Which cream suits your skin (and what to do when none does)

Choosing a cream by its label happens more often than we admit, so we start from the question we should be asking ourselves instead: how much is your skin refusing to do what it is told?

If your skin tolerates nothing

This is the first and most important step. If you have had redness, itching or burning from a product before, skin is currently in maintenance mode rather than improvement mode. For a couple of months, go with the honey soap and the calendula cream only. It is slower and duller than what advertising sells, and it works.

If skin is oily and shiny by midday

The problem is not oil, it is over-washing. A black mask once or twice a week and the sage toner daily do more than any “cream for oily skin”.

If skin is dry and dehydrated

Here the order makes sense: first the serum, then the cream. The reverse does not work — cream over serum is exactly what most people do, which is why nothing happens for them.

If your skin looks like it wants looking after

The retinol night cream and Lift Boost serum work, but they have a price you should know in advance: an SPF cream in the morning stops being optional. If you do not want that, do not buy retinol — there is no shame in it.

Five mistakes that keep skin in place

1. Cleansing twice a day. Once is enough unless you sweat heavily.
2. Thumbs under the straps: SPF gets through where you cannot see it.
3. “For all skin types” on a label does not mean the formula is universal, only that the manufacturer decided to take the risk.
4. Switching one product a week, instead of finding the one that works once.
5. Stress and lack of sleep — skin does not read those on a label, and reacts to them first.