Basic Skin Care - What Should You Do?

Ok so you're not into elaborate skin care routines like I am...not everyone can be nuts about skin.  :)  But we should all take care of our skin.  So what are the basic steps everyone needs to do to keep their skin healthy?  It's pretty simple really. 

**Photo courtesy of ASCP**

Step 1. Cleanse - AM and PM

 

Cleansing your skin is important to remove dirt, makeup, pollution, sweat, etc from your skin.  It is especially important before you go to bed.  Going to bed with makeup on your skin can clog pores, leading to breakouts.  There are many varieties of cleansers, with different functions (Acne, Anti-aging, Calming.)  Choose one for your skin type/issues.  But make sure you use a cleanser or bar formulated for use on your face.  This is important to keep your facial skin in balance and feeling good.

Step 2.  SPF Protection - AM

 

Protecting your skin from the UV rays of the sun is the most important thing you can do to prevent skin cancer and premature aging.  You need at least SPF 15, but preferrably SPF 30 every day to adequately protect your skin.  Sun damage is cummulative.  Driving 30 minutes to work can cause damage that adds up over the years to pigmentation, wrinkles, sagging, and possibly skin cancer.  Such a simple step to prevent all that. 

Step 3 - Moisturizer at night - PM

 

Your skin loses most of it's moisture while you are sleeping.  It's important to keep your skin properly hydrated for optimum health.  Hydrated skin also looks plumper and younger, smoothing out fine lines.  Choose one for your skin  type (oil free if oily, antiaging, or calming) and apply immediately after cleansing every night. 

These simple steps are easy, don't take much time, but will go a long way to keeping your skin healthy and younger looking.   If you want to add more advanced skin care to your routine, you can look for serums, masks, eye creams and exfoliators.   If you add a serum, apply under moisturizer.  Since the molecules in serums are smaller, they will penetrate directly into skin.  Apply eye cream along the orbital bone around eyes - never on lids - under moisturizer.  Use a mask for your skin type once a week.  Exfoliation can be done once or twice a week, no more than that.  Over exfoliation can lead to premature aging, something we all want to prevent. 

If you aren't sure what you need beyond the basics, then scheduling a FREE consult to go over your skin type and what products would work best for you would be a great start!