There are many products that are available from high-end to drugstore to use to have healthy skin. In this post I'm going to be talking about the bare minimum. These are simple steps that will be great to start doing to have healthy radiant skin.
Depending on your budget and your preference some of these products might not be necessary for your skin. Remember everyone has different skin, and there isn't only one way to do things. These are just my tips for getting and maintaining nice skin.
The steps below are things that you can do in the morning to take care of your skin. The products that you use in the morning should be lightweight and easy to get into the habit of doing.
Step One: Cleansing
Cleansing the skin is the most important part of any skin care routine whether or not you are wearing makeup. You should always cleanse the skin at least twice a day. In the morning your face is relatively clean, so using a mild cleanser (oil or milk) would be ideal. This will prep your skin for all the skin care products you will apply afterwards.
Depending on your skin type (Skin Type blog post) you want to make sure you are choosing products that are going to help your skin and not hurt it. If you use a cleanser that is too harsh it can cause breakouts, redness, dry patches and that in turns doesn't help your end goal of nice healthy looking skin.
There are so many different cleansers out there. I really love using the Clean & Clear morning face wash. These types of cleansers are specifically made to be used in the morning and are really great. They do a good job of getting the skin clean and refreshed for the day.
Step Two: Toning
A toner is used to balance the pH level of the skin. pH (potential hydrogen) is used to show how acidic or alkaline a solution is, it ranges from 1 highly acidic to 14 highly alkaline and 7 is neutral. Skin is around 5.5 on the pH level which makes it slightly acidic, this helps ward off harmful bacteria and fungi. When you use a cleanser you might be getting rid of too much of the acidity in your skin. When your skin becomes alkaline, it has no defense against bacteria, UV rays and harsh ingredients.
What a toner does is it restores the pH balance of your skin. This is really beneficial to your skin because it will make sure that everything is running smoothly. In the long run this will help you maintain healthy skin.
During the day I like to use a toner that is more on the mild side as some toners tend to have alcohol as an ingredient and this can dry out the skin. I use a toner water from Lush. This is a very gentle toner and works great for a quick pass after cleansing in the morning.
Step Three: Moisturizing & Eye Cream
The second most important thing to do for your skin is moisturizing. After cleansing and toning your skin may be too dry and not where it needs to be. Moisturizing is so important. This will make your skin be soft and youthful. It will help with wrinkles and elasticity in the long run. The more preventative you are about your skin now, the less you have to worry about later on in life.
For the day time you want to use a moisturizer that is light. A cream that you can massage into the skin quickly is ideal, especially if you don't have a ton of time in the morning to get ready.
I have been recently been using the Ponds anti-wrinkle cream, and I have been loving it. It is really rich but very light weight. It sinks into the skin in no time and it doesn't leave my face oily or greasy feeling. Again you can go for whatever you feel your skin needs.
Another thing that goes into the moisturizing category is eye cream. I think everyone should be using eye cream. The skin around the eyes is very thin and soft, very similar to the lips. The eye area needs some special treatment. If you have really dark circles or larger under eye bags you can try a firming or cooling eye cream. If you have a few more wrinkles than you would like to have try using a wrinkle eye cream.
I have been using the eye cream from Benefit. This eye cream is again really light, it sinks into the skin quickly and it makes the skin around my eyes super soft. Any eye cream that you use is good eye cream.
Step Four: Sunscreen
This step is probably the most important when it comes to skin care. You always want to protect your skin from the sun. Now I have to be honest, I don't usually wear sunscreen. I have not found one that I like to use on my face. I know I should but the truth is I don't. Either way I wanted to talk about it because it is a very important thing to have in your skin care routine.
As we all know, prolonged exposure to UV rays can lead to skin cancer. So taking care of the skin on your face is crucial, especially when you are not wearing makeup.
I would suggest using a lightweight sunscreen with a high SPF.
If you have any suggestions on what kinds there are out there to try, I would really appreciate the help!
Check out the other posts in this Skin Care mini series:
Previous Post: Skin Types
Night-time Steps & Products
Extra Skin Goodies
All Photos are from Google.com
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