Wednesday 9 December 2015

It's all in the layers


This is it, you have taken the plunge, you purchased a new skin care line.  You are committing to take better care of your skin!  Good for you! So, you arrive home with bottles and tubes of products and you can’t remember what the esthetician/sales person told you about what goes on first or third or last.  You don’t want to mix this up, your dream of softer glowing skin depends on getting this right!  They aren’t open now so you can’t even call them.   

Don’t worry, there’s lots of advice out there so I perused a few sites and compiled some of their tips along with my best practices and came up with a generic troubleshooting guide made just for you. 

The answer is generally in the layering. Get the products on your skin in the right order and they will work more effectively. Now, I can’t look into your bag to see what line you purchased but here are some clues to follow.

Whether it’s morning or night, step one is to cleanse. So find the cleanser and try it out.  Massage it in using a circular pattern and rinse it off with luke warm water.

Next look for your exfoliator – don’t use this every day, 2-3 times a week is all you need.

Time for toner – this is actually a final step in the cleansing process and it helps to get rid of all the dirt and oils left behind.  It may also be called an astringent.

Now let’s look for your treatment products.  Generally, work in order of the product’s consistency from thinnest to thickest.  You might have one or two serums to massage in, if one contains Vitamin C, anti-oxidants or stem cells, start with that one.  Follow this with a serum containing peptides or hyaluronic acid.

Next, look for any products for spot treatments, this could include something for blemishes or something for skin lightening.

Hopefully you also have an eye cream in the mix, it is way better for the delicate skin around your eyes to use a special formula here instead of your normal face cream.  Remember, less is more, too much product can leave you looking puffy.

Now, lock in all your treatment products with an all over moisturizer, or a night cream if it’s night time. 

Finally, if it’s morning, finish with your sunscreen and allow it to set, then proceed to make-up.

Don’t worry if your products don’t include all the above steps, remember, this is a general guide. Work with the products to have and put them in order!

Now to deal with a few common mistakes:

  1. Skipping the cleansing - all I can say is Noooooo, don't skip it and don't substitute with soap!
  2. Exfoliating everyday - this is generally not necessary and can be too harsh for your skin. On the other hand, don't skip it altogether either.  
  3. If your products are balling up when you apply them, the textures aren't compatible so give them a chance to dry in between.
  4. Touching your face…avoid this as it introduces bacteria to your skin, eeewww.  
  5. Picking at blemishes – this is a no no unless of course you want to end up with scars. 
I hope this offers some practical advice to get you off on your skin care journey!  Here’s to beautiful skin!


References:
www.paulaschoice.com               
www.instyle.com