Simple skincare routine: morning and evening basics
8 min read Skincare Updated 1 November 2026 By Anna Sophie Schulenburg
A simple skincare routine has four steps in the morning and three in the evening: in the morning you cleanse, add a serum if you like, moisturise and finish with sunscreen; in the evening you cleanse, use an active if you like and moisturise. Start today with a cleanser, a moisturiser and a sunscreen, and leave everything else out for now. After a week, check whether the basics suit you: if your skin doesn't feel tight ten minutes after washing and isn't shinier two hours after moisturising than before, keep going.
The order of a skincare routine comes down to one rule. Thin textures go on first, rich ones after, and in the morning sunscreen sits on top of everything.
Your skincare routine morning and evening at a glance
| Step | Morning | Evening | Do you need it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Cleanse | lukewarm water or a pea-sized amount of cleanser | a pea-sized amount of cleanser, 30 to 60 seconds | yes, always in the evening |
| 2. Serum or active | 2 to 3 drops of serum, for example with niacinamide | one active product, such as retinol or an acid | no, only once the basics are in place |
| 3. Moisturise | pea- to hazelnut-sized for face and neck | the same cream or a richer one | yes |
| 4. Sunscreen | about two finger-lengths, SPF 30 or higher | not needed | yes, all year round |
If you use nothing at all yet, three products are enough: a cleanser, a moisturiser and a sunscreen. Toner, essence and eye cream are additions for later. They slot into the gap between cleansing and moisturising, and your skin is well looked after without them. Cleansing itself, with water temperature, amount and the usual mistakes, is covered in cleansing your face without irritation.
The steps with amounts and timing
Step 1 — Cleanse. Put a pea-sized amount of cleanser into damp hands and massage it over your face and neck with your fingertips for 30 to 60 seconds. Rinse with lukewarm water, because hot water dissolves more of the skin's oil and leaves it more likely to feel tight afterwards. Pat your face dry with a clean towel instead of rubbing. If your skin is dry, lukewarm water is enough in the morning. In the evening the cleanser is part of it, because sunscreen and make-up don't come off completely with water alone. Dissolve waterproof mascara first with an eye make-up remover on a cotton pad.
Step 2 — Serum or active. Two to three drops of serum cover your whole face. Press it onto clean skin with your palms and wait about a minute for it to sink in. In the morning, hydrating serums with hyaluronic acid or glycerin fit well. Retinol belongs in your evening routine because light breaks it down, and so do exfoliating acids such as glycolic acid, because they can make skin more sensitive to light. Start either of them on two evenings a week. A good first active is niacinamide, which suits morning and evening alike and gets along with most other products.
Step 3 — Moisturise. Moisturiser goes onto skin that is still slightly damp, a pea- to hazelnut-sized amount for face and neck. Dot it in five places on your forehead, nose, chin and cheeks and smooth it outwards from the centre. After ten minutes your skin should feel soft. If it feels sticky, you used too much. If it feels tight, you used too little, or the cream is too light for your skin. Oily skin needs this step too, just with a lighter cream: shine comes from sebum and says nothing about how much moisture your skin holds.
Step 4 — Sunscreen. In the morning the last layer is a sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher, in winter and on cloudy days too. The protection on the label only applies when you use enough. For face and neck that means about two finger-lengths of cream, squeezed along your index and middle finger. Let your moisturiser sink in for two to three minutes first, or the sunscreen will slide around as you apply it. If you are outdoors for longer, reapply after about two hours, and straight away after swimming or heavy sweating. Make-up with SPF won't do as your only protection, because you will hardly ever apply two finger-lengths of it.
The right skincare routine order
Whatever goes on first has the most direct contact with your skin. A runny serum spreads evenly when it comes straight after cleansing. Over a dense cream it glides less well, and some of it stays caught in the cream layer. So watery goes before creamy, and creamy before oily. The same rule holds once make-up joins in; the order of skincare and make-up shows where sunscreen, concealer and powder sit.
Sunscreen is the exception. It always goes on top, even when it is runnier than your moisturiser, because it has to protect as an even film on the surface. A facial oil comes last in the evening: put two to three drops into your palms and press them onto the moisturiser.
Which skin type do you have? Adjusting your routine
The steps stay the same for every skin type. What changes is the texture of the cleanser, the amount of moisturiser and whether you need a cleanser in the morning at all. If you're not sure, the water test shows you your skin type in an hour.
| Your skin | How to recognise it | Cleanse | Moisturise |
|---|---|---|---|
| dry | feels tight after washing, fine flakes on the cheeks or around the nostrils | water only in the morning, a creamy cleanser in the evening | a richer cream, closer to hazelnut-sized in the evening |
| normal | feels comfortable all day, hardly any shine | a mild cleanser morning and evening | a light cream, pea-sized |
| combination | forehead and nose shine by midday, cheeks stay calm | a foaming cleanser, morning and evening | a light cream, less on the nose than on the cheeks |
| oily | shiny all over after two to three hours, larger pores | a foaming cleanser, morning and evening | a light, oil-free cream, pea-sized |
| sensitive | stings or reddens with new products or hot water | a creamy cleanser, water only lukewarm | a cream with few ingredients, test each new product on its own |
If two rows fit, say dry cheeks and a shiny nose, take the milder cleanser and adjust the amount of moisturiser to each zone. For this case there is zone-by-zone care for combination skin.
If your skin currently stings at almost every product, the skin barrier is often overloaded. Then go back to cleanser and moisturiser, leave out acids and retinol and strengthen your skin barrier before you try anything new again.
Adding new products without overwhelming your skin
Introduce only one new product at a time and wait at least three to four days before starting the next. If your skin reacts, you will know where it came from.
Before using a new product on your face for the first time, test it for 48 hours on a small patch, along your jawline or in the crook of your elbow. If the patch turns red, itches or stings, keep the product off your face. That applies to plant extracts and essential oils too, because a natural origin tells you nothing about whether your skin tolerates an ingredient.
After that, stay with one combination for four weeks before you judge it. That is roughly how long the top layer of skin takes to renew itself once. If you switch after three days, what you mostly see is the reaction to the switch itself.
Common skincare mistakes and how to fix them
| Mistake | Better |
|---|---|
| starting five new products on the same day | one new product every three to four days |
| washing your face with hot water | lukewarm, about as warm as your hand |
| rubbing your face dry, then moisturising | pat dry and moisturise onto slightly damp skin |
| sunscreen only in summer | every morning all year, SPF 30 or higher |
| retinol and acid on the same evening | on separate evenings, twice a week each to start |
| a grainy scrub every day | once a week at most, skip it for sensitive skin |
| two cleansers back to back every evening | one cleanser, a second cleanse only after waterproof sunscreen or heavy make-up |
If redness stays for weeks despite a simple routine and no longer fades, or you have inflamed, painful spots, lumps under the skin or weeping patches, see a dermatologist. Rosacea, acne that needs treatment or eczema can be behind it, and only a dermatologist can diagnose and treat that.
If you use MONAT skincare
Two of MONAT's facial lines cover steps 1 and 3 as a set. The Be Gentle™ system, with a Creamy Cleanser and a Nourishing Moisturiser, is made for dry and sensitive skin; with a shiny T-zone you will probably find it too rich. The Be Balanced™ system, with a Foamy Cleanser and a Lightweight Moisturiser, suits normal and combination skin; if your skin feels tight after the foam, it is too strong for you. For step 2 there is the Barrier Booster™ Niacinamide Glow Serum, which goes on before your moisturiser and doesn't replace it. None of these lines includes a facial sunscreen, so you add one from another brand. The other lines, including one for oily skin, and all single products are in the overview of MONAT skincare, and if you are torn between the two sets, the comparison of Be Gentle™ and Be Balanced™ helps you decide.
Morning (simple)
Core routine
- BE BALANCED™ FOAMY CLEANSER
- BE BALANCED™ LIGHTWEIGHT MOISTURIZER
Optional
- MONAT Barrier Booster™ Niacinamide Glow Serum
Always finish with sun protection; the single most effective anti-ageing step. Optional serum before moisturiser.
Evening
Core routine
- BE GENTLE™ CREAMY CLEANSER
- BE GENTLE™ NOURISHING MOISTURIZER
Optional
- MONAT Barrier Booster™ Niacinamide Glow Serum
Remove the day and make-up thoroughly but gently. Introduce actives one at a time.
Right away
Right after the routine, skin feels clean, comfortable and cared for.
With continued use
With regular, simple care, the complexion looks more balanced and better cared for over a few weeks; consistency counts more than individual products.
What it can't do
A basic routine doesn't replace medical treatment and doesn't cure a skin condition; visible results take time and can't be promised for a fixed date.
Quick questions
Do I need a toner?
No. A toner is an optional in-between step after cleansing. Use one if it brings an ingredient you want, or if your skin feels more comfortable with it.
How long does a skincare routine take?
About five minutes in the morning, three to four in the evening. Most of that is waiting for serum and moisturiser to sink in, and you can brush your teeth or your hair in the meantime.
At what age should you start a skincare routine?
As soon as your skin feels tight, gets shiny or breaks out after washing, which for many people means puberty. Cleansing, moisturising and sunscreen suit every age. Young skin has no need for retinol and acids without a specific reason.
How long does an opened sunscreen last?
Usually 6 to 12 months after opening; the open-jar symbol on the pack gives the exact number. If the cream has gone lumpy, separated or smells different, throw it away.
The free skin analysis asks how your skin feels, what you use at the moment and what you would like to change, and the consultant you meet through it can go through your skincare with you.