Published: March 15, 2024
Your morning skincare routine should set your skin up for the day by giving it the moisture and nutrients it needs while keeping it feeling protected against environmental damage. If you’ve been struggling to overcome various skin concerns, this could be because your morning skincare routine is lacking in some way.
The good news is that CBGärdN is here to help. Read on as we share a morning routine that will keep your skin looking fresh, smooth, and energized until the sun goes down.
Step 1: Cleanse
Although cleansing should be the first step of any skincare routine, many people choose to skip using a cleanser in the mornings. While those with sensitive skin may find it beneficial to simply splash their faces with water in the mornings, cleansing is most definitely recommended for everyone else.
It’s understandable why people believe that a morning cleanse is unnecessary. After all, if you’ve cleansed the previous night, right before heading to bed, then surely your face won’t be dirty in the morning?
This may be true when it comes to the dirt and pollutants that you pick up from your daily environment. However, dead skin cells, sebum, and bacteria will still build up on your skin while you sleep. Ideally, you want to cleanse these all away before you apply any other products, to save you from unintentionally pushing those impurities deeper into your skin.
With that said, a gentle cleanser is all you need to be using in the morning. Look for a mild, sulfate-free formula, like the CB Facial Cleanser. It hydrates and cleanses at the same time, while the nettle leaf extract in this blend provides a burst of antioxidants.
Even if you happen to be in a rush in the mornings, don’t speed through this step. Ideally, you need to set aside at least one minute for massaging your cleanser into your skin. This will enable it to emulsify all of the sebum and other impurities on your skin’s surface, enabling the cleanser to remove every last trace.
Step 2: Tone
Once you’re done cleansing, it’s time to apply a toner. Why? For a few different reasons…
Firstly, keeping your skin hydrating is key to achieving a healthy, luminous complexion. Hydration is best provided in layers, and a hydrating toner acts as one of those layers.
Toners are also fantastic for rebalancing the pH level on the surface of the skin. This will keep many visible skin concerns in check, reducing the appearance of everything from acne to sensitivities. It will also leave your skin feeling more receptive to any other skincare products that you apply.
Finally, toners are great for soothing and calming the complexion. The right toner will help to prevent the appearance of irritation and inflammation throughout the day, keeping your skin feeling relaxed.
Of course, not every toner out there will do all of these things. However, one toner that hits the mark on all fronts is the CB Facial Toner from CBGärdN. It will do everything that we’ve mentioned above while also helping to even out your skin tone and keep your skin barrier feeling fortified, thanks to the addition of niacinamide.
Even better, a toner doesn’t take long to apply. Release some onto a cotton ball, swipe it onto your face while your skin is still slightly damp from cleansing, and then move on to the next step of your skincare routine.
Step 3: Apply an Eye Serum
If you often wake up with dark circles and puffiness looking prominent under your eyes, an eye serum is a must for your morning skincare routine. Certain ingredients will help to brighten, smooth, and perk up the look of your eye area. They’ll have your face looking well-rested and wide awake, even if you’ve had a late night!
Peptides are renowned for doing this. They’ll leave your skin feeling firmer and tighter too. Humectants, such as glycerin and sodium hyaluronate, are also beneficial in a morning eye serum. These ingredients bind moisture to the skin, giving it a plumper and fuller finish. If your skin often looks sallow and lackluster in the mornings, humectants will help to counter that.
This is why the CB Eye Serum Concentrate is such a hit. Not only does it contain a blend of peptides and humectants, but its vitamins and antioxidants will keep your eye area looking bright and even. It works wonders on the complexion in the short run but the long-term improvements that it produces are particularly impressive!
Again, applying an eye serum doesn’t take long. Simply pump out a small amount onto your ring finger and then pat this into your skin, working your way clockwise around your eyes. By the time you put the bottle away and reach for your next product, your skin will have soaked this one up!
Step 4: Use an Antioxidant-Rich Facial Serum
Antioxidants are everything when it comes to keeping your skin feeling healthy throughout the day. They work to counter the appearance of free radical damage in the skin, which is caused by exposure to everything from the sun to pollutants. Free radicals drastically speed up the skin aging process, leaving the skin looking wrinkled, rough, and discolored far earlier than it should.
There are thousands of antioxidants out there, and each one will be beneficial to your skin in some way. With that said, some are known for being harder workers than others. If you’re hoping for maximum results from your skincare routine, vitamin C and vitamin A are two antioxidants that you definitely should be using. Plant stem cells are also at the top of the list when it comes to natural sources of potent antioxidants.
This is why we created the CB Illuminating Vita C Serum. It brings together vitamins A, C, and E, blending them with grape stem cells and a selection of antioxidant-rich plant oils. It will ramp up your skin’s antioxidant content while also providing an extra layer of moisture.
Step 5: Layer on a Hydrating Serum
If you’re trying to speed through your morning skincare routine and need it to be as basic as possible, go ahead and skip this step, especially if you’ve used the vitamin C serum recommended above.
However, if you have an extra 30 seconds to spare, adding in a hydrating serum could make a huge difference to your complexion. After all, chances are that you want your skin to look dewy and radiant throughout the day. In order for this to happen, it needs to be hydrated, making it worth giving it some extra moisture in the mornings.
Our top choice for doing this is the CB Göld Replenishing Serum. It boasts a long list of hydrating ingredients, along with a selection of antioxidants. You’ll also notice gold on the ingredient list. This precious metal not only has antioxidant properties, but its light-reflecting capabilities will give your skin an instant glow!
If you’re layering a couple of different serums in your morning skincare routine, always start with the lightest one. Then, once that one is almost dry, follow up with the thicker serum. This will encourage maximum absorption.
Step 6: Apply an Eye Cream If Needed
If you don’t have any visible skin concerns around your eyes and are already using an eye serum in your morning skincare routine, then an eye cream may not be needed. However, if your eye area has been causing you problems in the morning, be it because of the appearance of crow’s feet, dark circles, or anything else, an eye cream would be worth squeezing in.
Just like an eye serum, an eye cream will be designed to specifically cater to the needs of the delicate skin around the eyes. It will contain ingredients that can help with the visible skin concerns that this part of the face is prone to. This is why eye creams tend to be more effective on the eye area than general facial moisturizers.
When choosing an eye cream, you can either look for one that’s geared toward one of the skin concerns that you’re struggling with, or you can go for an all-rounder formula, like the CB ProLift Eye Firming Cream. This eye cream reduces the appearance of wrinkles, dark circles, and uneven skin tone. It’s the perfect way to brighten up and tighten up the look of your eye area in the mornings!
Step 7: Moisturize and Protect
Now onto the final stage of this morning skincare routine; moisturizing and protecting. Both are essential. Moisturizing provides a final layer of moisture while also locking in all of the other products that you’ve applied. Meanwhile, SPF is self-explanatory. It’ll save your complexion from the wrinkles, dark spots, and sagging that UV rays cause!
Some people prefer to do this stage in two steps by applying a moisturizer and then following this up with a sunscreen. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing this but, if you’re needing to speed things up at this stage, a two-in-one moisturizer and sunscreen makes life so much more convenient!
For sufficient protection, SPF 30 is what you’ll need, which you’ll get from our CB Multi-Active Moisturizer With SPF 30. It’s a wonderfully quenching moisturizer, providing everything from aloe vera to vitamin E. It’s also jam-packed with antioxidants from green tea and nettle leaf, which, as we explained earlier, are key to keeping your complexion looking healthy. At the same time, it contains UV-blocking agents that will keep your skin protected from sun damage.
Although it does a lot, this cream is surprisingly lightweight. It melts into the skin quickly, providing an even-looking base that you can easily apply makeup to.
Creating a Morning Skincare Routine With CBGärdN
It’s important to put a large amount of thought into your morning skincare routine. It needs to cover all angles, providing your complexion with moisture, antioxidants, and protection from environmental damage. However, at the same time, it can’t take too long. Mornings are a busy time for most! This is what makes the above routine so perfect. It’ll give your skin all that it needs to see it through the day, and you’ll be able to pull it all off in under ten minutes!
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