The 10-step routine, cut to five

The ten-step routine was never a rule. It was a shopping list. Five steps cover everything that changes skin.

1. Cleanse

A low-pH gel or foam, morning and night. High-pH soap strips the barrier and makes everything after it sting. If your skin feels tight after washing, the cleanser is the problem, not the moisturiser.

2. Tone

Toners are water-thin hydration, not astringent. Apply to damp skin and pat in; this is the step that makes the next layer absorb instead of sitting on the surface.

3. Treat

One active at a time: an essence, a retinoid, an acid - not all three on the same night. Snail mucin and green tea are the gentle entry points; acids are the ones that cause trouble when stacked.

4. Moisturise

Ceramides, squalane, glycerin. The goal is sealing in the water you just added, not adding more.

5. Protect

SPF 50 every morning, indoors or not. This is the only step with a large, boring body of evidence behind it.

What to skip

• Eye cream, unless you have a specific concern - your moisturiser works there.
• Toners with alcohol high in the list.
• Anything with "whitening" in the name; look for "brightening" or niacinamide instead.

Start with three products (cleanse, moisturise, SPF). Add one every two weeks so you can tell what caused a reaction. Read next: layering order.