When you regularly read beauty blogs and follow scores of skincare nerds on Instagram, it can start feeling like everybody is as obsessed with the topic as you are. That most people have 8-step evening routines and spend hours debating what to order from Cult Beauty. During my saner moments, I of course know that it isn’t true and I try to retain SOME perspective when I’m writing about beauty – not always successfully, as I’m only able to write about things that excite me.

But one side effect of having the blog is that people keep asking me – both online and off – for skincare advice. This has gotten me thinking: what are the things I would suggest to anyone, even to people not interested in skincare? What are the steps I believe to be truly effective and, in some cases, necessary? I am no dermatologist, but most of this is pretty uncontroversial and confirmed by my own experience.

1. Cleanse properly. I have been droning on about cleansing so many times that this surely isn’t a surprise for anyone who has been here before. But it needs to be said, because if you haven’t really paid any attention to your skin, upgrading your cleansing game is the fastest way to improve the look of it. Instant results are pretty much guaranteed, unless your skin is flaring up, but even then, figuring out the cleansing bit is essential. And if you HAVE been paying attention to your skin, cleansing is the foundation of everything else and cannot be replaced or neglected. Despite my own devotion to it, I would not say double cleansing is a must: simply make sure you are using a good cleanser that works for your skin (no wipes, no micellar waters alone) and just do it.

2. Use SPF. Oh, you have no idea how much I wish it wasn’t necessary, but I cannot argue with science. Or my eyes. I’m leaving the health aspect aside here and will just say that sun will make your skin look worse in the long run. I – like most people – look so much better with a tan, but it will cause sunspots and other unpleasantness. 90% of visible signs of ageing are the fault of that bright yellow ball. I don’t mind the wrinkles, but I do hate the blotchy look. So in terms of prevention, SPF is the single biggest thing you can do for your skin. Find a format that you’d actually wear (the selection IS getting better) and wear it. My solution for the summer is Eve Lom SPF 50 mixed with Clarins self-tanner to get some colour without the sun.

3. Hydrate/moisturise. This is probably the most obvious one – if people use one skincare product, it’s often some sort of moisturiser. And with good reason: cleanse-moisturise-protect is sort of a minimum skincare routine and I there is no skin that would not benefit from a little hydrating action. I want to make two points, though. The first is figuring out if you lack mostly water or oil or both. Getting the dryness/dehydration thing right has been one of the biggest ‘aha!’ moments of my skincare explorations and you can read about it here. The other is that you don’t necessarily need to use a moisturising cream. Oils can be great and are often good options for those who want something natural that they just slather everywhere. In the summer, I use a hydrating antioxidant serum and put SPF on top, without a cream in-between. Caroline Hirons doesn’t approve, but I find this is a practical and completely adequate solution for my skin.

4. Avoid scrubs. I’m not saying you have to add a new step to your routine, but if you’re already using exfoliators and they are physical ones, I recommend switching to acids and/or enzumes. REN’s Glycolic Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask is a good gentle one to start with. Another option could be to swop your daily toner (if you use one) for a mild acid toner. Daily acid exfoliation may not be for everyone, but it has improved my skin considerably: I usually don’t need a weekly exfoliating mask any more, as there is not much build-up of dead skin. But even using something like Alpha-H Liquid Gold twice a week will give you results and take 10 seconds.

5. Try retinol. This one is entirely optional* and meant for those who want maximum results with minimum effort. People are often afraid of retinol and one should of course be cautious, but remember it’s one of the few skincare ingredients that is clearly proven to work – and it works for many common skin concerns from ageing to hyperpingmentation to acne. Dr Sam Bunting and Dr Emma Wedgeworth explain the pros and cons of retinol very nicely here: they talk about the versions you can get from dermatologists, but everything here applies – in a diluted version – to over-the-counter products too. If your skin can tolerate retinol (and most people’s can, at least in the form you can buy in shops), there is nothing else like it. I have pretty much stopped playing around with my evening serums and just use the best retinol I can find (currently Dr Dennis Gross Ferulic + Retinol serum plus the eye cream from the same series). Considering how good an ingredient it is, it’s astonishing that there are so few mainstream retinol products around: La Roche-Posay Redermic is great and Avene also worth trying. And if you have serious issues, there are of course prescription creams, but that is another story and one I’m not (yet) able to tell myself.

*Everything here is optional, of course. I just assume some minimum interest in taking care of one’s skin, but if you don’t feel like it, that’s completely fine by me. Possibly the wrong blog for you, though:)