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Skin Care
Skin care and protection should be an essential part of your health, fitness, and beauty regime. If you take care of your skin, your skin will take care of you. Proper skin care starts from the cleansing of your face, using the best moisturizers and sunscreens.
There are many herbal formulas to keep skin moisturized, supple, firm  and wrinkle-free, to banish age spots, to drain away facial puffiness, to stimulate hair growth, to naturally tint white hair, to keep eyesight clear and the eyes bright, to keep bones strong and straight, and to build and maintain muscles. There are others to improve memory, minimize aches, pains and fatigue, resolve hot flushes, increase libido, and fight irritability and depression. There’s something for everything, it seems, but if we were to take all of them, it would not only be a drain on the budget but it would also be quite inconvenient.
Before we start with the proper daily 4-step skincare routine, you'll need to know your skin type. How you care for your skin is utterly dependent on the type of skin you have: oily, normal/combination, dry, sensitive or sun- damaged.
Following are the five different skin types and their characteristics:
Oily skin tends to shiny with enlarged pores, and is prone to blackheads and blemishes. You might experience some tightness.
Combination/normal skin has medium pores, a smooth and even texture, good circulation, healthy color, may tend toward dryness on the cheeks while being oily in the t-zone.
TSensitive skin tends to be thin, delicate with fine pores. It flushes easily, is prone to broken capillaries, is frequently allergic and can be rashy.
Dry skin feels tight, especially after cleansing. You have a tendency towards fine wrinkles, flaking and red patches. In women of color, skin may appear ashy or dull from dead skin buildup.
Aging or sun-damaged skin also feels tight with visible wrinkles, slack skin tone -- especially around the cheeks and jawline -- with leathery texture and broken capillaries.
Following are the Basic 4-Step for Skincare:
Cleansing:
Find a good cleanser that your skin responds well to, and stick with it. You can find a good cleanser at the drugstore. There's no need to buy a very expensive face wash but avoid bar soaps as they tend to dry out the skin. According to Rona Berg, in her book, "Beauty," a French cosmetics executive once told her "soap should only ever touch your skin from the neck down." We agree. Choose instead a creamy cleanser if you have dry skin or a cleanser without oil if you have oily skin.
Be careful not to cleanse too often. Washing at night should do you. While some skincare experts swear you should cleanse skin with creamy cleansers that you wipe off with a tissue, never letting water touch your skin (some hard waters are especially hard on skin), we prefer the water method. In the morning, a splash of lukewarm water is all you need (we find it's great for removing excess oils from your nightly moisturizing). Never wash your face with hot or cold water (both can cause broken capillaries). Also be careful about overcleansing skin.
The best way to wash your face: Use warm water to loosen dirt and clogged pores. Use a dime-sized bit of cleanser, then rinse with cool or lukewarm water. You'll also want to take off your makeup with a proper makeup remover.
Exfoliate:
Exfoliation is the step most people skip in their weekly skincare routine. But trust me, if you start properly exfoliating your skin, you will notice an almost immediate difference. According to Berg, one of the reasons men's skin looks more youthful than women's is because men tend to exfoliate daily when they shave. There are several ways to exfoliate skin: Microdermabrasion, chemical peels and retinoids.
Scrubs work by removing the top layer of dead skin cells that tend to dull your complexion. We find exfoliating skin once a week with a microdermabrasion kit keeps skin glowing year-round. Make sure you use a gentle scrub with tiny grains. Big grains in cheap scrubs can tear skin and cause more harm than good.
Should you use a toner? Some people swear by toners, but many beauty experts do not (I once read a skincare expert claim, "toners are only for copy machines"). Toners are meant to remove all remaining traces of oil, makeup and dirt, but a good cleanser should do this. I firmly believe it's up to you. If you like the way your skin feels with a toner. Buy it. Use it. Enjoy it.
Moisturize:
While I know of at least one famous beauty editor who swore skin doesn't need moisturizer, basically everyone else I've read disagrees and is an adamant believer in it. A basic law of beauty is that everyone, no matter her skin type, should moisturize. Even if your skin is oily, it will benefit from moisturizers. (The only exception is those with acne). Why? Moisturizers seal moisture into skin (Berg calls this the "Saran Wrap effect"). So how much should you moisturize? Your skin will tell you. When your skin is tight, it's crying out for moisture. Be careful not to overmoisturize -- this can cause clogged pores.
Are eye creams necessary? Well maybe. Some beauty experts strongly recommend eye creams. Why? The skin around the eye contains no fatty tissue and is therefore very thin and susceptible to wrinkles. Special eye creams are formulated to 'thicken' this area and keep it sturdy. Yet other experts (including the beauty editors of Allure in their new book) claim your daily lotion works around the eyes just as well.
Apply Sunscreen:
'O' magazine ran an article featuring interviews with several top skin care experts and dermatologists. Every single one of them said sunscreen was the most important part of your skincare regimen. It was the secret they would pass on to their daughters.
The number 1 cause of wrinkles is sun damage, so it's important to use sunscreen from your early years on even in winter and on cloudy days. A great trick is to purchase two moisturizers: one for night and one for day that includes UV protection. Don't use moisturizers with sunscreen at night, the ingredients are not meant to be used 27/7 and can aggravate skin. When choosing a sunscreen, make sure it contains Mexoryl (found in La-Roche Posay) or Helioplex, (found in Neutrogena products).
Always Look Young
Our skin like other body parts is not invincible, when it comes to being susceptible to damage. As it is necessary to get monthly haircuts and weekly manicures as part of your grooming regime it should also be a necessity and not a luxury to take care of the most important organ of your body, the skin. And the time to start doing that is now.
It may seem unimportant to contemplate doing anything about your complexions before reaching your thirties. However it is in our twenties that the effects of aging begin to be visible in our complexion. As we mature, biochemical changes occur in elastin and collagen, the connective tissues that give skin it’s firmness and elasticity. Genetics also play a part in this, which is why these changes occur at different times in different people.
As skin becomes less elastic, it also becomes drier, and the fat padding begins to disappear. This causes the skin to sag and look less supple. Ultimately wrinkles will appear. Then one day, after glancing in the mirror you suddenly notice those crows feet creeping in around the corners of your immaculately decorated eyelids, or you notice that your lip potions have sadly waded into the spider like crevices above the lips. It is normally then, when decisions are made to go out and get a miracle cream or maybe a facial.
Aging can be slowed down, and you can do your part to promote a younger complexion even as you mature. All it takes is a little TLC, but start NOW! The sooner you start to nurture your skin the more chance you have of a age-less complexion. All it takes is a short monthly visit to a skin care specialist, or a few minutes a day, taking care of your skin at home.
Skin care starts at home:
Enjoying a monthly facial is an excellent idea. Having your, face, neck and shoulders massaged for an hour and a half will most definitely put you into a state of euphoria and your skin will feel revitalized and renewed. And for those of you who haven't got time for a full treatment, they can go to beauty clinics for only 15 minutes for yourself. But making time for a facial is important, and more so it is of the utmost importance to maintain this caring act at home. Your skin needs twice daily nurturing to keep it clean, moist and protected and it only takes ten minutes a day.
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