Flawless (or nearly flawless), smooth skin is very coveted in today’s world. We all want gorgeous, glowing skin that’s free of acne, blemishes, pimples, black spots and so on. By using dermatologist-approved skin care products, you can get that glowing skin you want but there’s more to skin care than just picking a product from a shelf and applying to your skin.
There are many factors that must be considered before, during and after choosing a product to use.
1. Consider your skin type
Your favourite beauty blogger or vlogger raved about a moisturizer and you rushed to buy it without even considering how different her skin is from yours. This can lead to breakouts and bad consequences for your skin.
Always know what kind of skin you have before buying a product. Many skin-care products have variations for the different skin care types. So, pick the one that best matches your skin.
2. Test the product on a patch of skin first
This just makes sense. To emphasize how important this is, let me tell you a very short story: some weeks ago, my sister watched a video by a beauty vlogger who talked about clay masks and how good they are. My sister didn’t read the description box below. If she had, she would have seen where the vlogger clearly stated that people were to test the product on the crook of their elbow first. Anyway, it’s been about 3 weeks and my sister is still dealing with an awful breakout that has left her skin so scarred that makeup can barely cover it.
Always test products on your arm first. You might have dry skin and buy a product that is for dry skin. Still, test that product first to know if your skin will find it irritable or poisonous. Only when you have seen no problems with that patch of skin you tried it on should you go on and apply it to your face and other skin parts.
3. Exfoliate twice a month
The skin is made of lots of skin cells which die regularly and they remain on the body making your skin appear dull. It’s important to remove them in order to have bright, lustrous skin. Make sure to follow steps 1 and 2 when looking for an exfoliant to use.
It’s also not advisable to exfoliate too regularly because you may remove dead cells and the top layer of your skin which would lead to very sensitive skin.
NOTE: It’s best to use a chemical exfoliant (chemicals made specially for your kind of skin) for your face and not a physical exfoliant (harsh materials like a brush or rough scrub).
4. Change your bedclothes frequently
Remember those dead skin cells I talked about? They make up the dust that you brush off your bed. Also, sweat, grime and dirt frequently come in touch with your bedclothes. You definitely don’t want this bad stuff in close proximity to your skin.
Also, if you’re the kind of person who puts products in your hair when you go to bed, put your hair in a nightcap or satin cap. Many hair products can cause havoc to your face and skin.
I advise to change your bedclothes every week and if you can, twice a week (especially your pillowcases which are in direct contact with your face)
5. Take a bath or a shower twice a day
A morning bath is a given for nice skin and an evening or night bath is just as important. Coming back home after a long day is so relaxing and all you may want to do is wipe off your makeup and fall into bed. It may be hard, I know but make an effort to get into the shower, wash your body thoroughly before getting into bed.
There are two main benefits to doing this:
- A shower is honestly the best and you’ll feel much more relaxed
- The odds of you transferring dirt from the outside world (public transport, the office desk, food counter and so on) to your bed are greatly reduced.
After taking a night shower, it’s also good to apply some night serums and face creams before going to bed. Make sure to take note of tips 1 and 2.
6. Keep your hands away from your face
This skin care tip can be soo hard. Your face is smooth and you want to touch it! Or your face has bumps and you want to touch them to adequately moan about how bad your skin is (I do this one a lot 😂) I get it but just point to your face. Don’t touch it. Those hands that shook that colleague’s hands (you have no idea where those hands had been) or the hands that collected change from someone (cash is very very dirty) should not be anywhere close to your face.
7. Clean your phone regularly
It’s easy not to consider how dirty your phone is until you really think about it. We tend to carry our phones everywhere and as a result, we drop them everywhere; on the grass, restaurant/ supermarket counter, even public toilet sinks! All those surfaces are grimy and dirty and it’s easy to transfer that dirt to your skin and face. So, clean your phones every day if you can; both the screen and back.
8. Use sunscreen
The Holy Grail of skin care tips is finally here! Don’t forget to use a good sunscreen to protect your skin from the awful effects of the sun’s rays! Sunscreen isn’t for the beach only. Are you going to work, school, the park, or anywhere at all? Slather it on. As long as stepping out of your house is going to bring you face-to-face (so to speak) with the sun, apply that sun screen. Tips 1 and 2 should be noted.
