So you’ve been using your skincare routine for a little while, and you’re eyeing the (many many, painful number of) November sales, and you’re wondering “What’s Next?” for your skincare journey. Maybe you just want to add a little something to get some additional results or add a little joy to your routine, or maybe you’re ready to escalate from the standard cleanser-moisturizer-sunscreen starter routine to using a variety of actives. Regardless, here are some things to consider as you travel down the road of collecting and incorporating additional skincare to ensure that your skin and your wallet are both set up for success.
Disclaimer: I use a lot of skincare. My skin loves it. I also own a lot of skincare, just generally, but I manage it within my means. (My empties & openeds can attest to how rapidly I really do go through all this.) You absolutely should not try to use more skincare than your skin likes, or buy more skincare than your financial situation permits.
⏯ Start with the basics
If you’re not loving your current cleanser-moisturizer-sunscreen combo or (heaven forbid!) you’re currently skipping one of those steps, that needs to be your first step in leveling up your skincare routine. If you need help getting the basics down, I’ve written about the basics of a routine elsewhere. It can be tempting to jump right into treatments for your various skin concerns, but if you don’t have the basics down you can do more harm than good in the long run. Furthermore, if you find that you’re not cleansing every evening even though you have a cleanser, or don’t put on sunscreen every morning even though you have a sunscreen, you may first look at upgrading those to products that you will happily use day after day after day.
🧹 Declutter before moving on
Nothing is sadder than opened skincare gathering dust and expiring. (Alright, there are many sadder things, but it’s a mega bummer.) If you find that you currently have skincare that you’re not reaching for, figure out why that is — and address that, first. Maybe it’s a basic that’s not bringing you joy so you’re not using it. Maybe it’s an active that was way too strong for your face. Maybe it’s a moisturizer that broke you out. Maybe you’ve just lost interest. I personally love a good “hate pan” where you just use up a product in a rush because you’re not enjoying it. Maybe you can “downgrade” the product to your body — this works particularly well for actives or sunscreens that don’t work well for your face. If it’s pretty full yet, you can regift to a friend or get on one of the many buy/sell/trade groups in the world to send it off to a stranger. Regardless, give it a new lease on life before buying or opening more.
🚵♀️ Know your actives
The first thing pretty much everyone looks to add to their routine is an active: exfoliating acids, retinol, vitamin c, etc. If this is you, figure out which active will benefit you the most, and start with that one rather than playing skincare Pokemon and trying to catch them all — that way lies skin barrier damage. If you’re already using an active but want to add another, make sure you know how the actives will play together. You’ll also want to check your current products — many products slip some actives in without labeling it, so you’ll want to ensure you’re not doubling up. When I was first starting to get into skincare, I was unwittingly using AHAs every night (ah, Origins Night-a-Mins, I miss your creamsicle smell).
🛣 Understand your approach to skincare
Skincare is very personal, and individual approaches to skincare are even more so. Do you struggle to be consistent with a routine? Do you prefer products when they do (or don’t) include fragrance? Do you either use two products or ten products in a routine, with no in-between? There’s no right or wrong answer to any of these questions. But the best skincare routine is the one that you’ll use, so knowing your approach to skincare is critical. For my part? I stick with my categories of products and make sure products will fit easily into my current routine as I rotate through things. Sales and specials can trick you into getting products there’s no chance you’ll actually use and which you’ll just wind up needing to declutter in a month or two.
🐈 Think in categories
When it comes to actually building a routine, I always think in categories — not just in terms of product categories, but also in terms of purpose categories. Because I have a problem and spreadsheets are the solution, I actually have a spreadsheet where I track what I’m currently using, what’s in my stash and what I’d like to buy next — all organized by the categories within my routine. My routine is over 10 steps, but I use all of them regularly because each product has a purpose. Do you need this many steps? Absolutely not. Does my skin love it? Absolutely yes. Worthwhile callouts here are having specific categories for toners and essences, as well as categories for types of serums. For me, this helps ensure that I don’t open too many toners or serums of the same type, despite my love of toners and serums, and keeps me from having too big of a stash for any one category of product.
💸 Purchase thoughtfully
Last but never least, when you start adding to your cart, is to purchase thoughtfully. This includes not just taking these concepts to heart, but also buying within your means. Sales can awaken a big sense of FOMO — I certainly fall prey to it myself — but you don’t want to jeopardize your day-to-day well-being for a skincare splurge. I’ve written elsewhere about being a financially responsible skincare fanatic, but wanted to drop some thoughts here, too. Budgeting is always a good idea, but setting yourself a budget during the holidays can be critical to make sure you don’t over-extend yourself. I also find it helpful to have rules of thumb around how much I’m generally willing to pay for a particular type of product, so I don’t get caught up in how much something’s marked down. For example, my usual rule of thumb is 50 cents per mL of moisturizer, 1 dollar per mL of serum or ampoule, or 20 cents per mL of toner or essence. And, of course, consider why you want to drop that money — if you’re purchasing from a place of fulfillment and happiness, or because you’re trying to solve problems through skincare. I particularly appreciated Kelly Driscoll’s most recent video, “Do this gut check before hitting checkout”, for its conversation on these themes:
Are you changing up your skincare routine? How? Are you struggling to figure out what’s next on your skincare journey? Let me know!
Lisa Loves Skincare 
This is very lovely 😍
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