Dermalogica

Two things above everything else, the double cleanse and Daily Microfoliant.

The double cleanse is the idea that you take your SPF and makeup off with an oil first, then wash properly with a second cleanser. PreCleanse is the oil step. Daily Microfoliant is a rice powder you activate in wet hands and use most mornings, and it is the product most people arrive at the brand through.

Beyond those, Dermalogica is a professional brand built around named ranges rather than single heroes, so most routines end up drawing from one or two ranges at a time.

There are a lot of them, so pick by what your skin does rather than by what sounds nicest.

• PreCleanse, the oil first step for anyone wearing SPF or makeup, used before one of the others
• Special Cleansing Gel, the everyday one that suits most skin
• UltraCalming Cleanser for sensitive, reactive or easily flushed skin
• Intensive Moisture Cleanser for dry and tight skin
• Clearing Skin Wash or Clear Start Breakout Clearing Foaming Wash for breakouts
• Daily Glycolic Cleanser or Skin Resurfacing Lactic Acid Cleanser for dullness and rough texture
• Oil to Foam Total Cleanser if you want the double cleanse done in one step

If you already use an acid or a retinoid at night, keep the acid cleansers for mornings or skip them altogether.

Four exfoliants with very similar names, and the difference is how strong they are and what they suit.

• Daily Microfoliant is the original rice powder, gentle enough for most skin and the one to start with
• Daily Milkfoliant is the softer version, aimed at drier and more sensitive skin
• Daily Superfoliant is the strongest, for congestion, oiliness and city living
• Multivitamin Thermafoliant is a warming scrub, a weekly treatment rather than a daily one

Despite the name, daily does not mean you have to use one every day. Two or three times a week is plenty for most people, and once a week is enough if you are also using a retinoid.

Each range is built around one concern, so match the range to your main one and take two or three products from it.

• BioLumin-C for dullness and brightness, built around vitamin C
• PowerBright for dark spots and pigmentation
• Dynamic Skin for retinol and daily protection together
• Phyto Nature for firmness and visible ageing
• Multivitamin Power for skin that looks tired and depleted
• UltraCalming for sensitivity and redness
• Clear Start for teenage and young skin with breakouts

The cleansers and the exfoliants sit outside the ranges, so you can pair any of them with whichever range you pick.

They are all daily face sunscreens, so the choice is about finish and what else you want them doing.

• Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF50 if you want the highest protection in a moisturiser you can wear every day
• BioLumin-C Heat Ageing Protector SPF50 if you are also working on brightness
• Invisible Physical Defense SPF30 for sensitive or reactive skin
• Prisma Protect SPF30 for a lighter everyday option
• Skin Perfect Primer SPF30 if you wear makeup and want the two steps in one
• Golden Hour Hydrating SPF30 Stick for topping up over the day and for bags and pockets

If you use retinol, acids or anything for pigmentation, go for one of the SPF50 options. The rest of the routine is working against you without it.

Parts of it, yes. UltraCalming is the range built for it, and UltraCalming Cleanser with Stabilizing Repair Cream is the pairing to start from. Invisible Physical Defense SPF30 is the gentlest of the sunscreens.

What to be careful with is the rest of the brand. The acid cleansers, Daily Superfoliant and the retinol serum are all capable of setting off reactive skin, so introduce one thing at a time and leave a couple of weeks between new products.

If your skin is persistently red, stinging or flaring rather than just occasionally sensitive, that is worth a conversation with a GP or a dermatologist. Rosacea and dermatitis need treating, not a different cleanser.