New products often sting
Settle your skin before adding anything
If new products often sting or leave you red, a new active is the wrong next step, and it will get the blame for the wash that came before it. Put strong foaming washes, alcohol-heavy toners, daily clay and scrubs away first.
In practice
Use a mild wash and one moisturiser, and nothing else, until the stinging stops. Then add one product at a time so you can tell what caused a reaction. If your skin stays reactive on a routine this simple, see a dermatologist.
The Brightening Face Wash is low-foam, with no exfoliating acids. The Brightening Face Cream carries glycerin and sodium hyaluronate for water, with Ceramide NP and wheat germ oil for lipids. Patch test either one first, since your skin is telling you it's reactive.
Marks or uneven tone, tight skin
A serum under a cream
A serum carries the active, and it's too light to slow water loss on its own. Skin that feels tight needs the cream on top to seal things in, or the serum stings and gets blamed.
In practice
Thinnest to thickest: serum on damp skin, then cream. In the morning, sunscreen goes on last. Cham doesn't make one, so that step comes from elsewhere.
The Brightening Face & Body Serum is built around niacinamide, with sodium hyaluronate, panthenol, allantoin and Ceramide NP. The Brightening Face Cream is the seal above it.
Marks or uneven tone, oily skin
A serum on damp skin, with cream only on tight nights
Oily skin can carry an active in a watery serum without the oil phase of a rich cream. What it usually doesn't need is more degreasing, because the glands are set by hormones and a stronger wash won't change them.
In practice
Gentle wash, serum while the skin is still damp, then decide. On comfortable nights, stop there. On tight ones, add a thin layer of cream. In the morning, sunscreen goes on last, and Cham doesn't make one.
The Brightening Face & Body Serum carries niacinamide, glycerin and Ceramide NP in a light watery base. The Brightening Face Cream is the heavier step, so let your skin decide how often it wants it.
Marks or uneven tone, tight then oily
A milder wash first, then serum and a light cream
Tight after washing and shiny later usually points to a wash that is too strong. Fix that before judging any active, since a serum on stripped skin stings and takes the blame.
In practice
Switch to a mild, low-foam wash. Then use the serum on damp skin and a light moisturiser over it so the water stays. Expect the tightness to ease before anything else changes. In the morning, sunscreen goes on last, and Cham doesn't make one.
The Brightening Face Wash is low-foam for this reason. The Brightening Face & Body Serum carries the niacinamide, and the Brightening Face Cream goes over it.
Marks or uneven tone, comfortable skin
A serum, with a moisturiser over it
Your skin isn't asking for a repair, so the only addition is the active you want, in the lightest format that carries it. Every extra layer is another thing to react to.
In practice
Thinnest to thickest: serum, then moisturiser, and sunscreen last in the morning. Cham doesn't make a sunscreen. A sheet mask once or twice a week is optional.
The Brightening Face & Body Serum is the delivery layer and the Brightening Face Cream is the seal above it. The Brightening Face Mask is the concentrated weekly dose in the same direction.
Comfort, tight skin
A cream, and in a dry month, two steps
Tightness hours after washing, flaking, or a dull look in a dry month are signs that your skin wants the richer end. Flaking in particular is a lipid shortage, and water alone won't fix it.
In practice
One well-built cream carrying humectants and lipids does both jobs for most skin. When it isn't coping, add a humectant layer underneath, and evenings are the better slot for that. You have it right when nothing feels tight after washing and nothing flakes.
The Brightening Face Cream is the single-product version, with glycerin and sodium hyaluronate for water and Ceramide NP and wheat germ oil for lipids. The serum goes underneath it in the two-step version.
Comfort, oily skin
A gentle wash and a watery layer
Oil and water are separate things, so skin that shines by afternoon can still run short of water. It usually doesn't need the oil phase of a rich cream.
In practice
Twice a day is enough for washing. A few minutes after rinsing, your face should feel like skin, and squeaky means stripped. Follow with a watery serum while it's still damp. If your skin stays comfortable and isn't tight after washing, a moisturiser is optional.
The Brightening Face Wash sits at the mild end on purpose. The Brightening Face & Body Serum is the light watery layer. Cham makes no clay mask, scrub or mattifier.
Comfort, tight then oily
Water first, then a light seal
Tight after washing and shiny a few hours later isn't a contradiction. Your glands keep producing at their set rate while a stripping wash drains the water, which is uncomfortable and usually self-inflicted, so you can stop it.
In practice
Subtract first: swap the strong degreaser for a mild, low-foam wash, and put alcohol-heavy toners, daily clay and scrubs away. Then add water back with a light humectant layer and a light moisturiser over it. The tightness should ease before the shine changes, if the shine changes at all.
The Brightening Face Cream suits this: a light daily texture with glycerin and sodium hyaluronate for water and Ceramide NP and wheat germ oil for lipids. The wash in the range is low-foam for the same reason.
Comfort, comfortable skin
Keep what you're doing, and one light cream is enough
Comfortable skin doesn't need much. A wash that leaves it comfortable has done its job, and there's no case for changing it because of a word on a label or a reading on this page.
In practice
Match the texture to the season rather than the price. Skin that's comfortable in a humid month may want one rung richer in a dry one, and that's the whole adjustment.
If you're shopping for one, the Brightening Face Cream sits at the lighter end of cream for daily wear. Cham makes no toner or essence, and skipping a toner costs nothing.
