Whether you’re new to skincare or a seasoned enthusiast, building a routine that works for you and your skin can be overwhelming when there’s so many great products to choose from, and new ones landing all the time. At Rodial, all our ranges are designed to be used together in routines, no matter what your skin type or concern, but if you’re not sure where to start, we’ve got you. In this blog series, we will take you through how to build your routine, with tips for adding in different steps depending on your skin type. First up: how to build a simple morning skincare routine.

What are the 5 basic rules of skincare?

When it comes to your routine, there are five rules that everyone, no matter what your skin type or concern, should follow for optimum skin health.

1. Cleanse twice daily

One of the most important steps of your skincare routine is to cleanse. Dirt, oil and impurities from the environment build up on the surface of your skin all the time, so cleansing helps to prevent breakouts, dehydration, and premature ageing and creates a clean blank canvas for skin to drink in all the good stuff from the next steps in your routine.

2. Always take your makeup off

We’ve all been there: you’ve had a long day (or night), and you just don’t have the energy to make it to the bathroom or dresser to take the day off. But this is arguably the most important step in your routine if you’re wearing makeup. Leaving it on overnight wreaks havoc on your skin, not only clogging pores but also interfering with the skin’s natural shedding process. Our skin cells renew almost every night, so if there’s extra stuff on top like makeup, the whole process causes skin to become congested, and you’ll see blackheads, blemishes and breakouts as a result. Plus, leaving makeup on makes a real mess of your pillow.

3. Hydration

When we say hydration, we mean products that primarily contain hyaluronic acid, polyglutamic acid, vitamin E, squalene and so on. Hydrating skin at any point in your routine not only helps to hydrate skin and keep the skin’s protective barrier functioning, but it also helps lock in all the benefits of routine. Hydration also helps to minimise any chance of irritation by ensuring that your skin barrier has enough moisture to keep it healthy.

A hydrating, nourishing concentrate is a good place to start when choosing your hydration step, as they are generally lightweight in texture, which makes them good for layering over and under other products. Alternatively, a serum – usually a bit thicker in texture – can be used, and you can also use a hydrating cleanser and /or moisturiser too.

4. Exfoliation

As noted above, our skin cells in the outer layer of skin renew almost daily, which means that the old ones die off and need to be removed. If they aren’t removed, it can cause dullness – essentially, the dead skin obstructs the new, fresh skin. Allowing dead skin to build up can also eventually block pores, which can lead to breakouts.

Exfoliating also helps to encourage skin to produce more collagen, which is the substance responsible for keeping our skin youthful and plump. It does this by encouraging skin cell renewal – younger, fresher cells keep that production line of collagen going, which is particularly important as we get older because collagen production starts to decline. Exfoliation also helps with skin hydration: removing the dead skin allows the fresh, new skin to drink in hydrating ingredients.

Read more on how and why to exfoliate here.

5. SPF in the morning is a non-negotiable

SPF is a year-round skincare commitment. UVA and UVB rays don't take a break in winter, so you need to protect your skin every day, all year round. Get to grips with the benefits of SPF with the ‘ABC of SPF’ below:

A is for Ageing. SPF helps protect skin from premature ageing caused by UVA rays, which manifests itself via age spots, wrinkles and sagging skin. Grim.

B is for Burn. The most obvious of the benefits: SPF   protects skin from sunburn, caused by UVB rays. Which not only hurts at the time, but also increases your chance of developing skin cancer.

C is for Collagen. Increased exposure to sunlight leads to collagen degeneration, which is the stuff responsible for keeping skin plump and youthful. Wear SPF, and you're protected.

Shop Our SPFs here

What should my skincare routine be in the morning?

1. CLEANSE

Start by creating a blank canvas for the rest of your routine. Rodial’s range of cleansers is unique because it contains both traditional gel cleansers as well as pads and a micellar water, which are great if you’re in a rush or on-the-go. Check out our range of cleansers here.

2. EXFOLIATE

Exfoliation helps clear dead skin cells shed overnight, which helps skin absorb all of the benefits of your routine. Morning is a great time to exfoliate because your skin cells renew at night, but how you exfoliate depends on your skin type. Physical exfoliants like scrubs, brushes or exfoliating cloths are generally not suited to sensitive or dry skin types: you should instead seek a gentler exfoliation option like low-level AHA or BHA cleanser or pad – our Vit C Brightening Cleansing Pads are a great option. Dermatologists generally recommend chemical exfoliation over physical exfoliation due to the abrasive nature of some physical exfoliants which, if not used correctly, can damage your skin.

If your skin is on the oilier side or you don’t have a specific skin concern or type, an exfoliating cloth used in conjunction with your cleanser and water is a great way to slough all of those dead skin cells away.

3. TREAT

This is the step where you can really tailor your routine to what your skin needs. Your treatment step can come in many forms – drops and concentrates, serums or even a mask. You can also use more than one treatment step. If you choose to use more than one, use a mask first (check out our range of jelly masks and sheet masks here), then apply your drops or serum afterwards.

4. EYES

It’s all too easy to miss your under eyes in your skincare routine, but they are equally as important as the rest of your face and often require a different type of ingredient than the rest of your skin – for example, you may have oily skin but dark circles under your eyes. Again, you can use an under-eye mask/patch or a cream, or both. Apply the mask or patch first, then the cream if you’re using both.

5. MOISTURISE

Put simply, a moisturiser’s job is to hydrate the skin, prevent water loss and lock in all the benefits of your routine. Our range contains both moisturisers on their own, as well as hybrid SPF-moisturisers, which do both this step and the next one, in one. Again, when choosing your moisturiser, you can pick one that treats a specific concern or one that simple provides a good dose of hydration.

6. SPF

Protecting your skin with SPF is a non-negotiable in skincare – no matter what your skin type, everyone needs to do it. At Rodial, we have a specific high-protection SPF, our SPF50 Drops, or three hybrid SPF-moisturisers – Dragon’s Blood Hyaluronic Moisturiser SPF15 and Vit C SPF30 Moisturiser and Bee Venom Day Cream SPF30. Our Skin Tint also contains SPF20, so can be used straight on top of a moisturiser with or without SPF.

Can I have the same skincare routine for morning and night?

While it is perfectly fine to use the same routine morning and night, once you’re feeling a little more confident with your routine and know your skin better, you can start to introduce a different ingredient as your TREAT step: for example, if you have sun damage and pigmentation, you might choose vitamin C in the morning and retinol in the evening. If you’re concerned with the signs of ageing, you might choose Dragon’s Blood in the morning for some hydrating, plumping action and firming Bee Venom in the evening.

When it comes to exfoliation, if you have sensitive or dry skin, it’s recommended to only exfoliate once a day or perhaps every other day. And remember, you don’t need SPF at night.

Get started with our routine kits

Little Luxuries Kits

Our little luxuries kits are a brilliant way to get a feel for building your ideal routine and contain four, mini-size products that are perfect for trying out before you commit to the full-size versions. Choose from Bee Venom, Dragon’s Blood and Vit C.

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Day Routine Edit

This mini-size full routine is ideal for a range of skin types. Featuring our bestselling Vit C Brightening Cleansing Pads and Snake Serum O2, this routine will keep skin clear, bright and hydrated all day long.

Check out our full range of Routine Kits here.