Skin Care Essencial
1. Never go to bed with makeup on!
Makeup left on overnight will seep into your pores forming clogs, irritations, and congestions. Always wash your face at least twice daily.
2. Exfoliate!
After washing your face, use a gentle delicate scrub to remove dead skin cells on the surface and help bring forward fresh vibrant cells. Tip - If you don't have a scrub on hand, try using a tablespoon of sugar or oatmeal instead.
3. Make use of a facial mask!
Facial masks a great for promoting moist healthy skin. Excellent mask products are available through your favorite beauty retailers. Looking to save some money? Making your own mask at home is easy and fun! Banana, Avocado, and yogurt work well. Just place your desired ingredients in a blender and gently blend to a smooth consistency.
4. Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize!
Always make use of a good moisturizing product daily. Always wash your face prior to applying your moisturizer. Tip - You can gently apply a thin layer of vitamin A or C on your face prior to applying your moisturizer to promote a soft and healthy looking tone.
5. Avoid cheap cosmetics!
The pure simple fact of the matter is that often times; inexpensive products are poorly made and poorly tested if at all. This does not mean that you must go out and buy the most expensive products that you can find. Start with moderately priced cosmetics and sample several brands until you find one that works well for you.
6. Be Gentle!
Never push, pull, stretch, or harshly scrub your face. Do not pick at existing acne, scars, or blemishes, EVER! Doing so can damage the skin and increase the chances of developing wrinkles and other unsightly blemishes. Treat yourself as if you were an infant. We all know how soft their skin is!
7. Protect yourself from the sun!
This one seems obvious and yet I can't think of one person that I know that regularly makes use of sunscreen on a daily basis. Use protective sunglasses, hats, or visors for quick trips out and be sure to re-apply sunscreen after swimming or physical exertion.
8. Keep hydrated!
This is one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of skin care. Water not only makes up the largest percentage of our body mass but also acts as the river that carries away toxins and waste and keeps our system running at optimal health. But drinking water will make me look bloated. WRONG! This is a myth. Your body will naturally regulate the amount of water it retains in order to operate efficiently. Water retention is often a symptom of some other condition. Drinking water alone and keeping properly hydrated does not cause bloating and could very well be the missing ingredient in your skin care regiment.
9. Release stress!
Stress can be one of the most detrimental factors to achieving healthy skin. Stress causes the body to release chemicals that can have a negative impact on your skin. Simple remedies such as exercise, relaxation, and simply some alone time can often do the trick. A quick trip to the spa once in a while doesn't hurt either.
10. Get more sleep!
Long term sleep depravation can cause droopy skin around the eyes and in the forehead area. Ideally, you should strive for a minimum of 8 hours of quality sleep each night to look and feel your best.
11. Use a good toner!
As skin ages, it begins to loose its elasticity. Toning can help keep the skin clear and firm. Look for a toner than contains alpha hydroxy acids. These help to reduce pore size and can also be beneficial to preventing ingrown hairs.
12. Winter Skin Care!
Winter skin problems such as dryness, itching, and cracking are commonly associated with the cold, dreary days of winter. Often times, this results more from loss of moisture resulting from spending the majority of our time indoors in low humidity environments than it does from the actual cold. Invest in and use a humidifier. Keeping the relative humidity in your house at or above 60% will allow your skin to replenish itself by absorbing moisture from the air. A nice way to illustrate this is to use the example of a desert and a rainforest. Think about your last trip to the desert for a moment. What do the plants have in common? They are all rough, spiny, and hard. Now think about a trip to a more humid climate. What are the characteristics of the plants? Think big, bright, soft, and colorful leaves. The difference - The amount of moisture in the air. You can choose whether your house will be a desert or a rainforest and your skin will respond appropriately. Also refrain from taking long hot showers. Hot water removes natural oils from the skin and essentially peels back your natural layer of protection. This can open you up to dryness and cracking.
Makeup left on overnight will seep into your pores forming clogs, irritations, and congestions. Always wash your face at least twice daily.
2. Exfoliate!
After washing your face, use a gentle delicate scrub to remove dead skin cells on the surface and help bring forward fresh vibrant cells. Tip - If you don't have a scrub on hand, try using a tablespoon of sugar or oatmeal instead.
3. Make use of a facial mask!
Facial masks a great for promoting moist healthy skin. Excellent mask products are available through your favorite beauty retailers. Looking to save some money? Making your own mask at home is easy and fun! Banana, Avocado, and yogurt work well. Just place your desired ingredients in a blender and gently blend to a smooth consistency.
4. Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize!
Always make use of a good moisturizing product daily. Always wash your face prior to applying your moisturizer. Tip - You can gently apply a thin layer of vitamin A or C on your face prior to applying your moisturizer to promote a soft and healthy looking tone.
5. Avoid cheap cosmetics!
The pure simple fact of the matter is that often times; inexpensive products are poorly made and poorly tested if at all. This does not mean that you must go out and buy the most expensive products that you can find. Start with moderately priced cosmetics and sample several brands until you find one that works well for you.
6. Be Gentle!
Never push, pull, stretch, or harshly scrub your face. Do not pick at existing acne, scars, or blemishes, EVER! Doing so can damage the skin and increase the chances of developing wrinkles and other unsightly blemishes. Treat yourself as if you were an infant. We all know how soft their skin is!
7. Protect yourself from the sun!
This one seems obvious and yet I can't think of one person that I know that regularly makes use of sunscreen on a daily basis. Use protective sunglasses, hats, or visors for quick trips out and be sure to re-apply sunscreen after swimming or physical exertion.
8. Keep hydrated!
This is one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of skin care. Water not only makes up the largest percentage of our body mass but also acts as the river that carries away toxins and waste and keeps our system running at optimal health. But drinking water will make me look bloated. WRONG! This is a myth. Your body will naturally regulate the amount of water it retains in order to operate efficiently. Water retention is often a symptom of some other condition. Drinking water alone and keeping properly hydrated does not cause bloating and could very well be the missing ingredient in your skin care regiment.
9. Release stress!
Stress can be one of the most detrimental factors to achieving healthy skin. Stress causes the body to release chemicals that can have a negative impact on your skin. Simple remedies such as exercise, relaxation, and simply some alone time can often do the trick. A quick trip to the spa once in a while doesn't hurt either.
10. Get more sleep!
Long term sleep depravation can cause droopy skin around the eyes and in the forehead area. Ideally, you should strive for a minimum of 8 hours of quality sleep each night to look and feel your best.
11. Use a good toner!
As skin ages, it begins to loose its elasticity. Toning can help keep the skin clear and firm. Look for a toner than contains alpha hydroxy acids. These help to reduce pore size and can also be beneficial to preventing ingrown hairs.
12. Winter Skin Care!
Winter skin problems such as dryness, itching, and cracking are commonly associated with the cold, dreary days of winter. Often times, this results more from loss of moisture resulting from spending the majority of our time indoors in low humidity environments than it does from the actual cold. Invest in and use a humidifier. Keeping the relative humidity in your house at or above 60% will allow your skin to replenish itself by absorbing moisture from the air. A nice way to illustrate this is to use the example of a desert and a rainforest. Think about your last trip to the desert for a moment. What do the plants have in common? They are all rough, spiny, and hard. Now think about a trip to a more humid climate. What are the characteristics of the plants? Think big, bright, soft, and colorful leaves. The difference - The amount of moisture in the air. You can choose whether your house will be a desert or a rainforest and your skin will respond appropriately. Also refrain from taking long hot showers. Hot water removes natural oils from the skin and essentially peels back your natural layer of protection. This can open you up to dryness and cracking.