How to Build an Evidence-Based Skincare Routine

TL;DR

A useful skincare routine does not need to be long. Start with a cleanser, moisturiser where needed and a broad-spectrum sunscreen. Cleansing removes the day, moisturiser supports the skin barrier when needed, and sunscreen reduces ongoing UV damage.

If you want to improve fine lines, texture or uneven tone, add one evidence-based treatment. A retinoid is usually the most useful evening option when suitable; a well-formulated antioxidant is an optional morning addition. Introduce one change at a time, then add targeted treatment only if a specific concern remains.

Your Core Routine in one flow

Morning

Cleanse or rinse
Antioxidant if useful
Moisturiser if needed
SPF
Make-up if worn

Evening

Cleanse
Retinoid if suitable
Moisturiser if needed
Bed

Targeted treatments for breakouts, pigmentation or redness can be added around this foundation, but you do not need to introduce them all at once.

Step 1: Establish the foundation

Start with cleansing, moisturiser when needed and sunscreen. Cleansing and moisturising support the routine; sunscreen also helps to prevent further UV-driven damage. Together, they create a foundation that is easier to tolerate and maintain.

Cleanse enough to remove make-up, sunscreen, excess oil and the day’s debris without leaving the skin persistently tight or irritated. Moisturiser is useful when your skin needs it; there is no requirement to use a rich cream simply because it appears in a standard routine diagram.

Sunscreen is the step I would prioritise. In a four-and-a-half-year randomised trial, the daily sunscreen group had 24% less progression in measured skin ageing than those using sunscreen at their own discretion [1]. UV exposure also activates pathways that break down dermal collagen, even at doses that may not visibly burn the skin [2].

For most people, this means a broad-spectrum SPF 30–50 every morning. SPF 50 is particularly sensible when pigmentation is a main concern or outdoor exposure is substantial. The best formula is one you can apply properly and use consistently. Finish, compatibility with make-up and willingness to reapply matter in real life.

A tinted sunscreen containing iron oxides may provide useful additional visible-light protection for some people with melasma. In a randomised trial, a UV-and-visible-light sunscreen improved melasma outcomes more than a UV-only sunscreen when both were used alongside hydroquinone [3]. This does not mean everyone needs a tinted product.

A primer-like SPF option

The product below is one option from The Curatory edit if you need one, rather than something that everyone needs to replace.

Doctor-selected • SPF

SVR Sun Secure Blur SPF50+

£21.00 Available

Why I chose it: I chose SVR Sun Secure Blur SPF50+ as an example of how cosmetic finish can improve consistency. Its soft-focus, silicone-rich texture may make daily sunscreen easier if you tend to avoid conventional creamy formulas.
Best for: You prefer a soft-focus finish and want sunscreen to double as a primer.
Usual place: Use it as the final skincare step before make-up.
How to introduce it: Apply it every morning as your final skincare step. Build the habit before adding further corrective products.
Another option may be better if: Choose another sunscreen if you dislike fragranced or primer-like textures, want a lighter fluid for reapplication or need a tinted product for visible-light protection.

View SVR Sun Secure Blur SPF50+ Compare SPF options

Step 2: Add one evidence-based treatment

Once the foundation is settled, choose one treatment according to your main goal and what your skin is likely to tolerate. For fine lines, texture and photoageing, a retinoid is usually the more useful first treatment. An antioxidant may be a practical first addition if you want a morning step, are not ready for a retinoid or prefer to keep the evening routine simple.

When a retinoid is the right next step

“Retinoid” is an umbrella term for vitamin A-related ingredients, including retinol, retinal and prescription tretinoin. Tretinoin has one of the deepest evidence bases in topical skincare: controlled studies have shown improvements in fine wrinkling, roughness and other features of photoaged skin [4]. Cosmetic retinol also has human evidence for improving fine lines and increasing procollagen-related markers [5].

The exact product still matters. Ingredient, concentration, formulation, packaging and tolerability all affect whether a retinoid will be useful in practice. Stronger is not automatically better. A lower-strength product used consistently may achieve more than a stronger product that repeatedly causes burning, peeling and long breaks.

Start on two non-consecutive evenings each week. Increase only when your skin is tolerating the current schedule, usually after several weeks. Mild dryness can occur, but persistent burning, marked redness or continued peeling are reasons to pause.

Do not use topical retinoids during pregnancy, when planning pregnancy or while breastfeeding. UK guidance contraindicates topical medicinal retinoids during pregnancy and when planning pregnancy as a precaution [6]; during breastfeeding, The Curatory recommends avoiding them because there is not enough evidence to establish safety.

A retinal with graded strengths

Doctor-selected • Treat

Medik8 Crystal Retinal

£50.00 Available

Why I chose it: I chose Medik8 Crystal Retinal because retinal offers a useful middle ground for many people and the graded strengths provide room to adjust gradually.
Best for: You want a non-prescription evening retinoid with a graded step-up system.
Usual place: Use it after cleansing and before moisturiser.
How to introduce it: Begin with an appropriate lower strength on two evenings each week and increase frequency only when the routine is well tolerated. Moving to the next concentration is optional.
Another option may be better if: Choose another route if your skin is actively irritated, you already use a prescribed retinoid or you want a gentler starting point. During pregnancy or breastfeeding, I would usually consider Medik8 Liquid Peptides Advanced MP as a retinoid-free evening alternative.
Choosing a strength: Crystal Retinal 3: a likely starting point for someone new to retinal.
Crystal Retinal 6: for someone already tolerating a lower-strength retinoid.
Crystal Retinal 10 and 20: later step-up options rather than default starting points.

Choose your Crystal Retinal strength Compare retinoid options

When an antioxidant is the right next step

Vitamin C is involved in normal collagen formation and acts as an antioxidant. Small controlled studies of specific topical vitamin C formulations have reported improvements in photodamaged skin and biopsy changes consistent with increased collagen formation [7],[8].

The important limitation is that these results apply to the formulations tested, not to every bottle labelled “vitamin C”. L-ascorbic acid is the most studied form, but it can be acidic and irritating. Derivatives may be easier to tolerate, although evidence for one form cannot automatically be transferred to another.

An antioxidant complements sunscreen; it does not replace it. It is also optional. If your routine is already effective and manageable, you do not need to add a serum simply to complete a diagram.

An L-ascorbic acid option

Doctor-selected • Antioxidant

NeoStrata 15% Vitamin C and PHA Serum

£62.40 Available

Why I chose it: I chose NeoStrata 15% Vitamin C and PHA Serum for someone specifically looking for L-ascorbic acid, with additional hydration and gentle resurfacing support from PHA.
Best for: You want a morning L-ascorbic acid serum and your skin is not actively irritated.
Usual place: Use it after cleansing and before moisturiser or SPF.
How to introduce it: Start every other morning if you are cautious, then increase according to tolerance.
Another option may be better if: Choose another antioxidant if your skin is actively irritated, you have significant redness or you prefer a simpler formula without exfoliating activity.

View NeoStrata 15% Vitamin C and PHA Serum Compare antioxidant options

Step 3: Add targeted treatment only when needed

The core routine may be enough. Add another treatment only when there is a particular unresolved concern.

For persistent breakouts, a blemish-focused routine may be more useful than another general anti-ageing serum. Pigmentation may need azelaic acid, a tyrosinase-targeting product or prescription treatment depending on its cause. Redness and sensitivity need a different approach again.

Use The Curatory’s Blemish-Prone Skin Routine for breakouts, Pigmentation and Uneven Tone Routine for pigmentation, Redness and Sensitivity Routine for redness or sensitivity, and Ageing Changes Routine for fine lines and texture.

Changing or irregular pigmentation should be assessed rather than treated as a routine cosmetic concern. Freckles, post-inflammatory pigmentation, melasma and a changing pigmented lesion are not interchangeable.

Step 4: Introduce changes gradually

Starting several reasonable products together can make the combined routine irritating and makes it difficult to identify what helped.

There is no clinical trial defining the perfect interval between every skincare product. In practice, leaving roughly two to four weeks between new active steps is useful where possible.

A practical staged plan

This is a flexible framework rather than a requirement to reach every stage.

Weeks 1–3 Use cleanser, moisturiser where needed and SPF.
Weeks 4–7 Add either a retinoid or an antioxidant according to your main priority.
From week 8 onwards Add the other core treatment only if it is useful and your skin is tolerating the routine.
Later Consider targeted treatment for a specific unresolved concern.

You do not have to reach every stage. Cleanser, a retinoid a few times per week and consistent sunscreen may be a better routine than ten active products used irregularly.

How long should you give the routine?

Give the routine time. Three months is a reasonable early review point for tolerability, texture and some visible changes, but collagen remodelling and established pigmentation can take longer. Baseline photographs in similar lighting are more useful than trying to remember how your skin looked.

When to seek individual advice

Pause and seek advice if you develop persistent burning, significant redness, swelling, crusting, blistering or a worsening rash.

Individual assessment is also sensible if you have active eczema or rosacea, severe or persistent acne, changing or difficult-to-identify pigmentation, are already using prescribed treatment, or are unsure which products can be combined.

Do not use topical retinoids during pregnancy, when planning pregnancy or while breastfeeding. If you want a retinoid-free evening option during pregnancy or breastfeeding, I would usually consider Medik8 Liquid Peptides Advanced MP instead.

References and further reading

Hughes MCB, Williams GM, Baker P, Green AC. Sunscreen and prevention of skin aging: a randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2013;158(11):781–790. Read source. (opens in a new tab)
Fisher GJ, Wang ZQ, Datta SC, Varani J, Kang S, Voorhees JJ. Pathophysiology of premature skin aging induced by ultraviolet light. New England Journal of Medicine. 1997;337(20):1419–1429. Read source. (opens in a new tab)
Castanedo-Cazares JP, Hernandez-Blanco D, Carlos-Ortega B, Fuentes-Ahumada C, Torres-Álvarez B. Near-visible light and UV photoprotection in the treatment of melasma: a double-blind randomized trial. Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine. 2014;30(1):35–42. Read source. (opens in a new tab)
Weiss JS, Ellis CN, Headington JT, Tincoff T, Hamilton TA, Voorhees JJ. Topical tretinoin improves photoaged skin: a double-blind vehicle-controlled study. JAMA. 1988;259(4):527–532. Read source. (opens in a new tab)
Kafi R, Kwak HSR, Schumacher WE, et al. Improvement of naturally aged skin with vitamin A (retinol). Archives of Dermatology. 2007;143(5):606–612. Read source. (opens in a new tab)
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Oral retinoid medicines: revised and simplified pregnancy prevention educational materials for healthcare professionals and women. Includes precautionary advice on topical retinoids during pregnancy and when planning pregnancy. Read source. (opens in a new tab)
Humbert PG, Haftek M, Creidi P, et al. Topical ascorbic acid on photoaged skin: clinical, topographical and ultrastructural evaluation. Experimental Dermatology. 2003;12(3):237–244. Read source. (opens in a new tab)
Fitzpatrick RE, Rostan EF. Double-blind, half-face study comparing topical vitamin C and vehicle for rejuvenation of photodamage. Dermatologic Surgery. 2002;28(3):231–236. Read source. (opens in a new tab)