Maturing is realizing that achieving healthy skin requires the consistency that comes with building a daily skincare routine. If you want to fight and prevent acne, you’ll at least have to wash your face every day, and if you want to give yourself a radiant, glowing complexion, you should be exfoliating and applying hydrating serums regularly. But achieving your skin goals can be difficult when there’s a long list of ingredients and skincare terminology to parse through on top of an ever-growing amount of products available to you.
If you’re ready to put together a skincare routine, but you don’t quite know what you need or where to start, read ahead to discover the most basic steps your skincare routine should include, as well as how to differentiate between a morning and nighttime regimen.
Do I Need to Have a Skincare Routine?
Well, sort of. This really depends on how your skin behaves and what your overall needs are, but most dermatologists would agree that having a skincare routine is ideal. While it’s not exactly necessary to adopt the drawn-out, multi-step routines that have been popularized by TikTok and social media over the years, if you want to maintain healthy skin (and a healthy barrier), you should at least be cleansing, moisturizing, and treating your skin once a day at minimum.
A decent cleanser will rinse away oil, dirt, and makeup at the beginning or end of every day, and this can, in turn, decrease the likelihood of bacteria and gunk building up in your pores and causing congestion, or worse, acne. The type of cleanser you choose is all dependent on your skin type and what it needs, and the same can be said for moisturizers. Cleansing your skin with soap and rinsing with hot water can dry out your complexion, as can specific climates and temperatures and certain active ingredients like retinol, but immediately following up with a moisturizer will replenish your skin with the daily hydration it needs while also preventing water loss and improving texture and bounciness.
Lastly, “treatments” are simply all of the products you’d apply after cleansing and before moisturizing, like toners, serums, essences, and/or eye creams. These all feature ingredients addressing specific skin concerns and can refer to anything from a retinol serum that reduces fine lines and wrinkles to an exfoliating toner (with AHAs or BHAs) that peels away dead skin to a vitamin C serum that fades dark spots and brightens your complexion. In most cases, multiple treatments can be used in succession with one another.
How to Create a Morning Skincare Routine
1. Cleanser: I might ruffle some feathers by saying this, but it’s not always necessary to wash your face in the morning—especially if you’ve already gotten into the habit of cleansing at night. If your skin is on the drier side, you can skip the morning cleanse, but if your skin is especially oily, congested, or acne-prone, or if you experience anything in your sleep that causes you to wake up with a dirty face (this could be sweating, drooling, or even sleeping on a dirty pillowcase), a foaming or gel cleanser will work best here. Consider what your skin type is to ensure you’re not using a product that’s too harsh. If acne and/or oil control is your main concern, look for a cleanser with salicylic acid (to break down dirt) or niacinamide (to reduce excess oil and decrease inflammation).
2. Toner: Remember the in-between “treatment” steps I mentioned earlier? Well, toners fall into that category. These are liquid products that can be used to remove excess dirt, oil, or makeup that your cleanser didn’t fully catch, but they can also hydrate, exfoliate, unclog pores, or soothe the skin, depending on what ingredients they contain and what they’re meant to do. Our Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner, for example, is a light, watery product that features hyaluronic acid and glycerin to keep the skin hydrated and prevent moisture loss. Fermented black rice is another star ingredient here, as it’s an antioxidant that fights signs of aging and brightens the skin tone. You should apply this directly after cleansing with your fingers or a cotton pad, but if you don’t cleanse in the morning, toning should come first.
3. Serum: You can also treat the skin with a serum, since these often include a high concentration of skin-friendly ingredients. Our Black Rice Probiotics Barrier NAD+ Serum Mist, for example, features NAD+, a naturally-occurring molecule that supports DNA repair and cell renewal while also promoting collagen production. Spray it onto your face before moisturizing, and reapply throughout the day if you find yourself needing a boost.
4. Moisturizer: Moisturizers are useful for ensuring your skin is hydrated throughout the day (especially after cleansing and toning), but if you wear makeup, they can also be necessary for preventing dryness, cakeyness, and pilling underneath. Our Centella 5% Niacinamide Radiance Gel Cream includes—you guessed it—niacinamide for balancing oil production and strengthening the skin barrier while panthenol (aka vitamin B) ensures that the moisture you get from your toner and other treatments can stay trapped in your skin. It’s so good that, after a group of testers between the ages of 30 and 60 spent four weeks testing the product, most of the group agreed that it brightened their complexions and improved their skin texture.
5. Sunscreen: Whether you’re spending time directly in the sun or not, wearing sunscreen daily is a must—this is especially true if you’re applying treatments like retinoids that make your skin more sensitive to sunlight. A good product to keep in mind is our Black Rice Moisture Airyfit Daily Sunscreen SPF 50, since it’s a lightweight, chemical formula that protects the skin from harmful UV rays without leaving behind a dreaded white cast. The general rule is to apply a nickel-sized amount to your face and neck and reapply after two to three hours if possible.
How to Create a Nighttime Skincare Routine
1. Cleanser: Even if you don’t wear makeup, cleansing at night is non-negotiable. Throughout the day your skin comes into contact with a lot of gross things that you may not normally think twice about. Maybe you live in a polluted city that doesn’t have the best air quality, or maybe you have a habit of touching your face after putting your hands on a variety of germy surfaces like restaurant tables, subway poles, or a conference table at work. Either way, products like our Black Rice Double Cleansing Bundle can come in handy when cleansing at night and getting rid of all the dirt and bacteria sitting on the skin’s surface. It includes the Unscented Moisture Cleansing Oil, which is a light oil that can break down heavy makeup and is meant to be followed by the Triple AHA Gentle Cleansing Gel, which gets the skin clean without stripping it of oils or negatively affecting your barrier.
2. Essence: An essence (not to be confused with a toner) is meant to be applied after cleansing. These are lightweight, watery products that can either be sprayed onto the skin or applied with your fingers to hydrate. Our award-winning Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence includes probiotics (they’re not just beneficial for your gut!) that strengthen the skin barrier, while panthenol and ceramides help the skin retain moisture.
3. Treatment: Again, your treatment of choice all comes down to the issues in your skin that you want to address. If those happen to be things like wrinkles and pores, then retinol is your saving grace. Since retinol can increase your skin’s sensitivity to the sun, lots of dermatologists recommend applying it at night before bed. It’s also known for causing irritation and/or drying out the skin, but the good news is that our Black Rice Knight Night Retinol Serum is a gentle nighttime formula that tightens up the skin without causing sensitivity. That’s because it combines retinol with plant-based bakuchiol, a retinol alternative that boosts collagen production and decreases the appearance of fine lines without causing the skin to purge itself or feel sensitive. (Our pool of testers even reported a decrease in wrinkles after just two weeks of use.) If you’re new to retinol, use this one to two times a week before building up to daily use (and avoid using it altogether if you're pregnant or breastfeeding).
4. Moisturizer: Wrap up your nighttime routine with a moisturizer that can seal in all the hydration you got from the previous steps. The Black Rice 5 Ceramide Barrier Moisturizing Cream is a pillow-soft formula meant to hydrate and strengthen the skin barrier with help from five different ceramides. It also features vitamin E to boost elasticity (this is how your skin bounces back from being pulled or rubbed) and provide antioxidant protection.
This Is the Actual Order You Should Be Applying Your Skincare Products In
Maturing is realizing that achieving healthy skin requires the consistency that comes with building a daily skincare routine. If you want to fight and prevent acne, you’ll at least have to wash your face every day, and if you want to give yourself a radiant, glowing complexion, you should be exfoliating and applying hydrating serums regularly. But achieving your skin goals can be difficult when there’s a long list of ingredients and skincare terminology to parse through on top of an ever-growing amount of products available to you.
If you’re ready to put together a skincare routine, but you don’t quite know what you need or where to start, read ahead to discover the most basic steps your skincare routine should include, as well as how to differentiate between a morning and nighttime regimen.
Do I Need to Have a Skincare Routine?
Well, sort of. This really depends on how your skin behaves and what your overall needs are, but most dermatologists would agree that having a skincare routine is ideal. While it’s not exactly necessary to adopt the drawn-out, multi-step routines that have been popularized by TikTok and social media over the years, if you want to maintain healthy skin (and a healthy barrier), you should at least be cleansing, moisturizing, and treating your skin once a day at minimum.
A decent cleanser will rinse away oil, dirt, and makeup at the beginning or end of every day, and this can, in turn, decrease the likelihood of bacteria and gunk building up in your pores and causing congestion, or worse, acne. The type of cleanser you choose is all dependent on your skin type and what it needs, and the same can be said for moisturizers. Cleansing your skin with soap and rinsing with hot water can dry out your complexion, as can specific climates and temperatures and certain active ingredients like retinol, but immediately following up with a moisturizer will replenish your skin with the daily hydration it needs while also preventing water loss and improving texture and bounciness.
Lastly, “treatments” are simply all of the products you’d apply after cleansing and before moisturizing, like toners, serums, essences, and/or eye creams. These all feature ingredients addressing specific skin concerns and can refer to anything from a retinol serum that reduces fine lines and wrinkles to an exfoliating toner (with AHAs or BHAs) that peels away dead skin to a vitamin C serum that fades dark spots and brightens your complexion. In most cases, multiple treatments can be used in succession with one another.
How to Create a Morning Skincare Routine
1. Cleanser: I might ruffle some feathers by saying this, but it’s not always necessary to wash your face in the morning—especially if you’ve already gotten into the habit of cleansing at night. If your skin is on the drier side, you can skip the morning cleanse, but if your skin is especially oily, congested, or acne-prone, or if you experience anything in your sleep that causes you to wake up with a dirty face (this could be sweating, drooling, or even sleeping on a dirty pillowcase), a foaming or gel cleanser will work best here. Consider what your skin type is to ensure you’re not using a product that’s too harsh. If acne and/or oil control is your main concern, look for a cleanser with salicylic acid (to break down dirt) or niacinamide (to reduce excess oil and decrease inflammation).
2. Toner: Remember the in-between “treatment” steps I mentioned earlier? Well, toners fall into that category. These are liquid products that can be used to remove excess dirt, oil, or makeup that your cleanser didn’t fully catch, but they can also hydrate, exfoliate, unclog pores, or soothe the skin, depending on what ingredients they contain and what they’re meant to do. Our Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner, for example, is a light, watery product that features hyaluronic acid and glycerin to keep the skin hydrated and prevent moisture loss. Fermented black rice is another star ingredient here, as it’s an antioxidant that fights signs of aging and brightens the skin tone. You should apply this directly after cleansing with your fingers or a cotton pad, but if you don’t cleanse in the morning, toning should come first.
3. Serum: You can also treat the skin with a serum, since these often include a high concentration of skin-friendly ingredients. Our Black Rice Probiotics Barrier NAD+ Serum Mist, for example, features NAD+, a naturally-occurring molecule that supports DNA repair and cell renewal while also promoting collagen production. Spray it onto your face before moisturizing, and reapply throughout the day if you find yourself needing a boost.
4. Moisturizer: Moisturizers are useful for ensuring your skin is hydrated throughout the day (especially after cleansing and toning), but if you wear makeup, they can also be necessary for preventing dryness, cakeyness, and pilling underneath. Our Centella 5% Niacinamide Radiance Gel Cream includes—you guessed it—niacinamide for balancing oil production and strengthening the skin barrier while panthenol (aka vitamin B) ensures that the moisture you get from your toner and other treatments can stay trapped in your skin. It’s so good that, after a group of testers between the ages of 30 and 60 spent four weeks testing the product, most of the group agreed that it brightened their complexions and improved their skin texture.
5. Sunscreen: Whether you’re spending time directly in the sun or not, wearing sunscreen daily is a must—this is especially true if you’re applying treatments like retinoids that make your skin more sensitive to sunlight. A good product to keep in mind is our Black Rice Moisture Airyfit Daily Sunscreen SPF 50, since it’s a lightweight, chemical formula that protects the skin from harmful UV rays without leaving behind a dreaded white cast. The general rule is to apply a nickel-sized amount to your face and neck and reapply after two to three hours if possible.
How to Create a Nighttime Skincare Routine
1. Cleanser: Even if you don’t wear makeup, cleansing at night is non-negotiable. Throughout the day your skin comes into contact with a lot of gross things that you may not normally think twice about. Maybe you live in a polluted city that doesn’t have the best air quality, or maybe you have a habit of touching your face after putting your hands on a variety of germy surfaces like restaurant tables, subway poles, or a conference table at work. Either way, products like our Black Rice Double Cleansing Bundle can come in handy when cleansing at night and getting rid of all the dirt and bacteria sitting on the skin’s surface. It includes the Unscented Moisture Cleansing Oil, which is a light oil that can break down heavy makeup and is meant to be followed by the Triple AHA Gentle Cleansing Gel, which gets the skin clean without stripping it of oils or negatively affecting your barrier.
2. Essence: An essence (not to be confused with a toner) is meant to be applied after cleansing. These are lightweight, watery products that can either be sprayed onto the skin or applied with your fingers to hydrate. Our award-winning Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence includes probiotics (they’re not just beneficial for your gut!) that strengthen the skin barrier, while panthenol and ceramides help the skin retain moisture.
3. Treatment: Again, your treatment of choice all comes down to the issues in your skin that you want to address. If those happen to be things like wrinkles and pores, then retinol is your saving grace. Since retinol can increase your skin’s sensitivity to the sun, lots of dermatologists recommend applying it at night before bed. It’s also known for causing irritation and/or drying out the skin, but the good news is that our Black Rice Knight Night Retinol Serum is a gentle nighttime formula that tightens up the skin without causing sensitivity. That’s because it combines retinol with plant-based bakuchiol, a retinol alternative that boosts collagen production and decreases the appearance of fine lines without causing the skin to purge itself or feel sensitive. (Our pool of testers even reported a decrease in wrinkles after just two weeks of use.) If you’re new to retinol, use this one to two times a week before building up to daily use (and avoid using it altogether if you're pregnant or breastfeeding).
4. Moisturizer: Wrap up your nighttime routine with a moisturizer that can seal in all the hydration you got from the previous steps. The Black Rice 5 Ceramide Barrier Moisturizing Cream is a pillow-soft formula meant to hydrate and strengthen the skin barrier with help from five different ceramides. It also features vitamin E to boost elasticity (this is how your skin bounces back from being pulled or rubbed) and provide antioxidant protection.