Build A Skincare Routine With The Ordinary

Canadian vegan skincare brand The Ordinary’s genius shows no sign of stopping right now: the just-launched Sulfur 10% Powder-to-Cream Concentrate uses a potent 10% sulfur, 2% niacinamide, and salicylic acid to tackle blemishes with an undetectable finish. As you can tell, The Ordinary builds their skincare formulas like soliflore perfumes: a single star ingredient (in this case sulfur), supporting ingredients, and pinpoint treatment for skin issues.

It’s clear to see we’ve left 15-step skincare routines firmly in the past: today’s skincare is simple, honest and straight to the point. Ingredient-focused skincare is trending, with lesser-known actives like tranexamic acid and alpha arbutin set to have their day in the sun. As one of the first skincare brands in Sephora to champion ingredient skincare, The Ordinary has a very special take on skincare routine building. “Regimen building”, as they call it, is almost pharmaceutical in its approach. You describe your skin and everything you’d like to improve about it, like texture, wrinkles, or oil, and the experts fix you a skincare routine out of the brand’s products. No additives, no fillers, no fuss.

The Skincare Regimen Building Tool takes you through the entire process in thirteen steps (about ten to fifteen minutes). If you’d like a more personalised approach, visit The Ordinary’s counter at your nearest Sephora.

We love The Ordinary's new SPF45 serum sunscreen, and all the sunscreens you can find on our list of favourites.

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Custom Skincare Regimen Building With The Ordinary: First Steps

The process begins with your name and age: age is used to determine possible skincare concerns you may have. If you’re below 30, you may be dealing with hormonal breakouts or dark under-eye circles from late nights at uni. If you’re 30 to 50, you may want to target collagen loss and take preventative steps against environmental aging, and if you’re over 50 you may deal with sun spots or wrinkles. Of course, not every age group has the same concerns, but details will come later.

Next comes your skin type. There are four to choose from: Balanced, Dry, Oily or Combination. If your skin is Balanced, lucky you! If it isn’t, take note of where excess oil appears on your skin. Dry skin is often accompanied by tightness around the eyes and mouth and irritated patches, and Oily skin is shiny and may cause clogged pores and blackheads. If you have an oily T-zone (the area of your forehead and nose) and dry skin everywhere else, this is a common presentation of Combination skin. Your skin type will later be used to determine the texture of the skincare that’s suitable for you: Dry skin prefers heavier moisturisers while Oily skin prefers lighter serums.

A quick note for our Singapore-based readers: due to the humidity of the climate, many mistakenly believe that they have Oily skin. In fact, overproduction of oil may be a symptom of Dry skin: before you determine your skin type, observe how your skin behaves in a moderately air-conditioned environment.

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Identify Skincare Concerns: Anti-Aging, Sensitivity Support, Hydration And More

Regardless of age or skin type, The Ordinary will then provide you with a list of skin concerns you’d like to target. These are: early aging, advanced aging, congestion, dehydration, dryness, dullness, sensitivity and barrier support, uneven tone, texture, and antioxidant support. Pick three, and rank them in order of importance.

If you’re looking to treat acne, you may select congestion, sensitivity and barrier support, and texture as your top three concerns. If you’ve had questionable tanning practices, you may pick sensitivity and barrier support, uneven tone, and antioxidant support. Don’t worry if you have more concerns – just pick your top three, and any additional issues can be brought up later.

You’ll then be asked to choose any eye area concerns you may have: fine lines and wrinkles, dark circles and puffiness, or both if you need help with both.

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Tailor Your Skincare Routine To Your Preferences

Your preferences are important, and The Ordinary asks several questions to make sure your needs are met. If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, The Ordinary will exclude certain products and ingredients from your regimen that have not been proven safe for topical application. They’ll also ask how many products you’re comfortable with using in a regimen, before creating one that works with your lifestyle. If you currently already have a skincare routine and do not wish to change it, The Ordinary will pick products that work seamlessly with it.

You’ll be asked for your experience levels with acids, retinoids and Vitamin C (active ingredients that may be irritating to inexperienced skin). Then, you’ll pick your most preferred cleanser and moisturiser textures: the questionnaire will suggest the most appropriate textures if you’re not sure.

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Receive A Full Skincare Regimen Of The Ordinary Products

Your results will take the form of a complete chart of products, in order, for both daytime and nighttime: if you’re a complete newbie to skincare, this makes it very easy to visualise the order in which the products are applied. The Ordinary suggests, as a general rule, to apply products from thinnest to thickest: toners go on first, then serums, then moisturisers.

The results are shown in three steps: Prep (skin cleansing), Treat (treating specific skin concerns with targeted formulas), and Seal (locking in benefits with moisturiser). You won’t need to use all the products suggested for you: the prescriptive nature of The Ordinary’s skincare means you only need to use a product if you want to target a specific skin problem. If you have additional concerns, you can add a product that addresses those concerns at any stage.

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Product Suggestions For Specific Skincare Concerns

For constantly irritated, dehydrated skin, The Ordinary may suggest a simple three-step routine.  First, cleanse with the Glucoside Foaming Cleanser, which uses Decyl-glucoside and Coco-glucoside to maintain the skin’s barrier. Then, on clean skin, the Soothing & Barrier Support Serum, a bright pink serum with multi-actives and soothing ingredients like centella asiatica, Vitamin B12 and ceramides, is applied to calm down the skin and guard against inflammation. Finally, the Natural Moisturising Factors + PhytoCeramides moisturiser uses urea, amino acids, sugars and PCA, as well as phytoceramides, to prevent water loss. If you’re struggling with skin aging on top of all this, simply add the GF15% Serum into your routine as the second step to restore elasticity. Treatments, like the Sulfur 10% Powder-to-Cream Concentrate for acne, go on at the very end.

The Ordinary finally reminds you that results take time: you’ll need an average of 2-4 weeks to adjust to new skincare, 4-8 weeks for your skin to start changing, and consistent use for healthier-looking skin. If you have particularly sensitive skin, you may choose to apply actives (Vitamin C, exfoliating acids, retinoids, etc) more infrequently during the first adjustment phase and increase your use once your skin tolerates it.

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Build A Targeted Skincare Routine With The Ordinary

And that’s skincare regimen building with The Ordinary – a simple, streamlined process that’ll tackle your skin problems in under fifteen minutes. Ultimately, your skincare journey is yours, so feel free to expand on your regimen and pick products that work (but do be aware of incompatible skincare actives: for instance, glycolic acid and niacinamide cannot be used together due to pH inconsistency). If you’ve got any questions, visit your nearest The Ordinary counter.

For more of the best of beauty, check out our monthly beauty guide: we update regularly with the hottest new skincare.

*This article contains some paid partnership content.