This is Garden of Wisdom’s Basic Skin Care Routine. Keep in mind this is just a guideline, and your own skin needs might be different. The key is to pay close attention to how your skin reacts to products and keep a journal, if possible.
         Examples of Our Suggested  -  Method of Application
Cleansing 
Use a cleanser that does the job you need it to do without stripping the skin of its natural oils or upsetting your skin's balance.
    For example: Oily skin can occasionally get away with using sudsy cleansers where dry skin generally cannot. Rosacea, Sensitive, Dry, and Mature Skin Profiles usually cannot either.
     This being said, foamy cleansers can strip oily skin (causing the skin to produce more oil as time goes on). Foamy cleansers can strip dry skin as well, which causes further dehydration. These cleansers can also cause further skin barrier damage in sensitive/reactive /rosacea skin profiles. If you don't need to remove makeup, consider using a non-foaming cleanser like our Soothing Gel Cleanser. If you need to take off makeup, consider one of our Micellar Cleansing Dew's or Cleansing Oils.
     We generally suggest using 1/16 teaspoon up to 1/4 teaspoon of cleanser, although you can adjust it to your skin needs. We do recommend applying it to moistened skin as this helps to keep product waste down. There is no wait time between cleansing and the next step in your routine.
     Our cleansers work best with a wet, warm washcloth (bamboo or cotton are best). Please use a fresh, clean cloth for each routine.
     Another thought to consider: Try washing your skin only in the PM, and skip washing in the AM since very little is going to settle on the skin overnight - use a clean, wet washcloth and wipe gently over your skin. Continue your routine.
Clarifying Tonics  (we do not use alcohol in our tonics)
A tonic helps prepare the skin for the next phase of your skincare routine and helps reset your skin to the proper Ph if necessary. It also helps to ensure the skin is clear of any cleanser residue. This product is sprayed on the skin directly or onto a cotton pad which is then used to wipe the skin gently. You’ll want to use enough to wet your skin thoroughly or wet the pad enough to wipe your skin with it. If you use the tonic on a cotton pad, it helps with gentle exfoliation respecting the skin barrier. 
Exfoliation (Optional Step) A Microfiber Cloth or other product can manually exfoliate the skin. The purpose of an exfoliant is to eliminate flakey skin on a semi regular basis. Exfoliation also stimulates cell renewal. We generally suggest using between 1/16 teaspoon up to 1/4 teaspoon of product for application. We  don't suggest exfoliating (including acids) more often than 1-2 x per week, maximum. There is no wait time between cleansing and the next step in your routine. 
   Sensitive/Rosacea Prone Skin:
We suggest skipping this step as it could and likely will cause more inflammation of the skin.
Masking  (Optional Step)
Masks are used to pull impurities out of your skin as well as acting to seal in moisture depending what you mix with your clay. We also have masks that do not have clay in them and act purely to exfoliate or help with moisture. Please see our clays page for more info on how to mix clay masks. Using clay masks too often can stimulate the skin too much, strip off too much of the skin's natural oils and cause it to react by producing more oil.
Hydration ( necessary step / spritzers)  Hydrosols,  Hydrating Mists
This step is usually in the form of a Hydrating Mist, spring water and/or a Hydrosol. This offers the skin barrier much needed hydration. Spritz enough to wet your skin. These products can be used in this step and also in between steps for more hydration. 
 Hydrating Serum (necessary step)
Water based serums like our Hyaluronic Acid Serums, Hydrosol Gels or HydraGels, Regenerative Serums and our other water based serums (we have many antioxidant serums which are water based also) help bring more hydration to the skin. Use between 1/16th teaspoon to ¼ teaspoon depending on how much your skin needs. (No wait time in between products)
Conditioning (Oils, Oil Based Serums, Butters or Butter blends)  
These bring lipids and emollience to the skin. One of the properties of these wonderful ingredients is that it will soften the skin and allow the pores to bring the gunk to the skin’s surface. Use 1-4 drops of oil or 1/16 teaspoon butter or butter blend. 
*Can also be mixed with your hydrating serum to make a moisturizer right in the palm of your hand without the waxes. No wait time in between products.