Drugstore Starter Routine for Your 20s

am ☀

pm ⏾

01. Cleanse

CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser

Massage a small amount over damp skin and rinse with lukewarm water. It removes oil, makeup, and everyday sunscreen without making a beginner buy a separate product for every cleansing scenario.

If your face feels dry but clean when you wake up, rinse with water instead. If you are consistently very oily, the CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser is the better match.

02. Optional Barrier Serum

The Ordinary Soothing & Barrier Support Serum

Apply a few drops before moisturizer. The 2% niacinamide, ceramides, and soothing ingredients give a new routine some help with dehydration, visible redness, uneven texture, and barrier support without jumping straight to a peel or retinoid.

This step is optional. Start once daily for the first week, and skip it entirely if cleanser, moisturizer, and SPF are all your skin needs.

03. Moisturize

CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion

Use one or two pumps over slightly damp skin. Despite the PM on the bottle, this lightweight, fragrance-free lotion works perfectly well morning or night; ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide cover the basic hydration and barrier job.

If sunscreen is moisturizing enough on its own, combination or oily skin can skip this in the morning.

04. Eye-Area SPF

Cetaphil Sheer Mineral Sunscreen Stick SPF 50

Glide the stick onto a clean fingertip, then tap a generous, even layer around the orbital bone and upper eye contour before face SPF. This fragrance-free drugstore mineral SPF 50 is specifically intended for use around the eyes and is easier to place precisely than a runny face sunscreen.

It is an eye-area sunscreen, not a treatment eye cream; the BYOMA eye gel at night covers the hydration step. Keep it out of the eyes and off the lash line, and expect some possible mineral cast.

05. SPF

Neutrogena Invisible Daily Defense Face Serum SPF 60+

Apply generously as the last morning step to the face, ears, and neck, then reapply when outdoors. This is the habit with the biggest long-term payoff: broad-spectrum SPF 60+, an invisible finish, and 80 minutes of water resistance.

If chemical filters sting, try the untinted, all-mineral Blue Lizard Sensitive Face Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50+. It may leave more cast, so do not solve that by applying less.