to get so super dry to the point that you will accentuate all the crinkling, wrinkling, and furrows that you have on your skin," warns Nelson Lee Novick, MD, FAACS, clinical professor of Dermatology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and author of Saving Face: A Dermatologist's Guide to Maintaining Healthier and Younger Looking Skin.
A cleanser labeled for sensitive skin is gentle enough that it won't leave your skin looking parched. If your skin is already dry, a cleanser containing ceramides can return some of the missing moisture, Jacob says. She recommends an acne-fighting cleanser for oilier, pimple-prone skin.
You don't have to spend more than a few seconds washing your face, but the technique you use is important. Be gentle. "Use your fingers," says Novick. "No scrub sponges, no loofah sponges, no buff puffs or any type of abrasive or exfoliating products."
Rinse, gently pat dry, and you're done!
Step 2: Moisturize/Sun Protect
While your skin is still damp, apply a moisturizer. You also need to protect your skin from the sun with an SPF sunscreen of 15-30 with at least a 5% zinc oxide physical blocker --but here you can easily skip a step. "For a quick morning regimen, you can use a product that combines a moisturizer and a sunscreen," Novick says.
Some foundations or pressed powders also have added sunscreen, and a physical blocker like zinc oxide protects you from the UVA skin cancer and premature aging rays.
