Psychology says women with 10-step skincare routines may be doing more than caring for their skin

For some women, skincare is a quick application of moisturiser before bed. For others, it can involve cleansing, toning, exfoliating, essences, serums, eye creams, moisturisers, facial oils and sunscreen, sometimes turning an ordinary morning or evening into a carefully structured 10-step skincare routine. While it is easy to dismiss this as vanity or an obsession with appearance, psychology offers a more complicated explanation. A lengthy skincare routine can combine habit formation, self-care, identity, perceived control, reward and appearance management. The same routine can even mean different things to different women.

Psychology Says Skincare Can Become A Powerful Daily Ritual

One reason women become attached to elaborate skincare routines is ritualisation.

Psychologists Francesca Gino and Michael Norton have studied how rituals can influence people's emotional states and behaviour. Their research suggests that rituals can increase feelings of control and reduce anxiety in situations involving uncertainty.


A skincare routine has many characteristics of a ritual: it happens in a familiar sequence, involves repeated actions and often occurs at predictable times.

For example, someone might cleanse her face after work, apply a serum while listening to music and finish with moisturiser before getting into bed. The products are not necessarily the only source of satisfaction. The sequence itself can signal that the day is ending. This can turn skincare into a psychological transition between work and rest.

Habit Formation Can Make 10 Steps Feel Completely Normal

What initially requires effort can eventually become automatic through habit formation.

Psychological research on habits shows that repeated behaviours performed in stable contexts can become increasingly automatic. A person does not necessarily have to consciously debate every step once the routine is established.

That helps explain why someone who has followed a skincare routine for years may find it strange when another person asks, “Do you really need all those products?”

For her, the routine may simply feel like brushing her teeth. Research also increasingly examines the relationship between habit and identity, with a 2025 meta-analysis finding a substantial association between health-behaviour habits and identity.

In other words, “I do skincare” can gradually become part of “this is the kind of person I am.”

Self-Determination Theory Explains Why Skincare Can Feel Empowering

Self-Determination Theory, developed by psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, proposes that people are motivated by psychological needs including autonomy, competence and relatedness.

The theory has also been extensively applied to health behaviour. Research suggests that autonomous motivation, doing something because it feels personally meaningful rather than externally forced, can support sustained behaviour. This may explain why a woman can experience a detailed skincare routine as empowering rather than burdensome.

Choosing ingredients, understanding her skin and learning what works can provide a sense of competence. Deciding when and how she performs the routine can provide autonomy.

For example, a woman who spends 20 minutes on skincare after everyone else has gone to bed may not see those 20 minutes as wasted time. She may see them as time that belongs entirely to her.

Skincare Can Become Part Of Personal Identity

Psychology also recognises that possessions and consumption choices can become connected to identity. A skincare shelf can therefore represent more than products. It can communicate a person's interests, values, aesthetic preferences and understanding of herself.

Someone who describes herself as a “skincare person” may experience products as part of her self-concept rather than simply as cosmetics. This is particularly relevant when routines become highly personalised. Choosing products for acne, pigmentation, dryness, sensitivity or ageing can create a feeling of actively managing one's own body.

The psychological reward may therefore come partly from perceived control.

But Appearance Psychology Adds A More Complicated Layer

There is another side to the story. Objectification Theory, developed by Barbara Fredrickson and Tomi-Ann Roberts, proposes that women living in cultures where female appearance is heavily evaluated can internalise an observer's perspective and become more attentive to how their bodies look. One consequence can be appearance monitoring or self-surveillance.

Research involving thousands of women has found links between family, peer and media appearance pressures, internalisation of beauty ideals and body surveillance.

This does not mean that every woman with a 10-step skincare routine is insecure or self-objectifying.

A woman can enjoy skincare because it feels relaxing, creative and satisfying while simultaneously living in a culture that places enormous importance on female appearance. The distinction matters.

The Same 10-Step Routine Can Have Completely Different Meanings

Consider two women who both spend 20 minutes on skincare every night. The first enjoys learning about ingredients, finds the routine calming and treats it as personal downtime. Her behaviour may be largely driven by intrinsic motivation and ritual.

The second constantly checks her skin in the mirror, feels distressed about tiny imperfections and believes she is unacceptable without perfect skin. Her behaviour may involve stronger appearance-contingent self-worth or appearance anxiety.

The outward behaviour is identical, but the psychological mechanisms are different.

Research has found that focusing on appearance can increase body surveillance and appearance-contingent self-worth among women, which can contribute to body shame. That is why the number of skincare steps alone cannot tell us whether a routine is psychologically healthy.

A Long Skincare Routine Is Not Automatically Vanity

Ultimately, a 10-step skincare routine may represent self-care, identity, habit, pleasure, competence, perceived control or appearance pressure, and sometimes several of these at once.

The psychologically interesting question is not “Why does she need so many products?” It is “What does the routine do for her?”

If it provides relaxation, enjoyment and a sense of agency, the ritual may be psychologically rewarding. If it is driven by relentless fear of looking imperfect, it may be worth examining the emotional relationship with appearance. Skincare itself is not the problem. The meaning attached to it is what makes the behaviour psychologically interesting.

FAQs

Why do some women follow a 10-step skincare routine?

A detailed routine can provide structure, relaxation, perceived control and a sense of competence. Habit formation can also make a long routine feel automatic over time.

Does a 10-step skincare routine mean a woman is insecure?

No. Skincare behaviour alone cannot establish insecurity. Some women genuinely enjoy the ritual, science, sensory experience or self-care aspect of skincare.