Achieving healthy, attractive skin is not just about understanding cosmetic products it’s also about understanding and caring for your skin’s unique needs. Caring for your skin properly is much more complex than you might think and acting on an understanding of your skin’s needs by developing a personalised daily facial skin care routine will ensure vibrant skin.

The cosmetics industry tends to simplify skin care to make choosing products faster and easier but this simplification can end up causing more issues than it prevents. It is generally understood that there are five separate and discreet categories for ‘skin type’.

These are:

• Normal

• Oily

• Dry

• Combination

• Sensitive

 

These categories are misleading and often won’t actually help you to get the best out of your skin. This is because your skin is a highly efficient organ that is sensitive to many internal and external factors that can cause it to change season to season, month to month or even week to week.

 

Some of the factors that can affect your skin at any time include:

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INTERNAL

• Hormonal fluctuations

• Health issues/pre-existing skin conditions

• Genetic background

• Smoking and alcohol consumption

• Medications

• Diet and water consumption

 

EXTERNAL

• Climate

• Season

• Current skin care routine

• Sun/pollution exposure

• Stress

 

Due to these and many other factors you may find your skin ‘type’ will be constantly changing. In fact if you organise your skin care routine around a skin ‘type’ it will quickly become obsolete the moment the season, your diet or your life changes.

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So instead of organizing your skin care needs around a skin ‘type’ it’s a better idea to develop a routine around your skin’s needs taking internal and external factors into consideration. Keep in mind that most people have multiple skin care needs at any given time and that ‘normal’ skin is largely a myth.

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I’m sure you can understand just how complex describing skin ‘types’ and skin care needs can be. This is undoubtedly why the five skin ‘types’ mentioned earlier were made popular: they simplify the process of purchasing cosmetic products or at the very least provide a guideline to what you should buy.

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For the sake of simplicity the skin care guidelines listed below will also contain recommendations on which skin ‘types’ can benefit most from them. However please keep in mind that before applying these routines to yourself you should make sure to take into consideration the internal and external factors that can affect your skin.

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Essentially before deciding any product or skin care routine is appropriate for you, you must first ask yourself questions like ‘what season is it?’, ‘is it a stressful time of year?’, ‘what stage of my hormonal cycle am I in?’ and ‘what are the individual needs of the different zones of my skin’?

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Doing this will ensure that you get the most out of your products and that they work in conjunction with one another leading to a superior, effective skin care routine that will support the health of your skin. This is of course an essential step towards having a great complexion.

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DAILY SKIN CARE ROUTINES

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1. Basic Daily Routine:

This routine describes the basic steps needed to care for all skin requirements and can be applied to all skin ‘types’ at any time.

 

• Cleanse

• Tone

• Moisturise (with Day Cream)

• Sunscreen (if your Day Cream doesn't already contain an SPF)

• Eye Cream

 

2. Basic Nightly Routine:

This routine is very similar to the basic day routine however it deviates slightly at the ‘moisturise’ stage swapping a day cream (which is light weight) for a night cream (a richer product), removing the sunscreen and adding an eye cream to get the most out of your beauty sleep! Again this routine is highly applicable to all skin ‘types’.

 

• Cleanse

• Tone

• Moisturise (with Night Cream)

• Eye Cream

 

3. Daily/Nightly Routine with Serum:

In this routine the serum is added to boost moisture levels (if more moisture is required) in the skin. While extra moisture is beneficial for all skin it could be said that skin ‘types’ (or needs) that are mature or dry will particularly benefit from this routine. Please note that oily skin will also benefit from extra moisture as excessive sebum production is often an attempt by the body to protect skin that is dehydrated.

 

• Cleanse

• Tone

• Serum

• Moisturise

  • Day (Day Cream with SPF product and/ or sunscreen)

  • Night (Night Cream)

• Eye Cream

 

4. Daily/Nightly Routine with Derma Roller:

The addition of the Derma Roller to this routine is designed to open pores (to increase product absorption) and to stimulate collagen production. Again while all skin ‘types’ will benefit from this action types considered mature or dry will particularly benefit as the pores of these skin ‘types’ are often very tight and closed.

 

• Cleanse

• Serum

• Derma Roller

• Tone

• Moisturise

  • Day (Day Cream with SPF product and/ or sunscreen)

  • Night (Night Cream)

• Eye Cream

 

There are a few different ways you can incorporate the Derma Roller to your skin care routine. You can either cleanse first and then roller over your skin fresh with no product applied initially (serum and/or moisturiser) and then at the end apply your moisturiser. You could also (as above) apply serum then derma roller and then lastly moisturise. One other way is to do all the skin care routine first and then derma roller last. You will probably find that once you have finished derma rolling that your skin has absorbed all the moisturiser and/or serum applied and you may need to add some more. All depending on your individual needs.

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5. Twice Weekly Routine with Facial Scrub:

Adding a facial scrub to your routine will assist skin in clearing congestion and keratin build-up leaving it smooth and better able to absorb product.

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• Cleanse

• Scrub

• Tone

• Serum

• Moisturise

  • Day (Day Cream with SPF product and/ or sunscreen)

  • Night (Night Cream)

• Eye Cream

 

6. Twice Weekly Routine with Eye Mask:

This routine makes special provision for taking care of the delicate eye skin. This routine is most definitely beneficial for all skin but could be considered especially helpful for those with mature skin as it takes care of a delicate area that is prone to showing signs of ageing. This routine is also great for combating the physical signs of stress on the skin – have a bath with some Calendula & Melon Bath Salts and make it a great way to treat yourself and unwind! Best to use your eye mask in the evening as your skin does all its repair work at night and can do with the extra boost.

 

• Cleanse

• Scrub

• Eye Mask

• Tone

• Serum

• Moisturise

• Night Cream

• Eye Cream

 

7. Twice Weekly Routine with Facial Mask:

Again this routine is a great way to combat the physical signs of stress on the skin as it is an opportunity to relax and treat yourself. In addition to this all face masks provide a deeply moisturizing effect (in conjunction with other, specialized effects depending on the mask) so this routine could be considered helpful to those with dry, mature or oily skin ‘types’.

 

• Cleanse

• Scrub

• Eye Mask

• Facial Mask (have applied at the same time as Eye Mask)

• Tone

• Serum

• Moisturise

  • Day (Day Cream with SPF product and/ or sunscreen)

  • Night (Night Cream)

• Eye Cream

 

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A moisturising lip balm or gloss should be added to the end of each of these routines to care for the lips as this is an area of the face that is often forgotten during skin care!

Please take note that these routines are only guides and you should make sure to vary them according to you skin’s requirements at any time. Please feel free to add a step or remove a step (except the basic cleanse-tone-moisturise outline) at any time. I strongly encourage you to do this as it will lead to superior skin care.