How I Simplified My Skincare Routine

Tired of trying every trending product only to end up overwhelming your skin? Here's how I simplified my routine, why it worked, and how to build your own minimalist skincare routine.

I have to confess, I have a horrible secret I keep hidden away in my bathroom. Every time I look at it, I wonder how I ever let things get so deeply out of control. I call it the shelf of shame. Standing tall, mocking my lack of impulse control, overflowing with half-used (or maybe even just once-used) skincare products.

A few years back, I was never satisfied with my skin—even when it looked perfectly fine! I was always tempted to try the latest product or ingredient promising miraculous results, but the funny thing is that more products never equalled better results.

Somewhere between the pilling, the irritation, and the shelf of half-used regrets, I had an epiphany: more doesn’t always mean better. So, I embarked on a journey to skinimalism, scaling back my skincare and focusing on what truly matters—healthy, happy skin.

Why Simplifying Your Routine Actually Helps Your Skin

Let’s bust a myth: more products ≠ better skin. In fact, piling on actives and overloading your routine can do more harm than good. Here’s what I’ve learned from my journey:

• Mixing too many actives is a one way ticket to irritation nation. If you’re mixing retinoids, vitamin C, exfoliating acids and/or other strong actives in one routine, without knowing what you’re doing, you’re risking some serious irritation and barrier damage. Until I simplified my routine, I found myself constantly ding-donging between happy and damaged skin.

• More layers are not a good thing. If you end your skincare routine with a sticky, heavy feeling, you likely have too much product on your face, and that’s not a good thing. Too many layers of product can end up trapping heat in your skin, clogging your pores and causing breakouts.

• And finally, your skin is a creature of habit. It thrives on consistency, not change and novelty. Every time you introduce a new product (or multiple new products at the same time!), your skin has to adjust to it all over again. The reason we call skincare a “routine” is because it’s meant to be a fixed program we follow over and over again. Changing it up constantly is not the way to go.

Once I realised these things, it was a lot easier to make the decision to simplify my routine, and it was the best thing I could do for my skin (…and my wallet…and the environment).

What I Did to Simplify My Routine

Not going to lie, this process took a lot of restraint and patience, but trust me, it was absolutely worth it.

1. I Narrowed Down What My Skin Really Needs…

Instead of treating every new zit or wrinkle as a call for more products, I started asking myself: what are my skin’s long-term goals? What do I want to focus on, no matter the season? In order to do that, I needed to answer 2 important questions about myself:

• What’s my skin type?: For me, that’s combination, leaning towards oily

• What skincare concerns do I want to address?: As a brown woman in my late 30s, I see hyperpigmentation, and early signs of aging as the 2 areas I want to focus on for a long time to come.

From here, I was able to identify the ingredients I actually needed (and not just wanted because someone on social media told me I should).

2. …Then Identified Ingredients to Address Those Needs

Once I knew my skin type and what concerns I wanted to address, the next step was to identify the kinds of products I was looking for. To make sure I was making the most of fewer products, I focused on understanding what active ingredients would be most effective for me before going out and buying products.

Now I’ll admit, this part does require a little bit of homework, but the online resources and education are literally limiteless! Based on my needs, and my research, these were the ingredients I landed on:

• Antioxidants (like Vitamin C, niacinimade, or green tea) for brightening

• Retinoids (like OTC retinol or prescription tretinoin) for anti-aging

• Barrier defending ingredients (like ceramides, oat, and centella) to protect my barrier from the strong actives I’m using

• Humectants and hydrating ingredients to prevent my skin from becoming too dehydrated from the actives

3. From There, I Created a “Core 4” Routine

Now came the hard part. This was the point where I had to Marie Kondo my skincare stash and start eliminating products that weren’t bringing joy to my skin. One way to do that was to ask myself, “If I could only have 4 steps in my skincare routine, what would they be?”. And the truth is a cleanser, moisturizer, sunscreen, and 1-2 targeted treatments (these can differ in the day and night time) were all I needed.

My Morning Routine:

• (Optional) Gentle Cleanser I don’t actually wash my face every morning since I do a thorough double cleanse at night. A generous splash of water is fine for days when I don’t wake up feeling oily. When I do cleanse, it’s with a gentle product that doesn’t strip my skin.

  My current fave: BePlain Mung Bean pH-Balanced Cleansing Foam

• Treatments Here’s where those brightening antioxidants come into play. I go in first with a pure Vitamin C serum on dry skin, and since this can be a little irritating, I follow this up with hydration and barrier-protection.

  My treatments: Maelove The Glow Maker Antioxidant Serum (although Geek & Gorgeous and Timeless also have similarly good options), followed by the Beauty of Joseon Calming Serum: Green Tea + Panthenol.

  Optional: If I’m feeling like I need some additional hydration or barrier support, I might add a hydrating toner in the form of the Heveblue Salmon Caring Centella Toner.

• Moisturizer I can’t do anything rich or occlusive for my combination-oily, tropics dwelling skin, so I opt for gel moisturizers here instead

  My all time fave: Purito Oat-in Calming Gel Cream

• Sunscreen Daily, even if I’m just at home, staring at my laptop, and reapplied every 3-4 hours. Again, I like to use something lightweight, to avoid that sticky, heavy feeling at the end of my routine.

  My current fave: Paula’s Choice Youth Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid

My Evening Routine:

• Double Cleanse Cleansing at night is definitely not optional. This is when I want to get rid of all the makeup, sunscreen, grime, pollution and lord knows what else that’s built up my skin all day. In order to do that, I love to do a simple double cleanse.

  My current faves: Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Water as my first cleanse and the BePlain Mung Bean pH-Balanced Cleansing Foam as my second cleanse

• Treatments Again, I go in first with my strong active, which in this case is my prescription tretinoin, and only on alternate nights because my skin is still building up a tolerance towards it. I follow this up with strong barrier protection serum to prevent any irritation.

  My treatments: Prescription tretinoin, followed by Anua Rice Ceramide Hydrating Barrier Serum (again, an optional toner may be added on nights I need more hydration)

• Moisturizer While I still like a gel moisturizer for the night, I prefer something a little bit more nourishing

  My all time fave: Dr.G Red Blemish Clear Soothing Cream

And that’s it. Pretty simple, and straightforward, nothing too crazy.

4. I Stopped Chasing Every Shiny New Thing

Once I had my “Core 4”, the next step in my journey was to stop chasing trends. No more buying into every new miracle ingredient, or products with infinite influencer marketing budgets. I finally came to accept that just because something’s trending doesn’t mean it belongs on my skin. Especially not when I can’t even tell if it’s actually doing something for me. Now, if I can't explain what it does—or why I need it—it doesn’t belong in my routine.

5. I Gave Away What I Didn’t Need Anymore

Remember the shelf of shame that started all this? Well, you may be wondering what happened to it, and that’s absolutely a valid concern. There’s a special kind of guilt that comes from throwing out perfectly good skincare products that were used only a handful of times.

So instead, I started giving away my products to friends and family who may want them. I even organized, what I like to call “skin swaps”, where we’d all bring unexpired skincare products and swap them with those who wanted them more.

The Benefits I Noticed

First of all, any benefits from this will come over time, so be patient. I stopped switching products every week, and gave my skin time to settle, adjust, and respond. Once I committed to simplifying my skincare routine, this is what happened:

• Far less irritation and sensitivity because my skin barrier was finally healthy and happy

• Fewer breakouts healthier skin barrier means less risk of breakouts.

• More predictability finally being able to actually tell which products were working and doing what

• I saved money! Who knew not buying things could save you money? Wild.

My Top Tips, If You Want to Simplify Too

Thinking about streamlining your skincare? Here’s what helped me:

• Do a Product Audit If you have your own version of the shelf of shame, then lay everything out, and be honest—when did you last use it? Is it helping your skin right now? If not, then give it away to someone who may actually need it.

• Start With the Basics A “core 4 routine” starts with three basic elements—cleanser, moisturizer, and SPF—from there, add on treatments that you need.

• Look for Multi-Taskers Why use three products when one will do? Look for serums that hydrate and brighten, or moisturizers with barrier support and calming ingredients. All the products I mentioned above have multiple benefits.

• Use Actives Intentionally Think of actives like hot sauce—great in the right amount, but a disaster if overused.

• Embrace Rest Days Not every night needs a 5-layer serum sandwich. Sometimes, cleansing and moisturizing is enough.

Final Thoughts: Simplicity Can Be a Flex

Minimalism doesn’t mean boring. It means you’ve figured out what works, and you’re sticking to it.

There’s something genuinely satisfying about finishing a bottle of something you love, instead of abandoning it halfway for the next shiny launch. And when your routine is simple, your skin has space to thrive, not just survive.

So if your skincare shelf is starting to resemble mine… maybe it’s time to subtract, not add.

About The Skinimalist

Hi, I’m Mal, a 30-something recovering skincare addict, and this is my blog. A space where I attempt to de-influence you from chasing trends and buying more skincare products you may not need.

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