How to Visibly Brighten, Firm, and Smooth Skin

When your skin is healthy, your complexion exudes a smooth texture and looks hydrated.⁷ One of the factors contributing to the way the skin looks and feels is Ceramides. Ceramides are crucial in maintaining a healthy skin barrier by helping retain moisture and protect against environmental stressors. As we age, Ceramide levels naturally decline, contributing to dryness, irritation, and a weakened barrier that is more susceptible to damage. When your skin barrier becomes compromised, you might start noticing changes, which we refer to as "skin concerns." Some of these skin concerns include dryness, fine lines and wrinkles, dark spots, and dullness.¹ These concerns can also vary widely from person to person and may be influenced by many things, from age and genetics to where you live and your daily lifestyle choices.⁶

Ceramides decline as we age. This makes maintaining firmness and smoothness more challenging.⁸ Daily exposure to pollution, UV rays, and harsh weather conditions can damage skin.⁹ The choices we make every day, from our diet and sleep patterns to stress levels, sun exposure, and hydration, play a significant role in skin health and achieving a brighter complexion.

Achieving radiant, firm, and smooth skin starts with an approach that blends a consistent daily routine with advanced treatments and lifestyle adjustments. Whether you're just beginning your skincare journey or looking to upgrade your regimen, here are some essential steps on how to brighten your skin to get your best complexion. 

Create a daily skincare routine

1. Cleansing: Start every day with a gentle yet effective cleanser.¹⁰ A mild cleanser, like the CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser, removes impurities without stripping your skin of natural oils.¹¹ You’ll want to cleanse your skin twice daily, in the AM and PM.¹⁰ However, if you work out or sweat, you’ll want to cleanse afterward to remove dirt and sweat.¹⁰

2. Targeted Treatments: Incorporate serums tailored to your skin's unique needs.¹² Serums are easier to incorporate into a skincare routine because they have a lightweight, water-based formula that is cosmetically elegant and layers well with other skin care products.

If skin brightening is your skincare goal, CeraVe’s Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum is formulated with 10% pure stable vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid), an antioxidant that helps defend against free radicals while visibly brightening your complexion with the vitamin C power of over 50 oranges.¹⁴ With consistent use, this serum supports soft, healthy-looking skin, reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, discoloration, and evens skin tone.¹⁴

The Skin Renewing Retinol Serum is a must-have in any skincare routine to promote youthful, healthy-looking, plump skin, combining the power of retinol to smooth fine lines, improve skin texture, and enhance radiance with hydrating hyaluronic acid, soothing niacinamide and three essential ceramides that lock in moisture and restore your skin’s protective barrier for a healthier, more youthful glow.¹³

3. Moisturizing & Protection: You'll never want to skip moisturizer and sunscreen.^3,5,16 An ideal moisturizer helps replenish moisture loss to keep skin healthy.¹⁵ When choosing a daytime moisturizer and sun protection, a lightweight gel or lotion may be preferred by those with normal to oily skin while individuals with dry skin may choose a richer cream formulation to provide extra hydration.¹⁶

Sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher should be part of your daily skincare routine. Sunscreen helps protect you from harmful UV rays, which can lead to premature aging, dark spots, dull skin, and skin cancer.³ Applying sunscreen daily is a vital step in overall skin health.³

For your nighttime skincare routine, moisturize your skin with Skin Renewing Peptide Cream. It’s formulated with a powerful complex of peptides, hydrating hyaluronic acid, and three essential ceramides that work overnight to lock in 48-hour moisture and restore your skin’s protective barrier, leaving you with a refreshed, rejuvenated complexion by morning.¹⁷

Try making a few lifestyle changes

Your skin's health isn't just about what you apply on the outside.¹⁸ It also reflects your inner well-being.¹⁸

Have you noticed on the nights when you don’t get the best sleep, you wake up often to a tired face? Getting high-quality sleep is essential, as studies show that poor or insufficient sleep accelerates cellular aging, affecting both your skin and overall health.⁶ Both poor sleep and stress can increase cortisol levels, which break down collagen, the protein that keeps skin smooth, leading to more wrinkles.^6,19 Additionally, cortisol blocks hyaluronan synthase and collagen, two essential substances that keep skin plump and support a bright skin complexion.

Sun exposure can cause damage to your skin, increase your risk of skin cancer, and accelerate aging.²⁰ So, adding sunscreen to your daily skincare routine and wearing protective clothing will help shield your skin from sun exposure.²¹ To protect your skin from UV rays couple sunscreen with lightweight, long-sleeve clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, UV-protective sunglasses, and shoes that don't expose your skin.²²

By combining a dedicated daily routine, advanced treatments, and mindful lifestyle adjustments, you can work towards achieving the brighter, firmer, and smoother skin you've always wanted.

For help choosing the right products for your specific skin type and skin concerns, use our Find My Skincare Solution tool.