When you’re used to specific, let’s call them “traditional” skincare products, it might be difficult to envisage a reason to start using something else, especially if it looks like they are efficient. But when it comes to skin care, it’s not all about the instant effects, but also the long-term benefits for the skin.
It happens for some people to notice that the cream or serum that seemed perfectly well for a few months, maybe even years, to end up making the skin overly dry or sensitive or just irritated. You might also notice that your skin condition is not getting any better despite your best efforts and well-thought beauty routine. If this is the case, or you want to try a healthier, more natural way to look after your skin, then it’s about time to switch to natural and organic skincare products.
Why Use Organic or Natural Skincare Products?
Well, have a look at the ingredients list of your daily moisturizer. If it’s not marked as organic or 100% natural, the chances are that you’ll find harsh chemical ingredients, alcohol, silicones, and parabens. Do you want to treat your skin with these products? Of course not! And there is no point in doing this as nowadays there are plenty of great organic options for every skincare product.
What You Should Know About Organic Skincare Products
Switching to natural skin care sounds easy, and it is. However, there are certain things you should be aware of before making your first purchase. For example:
1. Choose the skincare products according to your skin type
If it’s 100 natural, it doesn’t mean that it is perfect for any skin type. As with traditional skincare products, you should choose your creams, serums, and cleansers depending on your skin type. For each skin type or skin condition, there are ingredients recommended.
2. Read the labels
You should still read the labels, even if you know the product is organic. This is important, especially if you have specific allergies, like plants, extracts or nuts, etc. It takes just a few more seconds, and it certainly pays off in the long run.
3. Check the expiration date
Organic skincare products don’t contain artificial preservatives. This means that you can’t just forget about your moisturizer on the bathroom shelf for months and then only resume using it. The storage conditions are often mentioned on the label. But generally speaking, you shouldn’t keep your organic skincare products at more than 25 degrees, or in damp places (like the bathroom we just mentioned). And make sure to check the expiration date.
4. Don’t mix and match
If you’re planning to switch to natural skin care or have done this already, you should know that mixing and matching traditional with organic is not a great idea. If you’re up for BIO, keep it like this and avoid other skincare products with chemical ingredients. When we apply skincare products with harsh ingredients, the skin reacts somehow, sometimes putting up a protective shield. And this means that the organic products can’t deliver results when applied after or during the same beauty routine.
Top 3 Reasons to Switch to Natural and Organic Products Now
1. No more dryness, irritation, and redness
Most organic products don’t trigger irritations or allergies, not unless you are already allergic to one of the plant extracts. Traditional skincare products contain chemicals and artificial dyes known to lead to irritation, redness, and even breakouts. Many people are allergic to these chemical ingredients, so don’t be surprised if your skin will feel much better when you switch to natural products.
2. No more artificial fragrance
The fragrance is often used in classic skincare products to hide the smell of chemical ingredients. Often it happens that people have an allergic reaction to this fragrance, as it’s an artificial ingredient too. When it comes to a natural product, the scent is all-natural. Usually, we’re talking about plant or flower extracts.
3. No more parabens
Parabens are used to make the shelf life of the product longer. But if your moisturizer can last years without any damage, this doesn’t mean it’s good for your skin, health, or the environment. It is true, organic products also use preservatives, but these are natural ingredients too that are safe for the skin.
How Do I Start a Skin Care Routine?
Now that we had a look at some of the reasons why it’s a good idea and a good time to switch to natural and organic products, let’s see how to start a skincare routine that is good for you, your skin, and the environment!
Start by planning your routine
Yes, it sounds more fun just to set up a day – usually, it’s Monday, 1st of the month, after you get back from your holiday, after Christmas, or something similar. But when it comes to a good, natural skincare routine, you might be better off starting with a solid plan. What does this mean? Well, make a list with the steps of your morning and evening routine, then write down the products you need to buy. Read the labels; online it’s straightforward, and you’ll be much happier knowing you got it right the first time.
Set up a time
So, you’ve ordered your skincare products, and now you need to find the time to use them. It doesn’t work like this. With our hectic lifestyle, it’s pretty much impossible just to have free time on our hands. Even if you don’t have work, or chores around the house, or events with your friends, there is always Netflix. So, if you want to start a beauty routine, you need to set up a time for this and do it. Every day. For example, some might choose to do the morning beauty routine when they wake up, after brushing their teeth or having a shower. The evening routine can also be scheduled after the shower, just before getting to bed.
Don’t be put off by setbacks
You may wake up late and don’t have the time for all your beauty routine. Or you’re too tired in the evening to do the whole cleansing, toning, moisturizing routine. It’s ok. As long as you’re back on track tomorrow! Don’t let a small setback become your new routine. Your skin won’t face permanent damage just because you slept without cleansing your face first. But it will happen if you do this every night.
Remember this is your pampering time
Yes, a routine doesn’t sound like a treat; it sounds like work. But this is the time you spend on you and for you. Your beauty treat, your investment in your future. So, make sure to enjoy it as much as possible, at least occasionally. Maybe even make it a real spa-at-home experience every once in a while?
What do you need in a skin care routine?
We have discussed the planning stage of the beauty routine; so, it only makes sense to help you with it too! If you are someone who never had a beauty routine before, then you should keep it simple at first. Start with a morning routine of cleansing, moisturizing, and sunscreen. Or, something simple – cleanse and use a moisturizer with SPF. This should be an excellent start for any beauty beginner.
If you’re over 30 years old, with the time, you can build on this and add more products to your routine such as an eye cream, hydrating serum, and even a night cream. For people with specific skin concerns – acne, breakouts, blemishes, rosacea, and others – it is crucial to address them in the morning and/or evening routine. For example, aside from cleansing and moisturizing, add an acne serum to help you get rid of this issue. There are plenty of organic and natural options available, whatever your skin condition might be.
What is a good skin care routine?
It’s not overly complicated to get lost in day creams, night creams, SPF creams, eye creams, cleansers, micellar waters, toners, serums, sprays, and the list could go on and on and on…
However, there are specific rules you should follow if you want to make the most out of your skincare routine. Keep in mind that the skin has a limited absorption capacity. This means that you should keep your skincare routine to 3-4 products, not more.
Another rule of thumb is to use exfoliation products or the scrubs in the evenings. The same goes for skincare products with certain ingredients such as retinol or vitamin C, for example. They can make the skin more sensitive to the sun’s rays, so better keep them for the evenings and use sunscreen in the morning.
Generally speaking, in your beauty routine, you should start with liquid products, then apply the products with a gel-like texture and then the creamy textures. The SPF cream should be applied last but before makeup. Using oil or a rich cream before a liquid product might make it impossible for the skin to absorb the second product, so a complete waste of money.
The recommendation is to apply active ingredients such as vitamin C, retinol, and niacinamide right after cleansing for proper absorption and better effects. However, if you have sensitive skin, you might want to put a hydrating serum between the cleanser and the powerful active ingredients we mentioned. The hydrating serum will work as a shield and reduce potential skin reactiveness.
Here are the steps of a proper beauty routine:
| Morning Beauty Routine | Evening Beauty Routine |
| 1. Cleansing | 1. Cleansing |
| 2. Toner/ micellar water/ facial mist | 2. Toner/ micellar water |
| 3. Eye serum/ eye cream | 3. Eye serum/ eye cream |
| 4. Hydrating/ antioxidant serum | 4. Anti-aging/ Anti-acne/ Acid serums |
| 5. Moisturizing day cream/ moisturizer with SPF | 5. Moisturizing night cream/ facial oil |
If you have dry, mature, or dehydrated skin, you can switch to a natural face oil in the evenings, instead of the usual night cream. There are plenty of options available; make sure to choose a non-comedogenic natural oil.
How important is the order when it comes to skincare products?
Does the order matter as long as you have applied all the right products? Well, yes, it does. You wouldn’t want to use any serums or creams on a face that has not been cleansed. You might have noticed already that it even says on the label of the products or the packaging – “use on cleansed face.”
Cleansing eliminates the excess sebum, dirt, and other impurities and prepares the skin for the beauty routine’s next steps. The cleansing product you choose should be gentle yet efficient.
The toner is optional, as some cleansers are 2-in-1 products. In other words, you don’t need the toner if you cleanser cleans off the face beautifully. You can also replace the cleanser and toner with micellar water if your skin is happy with this. However, a hydrating toner can bring an extra level of hydration to dry or dehydrated skin.
The eye cream is an integral part of the beauty routine as it nourishes the skin in the eye area. You can try a caffeine eye cream or serum in the morning and a retinol eye cream in the evenings to get the best results possible.
The antioxidant or hydrating serum creates a shield between the skin and damaging environmental stressors such as the wind, heat, pollution, etc. This is the reason we use it in the mornings. In the evenings, you can treat your skin to powerful active ingredients that can fight the signs of aging, acne, or other skin conditions and let them work overnight.
The SPF cream is a must-have nowadays, whatever the season might be. However, you can choose a lower SPF in the colder months of the year or if you have a darker skin tone and an SPF 50 or more in summer. You can try a rich, moisturizing cream or facial oil to wake up with a hydrated, happy, glowing skin in the evenings.
Final Words
Building a beauty routine using natural and organic products is not as difficult or costly as it might seem at first. Organic skincare products deliver impressive results when used in the right order and according to your skin type. Organic skincare products indeed have a shorter shelf life compared to traditional products with chemicals in them. But do you really want to use on your skin a cream that was packed years ago?
Your skin deserves the best when it comes to skincare, so switching to natural is such a natural choice! And remember to have fun with your beauty routine!
