Skincare Routine Basics

Friends ask me about skincare all the time, and I’ve written a version of this email to dozens of them, so I’m finally putting it all in one place. This is what I actually use, what I think is worth it, and what I think is a waste of money.

The Basics

Every routine needs a few foundational things. The good news is you can combine a lot of them, so this doesn’t have to mean six separate products.

1. Cleanser

Self-explanatory. Just make sure it’s fragrance-free (more on that below).

2. Liquid Exfoliant

Chemical exfoliants dissolve the bonds between dead skin cells so they shed evenly and turn over better. That improves brightness and texture without causing micro-damage.

It’s important to use a liquid exfoliant, not a physical one. Scrubs create inflammation and damage your skin barrier, which is unnecessary. If you have to use a scrub, use a gentle one like Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant, and use it infrequently (once a month at most).

There are two types:

• BHA (salicylic acid) is oil-soluble and penetrates into pores, so it’s good for oily or acne-prone skin and blackheads.
• AHA (glycolic or lactic acid) works on the surface and is better for dry or dull skin. Glycolic is stronger; lactic is gentler. AHAs are slightly more anti-aging than BHA because they increase cell turnover more, but both are great.

3. Antioxidants

Antioxidants neutralize free radicals created by UV and pollution, which damage collagen, elastin, and skin cell DNA. They are very important!

You can use a separate serum or get a moisturizer that has them included. Vitamin C is a particularly good one: it brightens skin, fades age and sun spots, and improves your skin’s defense against UVA/UVB light. I use the Drunk Elephant Vitamin C serum.

4. Moisturizer

Moisturizers replenish water and lipids so your skin can repair itself. At a bare minimum, get one with both:

• Emollients: ceramides, fatty acids, squalane, jojoba oil
• Humectants: glycerin, hyaluronic acid, urea, sodium PCA, panthenol

Ideally, get one with other actives in it too (vitamin C or other antioxidants, peptides, retinol, or niacinamide) so you don’t have to use as many products.

5. A Retinoid

Retinoids increase cell turnover, stimulate collagen production, and regulate oil. This is the most proven anti-aging ingredient we have. You have three options:

• Best: Tretinoin (Retin-A): prescription and directly active. The strongest. There’s also a newer prescription retinoid, trifarotene (Aklief), that some evidence suggests may be more effective, though it hasn’t been tested head-to-head against tretinoin yet. Heads up: it’s expensive. Without insurance it can cost several hundred dollars a tube, while generic tretinoin is usually under $50.
• Next best: Retinol: gentler, but still effective. To make a meaningful difference, look for at least 0.25–0.3%; 0.5–1% is stronger. A moisturizer with a low dose of retinol is an easy place to start.
• Bakuchiol: a retinol alternative that supports collagen signaling and cell turnover without the irritation retinoids can cause. It’s not as strong, but it’s much easier to tolerate, so it’s great if tretinoin or retinol causes irritation for you.

Only use retinoids at night.

6. Sunscreen. Every. Single. Day.

SPF 30+, every day, even when it’s cloudy. Without this step, nothing else really works. I recommend a moisturizer with SPF built in so you have one less product to deal with.

I generally recommend mineral sunscreen (zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide) because it sits on top of the skin and reflects UV rays instead of being absorbed. Chemical sunscreens are absorbed into the skin and bloodstream, and there’s growing concern about hormone disruption and long-term safety. To be clear, that’s not proven by any stretch; I’m just conservative. If you go mineral, look for “non-nano” on the label. Non-nano particles are too large (over 100 nanometers) to be absorbed through the skin, so they stay on the surface where they belong.

I use Vanicream Facial Moisturizer SPF 30. It’s one of the few very moisturizing, fragrance-free mineral sunscreens I’ve found that doesn’t have anything bad in it and has both humectants and emollients. If you need an oil-free sunscreen, though, this isn’t the one.

That said, if mineral sunscreen consistently breaks you out or irritates your skin, use a chemical one. Any sunscreen is better than no sunscreen.

My Hard Rule: If It Smells Good, It’s Bad for Your Skin

If a product smells really good, it contains fragrance. Fragrance causes low-grade inflammation even if you don’t feel it, and over time that accelerates barrier damage and aging. There is really no need to use anything with fragrance in it, so I avoid it.

Recommended Additions

Those are the basics, but to get the best results I recommend these too. You can find almost all of them in moisturizers, or you can get a serum and mix it into yours.

Niacinamide (strongly recommended for most skin types)

Niacinamide strengthens the skin barrier, reduces redness and inflammation, regulates oil production, and helps fade dark spots by reducing pigment transfer. It’s one of the most versatile and well-tolerated ingredients out there, and I highly recommend it. I use a 20% concentration, which is on the high end, but anything at or above 10% will work.

Peptides, like copper peptides (less evidence, but probably effective)

Peptides support skin repair by signaling wound-healing pathways and collagen production. They’re supportive rather than essential. The science is mixed so far: some studies are very positive, others are more neutral.

Red Light Therapy

The science is real on this one; you just need to get a good device. I have the CurrentBody Series 2 face and neck mask.

Most devices use a few different wavelengths, and each does something different:

• Blue light (405–495 nm) works on the surface of the skin. It kills acne-causing bacteria and is used to treat psoriasis.
• Green light (525 nm) also works at the surface and has a calming effect, with some mild pain relief.
• Red light (630–660 nm) goes deeper. This is the one for skin: it boosts collagen, reduces inflammation, improves elasticity, and helps wound healing.
• Near-infrared light (810–850 nm) penetrates the deepest, down to muscles and joints. It’s mostly for muscle recovery, pain relief, and tissue repair.

Don’t Waste Your Money On These

Toners

Toners usually aren’t necessary if you’re moisturizing. They’re mainly helpful if you have a severely compromised skin barrier, extreme dryness, or need extra hydration between steps. If you really like them, go for it, but they’re not essential.

Eye Cream

There’s nothing so different about the skin around your eyes that it needs its own moisturizer. The only exception: if your face products have a lot of actives and your eye area happens to be much more sensitive than the rest of your face. That’s not the case for most people. Eye creams are mostly marketing hype to get you to buy another product.

Traditional Facials

Unless you’re getting extractions, most facials are usually just someone putting products on you that you could put on yourself. HydraFacials are more effective for short term results but won’t change your skin biology. In general, I don’t get facials for the skincare benefits. Instead I do microneedling with exosomes every 4–6 months. Microneedling uses tiny needles to create thousands of controlled micro-injuries in the skin. That starts your skin’s natural wound-healing response and stimulates new collagen and elastin, which improves fine lines, texture, pores, and acne scars. The science on microneedling itself is solid: it’s been studied for years, and reviews consistently show improvements in skin aging and scarring.

Exosomes are tiny particles that cells use to send signals to each other, including signals for repair and collagen production. They’re applied right after microneedling, while the channels are open, to help with healing and boost results. The science here is earlier: a 2026 systematic review found promising results for aging, pigmentation, and scarring, but the studies so far are small and short. Quality also varies a lot between products.

How to Pick Products (and Brands I Trust)

Most people choose skincare based on the packaging, the marketing, how it smells, or how it makes their skin feel right after using it. Those signals are neutral to negatively correlated with how well a product actually works.

Here are the brands I use, in order of how good I think they are:

1. Drunk Elephant: science-backed formulations.
2. Paula’s Choice: the O.G. of science-backed skincare.
3. The Ordinary and The Inkey List (some products): both are good, but they have fewer ingredients per product and come in smaller sizes, hence the lower price point. Check their ingredients with Formulary first.
4. SkinCeuticals: pricey, but well researched. Their C E Ferulic serum (15% vitamin C, 1% vitamin E, 0.5% ferulic acid) is one of the most studied vitamin C serums out there.
5. Colorescience: every sunscreen they make is mineral, which is exactly what I want. Their Total Protection No-Show Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 solves the biggest problem with mineral sunscreen: the white cast. It uses non-nano zinc oxide, goes on white, and blends away sheer, with no tint. Their Brush-On Shield SPF 50 is a mineral powder that makes it easy to reapply over makeup during the day.