From a conversation with Jiman Hana, owner of J Beauty Spa ·
Step one: a facial, not a new cream
We asked Jiman what she’d do for someone in her early thirties who is starting to notice fine lines.
“First, I will start with a facial and cleaning her skin. Then, second session, I would suggest she use anti-aging products to help the fine lines and wrinkles.”
The facial comes first because she wants to see the skin before she recommends anything for it. A Personalized Facial includes a skin analysis for exactly this reason (what happens at that visit is in Your first facial: what to expect).
The products she recommends
“I would recommend creams and serums. For example, retinol helps a lot for fine lines. Also hyaluronic acid for hydration, vitamin C during daytime, and SPF.”
On SPF she’s firm: “SPF is one of the important things: we have to protect our skin. It helps the skin from sun damage and sunspots.” That goes double after a sunny trip (Facial after a beach vacation).
| Product | What she uses it for |
|---|---|
| Retinol | Fine lines |
| Hyaluronic acid | Hydration |
| Vitamin C | Daytime |
| SPF | Protection from sun damage and sunspots |
Which retinol, and how strong, depends on your skin. That’s the conversation to have with her at your facial.
How to layer it: “like a sandwich”
Asked to pick a single serum or moisturizer, Jiman wouldn’t pick one. She layers.
“I usually do serum and then moisturizer. It’s layers. I always like the idea of layering a product on the skin. They call it like a sandwich: when we put mayo, tomato, hamburger and then lettuce, we layer it. So I do serum, then moisturizer, and then SPF.”
The order to remember: serum, moisturizer, SPF.
Morning and night
Put together, her advice makes a simple routine. Vitamin C goes on in the morning, as she says. Retinol is usually used at night, because sunlight breaks it down and it can make skin more sensitive to the sun, which is one more reason SPF matters. Jiman will fit the products and strengths to your skin.
| Morning | Night | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleanse | Cleanse (twice if you wore makeup) |
| 2 | Vitamin C serum | Retinol, as Jiman advises |
| 3 | Hyaluronic acid, then moisturizer | Hyaluronic acid, then moisturizer |
| 4 | SPF | — |
If retinol is new to you, it’s common to start a few nights a week and build up. Ask her how often for your skin.
The mistake she sees most
Two words: “Wrong product.” It’s why she asks every client what they use now before she suggests anything. And if you only follow one rule? “A skin routine.” The same steps, every day.
When to think about microneedling
Jiman recommends microneedling most for people about 30 and up with fine lines and wrinkles. It stimulates collagen, which the skin makes less of with age. It’s the step after a good routine, not a replacement for one. She explains who it suits, who should wait and what it feels like in Who should not get microneedling?