When we wake up in the morning, our bodies are regenerated and ready to handle another day. Providing we’ve had between 7-9 hrs of sleep. Even if you haven’t had a good night’s rest, you can make sure your morning beauty routine checklist is on point. It can make the difference between glowing and gloomy!
What’s the Key to Your Morning Beauty Regime Checklist?
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Like I’ve mentioned above, providing you’ve had the recommended amount of sleep last night, which is deemed to be between 7-9 hours, your body has not fully regenerated and repaired cellular damage from the day before. This affects your skin and general well being, significantly.
Continuous sleep deprivation effects on your skin:
- Premature aging
- Puffy eyes & undereye circles
- Dull complexion
- Less efficient absorption of nutrients from skincare products
Let’s talk reality – all of us have had about with sleep deprivation one time or another during the course of our life so far. Hands up all the boss babes, the brides to be and the new mamas!
As much as you should try to get a fair amount of snooze each night, when that’s not happening on your agenda right now – fret not gal pal!
By establishing a killah’ morning beauty routine checklist, you can minimize the effects of too little sleep and give your skin a hand at rejuvenation.
What If I Sleep Just Fine?
Lucky chick! You still need to prepare your skin for the upcoming day, protect it from environmental factors, and make sure it’s properly moisturized. No exceptions, a great morning beauty routine = a beautiful day ahead!
Why Your Morning & Night Beauty Routines Should Be Different
This is REAL important, your morning beauty routine checklist should be slightly different from the one before bedtime. Why?
- Skin loses more water a night, which means your pre-bedtime products should be more nourishing and rich in texture vs. those you use in the morning.
- Blood circulation is much better when you sleep, your skin is more prone to absorbing nutrients efficiently vs. morning & daytime. Come morning time, your skin is faced with fighting free radicals and environmental factors like sun exposure, stress, and pollution to name a few. Hence – it has different needs at this time of the day.
- Your morning beauty routine checklist calls for refreshment, moisture, and protection, whilst pre-bedtime pampering should be more about cleansing and nourishing after a long day.
5 Quick Steps To A Morning Routine Your Skin Will Love!
I totally get what it’s like getting ready in the morning, especially if you’re not only getting yourself sorted. With waking up and taking care of the kids, feeding the cats and dogs, helping your partner find a tie/sock/insert item, it can be mayhem. These 5 quick steps will take you literally 5 minutes, if not less!
A great morning beauty routine checklist doesn’t have to be an enormous and complicated process. In fact – less means more when it comes to beauty. It’s all about doing the right things at the right time, with the right products. Easy? It will be once I show you how!
Your Morning Beauty Routine Checklist
In chronological order, made totally simple and oh so effective. Let’s dive right in ladies!
Drink a Glass of Water
Yes, I will go there. Keep a glass of water by your bedside table. When you wake up, drink up buttercup! The benefits of drinking water immediately after waking up have been heavily debated.
Downing a glass of water after waking up, on an empty stomach, kicks off your hydration for the day and helps to flush toxins which in turn increases your body’s ability to absorb nutrients. You can drink it saute, ice-cold to boost your metabolism, or add some lemon for even further benefits.
What has it got to do with your morning beauty routine checklist? It paves the way for glowing, healthy-looking skin by flushing those toxins, cleansing your system, and hydrating.
I’ve tried this and it does make a difference if you’re consistent the results will come around.
Too simple? As you dig deeper behind the scenes of a healthy and natural lifestyle, you will find that it’s actually really simple to maintain.
The transition itself takes some work as most changes do, but actually “living the healthy life” is pure and simple. As things should be!
Cleanse Skin
Once you’re done with your water, the next step to your morning beauty routine checklist is cleansing. Cleansing in the morning basically comes down to preparing your skin for a quenching dose of moisturizer.
Pick your cleanser according to skin type – super important!
- Normal to combination skin is the easiest – you can go with face wash, micellar water, cleansing milk or even face wipes. This skin type is a blessing in terms of beauty care.
Make sure you avoid alcohol-based cleansers, as they tend to dry out skin significantly, thereby upsetting its chemical balance.
- Oily and acne-prone skin likes delicate, water-based face washes in the form of a gel.
Avoid using face wash with exfoliating properties on a daily basis, as it will induce even more sebum production and cause further breakouts. It can also irritate your skin which is already sensitive due to its condition.
- Dry and dehydrated skin prefers creamy and quenching formulas such as cleansing milk or delicate micellar solution. Avoid alcohol-based cleansers which dry out the skin. Make sure your exfoliating scrub is very finely grained, thick scrubs are harsh on the skin.
Dry skin is sensitive and irritation prone, exfoliate with care and no more than once a week.
- Sensitive/atopic skin needs VIP treatment due to the fact it’s extremely prone to irritation, rash, redness, cracking, peeling and damage in general. To avoid uncomfortable sensations of burning or tightening, go straight for the dermo-cosmetics aisle.
Soap and fragrance-free cleansers that nourish your skin whilst purifying are your best bet. Watch out for products which contain SLS which can cause irritation and/or allergic reactions in sensitive skin.
Tone
This is a step that A LOT of women pass on, including me once upon a time. Why the hell should you tone your skin? Isn’t cleansing enough?
The purpose of toning your skin is restoring the natural ph balance after cleansing.
Your skin has a thin, protective outside layer called the acid mantle. Its pH is around 5.5 (slightly acidic) and it’s the optimal level of pH to keep your skin supple and healthy-looking.
When you cleanse or even wash your face with water, you’re changing the pH of your skin, which upsets its natural balance.
Depending on where you live and how hard/soft your water is, the change in pH can be quite significant. This means your skin will go into overdrive to get back to the 5.5 marks.
The key to maintaining skin health, as well as overall well being, is balance.
That’s why you should tone – to maintain a healthy balance within your skincare routine. Toning is fast and easy – apply some toner to a cotton pad, and wipe your face gently like you would when taking off makeup.
How To Choose The Right Toner?
When it comes to toners, I have realized through trial and error, that the most important part is making sure your toner is alcohol-free.
Even if your skin is oily/acne-prone, stay away from astringents. They will dry out your skin like mad and eventually make matters worse by kicking its sebum production into overdrive.
The rule of thumb when it comes to toners: the more natural, the better. No alcohol, moisturizing properties, and milky textures are things to look for.
Toners have a bad rep due to the fact that most women associate them with astringents – the horrible, stinging lotions from hell.
They’re meant to constrict your pores and remove excess oil and bacteria from the skin, but really they just make it feel like Sahara in the middle of July.
I’ve had a fair share of bad experiences with astringents, especially when I was in my teens and absolutely covered in acne. Astringents made it so much worse. Do yourself a favor and don’t use them.
Let’s establish a new beginning with toners. Toner = gentle, moisturizing lotion which balances your skin pH for a supple and glowing complexion. Much better!
Moisturize
Now onto the moisturizing – probably my favorite part. There’s nothing quite as comforting as the feeling of a beautifully scented and soft textured moisturizer melting into your skin.
The softness, suppleness, and comfort are a cherry on top of the morning routine!
Your morning beauty routine checklist should include moisturizing for 3 super important reasons:
- Skin loses water when you sleep, you need to replenish that moisture with applying moisturizer
- Your skin will be faced with environmental factors throughout the day, like sunshine exposure, pollution and stress, meaning you need to provide it with a protective layer. Thi is what moisturizing will take care of too.
- Moisturizing prevents premature aging by providing your skin with the right amount of moisture and nutrients.
5 Qualities Your Daytime Moisturizer Should Have
- It should contain an SPF filter of at least 15, protecting against both UVA and UVB rays
- The texture should be light and easily absorbed by your skin. A thick, rich cream applied during daytime burdens your skin with loads of ingredients which it won’t have the capability to use. Remember your skin is busy during the day, fighting free radicals and countering environmental factors.
- It should provide a good base for makeup – this goes back to the 2 point. If you apply a thick, rich-textured cream to your face in the morning, piling makeup on top can create an uncomfortable “mask”, literally. Makeup tends to smudge and wear off much faster if you’ve got a thick and greasy base. Not even going to start on what this combination will do to your pores. Look for moisturizers with “great makeup base” claims.
- At least one moisturizing agent should figure in the first 3 ingredients on the list. Why is this important? I’ve mentioned before, that ingredients on beauty products are listed in order of concentration, going from most to least. Look for: glycerin, hyaluronic acid, dimethicone, emollients like petrolatum, paraffin and lanolin
- It should contain at least one plant oil – because natural plant oils kick ass at moisturizing and nourishing your skin. Added bonus – they give moisturizers and amazing fragrance, naturally. Don’t be fooled by the fact that they’re oils – they won’t make your skin greasy! Look for: shea, olive, macadamia , coconut, jojoba, almond.
Plant oils are also nature’s emollients, sealing in moisture and protecting your skin from irritation and environmental factors.
Apply Primer – Optional
So this step is really up to you and your preferences, but I think it’s important to spend a minute and discuss primer.
What Is Primer?
Primer is a gel, cream or powder textured cosmetic that smoothes the skin, evens out skin tone, and provides a great base which prolongs the longevity of foundation and makeup in general.
A good reason why primer should find a place in your morning beauty routine checklist?
Primer poses a barrier between the skin and foundation, which makes makeup last longer, especially in hot weather. It also protects the skin from reacting to foundation, like becoming overly dried out or oily.
Used on its own, primer provides a more polished and evened outlook, without having to use foundation.
3 Main Types Of Primer
Primer is mainly used for the face, eyelids, and eyelashes. Each type of primer has a specific goal:
- Face primer is mainly used to make makeup last longer, even out skin tone, provide a smoother and more radiant complexion
- Eyelid primer is used to prevent eyeshadow from creasing, smudging and fading. You can use colored eyelid primers to intensify the color of your eyeshadow and further prolong a “freshly done” makeup look.
- Eyelash primer is used to thicken and nourish your eyelashes before applying mascara, also prolonging its longevity
3 Big Advantages Of Using Primer
If you’re unsure whether the primer is for you, let me tell you about the 3 biggest advantages of using primer, according to my experience.
- Your complexion becomes ultra-smooth and even, silky and supple, meaning you can get an amazingly polished look even on those no-makeup days.
- It poses a barrier between your skin and makeup, which is an extra measure you can take to make sure your face stays comfortable and hydrated all day long.
- Primers are often infused with botanical extracts like aloe vera and grapeseed oil, which additionally nourish your skin. Added bonus with all that smoothness!
It’s worth giving a primer a try, it’s best to apply it with your fingertips so you really work it into the skin. Primer is one of those products that you avoid and see unnecessary until you use it and can no longer go without.
Make Your Morning Beautiful In 5 Measly Minutes
Despite the fact that this is a LOT of information to take in, these 5 steps will take you 5 measly minutes.
Only 5 minutes stand between you and a beautiful morning! Your skin will thank you, you’ll feel refreshed and well taken care of, which sounds like a great start to any day in my book!
Remember that a little goes a long way:
Success is the sum of little things, done day in day out, consecutively for a period of time
When you start using this morning beauty routine checklist regularly, you’ll see the difference those little things make.
It’s another 5 minutes that you add on to the time you take out of your day, to take care of YOU. Taking care of yourself is truly the best investment you can make. Remember that girlfriend!
