How I Built My First Medical-Grade Skincare Routine

What working in medical aesthetics taught me about what to buy & how to use it

You learn a lot about a person when you ask them about the first thing they do when they wake up in the morning and the last thing they do before bed. For me, it’s my skincare. I’ve gone through many iterations – from a single step (learning to cleanse, graduating from Neutrogena wipes), to ten steps (including snail mucin), and back to a more curated routine based on a concrete goal (taming redness).

Working in medical aesthetics introduced me to a new world of skincare lines. It’s confusing at first, but the favorites are almost universal. They come up again and again. Now that I have my routine, I update it rarely – usually after hearing about the same product several times from a mix of medical providers and friends.

Seeing examples of full routines has been the most helpful in modifying my own, especially with the growing number of things we are supposed to use / not use together (nevermind in what order). I’ll cover two routines here – my own, and that of my best friend & colleague who has spent her entire career in beauty.

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My Routine (Normal Skin, Addressing Redness)

For years I tried to solve redness by adding to my lineup — more serums, more exfoliating, stronger actives. But the real shift came when I started investing in in-office treatments that required a different at-home routine. I’ve mainly done IPL/BBL treatments for redness, and the skincare helps me with two things: 1) conditioning the skin ahead of treatment so the laser better targets unwanted pigment/redness and 2) maintaining or even enhancing the IPL results to keep the redness at bay. This treatment journey led me to do some intense skincare editing – removing steps that weren’t actively advancing those two goals, and were possibly even setting me back. Here’s where I’m at today:

Morning:

• Tone with Hydrinity Hyacyn Mist

• Protect (antioxidant) with SkinBetter Alto Defense Serum

• Moisturize with Avène Tolerance Control Soothing Skin Recovery Cream

• SPF with Journée Firm Riche Broad Spectrum SPF 30 (this formula has growth factors for dual benefit)

Night:

• Cleanse with Avène Tolerance Extremely Gentle Cleanser

• Apply Latisse on eyebrows (more later on Eyebrow therapy)

• Tone with Hydrinity Hyacyn Mist

• Apply Plated Daily Serum (for my daily dose of exosomes - providers have recommended I use this in the daytime)

• Moisturize with Avène Tolerance Control Soothing Recovery Balm or Avène Cicalfate if I need extra soothing for anti-redness

Once a week I’ll use the ZO Skin Health Exfoliating Polish, which is a very fine, physical exfoliant. After my IPL treatments I use the Neocutis Neostore Post Treatment Nourishing Mask, which has growth factors and helps with recovery.

My biggest lesson in dealing with redness is to start with an elimination diet. No acids, fragrances, or anything irritating before you add back.

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Friend 1. Combination skin. Dullness and congestion.

She’s the first person I call before trying a new skincare (or even cosmetic) product. She knows product like the back of her hand, and is very loyal to what works. Her routine is built around promoting hydration and radiance:

Morning:

• Protect with SkinBetter Alto Defense Serum

• Hydrate with SkinMedica HA5 (five molecular weights of hyaluronic acid for max absorption)

• Moisturize with Senté Dermal Repair Cream (Sente’s technology is based on Heparin Sulfate and is another cult-favorite at SkinSpirit)

• SPF with EltaMD Tinted Sunscreen

Night:

• Double cleanse with La Roche-Posay Purifying Cleanser

• Treat with SkinBetter AlphaRet (a highly tolerable retinoid and great place to start in this category)

• Treat with SkinCeuticals PI-TIOX Serum (a newer product often associated with a “glass skin” look)

• Moisturize with SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore

Her rule: double cleanse at night and never skip SPF.

SkinBetter Science is a standout on both of our lists. It’s probably the most used and recommended at SkinSpirit – the formulations, packaging and clinical studies are of the highest quality out there.

On my radar next: SkinBetter’s Even Intensive Serum to keep advancing my anti-redness routine post treatment. They are also coming out with a new volumizing HA product, which I learned about from Savanna Boda (The Dallas Esthetician) on IG (she’s a global brand ambassador). Jan Marini just launched a PDRN serum that I’m curious to try as another regenerative option – I’ll likely experiment by swapping for my Plated next.