A simple skincare routine that works all year

Some bathroom shelves hold a short history of skincare trends: the essence bought one spring, the acid toner from the year after, a serum still two-thirds full. If yours looks like that, and the products you actually finish are the same few every year, a skincare routine that works all year starts there. Keep a small core that does the essential jobs every day, change its texture when the weather changes, and treat everything else as optional.

What is a skincare routine that works all year?

It is a short routine with a fixed core and seasonal adjustments. The core is a gentle cleanser, a moisturizer and sunscreen in the morning, and a cleanser and moisturizer at night. Through the year you change the weight of the moisturizer, not the structure.

Written out:

• Morning: a gentle cleanse or a lukewarm rinse, moisturizer, then sunscreen as the last step.
• Evening: cleanse off sunscreen and the day, then moisturizer. If you use one treatment product, such as an exfoliating acid or a retinoid, it goes between the two.
• By season: a richer cream, and a balm for dry patches, in cold or heated months; a lighter lotion or gel-cream when it is hot and humid.

Each of those steps does a job that research supports. The rest of this guide explains which job, and how to tell when a step needs to change.

Why is sunscreen the step that never changes?

Because daily use is what the strongest evidence tested. In a randomized trial in Nambour, Australia, 903 adults under 55 were assigned to use a broad-spectrum sunscreen either every day or at their own discretion, and their skin was assessed from 1992 to 1996.

In the authors’ words, “The daily sunscreen group showed no detectable increase in skin aging after 4.5 years.” Skin aging over the trial was 24% less in the daily group than in the discretionary group, measured from fine skin-surface patterns graded by assessors who did not know who used what. Notice what was compared: daily against whenever-you-remember, not sunscreen against none. Consistency was the variable.

Quantity matters as much as habit. Sunscreen SPF is tested at 2 mg/cm², and a 2014 review of real-world use found people apply about 0.39 to 1.0 mg/cm². Our guide to how much sunscreen to use on your face covers practical measures.

Which cleanser works in every season?

A mild one, close to the skin’s own pH, used with lukewarm water. A 2004 review of cleanser research from Unilever’s research team explains that harsh surfactants can damage skin proteins and lipids, leading to after-wash tightness, dryness and irritation.

The review’s own lab work adds a second factor: pH. Solutions at pH 10 increased swelling of the skin’s outer layer even without any surfactant, which the authors read as “suggesting that cleansers with neutral or acidic pH, close to SC-normal pH 5.5, may be potentially less damaging to the skin.” Water temperature counts as well. In a 2022 study of 50 healthy adults, hot water more than doubled water loss through the skin of the hands, from 25.75 to 58.58 g/h/m².

So the all-season choice is a cleanser that leaves your skin feeling comfortable rather than squeaky, and water that is warm, never hot. If a cleanser leaves you tight within minutes in winter, it is probably too strong for the whole year.

Should you change your skincare routine with the seasons?

Yes, but only the texture. Studies that measured the same people’s skin across the year show it really does change.

In a 2020 study in Kunming, China, researchers measured the cheeks of 72 young women in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Skin hydration and oil were highest in summer and lowest in winter, while water loss through the skin was lowest in summer and peaked in winter. A 2016 study of 25 women, measured on the lower legs in winter and again in summer, found the same direction: water loss and visible dryness were lower in summer, hydration was higher, and the skin’s own ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids were higher in summer than in winter.

That is the case for a richer moisturizer in winter. A 2016 dermatology review explains why richness matters: occlusive ingredients form a film that slows water loss, and petrolatum at a concentration of at least 5% reduces it by more than 98%, compared with 20 to 30% for lanolin, mineral oil and silicones. In winter, look for a cream with a real occlusive in it; in summer, when your skin is already holding more water and oil, a lighter lotion is usually enough. Our skincare routine for dry skin goes further for skin that stays dry all year.

In summer, the sunscreen may need a change as much as the moisturizer. If the one you wear in January feels heavy or slides around in hot, humid weather, keep the same SPF level and switch to a lighter texture; our guide to the best sunscreen for humid weather covers what to look for.

Editor’s note

My own routine is close to this core. In the morning: a gel cleanser, a creamy toner sprayed on as a mist, the lotion I got from my dermatologist, then sunscreen. In the evening I mist again and use the same lotion, with an eye cream and a serum in between. I have used that toner as a mist in hot weather and cold weather alike. What changed was the environment around it. In Bali and Malaysia, hot and humid with heavy traffic fumes, I cleansed more thoroughly, used a sheet mask for moisture every evening and never skipped sunscreen. In the UK, cold outside and dry indoors, moisture came first and I built it up in layers.

What is the best skincare routine for beginners?

The same core, kept unchanged for several weeks before you add anything. Three steps in the morning and two at night are enough to learn how your skin responds to cleansing, moisture and sunscreen on their own.

When you want to add something, such as an exfoliating acid for rough texture or a vitamin C serum, add one product at a time and give it a few weeks. Our guide to introducing a new skincare product sets out a schedule, and a patch test first helps you catch a reaction before it covers your whole face. If you add two products at once and your skin reacts, you will not know which one to drop.

How do you know when the routine needs to change?

Pay attention to how your skin feels through the day. If your face feels tight within an hour of moisturizing, the moisturizer is too light for the season. If it feels greasy or congested by midday, it is too heavy. If sunscreen flakes around the nose by mid-morning, try building up the moisture layer underneath before you replace the sunscreen.

Moisturizer timing gives you a clue as well. The 2016 review reports that a moisturizer’s effect peaks 30 minutes to 1 hour after application and usually lasts about 4 hours, and that dry skin may need it 1 to 3 times a day. On a cold, heated day, a second layer at lunchtime is a seasonal adjustment, not a new routine.

This article is for general cosmetic information and is not medical advice. If your skin is persistently red, itchy or breaking out, speak with a dermatologist.