As a busy mom of three, Jennifer Garner knows that her mornings won’t always play out as planned. In fact, she’s usually prepared for the unpredictable. For example, “Yesterday I was trying to sleep in, but my son woke me up and said, ‘Mom, the dog just ate the lens out of a pair of sunglasses!’” Garner tells SELF with a laugh. “So I had to get up, call the vet, and deal with the dog.”
Since parenting life can get pretty hectic, the actor values starting her day with some sort of structure. We’ll get into her full routine in a moment, but one thing she’s super adamant about? Keeping a consistent skin care regimen—especially when it comes to sunscreen.
“I’ve always been pretty good about wearing it,” Garner says. “I was such a theater geek that I spent my summers inside building sets, so I kind of lucked out.” Even with her diligence, though, she admits she’s recently focused more on prioritizing SPF, after noticing sun spots on her face. That’s one of the many reasons why she’s partnering with Neutrogena (as a longtime spokesperson) for Skin Cancer Awareness Month this May: To highlight the importance of staying protected from UV damage.
“I’d always said, ‘Oh, any sun I’ve ever gotten, I don’t really see it. I must have magic skin.’ But all of a sudden, you wake up one day, and whatever sun damage you have shows up overnight! It’s been sitting there quietly amassing,” Garner says, pointing across her jawline. “I started getting discoloration around here and up here [under her cheekbones]. Melasma, too, that wasn’t hormone-related.”
Below, Garner walks us through a typical morning in her house, including her skin care favorites, her feel-good rituals, and how she prioritizes quality time with her kids amid the chaos.
Relatively speaking, I’m much lazier than when my kids were small. But, I’m pretty emotionally beholden to…
A morning workout and getting some cardio in. I wake up around 5 a.m. but probably hit snooze until 5:15. I come downstairs, have a little coffee, let the dog out, feed the cat—that whole kind of thing. Then I go upstairs and work out—ideally, I do The Limit [which offers dance, HIIT, and toning sessions] over Zoom from New York, and I’ll take a class or do private sessions.
In the morning, I just love feeling like I’ve really tested my body. That’s usually how I start my day, unless I’ve made the decision that I’m not going to. But if I have it in my head that I’m going to work out, and then I don’t for whatever reason, I automatically feel off all day.
I love to wake my kids up myself, even if they’re growly.
They’re usually warm and cuddly—even the 18-year-old and the 15-year-old. So I’ll go into their bedrooms and wake them up. One of them is always running late and I feed her on the way to the bus. And my son, who’s up early, will be downstairs cozy with me for a minute. Then I just drive them to school or to the bus. Just this morning, we were listening to [Stephen] Sondheim in the car.