Skin care in your 20s can be super simple. Here's an easy 3-step routine from a dermatologist.

• Dermatologist Dr. Abby Waldman shared a simple skincare routine for people in their 20s on TikTok.
• She said cleansing, moisturizing, and applying sunscreen is a great routine.

A dermatologist has shared a 3-step routine for great skin in your 20s.

Dr. Abby Waldman, a certified dermatologist at a hospital in Boston, fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, and an assistant professor of dermatology at Harvard University, gave her advice on TikTok.

Wash your face every night

Waldman said to wash your face every night, even if you get back home at 3 a.m. If you wear makeup or sunscreen, you can double cleanse by removing makeup with micellar water before washing your face.

She said that it doesn't really matter which cleanser you use, since "most gentle ones will do the trick." If you're stuck for recommendations, though, Waldman suggested Cetaphil's gentle skin cleanser, or La Roche Posay's purifying foaming cleanser, both of which you can get for cheap at the drugstore.

If you have acne, she suggested using a cleanser that contains salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide to exfoliate and clear out pores — but only once a day to avoid irritation.

Use moisturizer and sunscreen, which can be the same product

The next step after cleansing is to moisturize and apply sunscreen, even when it's not sunny outside — and these can be the same product, she said.

"If you have oily skin, or your face isn't dry, you can just use a face sunscreen as your morning moisturizer," she said. She recommended La Roche Posay's Anthelion Tinted Mineral Sunscreen.

On the other hand, if you have dry skin Waldman recommended using a moisturizer that contains sunscreen, as long as it is at least 30 SPF, like Aveeno's Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer or Cerave's AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion.

Waldman said a nighttime moisturizer should contain ceramides, hyaluronic acid, urea, or niacinamide to lock in moisture. She suggested Cerave's PM moisturizing lotion, The Ordinary's Natural Moisturizing Factors or Tatcha's Water Cream for a more expensive option.

You can add retinoids to the minimum 3-step routine

Waldman said that washing your face, moisturizing, and using sunscreen is the "bare minimum" that you should aim to do every day. But you could also consider starting to use a retinoid in your twenties.

She said: "If you have acne, then I definitely recommend using a retinoid, even starting as early as your teenage years." This can be over-the-counter adapalene or a prescription retinoid from a dermatologist. This is because retinoids speed up the production of skin cells, unclogging your pores and repairing the skin quicker.

If not, she says you can start using a retinol in your mid to late twenties, when you're seeing some changes in your skin but don't yet have wrinkles.

She does warn against using retinoids when you're pregnant, though. This is because there is some evidence to suggest that retinoids could lead to birth defects, although no confirmed links have been made.