Understanding Skin Care

Skin Care

‘Facial skin care’ is more a matter of discipline than anything else. A facial skincare routine is what you need (and you need to follow the facial skincare routine with complete seriousness). So let’s check what comprises an effective facial skin care routine. Well, very simply, a facial skincare routine can follow the following 4 steps:

Cleansing

Toning

Exfoliating

Moisturizing

Cleansing is the first thing in a facial skin care routine. Cleansing helps in removing dust, pollutants, grease and extra oil from your skin, thereby preventing damage to your skin. Just spot your face and neck with a good cleansing lotion or cream and gently massage it into your skin using upward strokes. Use a soft face tissue or cotton wool to wipe your face in a gentle patting fashion (do not rub). Cleansing should be done at least twice a day i.e. morning (as part of complete facial skincare routine) and evening (on a standalone basis). Water-soluble cleansers are the best for inclusion in your facial skincare routine.

Toning is the next in a facial skincare routine. However, this is the optional part of the facial skincare routine. Mostly, proper cleansing can compensate for toning. Toning helps remove all traces of dirt, grease and excess cleanser. Instead of making it part of your daily facial skincare routine, you can use toning occasionally i.e. when you have been exposed to a particularly harsh environment/pollution.

Exfoliation is again, kind of, an optional step in everyday routine for facial skincare. However, exfoliation is necessary at least once a week (or twice, depending on the skin type and the environmental conditions). Exfoliation finds its place in facial skin care routine because of the natural tendency of skin to replenish the skin cells every 3 or 4 weeks. As a facial skin care technique, exfoliation helps in removing the dead skin cells that block the pores, thus assisting the skin in the natural process. However, excessive or harsh exfoliation can cause damage to your skin; so you need to balance it out.

Moisturizing is the last step. In fact, moisturizing is the most important part of facial skincare routine. Moisturizers prevent your skin from getting dry. Dry skin is really undesirable since it causes the upper layer skin to break, leading to dead skin cells. Again, use light upward strokes to make the moisturiser more effective. Moisturizers work the best when applied on warm and damp skin. So do not try to remove all the moisture in the previous steps of facial skincare routine.

As we grow older and are constantly exposed to the UV rays of the sun our skin starts to appear dry and dull. This is the result of the outside layer of the skin getting excessive build up and is not exfoliated on a regular basis. Build-up is especially noticed after we have spent the summer in the sun. It’s more apparent to women since we realize that our make-up doesn’t look as fresh and our foundation begins to fade within a couple of hours. Our make-up and foundation is actually being absorbed into the accumulated dead skin cells, which gives a very tired and unhealthy look to the skin.

To keep your skin vibrant and healthy on a regular basis, you must have a regimen that incorporates exfoliation and nourishing the skin. Your regular skin care program does not have to be a department store or drugstore solution. You can prepare an all natural skin care program right from your kitchen table and manage to get the same results if not better results that your store bought product promises.