what should my skin care routine include?

This is probably the question I hear the most.  And honestly, everybody's skin care routine is going to look a little different.  However, if we're going for an overall general routine, I would say everybody should incorporate a cleanser, a vitamin c product, a retinol product,  a sunscreen, and moisturizer, if needed.  Here's how the routine would look:

AM Routine
1. cleanse- if you have acne, oily, or are acne prone, use a cleanser with a mild salicylic acid in it; if you're dry use a creamier cleanser.  Cleanse for 1-3 minutes. No, I'm not joking.
2.  apply vitamin c-  if you have acne, are oilier, or acne prone go with a serum based vitamin c, if you're dry you could use a cream with a vitamin c in it to eliminate an additional moisturizing step.
3. sunscreen- spf 15 or 30 will suffice as long as its a zinc based sunscreen.  What do I mean by zinc?  zinc based means you're getting your sun protection from zinc oxide instead of chemicals like: oxybenzone, avobenzone.  A sunscreen is a necessity when using a retinol, as the retinol is going to make your skin more sun sensitive and you don't want to damage that new skin the retinol is helping to bring out.

PM routine
1. Pre cleanse- remove make up with an oil-based cleanser, or simply wipe make-up off with wet cotton pads. Even if you do not wear a ton make-up this step is important, because it allows your cleanser to do its job: cleanse your skin.
2. cleanse- cleanse with the same cleanser in the am for at least 1-3 minutes- Again!!!
3. apply a retinol based product- this could be a prescription based retinol or over the counter.
4. moisturizer- oil based moisturizer if you're dry, water based if you're acneic, oily, or acne-prone.

Why use a Retinol?  Retinol helps you look younger by exfoliating the top layer of your skin and helps to stimulate new collagen and elastin.  You want new collagen and elastin because those are the guys (when broken)  that are responsible for sagging skin and wrinkles.  Retinol also teaches your skin cells to behave, so those with acne benefit oodles from this.

Why use a Vitamin C? Vitamin C helps to brighten the complexion, mildly exfoliates, and protects the skin against free radicals.  Free radicals are the devils that age the skin, so you want as many shields against them as you can and vitamin c is a good place to start.  

Fine Print:  I am not a dermatologist, so this is not medical advice I am dispersing.  However, I am a skin obsessed aesthetician.

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this post or any other questions that might be rolling around your noggin'.