Skin type isn’t everything when it comes to cobbling together a brilliant skincare regime… but it’s a great place to start. My book ‘Great Skin: Secrets The Beauty Industry Doesn’t Tell You)' is a comprehensive guide to getting your best skin, ever, but to get the basics down pat, simply read on.
There are four ‘official’ skin types (normal, dry, oily and combination), and the classic way to determine yours is by washing your face. Use a mild, sulphate-free face wash (you’ll find plenty of options below) and wait 20 minutes without putting anything else on your face. If, at this point, your face feels or looks
- Tight, arid, sometimes flaky (frankly, skin feels like this all the time, all over your body): you have dry skin (lacking in oil).
- Shiny and a bit slick with large pores: it’s oily skin
- Shiny in the middle (T-Zone), dry and tight on the cheeks: this is combination skin
- Smooth, glowing and comfortable: congratulations, this is normal skin.
There are also a few skin conditions you’re not necessarily born with (making them not ‘skin types’), but that are pervasive and persistent enough to deserve their own consistent routine:
- Quick to flare, flush and develop reactions: your skin is sensitive
- If your face feels dull, flaky, dry and irritated for longer or shorter periods, even if you have oily skin, you skin is dehydrated (lacking in water)
- Suffering from bouts of acne without the customary oil slicks? Your skin is dry-but-spot-prone
Pick your routine
Granted, some skin types are trickier to deal with than others. But where ‘diva skins’ used to have to pay big money for skincare that could keep them in check, today’s smorgasbord of affordable skin brands has plenty of options for every dermal issue.
Check out your tailor-made under-£50 routine below. Because one of the keys to great skin is a daily SPF but in truth, not everybody wears one (you really should, but I’m going to be realistic!), a facial SPF is suggested for each skin type as an additional option. You can switch it in and out with your regular moisturiser, or add it on top of your entire routine.
You won’t find night or (many) eye creams here. Why? Because when you choose gentle, fragrance free, non-pore-clogging facial serums and moisturisers at all times, you can use them both day and night and around your eyes, no problem. Bonus! The only exception is products with exfoliating acids (AHA’s or BHA’s) – do keep those away from your eye area to avoid irritation.
All you need for £50
Dry skin
You need nourishing products rich in oils and skin barrier-repairing lipids, layered over water-trapping humectants like glycerin. A layer-cake of skin-quenchers, basically!
Total: £40.48
Nourishes while cleansing
Use overnight after cleansing, 3x weekly, to remove dead cells
An extra layer of hydration under your serum and/or moisturiser
Sperdrug Me+ Superdrug Me+ 100% Squalane Booster 30ml
Use a few drops alone or with moisturiser for quick-absorbing nourishment
Like the perfect lover: rich and gentle
Oily skin
Your face needs calming ingredients, pore-clearing salicylic and azelaic acid and water-based hydrating serums. If you suffer a lot of acne breakouts and good skincare won’t work, consider seeing a dermatologist.
Total: £46.80
Cerave SA Smoothing Cleanser with Salicylic Acid 236ml
Clears out pores without stripping skin
Balances sebum production while providing weightless moisture
Protects, hydrates and brightens: layering hydrating serums is a great trick for quenching oily skin without the weight.
A great oil, spot and redness-buster. Use overnight and, if you want, top with a hydrating serum.
Combination skin
You need water-based hydration all over, with a richer lipid-restoring cream where needed, and balancing ingredients like niacinamide.
Total: £46.38
Alessandra Steinherr x Primark Pore Balance Low-pH Sulphate-free Cleanser, £4
Has pore-purging hero salicylic acid, but won’t dry skin
A splash of balancing and calming niacinamide a day keeps breakouts at bay
La Roche-Posay Toleriane Sensitive Moisturiser 40ml
To keep dry and sore areas comfortable and supple
Said to be more quenching (without oil) than hyaluronic acid
By Beauty Bay Soothe Paste Blemish Treatment, £5
Will get rid of spotty areas and individual blemishes
Normal skin
Yes, you have a little more flexibility when it comes to a skincare routine, but you still need to stock up on the basics like a good vitamin C serum and an effective cleanser.
Total £43.98
yourgoodskin YourGoodSkin Revitalizing Foaming Wash
Slays makeup and dirt without any drying
Powerfully brightening and anti-oxidant, it has a squalane base so nourishes skin as well
Garnier Organic Hemp Multi-Restore Gel Cream 50ml
Full of hemp seed oil but weightlessly gel-textured. Slightly scented so keep away from eyes
CeraVe Eye Repair Cream 14ml
Keeps eye skin calm and plump
Sensitive skin
Really, you should treat every skin as if it was sensitive. But if yours is especially reactive, treat it to plenty of anti-inflammatory and skin barrier building ingredients. If irritation persists, you could have rosacea, psoriasis, or another condition that requires professional help.
Total: £43.79
Ultra-rich and calming, this makes skin sigh with relief
Literally lowers cortisol (the stress hormone) in freaked-out skin, calming flare-ups long-term
Bioderma Sensibio AR 40ml
A lightweight but protective moisturiser that keeps redness at bay
Dehydrated skin
Irrigate rather than oil up: look for humectants such as hyaluronic acid, magnesium PCA, glycerin and aloe vera, and indulge freely, whether your skin is always dry or whether it’s genetically oily but always feels tight.
Total £43.48
Garnier Micellar Water Facial Cleanser and Makeup Remover for Sensitive Skin 400ml
Water itself is slightly drying; this gives you the option to avoid it
These ultra-mild exfoliating acids can be used daily after cleansing to keep skin from getting dull
The Ordinary 'Buffet' Serum 30ml
This serum probably has the largest selection of humectants in the business
Bioderma Hydrabio Gel-Cream 40ml
Developed for dehydrated skin, it infuses moisture and traps it in skin
Dry-but-spot-prone skin
If your skin has always been dry but is also besieged by spots (caused not so much by sebum but by irritating and pore-plugging products, dietary factors or stress), tread carefully. You need lightweight moisture that respects your skin barrier, mild exfoliants and calming agents.
Total: £43.40
Gallinée Prebiotic Cleansing Bar 100g
PH-neutral cleansing bar that purifies while strengthening skin’s protective lipid barrier and microbiome
The Ordinary Marine Hyaluronics
Full of humectants and skin-friendly marine probiotics and water-like in texture, layer this under your facial milk
Boosts skin’s ceramides to keep it juicy and supple without the weight
Garden Of Wisdom Salicylic Acid 2% Serum
Used overnight, it zaps breakouts but also helps to hydrate skin
Ingeborg van Lotringen is author of Great Skin: Secrets the Beauty Industry Doesn’t Tell You (Gibson Square, £12.99)
