Clean Skincare Routine {Products, Reviews, & Tips}

You know I’m all about clean beauty. I started getting into clean beauty even before I really leaned into sustainable living, but now the two are pretty much all I talk about! I know. The fact I haven’t written a post specifically about a clean skincare routine is a little surprising!

Slowly we’re all learning the importance of ingredient safety and that not everything is created equally. Along that line of thinking, our skin is different (and varies during seasons and stages of life). A good clean skincare routine focuses on safety, gentleness, ingredient transparency, minimal irritation, and environmental sustainability. Below are the basic guidelines to follow, the few brands I wholeheartedly recommend, and the clean skincare routine I use day and night.

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Clean Skincare Routine

Let’s clear the air a bit. Clean skincare is trending, but it’s a meaningful trend – not just a marketing gimmick. There are some brands advertising themselves as clean and safe when they really haven’t done much, however, so it can feel hard and daunting to find yourself the right routine. It’s great to educate yourself on skincare ingredients to avoid, but I’ve found it easiest to find the few brands and stores I love – and just stick there. No extra research and deep diving, saving me time and money for literally anything else!

It is important to note that whatever products you’re using, it’s very important to have a routine (and do it). Periodic face washing, serums, and face masks aren’t going to give you results (or really help your skin). When your skin is getting what it needs, it’s regulated. It can protect you. When you skin isn’t getting what it needs, it kicks into overdrive trying to handle it (e.g. producing extra sebum to counteract dryness making you breakout). So, just like basically everything in life, consistency is key!

What Does Clean Skincare Mean

There is a lot (and increasingly more) research on the affects of ingredients in personal care items (not just women’s skin care, but makeup, men’s products, and even kids products). More and more, we’re learning the downsides to these ingredients. Some of them cause allergic reactions (redness, watery eyes, coughs, and rashes). Others, however, are being linked to longterm health issues such an endocrine system disruption and infertility.

Similar to conversation we’ve had about food and even recycling, there’s no single definition of ‘clean’ beauty products to help you know what’s fine, what’s questionable, and what’s not. What I find to be the most informative and helpful is the EWG Scoring Guide. not only does it provide a grade on safety, it breaks it down by ingredient, highlighting what’s problematic in each item. EWG isn’t perfect, but it’s the best out there.

Clean beauty often implies ingredient and sourcing transparency as well as sustainable practices (sourcing and packaging). Many brands are using more and more organic ingredients and others highlight features such as vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO, etc.

What Are The Benefits Of Clean Skincare

Better Long-Term Skin Health

When we talk about skin health, it isn’t just that it looks a certain way. Rather, we talk about your skin barrier and it’s healthiness. See, your skin is actually a barrier against the outside world and a healthy skin barrier can regulate itself to keep all the good things in (hello hydrated skin) and the bad things out (pollutants and allergens). it’s literally your skin’s natural function, so let’s help it do its job.

Truly clean skincare avoid chemicals linked to long-term irritations and dryness! When you have the right clean skin care routine for your skin and your life, your skin barrier acts as it should, so get yourself set up so you can benefit from better long-term skin health!

Reduced Irritation and Sensitivity

There is an important distinction to make between ingredients that are unsafe because they harm skin and hinder health and ingredients that we have individual sensitivities and allergies to. One of the biggest red flags in the beauty industry is that companies aren’t required to state what they use in their “fragrance.” it’s considered proprietary. It may not be harmful, but it could cause any one of us irritation and sensitivity. This is where the disclosure comes in!

This is actually one of the reasons I love working with brands like this and this, because a friend or follower can tell me about their sensitivities and I can read through the ingredients to ensure they aren’t present (or steer them away from those that might cause problems).

It’s this disclosure in clean skincare and makeup that helps with reduced irritation and sensitivity.

Environmentally Responsible

Here’s my happy spot. Personal care items and sustainable living are so interconnected (though they are not synonymous). All products contain ingredients that can have positive or negative affects on the environment. On a more personal level, everything we wash down the drain (yes, skincare, makeup, and deodorant all go down the drain) enters our waterways where animals and agriculture come.

The packaging in the beauty industry is where the sustainable and clean worlds often diverge. Good brands, however, are focused on more sustainable packaging – from glass bottles to using recycled materials. They help educate and help to facilitate proper disposal and/or recycling of products. They ship more sustainably, etc. etc. etc.

You won’t be surprised to here that this brand is doing a great job and they’re constantly looking to do better. You can see one of their big packaging changes here.

How to Choose a Clean Skincare Routine

As with any and all changes in living more sustainable or trying to create a clean personal care routine, it’s a process.

Replace Products as You Need Them

My #1 piece of advice is to replace products as you run out of what you’re using right now. Then it won’t feel so overwhelming and so expensive. Beyond that there are a few other approaches, however.

Start With the Core Steps

Just like making a switch to organic foods, every single product you change to a truly clean one, the healthier you are. Because of this, you can start with the core steps (i.e. the ones your use 1-2x per day). Think your cleanser, your moisturizer, and your SPF!

Here are my picks for the best natural face washes and my recommendations for the best non-toxic sunscreens. To save you a little time, I use this to wash my face in the morning and this cleanser in the evening. And this is my go-to everyday SPF!

Prioritize Based on Your Skin Type

If you don’t know your skin type, then don’t buy any more products. Start here with this article on what’s your skin type. You need to know if your skin is ‘normal’ or if it’s dry. It’s important to understand why your skin might be oily (spoiler alert: you oily skin is actually probably dry and your body is trying to fix that with extra sebum).

Once you know your skin type, then buy clean skincare products for your skin type. If you’re unsure and want some help, just send me an email. I’m happy to help ( I LOVE talking about skincare and helping people love their skin)!

Patch Test & Introduce Slowly

Anytime you change or add a product, it’s best to do so carefully (and individually). If you have skin sensitivities, then I absolutely recommend doing a patch test. just use the product on a small part of your face (just under your jawline is a good, inconspicuous spot). If you have no reactions, then move to introducing the products.

I’ve had a number of people start using a new skincare routine only to stop using it because they said their face “freaked out.” If you have redness and irritation, that is a reaction to an ingredient. If you have a number of breakouts, however, that is often a product clearing you out. It’s important to know the difference.

Also, changing a bunch of things at once is a bit of a shock to your skin. A few ideas here. First is to only introduce one new product at a time to give your skin a chance to get used to it and to be able to identify any issues with a product. If after a week, you’re all good, add another one!

Second is to introduce a product slowly, meaning not everyday right off the bat. Items that are ‘active’ (think products that promise to “do” something to your skin – brighten skin, increase cell turnover, fill line) can also cause a shock to your skin. With these, I always recommend using them every 2-3 nights until your skin gets used to it. It could be that your skin never wants it everyday (preferring just a few times a week) or it could just need time to ease into the new products. Our bodies are amazing, but they can’t always change at the drop of a dime!

Read Labels Like a Pro (or cheat like I do!)

There are 1000s of ingredients that the clean beauty industry is avoiding. I remember basically none of them – hear me out on this. This list of 7 skincare ingredients to avoid is a really easy place to start!

So why don’t I remember any of them? Truthfully, I have found a few brands that I trust to constantly be using the best ingredients. They make effective skincare and makeup and I really don’t need anything else. So my big recommendation is to find your space spaces. Yes, you’ll buy things outside of those brands, but the research and digging will be much easier because it’s just a one-off thing!

What is the Best Clean Skincare Brand

Crunchi

If it were up to me, I would just recommend Crunchi. You can read my full product reviews of Crunchi skincare and Crunchi makeup for all the details, but let me just tell you, they are the cleanest skincare brand; their products are lovely to use and very effective; and the company overall is top notch!

You’ll see below that almost my entire skincare routine is by the brand. I basically use this Moisture Revive Routine daily with the vitamin C serum and the eye cream added in! It basically covers all my needs except a morning cleanser (and they have a new one on the way that should answer that need)!

And the bees’ knees? Their exfoliating mask is the best face exfoliating scrub. A 5-minute masks that offers physical and chemical exfoliation, leaving you with the softest skin you’re ever had!

Use code ADVOCATE15 to get 15% and free shipping on your first order. Stay in the loop on all things Crunchi (meaning sales and individual product reviews) by signing up here.

Counter

Counter, formerly called Beautycounter, was the first clean skincare brand that I fell in love with the full routine. I still think they’re phenomenal products and recommend them wholeheartedly to friends and family. Crunchi is a little bit more strict in terms of being clean. Counter, however, offers a little more of that luxurious experience!

Their cleansing oil can’t be beat. It’s a one-step makeup remover, face wash. And their supreme cream was the first moisturizer that ever prevented my getting dry skin in dry, winter months. Read my complete Counter skincare review.

Osmia

For those of you with hyper-sensitive skin, look into Osmia. Based in Colorado, Osmia was found by a former ER doctor. The line of products is wonderfully gentle on skin. And no matter how many brands I try, their blemish oil is still the only thing I swear by to help with any breakouts! Read my complete Osmia skincare review!

Kari Gran

Kari Gran is a minimalist line that’s also a great line. Everything is oil-based – cleansers to all-in-one serum/face oils. This line is great for those who don’t want a bunch of steps! Read my complete Kari Gran review here!

Clean Beauty Skincare Routine

Step 1 – cleanse

Cleaning your face first is a no-brainer, but beyond that why does the order of skincare matter? It’s mostly a matter of consistency (thinner to thicker) and then the purpose of each step.

If you’re using a balm, you might try double cleansing. See how to use a cleansing balm and how to double cleanse. I just started doing this last year and my skin is so happy. I generally double cleanse every night but I use just a cleansing balm when my skin is dry.

Face Masks

I’m adding this in here because I get this question a lot. A face mask should be done on clean skin so the active ingredients can do their job directly to your skin. My favorite face masks are this one for moisturizing and this one for the best exfoliation of your life!!

Step 2 – prep

If you’re still unsure about toners and essences, please read what are skin toners for. If you have a skincare routine beyond washing and moisturizing, you should be using a toner. Think of toners/essences as prepping your face for even and full absorption of serums and moisturizers!

Step 3 – Treat

The ‘treat’ step is when you use a serum. Serums are the product that bring about change. There are a wide variety of serums with different purposes – hydrating, smoothing, plumping, brightening, etc. Learn more about the benefits of facial serum to find the right one for your needs.

Your serum will tell you if you should/can use it once or twice per day. I use a different serum in the morning vs. the evening. Because I constantly deal with sun spots and uneven skin tone (hyperpigmentation), I use a brightening serum in the morning. Read more about skin brightening products and what they do. And don’t miss this vitamin C serum review.

In the evening, I use either a serum with bakuchiol (natural retinol without any negative side affects) or a peptide (filling in fine lines and plumping skin). Some people like to layer serums, but I don’t find this to be effective as the second layer won’t be able to penetrate as deeply. Rather I’d recommend alternating using two serums each day!

Step 4 – Moisturize

The last step in your clean skincare routine is the hydrate/moisture step. This can be a cream, a facial oil, and/or some kind of emollient.

After cleansing, the moisturizing step is usually the most commonly done! A few thoughts on moisturizers. Creams and lotions are water-based whereas facial oils are, yep, oil-based.

Morning creams are often thinner or creamier than night creams and therefore less intense. If you want to use a moisturizer and an oil together (great for super dry climates), do the moisturizer first and seal it in with the facial oil.

Step 5 – Protect (A.M. only)

You all. Even if you have no skincare routine, wear sunscreen everyday. Wearing sunscreen is the surest way to prevent skin cancer on your face. Also, your SPF and your moisturizer are not the same step. Clean beauty only uses physical/mineral sunscreens that sit on top of the skin to reflect UV rays. A moisturizer needs to sink into your skin, so you’ll never see a moisturizer with SPF!

If you’re trying to save steps, try a tinted SPF as that’s a time when both functions need to be on top of your skin. I think this is the best tinted SPF. Otherwise, I like to use this one (non-tinted) for me and my family!