Establishing a good skin care routine is a habit that everyone should consider in some point in their lives — preferably early on. But before embarking on this new journey, you should consider the importance and benefits of good skin care and why you should implement it into your daily and nightly routine.
First of all, it is essential to know that the skin is the body’s largest organ, meaning that its maintenance is importance. Not only is your skin shielding you from the sun and all of the outside environmental pollutants, but it is also there to serve as an extra layer of protection that prevents dehydration and helps to control the inner parts of the body.
Essentially, skin care is the act of looking after your skin and protecting it from any damaged that might be caused by outside factors, including: pollutants, the sun, bacteria and germs.
For the above reason, implementing a good skin care routine is a step that is vital for preventing damage of this organ. The following steps are ones that you could consider when choosing how to take care of your skin:
1. Determining your skin type
In order to develop a good skin care regimen, it is vital to determine what your skin type is. Does your skin tend to turn oily throughout the day? Or does it feel dryer as the day goes on? Or maybe you experience both? A good rule of thumb to decide your type is to look at yourself in the mirror after a long day, if the area around your nose, chin and forehead and cheeks looks shiny, you’ve got oily skin; if it feels dry and looks dull, you most likely have dry skin; however, if it looks and feels shiny is certain areas and dry in others, you have combination skin.
2. Cleansing
Now that you’ve got your skin type figured out, the next step is to plan out your routine, starting with a good cleanser. It is important to consider that body care and face care, when it comes to skin care, should be separate. While the cleanser that you use for your body can be stronger, the cleanser used for the face should be gentle. The job of the cleanser is to go deep into the skin’s pores, in order to remove any dirt, impurities or makeup. The step of cleansing the skin should be implemented, both during the day and night time, as dust can collect in the skin throughout the day, and it is important to cleanse it before proceeding to the next steps.
3. Moisturizing
You might be wondering, what exactly is a moisturizer and, is it important? The short answer is: yes! When cleansing the skin, you are stripping your skin of its moisture barrier, as you are going deep into the pores in order to remove dirt. This is when a good moisturizer comes in to add the moisture back into the skin, in order to keep it hydrated and healthy. If you have oily skin, oil-free moisturizers are your best bet, while those with dry skin might benefit from an oil-based moisturizer. If you live in an area with dry or cold weather, regardless of your skin type, it is important to opt for more hydrating moisturizers, preferably with high concentrations of hyaluronic acid, an ingredients that helps bring in moisture from the air to the skin, keeping it hydrated throughout the day. However, if you live in a more humid, cool area, an oil-free moisturizer will do the trick.
4. Sun protection
So, your skin is clean, hydrated and ready to go, right? Well, not exactly. No skin care routine is complete without SPF — sunscreen! As previously stated, skin damage can be very detrimental for the body and the overall health of the skin, and the sun is one of the major contributors to this damage. For this reason, the use of sunscreen is a crucial step for your daily skin care routine. When looking at sunscreen, you should consider those with SPF 30 or higher, as they provide you with the highest level of protection. Also, if you are worried about sunscreen giving you a white cast, shiny cast, you should look into sunscreens that are labeled: dry-touch, as they won’t leave you looking like you smeared oil all over your face!
Now that you know what skin care is, why it is important and the major steps that you should consider when starting your skin care journey, it is up to you to determine your skin’s health. Remember, you only get one skin, so take care of it and cherish it.