Skin Care

Skin Types

There are three basic skin types. But most skin is a mixture of these types and yours will be no exception. The basic skin types are dry, oily, and combination. Dark skins have a tendency towards greater extremes of dryness and oiliness than paler skins.

Oily skin
Oily skin contains a lot of sebum which helps prevent the skin from drying out. However, oily skin tends to attract more dirt and dust than dry skin. It benefits from soap and water, so washing with a cleansing bar is an ideal way of caring for it. Use warm water to loosen the dirt, then use cold water to rinse. Use toners and astringents containing alcohol and always use a light, non-greasy liquid cleanser. Very oily skin needs no extra moisturizing at all while you are in your teens.

Dry skin
Dry skin looks dry, sometimes flakes, and often feels tight, especially if you have washed it with soap and water. One benefit of dry skin is that it is less likely to develop acne than oily skin, but it is easily chapped in a dry atmosphere. Always use mild, alcohol-free make up and toner, and a rich, creamy cleanser. Moisturize your face every day, including the throat and the skin around your eyes. When you wear makeup, use a moisturized foundation. When you wash your face, use a liquid or a cleansing bar. Use warm water to lather and rinse it with cold.

Combination skin
Most of us have this kind of skin, with an oily center area or a T-zone across the forehead, nose, and chin, and areas of dryness on the cheeks, and around the eyes and neck. Ideally, you should have one product for the oily areas and one for the dry areas, but this is expensive and unnecessary unless the areas of dry and oily are very different. It's simpler to use a cleanser designed for combination skin. Use a skin cleanser for the central oily panel, diluted with water for the drier areas. The drier areas may or may not need moisturizing frequently.

Skin Care Basics

Basic rules for proper skin care:

• Cleansing
• Tone
• Moisturize

Cleansing
Daily cleansing gets rid of surface dirt, make up, some dead skin flakes and excess oils. Morning and evening cleansing is recommended.

Tone
Toning will remove any residue left on the skin by cleansers and exfoliating products. It will also help to balance the skins PH levels. Toning also will help rehydrate the skin without drying it out.

Moisturize
Good moisturizers are made with a complex blend of ingredients that combine the positive effects of emollients, humectants and lubricants. These combinations help to counteract the effects of dehydration and help keep the skin soft, smooth and radiant.

Other Useful Skin Care Steps:

Sunscreen
When we're outdoors, we all know we need to protect our skin from the sun's harmful rays. Many skin care lines have facial moisturizers with SPF already included; they offer a more luxurious, makeup-friendly texture than traditional sunscreens. If you use only one product, sunscreen should be it. Look for the words "broad spectum protection" or UVA protection in addition to the SPF of 15 or greater. Select a sunscreen that says "nonacnegenic" or "noncomedogenic" on the label to help keep pores clear.

Eye cream
Eye creams are a vital part of your skin care regime. The skin around your eyes is much finer than the rest of your face and body and cannot absorb a heavy moisturizer. If you were to compare the thickness of skin on the various parts of our body to paper. The delicate eye area, would be like tissue paper, the face like writing paper, and the neck and body like wrapping paper. It's wise to invest in an eye cream, which treats the eye area with more emollient moisturizers. If you were to apply your usual facial moisturizer to the eye area, the moisturizer would have no where to go, and would in fact create puffy, baggy eyes.  Also for the same reasons never use eye creams on the eyelid before going to sleep. However you can use an eye gel sparingly under the eye area.

Exfoliate
exfoliation removes dead skin flakes that form daily. As new skin cells from beneath the tip layer of skin on our face and body, they rise to the surface of the skin then die and turn to flakes. If these flakes remain on the surface your skin can look oilier, drier, duller and clog the skin pores. When these flakes are removed the skin looks smoother, cleaner, more radiant and younger. Exfoliating encourages the skin to renew itself at a faster rate, that bring new skin cells to the skin surface at a faster rate. Moisturizers work more efficiently.

Retinols
If you're concerned with wrinkles and pigmentation spots, a face cream with retinol (a derivative of vitamin A) can help. Use it in place of your daytime, SPF moisturizer after you wash your face at night.

Body lotion with alpha-hydroxy acids
A lotion with skin-sloughing AHAs smoothes your whole body, including hands, feet, arms, and legs. For tough dry spots, apply extra lotion before bed and let it soak in while you sleep.

What to look for

The thought of shopping for skin care items can tedious and knowing which ingredients to look is daunting, so  here are a few suggestions of what ingredients to look for when starting your skin care regime. When choosing your cleanser toner and moisturizer look for the following ingredients, which will vary depending on your skin type:

Dull dry skin - oxygenating essential oils  including: Peppermint, Geranium, Rosemary, Cyprus, Thyme, Anise and Cinnamon.

Oily or acne prone skin - anti-bacterial and oil blotting extracts including: Camphor, Eucalyptus Oil, and Witch hazel

Mature Skin - Liposomes, serums. Sunflower, jojoba and hazelnut are rich lubricants.

Exfoliators - enzymes are the gentlest and yet most effective  form of exfoliation.

Skin Health

Our skin is one of the miracles of nature. It regulates our body temperature, protects us from bacterial invasion, helps eliminate toxins, and provides a cover for our body. Since constant washing removes natural oils, the protective acid covering or mantle, as well as moisture, we must replace the oils, protect the acid mantle, and moisturize. There are many factors that adversely affect the health of our skin, such as smoke and sunbathing. Another factor is the oxidation process. This can harm the skin's cellular structure and speed the aging process. Vitamin E hinders oxidation and nourishes, protects, and improves the skin, while providing a soft and subtle texture. Purifying foods, rich in vitamins A, B, C, and E, particularly fruits and vegetables, as well as water, all help cleanse and nourish the body. These, along with sufficient sleep, fresh air, regular exercise, proper elimination, and a positive mental outlook will provide optimum skin health.

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