You don't have to cleanse, tone and moisturise. Not even in that order (often I moisturise, tone and then cleanse). Ok, you definitely should cleanse, moisturising is recommended, and the toning... I'll talk about toning in a while.
The cleansing-toning-moisturising mantra has been drummed into us, but I declare it overthrown.
You do need to cleanse, unless you wear absolutely no make-up and live in some Himalayas, light years away from dirt and pollution. I suggest cleansing in the evening, to remove war-paint and dirt collected during the day. You don't need to cleanse your face in the morning if you've done a good job of it at night. (Note: if you're waking up with an oily, grimy face, you probably need to change your food & hydration habits. Unless you are at puberty, in which case you'd still want to do that.)
To remove both water-soluble and oil-soluble dirt I recommend the double cleansing method.
Toners are meant to restore the acid mantle of the skin after cleansing. If you are cleansing with oil, almond meal or a pH-neutral cleanser, you might not need a toner at all.
Alternatively, you could be using a toner to lightly cleanse your face in the morning, or to freshen up during the day. Read all about it in my post about toners.
Skin after double cleansing (oil and water) usually doesn't need moisturising. Also, Dr. Hauschka recommends leaving your face naked at night, apparently night creams interfere with the skin's own night repair processes.
So you might find it best to apply moisturiser in the morning. The skin absorbs what it can within the first 15 minutes, so you could cleanse it off if you feel it attracts dirt. Others prefer to keep it on as a barrier against the environment.
However if you are using sunscreen, then that's applied best on naked skin. Anyway, most sunscreens are pretty moisturising by themselves, so you don't really need a moisturise and sunscreen.
So now it's up to you to understand you skin and try things out. Should you start the day with moisturising ? Or a toner ? Or sunscreen ? Try out what works !
The cleansing-toning-moisturising mantra has been drummed into us, but I declare it overthrown.
Cleansing:
You do need to cleanse, unless you wear absolutely no make-up and live in some Himalayas, light years away from dirt and pollution. I suggest cleansing in the evening, to remove war-paint and dirt collected during the day. You don't need to cleanse your face in the morning if you've done a good job of it at night. (Note: if you're waking up with an oily, grimy face, you probably need to change your food & hydration habits. Unless you are at puberty, in which case you'd still want to do that.)
To remove both water-soluble and oil-soluble dirt I recommend the double cleansing method.
Toning:
Toners are meant to restore the acid mantle of the skin after cleansing. If you are cleansing with oil, almond meal or a pH-neutral cleanser, you might not need a toner at all.
Alternatively, you could be using a toner to lightly cleanse your face in the morning, or to freshen up during the day. Read all about it in my post about toners.
Moisturising:
Skin after double cleansing (oil and water) usually doesn't need moisturising. Also, Dr. Hauschka recommends leaving your face naked at night, apparently night creams interfere with the skin's own night repair processes.
So you might find it best to apply moisturiser in the morning. The skin absorbs what it can within the first 15 minutes, so you could cleanse it off if you feel it attracts dirt. Others prefer to keep it on as a barrier against the environment.
However if you are using sunscreen, then that's applied best on naked skin. Anyway, most sunscreens are pretty moisturising by themselves, so you don't really need a moisturise and sunscreen.
So now it's up to you to understand you skin and try things out. Should you start the day with moisturising ? Or a toner ? Or sunscreen ? Try out what works !
