Skin Care

Taking care of your skin is the first step to looking and feeling healthy. Before you embark on a daily skincare routine, you should know your skin type first. The reason for doing this is that each skin type comes with its routine. The most common skin types are oily, dry, sensitive, normal, or combination skin type.

Using the wrong products on the wrong skin type can cause skin breakouts, dryness, oiliness, and other skin inflammations. Below are some of the most common skincare routines that will bring a healthy shine to your skin.
Skincare category
Cleanser
Cleansing the skin is an essential step to take towards maintaining a healthy skin free from dirt, oils, dead skin cells, and makeup residue. Cleansers help to open up pores allowing the skin to breathe and prevent some of the most common skin conditions such as pimples and acne. If you have dry skin, use cleansers with moisturizing properties to keep your face hydrated.

Do not scrub the face too much when using a cleanser to avoid stripping the skin of its natural moisture. Using a good cleanser also creates the best skin canvas for other skincare products that you use on your skin. Just like many other skincare products, cleansers come with ingredients that suit different skin types.

Cream-based cleansers with quality hydrating ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, glycerin, shea butter, ceramides, and honey, are ideal for normal to dry skin. Fragrance-free and sulfate-free cleansers are suitable for the sensitive skin, while gel and foaming cleansers with non-comedogenic ingredients, and are the best for oily skin.

For those with combination skin type, the best cleansers are the non-foaming gel cleansers. If you have acne-prone skin and breakouts, use a cleanser with exfoliating agents such as salicylic acid, and glycolic acid as the primary ingredients.
Exfoliator
The skin self-exfoliates itself, but as you get older, the natural process of exfoliation tends to become inactive. Some of the signs that your skin is no longer self-exfoliating are skin roughness, the appearance of pimples, and loss of its glow. Exfoliating entails the removal of dead and dull skin to give way to more radiant newer cells.

Exfoliated skin also provides the best canvas for smooth application and penetration of other skincare and makeup products. Exfoliators also help to unclog pores, which helps in clearing breakouts, acne, and pimples. The different types of exfoliation include physical and chemical methods.

Physical exfoliation entails scrubbing the skin manually to get rid of the dead cells. Some of the exfoliators that you can use for physical exfoliation include Clarisonic, apricot kernels, microbeads, sugar, salt, and a simple washcloth. Chemical exfoliation entails using acids to slough off dead cells from the skin. Some of the most notable chemical exfoliants include alpha hydroxyl acid, sun-damaged, and dry skin, and beta hydroxyl acid (salicylic acid) for acne-prone and oily skin.

Before using any form of exfoliator, you should know your skin type first to prevent any damages you should also go slow on exfoliation because too much of it can damage the skin cells. You can start by exfoliating at least three days per week before increasing the frequency.
Serum
Serum, which you apply on the skin after cleansing, contains potent ingredients that penetrate directly into the skin to target skin imperfections such as wrinkles and fine lines. It contains moisturizing ingredients such as ceramides and hyaluronic acid that help the skin to stay hydrated. Serums are either water-based or oil-based.

Water-based serums help to nourish the skin’s inner layer while oil-based serums keep whatever product you apply on the face moist all day. Before using a serum, you should know the ingredients and your skin type. If you have acne-prone skin, look for a serum with Vitamin C that helps to increase collagen production also find a product with retinol, zinc, and salicylic acid.

If you have dry skin, the serum you chose should have vitamin e, niacinamide, glycolic acid, and hyaluronic acid. If you have dull skin, buy serum with antioxidants such as ferulic acid, green tea extract, and resveratrol. It is imperative to carry out a patch test before using serum because the ingredients are very potent and can cause irritations.
Face Oil
Face oils complement the natural oils to balance the skin and add more protection from pollutants and other impurities. The majority of the face oils in the market are plant-based combined with other potent ingredients. Besides the hydrating properties of the face oils, they also help with the anti-aging process and provide healing and antibacterial properties.

A face oil application comes before a moisturizer or sunscreen application. You can also add a few drops of face oil to your serum or moisturizer for better results. Just like many other skin products, you should know your skin type before using face oil. If you have acne-prone skin, you should avoid face oils as they may clog the pores though you do not have to do it entirely.

You can try out face oils that have bacterial killing properties if you have acne-prone skin. Some of the face oils to consider if you have acne-prone skin are aloe vera, jojoba, marula, squalane, and tea tree. If you have sensitive skin, the best face oils are lavender and chamomile.

If you have combination skin, you should try grapeseed, jojoba, carrot seed, and marula. The best face oils to use for skin hyperpigmentation are rosehip, frankincense oil, argan, lemon oil, and evening primrose. The best ingredients for anti-aging are olive, sunflower, olive, rosehip, and grapeseed.
Sunscreen
Sunscreen protects your skin against harmful UV rays. It is ideal for women, men, and children and the majority of the sunscreens in the market are safe for everyday application. The first rule of choosing a good sunscreen is by looking at the SPF or sun protection factor, which should have a broad spectrum of SPF 15 and above.

Some off the most vital ingredients in a quality sunscreen include zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. You should also look for water-resistant sunscreens if you plan on going for a swim. It is, however, advisable to reapply sunscreen after getting out of the water.

The best time to apply sunscreen is before you leave the house for outdoors, and you can use it on the whole body. You can also do some touch-ups every two hours to be safer. Buy a sunscreen with ingredients that go well with your skin type.
Moisturizer
A moisturizer helps to replace lost moisture leaving your skin hydrated and smooth. Moisturizers come with different ingredients to suit different skin types. For people with dry skin, the best moisturizer is one with thick texture and contains ingredients such as dimethicone, hyaluronic acid, propylene, glycerin, urea, proteins, mineral oil, and lanolin.

For those with sensitive skin, choose a moisturizer with few ingredients, hypoallergenic and do not contain any fragrance. If your skin is itchy, choose a moisturizer with hydrocortisone and hypoallergenic properties. Alpha hydroxyl acid and other non-comedogenic ingredients are great for people with acne-prone and oily skin types.

People with skin inflammations such as eczema should choose moisturizers with petrolatum that helps to keep the skin supple and soothe cracks.
Chemical Peel
Chemical peels use different types of acids to peel off the top layer of the skin, which helps in minimizing the appearance of anti-aging signs such as wrinkles, uneven skin tone, and fine lines. Chemical peels come in three making types, which are superficial depth, medium depth, and deep depth.

The most common of the three is the superficial depth. The ingredients in superficial chemical peels include kojic acid, salicylic acid, and glycolic acid. The peels also treat dark spots and large pores. They also help to tighten the skin giving you a much youthful look.

Medium depth peels contain a non-neutralized acid and treat skin problems such as moderate acne scars, sunspots, and crepey skin, among others. Deep depth peels treat more severe skin issues such as skin looseness, severe acne scars, and excessive sun damage, among others. They also contain high percentages of non-neutralized acids.

Deep depth chemical peels are not ideal for people with dark skin tones. Though DIY chemical peels are available, they provide minimal results as compared to those administered by the professionals.
Cream and lotion
Creams and lotions play the same role on the skin, which is mainly to moisturize and soften the body and hands. They come with unique ingredients that protect the skin against loss of moisture. They also help to replace skin oils. A cream formula is half water and half oil, while that of lotion has a more significant water percentage in the formula.

A lotion is thinner than cream in its consistency and it absorbs into the skin faster. It feels lighter on the skin, and it is much easier to spread. Cream, on the other hand, has a denser consistency, and it is easy to spread, especially on larger areas of the skin.

The cream helps to moisturize dry and normal skin without feeling too heavy and it especially ideal during the cold seasons as it provides more skin hydration. Lotion on the hand is suitable during the summer months when the air feels humid and hot. It is excellent for people with oily and dry skin types.
Toner
A toner contains ingredients such as glycerin, anti-inflammatories, acids, and antioxidants that penetrate the skin to remove dead cells and leave it hydrated. It helps to plump the skin to a natural acidic state that helps to absorb other skincare products. A toner, just like a primer, goes after cleansing and exfoliating the skin.

You can choose to apply toner by using a cotton pad to swipe around the face or sprinkling it into your hands and tapping it directly onto the skin. When choosing a toner, ensure that you know your skin type first as not one fits all. If you have large pores, look for a toner with glycol acid or any other alpha hydroxyl acid.

If your skin is sensitive, look for a toner with skin calming ingredients, and if you have oily or acne-prone skin, look for one with salicylic acid. If your skin is dull, look for a toner that contains natural exfoliants such as lactic acid or papaya extracts. Avoid toners with alcohol as they dry up the skin.

If your skin type is dry, a toner with amino acids and fermented yeast will be great for nourishment and hydration. If your skin is mature, look for a toner with hydrating ingredients and antioxidants such as rose water, glycerin, and hyaluronic acid.
Wrapping it up
A good skincare routine requires the use of more than two of the above products at any one given time to achieve the best results. Starting with the most basic routine, which is cleansing the skin, you can work your way by incorporating any of the other routines to prepare your skin for other products or makeup applications. The procedures plump your skin, giving it a natural, healthy look free from imperfections.