Hack your skincare with these 4 no-BS tips

Whether you’re constantly on the go or just tend to veg on the couch a little too long, skincare often takes a back seat in our busy schedules.

But who said achieving healthy skin has to soak up all your time, money or effort? Especially in times when you’re busier than you’d like to be, hack your way to healthier skin with these quick, no-frills tips.

Beauty Sleep: The ultimate cheat code

From night creams to serums, by far the laziest way to multitask is to slap some no-rinse products on while you get to work on your beauty sleep (which is just as important for healthy, glowing skin).

As dermatologist Michael Kurzman writes in his blog, “the skin’s permeability is at its highest at night,” use a regenerative moisturizer (like Clinique’s Turnaround Overnight Revitalizing Moisturizer) before bed; all the goodness inside can penetrate deeper into your skin.

So easy, you could do it in your sleep…literally.

Kill two birds with one glow

Cut out extra steps with two-for-one makeup products, which serve up cosmetic benefits with a side of skin treatment. One of the most crucial (and fortunately accessible) added skin protectants to makeup, SPF, defends skin against signs of early aging, such as wrinkles and sun spots when used at a minimum degree of 15, per the Mayo Clinic.

Sephora beauty advisor Cat Brusino recommends Supergoop’s Glowscreen, a Sephora-certified “clean” tinted moisturizer that moonlights as a sun barrier.

“It’s something that has a little bit of glow and coverage for the skin and has SPF 45,” Brusino said. “That helps make the skin look awake and pulls the skin together, and you’re not leaving without SPF.”

Learn the ABCs of key ingredients

If you make it through what is typically a long and discouraging path of -ides, -mides and -ols, these key terms can give you a general green light: ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), niacinamide and hyaluronic acid.

Vitamin C works to produce collagen, which keeps skin hydrated and elastic. While niacinamide helps to calm and brighten, according to the Mayo Clinic and UCLA Health. Hyaluronic acid, too, aids with skin flexibility and hydration, the Cleveland Clinic says.

Get even lazier and focus on individual, concentrated serums, like The Ordinary’s Retinol 0.5% in Squalane serum.

Ditch the makeup wipe struggle

Makeup-removing wipes have become a popular product. But, the scrubbing motion necessary to remove makeup plus the chemicals in a makeup wipe equals skin irritation.

Instead, try a micellar water, like Bioderma’s Sensibio Micellar Water, which breaks down product while also containing cleansing ingredients, dermatologists at Arizona Derm say.