Building your first routine
Three products, done consistently, beat ten done sporadically.
Start with three
A gentle cleanser. Non-foaming if your skin is dry, foaming if it is oily. Once a day at night is enough for most people; rinse with water in the morning.
A moisturiser. Look for ceramides, glycerin, or hyaluronic acid. Apply to slightly damp skin.
A sunscreen. SPF 30 or higher, broad spectrum, every morning.
That is a complete, genuinely effective routine. Many people never need more than this.
Then wait
Use those three for a month. Two things happen: your skin settles into a baseline, and you find out what it is actually like when it is not reacting to a rotating cast of new products.
Only after that baseline exists is it worth adding a treatment for a specific concern — and only one, and only for a concern you can name.
What to add, by concern
- Breakouts → salicylic acid, or adapalene
- Dark marks → azelaic acid or niacinamide
- Fine lines → a retinoid, started slowly
- Dullness → vitamin C in the morning
- Redness → azelaic acid or centella
- Dehydration → hyaluronic acid on damp skin
What not to do
Do not buy a ten-step routine because it was recommended by someone whose skin is not yours. Do not switch products every two weeks — nothing here works that fast. Do not add three things at once and then try to work out which one caused the reaction.
The most common mistake in skincare is not choosing the wrong product. It is not giving the right one long enough to work.
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The quiz turns all of this into a specific routine, with the reasoning shown for every choice.
Take the quizRoutine is educational and is not medical advice. Recommendations are generated from the answers you gave and general dermatological guidance — they cannot account for your full history. For persistent or severe skin conditions, or before starting anything new during pregnancy, speak to a doctor or dermatologist.