The best skincare routine

It’s no secret — when it comes to keeping the skin looking and feeling its best, simplicity and consistency are key. Once it’s right, stick to it. The industry would often prefer you didn’t know that — with the global skincare market estimated to be worth a cool $189.3 billion by 2025. To add to this, thousands of searches happen every day for ingredients such as retinol and vitamin c, as well as tweakments like botox and dermal fillers as consumers seek out holy grail solutions to achieve good skin.

As a result, a never-ending range of ingredients that are touted as the new wonder product appear more frequently than ever and when you consider the growth of the industry in recent years, it’s clear why. Trends will come and go, but listening to your skin and establishing your best skincare routine is the most important advice that we can give you. That, and recommending some skincare staples that will help you maintain healthy, happy skin. No trends — just beautiful, effects-led formulas that work hard to take excellent care of your skin.

At Lush, we create products that customers can use for decades, made with formulas that create the right effect to help keep your skin in the best possible condition.

Our mantra is “gentle but effective”, allowing the skin to function normally and to be its best, year after year. 

When it comes to what’s out there in the industry, let’s break down some of the most sought after ingredients and recommend Lush staples that share these benefits without some of the potential drawbacks.

Hyaluronic acid

We had to kick things off with the most widely available and highly sought after ingredient in the industry, hyaluronic acid. This ingredient pops up a lot in skincare, across practically every category, from cleansers, to face masks and moisturizers. This synthetic humectant helps to draw moisture into the skin, which means it’s good for dry-feeling complexions.

Our answer to hyaluronic acid is glycerine, as it’s an incredible natural humectant.

Bonus: the glycerine that Lush uses is 100% palm-free. Humectants help the skin look fuller and reduce the appearance of fine lines, so it’s no wonder it’s a highly popular ingredient. This is where it gets a little sciencey, but it’s worth it, so stick with us. When it comes to our skin's ability to absorb these ingredients, the lower the molecular weight, the better. This is because they are able to deeply penetrate the skin and reach the dermis layer, which is where collagen is found. Molecular weight is measured in Daltons and anything lower than 500 Daltons easily reaches the dermis. As glycerine is only 92 Daltons, it is very rapidly absorbed and leaves the skin looking and feeling hydrated and rejuvenated.

Why not sell a stand alone glycerine product?

Though single ingredient products have taken center stage as of late, we actually believe that having glycerine as part of our formulations means that it can be supported by the right ingredients that can make the most of its abilities. After all, glycerine is not only highly effective for boosting hydration but it also has an ability to carry other ingredients into the skin. We use glycerine in around 137 Lush products and it’s high up in the ingredients lists of many of our skincare products for its hydrating benefits. For a gentle, hydrating cleanse we recommend Ultrabland Facial Cleanser. This delicate oil-based cleanser is packed full of glycerine, honey and almond oil to help gently remove makeup or just for giving your skin a thorough cleanse. For best results, use a hot flannel or cloth to completely remove Ultrabland from the skin, leaving it feeling soft, clean and hydrated. If you’re looking for an extra moisture boost, Celestial Moisturizer is as gentle as it is supremely hydrating. Packed full of moisture-rich almond oil, fair trade cocoa butter and vanilla pod extract, this bestselling moisturizer also contains glycerine to turbo-boost your skin’s hit of hydration.

Exfoliating acids (chemical exfoliants)

You have most likely heard of ingredients like AHAs (Alpha hydroxy acids), BHAs (Beta hydroxy acids) and PHAs (Poly hydroxy acids). Specific examples include: glycolic, lactic, mandelic, citric, malic and tartaric acids. In a nutshell, these ingredients are a group of exfoliating acids which work to speed up desquamation (the shedding of surface skin cells) without requiring a physical, scrubbing action.

When it comes to what people are looking for from these kinds of ingredients, we totally get it. As we get older, our natural desquamation cycle slows down and benefits from a little boost. Chemical exfoliants may be widely available, but they’re not the only way of achieving a glowing complexion.

Lush’s answer to exfoliating acids is natural physical exfoliants such as ground almonds and ground aduki beans — you won’t find any microbeads here. These ingredients gently buff away dull surface skin cells. As well as this, we love to use whole fruits that contain natural AHA’s (think pineapple and lemon) to remove dull surface skin cells and brighten the complexion. Don’t Look At Me Fresh Face Mask showcases the best of both of these things as it contains over 19% fresh lemon juice as well as polishing ground rice to boost the skin’s radiance. For extra moisture, follow up with Enzymion Moisturizer. Think softened, glowy, dewy skin with all of the benefits of natural AHA-rich lemon and papaya.

Vitamin C

Here’s another ingredient that you probably hear a lot about. Vitamin C, also known as l-ascorbic acid, is an antioxidant that is known to improve the appearance of fine lines and uneven skin tone.

We are excited to share that we’ve recently developed our very first vitamin C product. Our Bright & Beautiful Vitamin C Exfoliating Facial Scrub contains a 10% vitamin C formula alongside cleansing powdered charcoal and polishing sugar to help give the skin a beautiful radiance boost. Additionally you can use Bright & Beautiful as a mask. Simply apply it to a clean, dry face for 1-2 minutes, then rinse off with warm water and pat the skin dry.

Niacinamide

This highly sought after skincare ingredient is hailed as a great all-rounder, as it helps with hydration and soothes the appearance of redness and irritation. It often features in a lot of different products and as a result can be unknowingly overused in a routine.

If you love the glow you get from using niacinamide, you’ll love incorporating this iconic, Lush Spa staple into your skincare routine. Introducing Full Of Grace Naked Facial Serum, a soothing solid serum bar that was originally created for our Validation Facial Spa Treatment. This hour-long, multisensory experience takes care of all of your individual skin care needs and leaves you feeling beautiful in the process. So many treatments out there focus on what you want to fix, so instead, Validation Facial focuses on what you want to enhance and embrace, encouraging you to feel confident in your own skin. 

What’s so great about Full Of Grace? Well, it contains fresh portobello mushrooms which are rich in zinc, sodium and potassium. Mushrooms also commonly contain niacin — also known as vitamin B (about 4mg per 100g), as well as antioxidant vitamin D. Alongside this powerhouse ingredient, this unassuming serum contains a softening base of murumuru and cupuaçu butter as well as soothing chamomile blue oil to hydrate and calm all complexions.

What’s the ultimate skincare routine?

As we said earlier, more is not always better, despite what the industry tells you.

Though routines such as the 10-Step Korean skincare routine have become well known the world over in recent years, such an extensive routine isn’t absolutely necessary for keeping your skin looking and feeling good. Happy, healthy skin isn’t about ticking boxes or adding extra steps, it’s about finding the right balance between what your skin needs and what works for your lifestyle. 

A good place to start would be a simple, effective routine including a cleanser, toner and moisturizer. Everyone’s needs are different and so the products that you choose depend on what your skin needs as well as the effects you’re looking to achieve.

Whether your skin is sensitive, tends to get oily or you’re just looking for a radiance boost, we've put together a great guide here that can help you find what works for you.

Skincare 101

Cleanse

First things first, cleansing. It’s really important to remove dirt, oil and pollutants from the skin with a gentle, effective cleanser to keep your skin clean and healthy. Regular cleansing can also help remove dirt and oil that is prone to getting trapped in the pores. We’ve already mentioned Ultrabland, which is one of our most iconic cleansers, but we also have an entire range to choose from here. From balms to clay based cleansers such as Angels On Bare Skin (another customer fave), we like to give customers plenty of options so they can find the best cleanser for their skincare needs.

Tone

In essence, toning means to balance and prepare the skin for your next step, which is to moisturize. Our toner waters are definitely a little different to what’s out there on the market, but for good reason.

We think of our toner waters as skincare and aromatherapy all in one, with a range of three toners that utilize ingredients such as tea tree, rose, lavender and rosemary for their soothing effect on the skin as well as the mind. Toners are also a great way to prep your skin for your moisturizer. And if that’s not enough, toner waters can also be used throughout the day, particularly in hot weather to give the skin a refreshing pick-me-up. See all of ours here.

Moisturize

Last but by no means least, moisturize. Whether you consider your skin to be dry, normal or even oily, moisturizer is a fantastic last step in your routine to ensure that your skin is kept hydrated. When it comes to oily complexions, the use of a lightweight, easily absorbed moisturizer such as Enzymion or Vanishing Cream can actually help to bring balance to the skin. For drier, dehydrated skin, moisturizers give a much-needed hydration boost and help to keep the skin feeling and looking its best. This is particularly true for skin that is sensitive to harsh weather conditions, such as cold, windy weather.

So, although we’ve outlined these three key steps to maintaining healthy-looking skin, that doesn’t mean that you have to stop there. We just wanted to highlight the benefits of a simple, effective routine, as well as the importance of practicing consistency — this is how you will see the best results. With that said, once you’re familiar with your daily skincare needs, you may enjoy the benefits of using the occasional face mask. Products such as our Beauty Sleep Face And Body Mask is an excellent addition to your routine for an extra boost of hydration. Or if you’re looking for a deep, invigorating cleanse, Mask Of Magnaminty Power Mask is a firm customer favorite. Or maybe your skin would benefit from the refreshing exfoliation of Ocean Salt Face And Body Scrub when you’re looking to up the radiance. I know we keep saying it, but it’s all about listening to your skin. The key is to start simple and build out from there (based on your skincare needs) and what is practical for your lifestyle.

Just remember: If in doubt, listen to your skin, keep it simple and stay consistent. Trust us, your skin will thank you for it.

You can explore our full skincare range here.