Follow the “Skin-Care Pyramid” for Your Best Skin Yet

When it comes to our skin, we trust board-certified dermatologists above all else — especially ones with incredible skin themselves. It’s why we regularly ask derms like Mona Gohara, MD, what their own personal skin-care routines look like. Based in Connecticut, Dr. Gohara has previously told us all about her regimen, but she also knows that the specifics of her routine may not work for everyone based on concerns and goals. 

That’s why Dr. Gohara came up with the “skin-care pyramid” — a universal guide that explains in a super-easy-to-understand way what everyone can be doing to prevent and reverse skin damage. It’s a lot like the food pyramid we grew up with, except instead of grains and vegetables and dairy, it illustrates the frequency with which we should use different kinds of skin-care products and treatments.

Dr. Gohara shared her skin-care pyramid with Allure over the course of three quick videos. In the first, she establishes the base. “At the bottom of the skin-care pyramid are things that you should be doing every single day to prevent further damage,” she says. “As you move up, the pyramid are things that you should be doing with a little bit less regularity, but also help to reverse skin damage.”

In the second video, Dr. Gohara gets into a little more detail about what she uses in her everyday morning routine, including a gentle cleanser, an antioxidant serum, and sunscreen. One of the key steps in her nighttime routine includes a product she uses so consistently that the tube looks like it’s been through the wringer. A little less often, she’ll use a peptide cream before bed, but she always makes sure to moisturize as the last step. 

In the third video, Dr. Gohara elaborates on the rest of the pyramid and the things you might want to do now and then to help reverse the signs of skin damage. “As we move up, there are things that you can do every couple months, like getting a great hydrating facial, maybe a microdermabrasion, even a light chemical peel,” she says, then explaining which other treatments and procedures can be done even less frequently for “optimum skin health.”