One of the best habits for maintaining healthy skin is to follow a skin care routine. Environmental exposure to sunshine and air pollutants can lead to the breakdown of our skin surface. In addition skin can become overly dry or oily.
A Skin Care Routine is Essential
A skin care routine is critical to help combat the ravages of weather and chemical pollutants. In additional to daily cleaning and moisturizing experts recommend several additional things to do for healthy skin.
The following recommendations are based on feedback from dermatologist and skin specialists.
Everyday Cleaning
As basic as this sounds many people forget this important step in their daily skin care routine. Professionals suggest choosing the highest quality cleanser you can afford and apply it liberally ove the entire surface of your face. Next apply pressure with your finger tips as you gently massage the solution over the entire surface of your skin, don’t forget your neck and ears. After 4 to 5 minutes gently rinse your skin with clean fresh lukewarm water. Then use a soft cloth/towel to gently pat (not rub) your skin until dry.
Tone
Typically toning has not received a lot of attention but experts agree that it can make a huge improvement in overall skin texture. Toning helps restore skin tension which means skin literally tightens. Note – If you have dry skin it is advised that the toning aspect of your skin care program be left out.
Moisturizer
Purchasing the right moisturizer can be confusing. It is very important when buying moisturizer to keep your particular skin type in consideration. If you skin oily it is recommend you skip the moisturizer or if you can opt for a very gentle formula. One technique passed down through history is to instead of using a commercial moisturizer use natural oils such as olive oil, vitamin E oil or almond oil. Applied to your face prior to bed will facilitate soft and flexible skin. This method also helps to minimize wrinkles and other skin issues.
Weekly Program
Experts have found that weekly steaming is a highly effective anti-aging skin care technique. Just make sure you clean your skin before you steam it. Steam effectively opens pores which helps get rid of dirt and other surface pollutants, in addition, it helps soften the skin. The best steam is create by boiling water in a pot and creating a towel tent to capture and hold the steam. Just remember to not get too close to the boiling water! When you’ve finished it is recommended you pat (not rub) your skin dry with a soft towel.
Exfoliation – Some call it “skin scrub” others “exfoliating.” Whichever term you choose dermatologist say it is perhaps one of the most important aspects of any skin care routine. They also recommend you do not exfoliate everyday but instead, do it just once a week. If you have sensitive skin it is vital to use a very gentle scrub or you irritate the skin and develop a rash.
Mask – Using a face mask helps add tension to the surface of your skin. It also helps to give an overall healthy “look” to your skin. When done, generally 20 to 30 minutes wash your face with lukewarm water and pat dry.
Skin Care Routine Bottom Line
It is recommended that when following this skin care routine you take every measure possible to avoid regular soaps and whenever possible use the best skin care products.