Your Skin Care Routine

Hey guys!

Next in my skin care series shows you what your skin care routine should consist of to ensure healthy glowing skin! If you're not sure what skin type you are have a look at my earlier post By clicking here.

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Every morning and evening you should:

1. Cleanse - to remove any make up, excess oil and impurities from your skin by using either a cleanser or facial wash; either of these is fine as they do the same thing, the only difference is the consistency.
2. Tone - This is much more important than most people think. Toner does not just remove any excess cleanser and close the pores, it also ensures that the PH level of your skin is at the right level to work properly. When you use a cleanser, your PH level shoots right up and this can cause dryness and large pores. So, start using toner peeps! :0)
3. Moisturiser - This is important for all skin types - even if you have oily skin.
• Oily skin is often exacerbated by not moisturising because your skin tries to compensate by producing more oil. Remember, all this oil is on the surface, your dermis can actually be very dehydrated. If this is the case you need to use a light water-based moisturiser such as Simple Oil Balancing Moisturiser.
• Skin which is showing signs of ageing such as fine lines and winkles can benefit from a moistuer which contains Vitamin E. This ingredient has wheat germ oil in which helps to repair skin. It also protects the skin from free radicals such a ciggerette smoke and pollution.
• Dry Skin - Ensure you use a very rich mosisturiser and a night cream. Night creams differ from a day cream in that they help to repair the skin and are often much richer. It will soak in over night and give your skin a real boost
• All Skin types - should use an SPF moisturiser of at least 15 to protect against UVA and UVB rays which causes skin ageing. Remember not to forget to mositurise your neck as well, it needs protecting too!
• age 20+ - If you're in your 20's you need to start using an eye cream to prevent wrinkles as you get older, but apply with you ring finger to stop from pulling the skin.

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Hope this helps you figure out what you should be doing to keep your skin glowing. Next in the skin series: Weekly treatments.

Hugs and cupcakes,

What's Your Skin Type?

What is your skin type?

Apparently 74% of people don’t know their skin type. So week by week I’m going to give you a guide to your skin. What type you are, what you should be doing daily to keep it in tip-top condition and how to help problem skin.

Remember your skin can change due to weather conditions, medication, the Pill, ageing and change in hormones so you may have to adapt your skin care regime after some time. You are not a skin type for life!

Oily Skin – Oily skin has a visible shine, often only a few hours after cleansing. It can be prone to acne, blemishes, black heads and pimples. It often has large visible pores and is often dull.

Dry Skin – Dry skin can be flaky and often feels tight after washing. You are more prone to wrinkles, redness and the skin can feel flaky.

Normal skin – Normal skin has little shininess and rarely has dry patches or blemishes.

Sensitive skin – Often has allergic reactions to products and can also be dry or oily, often has red blotchy patches.

Combination skin – Combination skin tends to be shiny on the T-zone and dry on the cheeks. It gets a few blemishes and blackheads and a few flaky patches.

Men – Men’s skin can be any of the skin types above but the skin is usually thicker. The main difference in skin type between men and women is in the body. Putting it simply, men’s skin is more tightly woven together. This means that they aren’t prone to cellulite like women are.

Skin care quiz – this is a little quiz to help you find out what skin type you are, but it doesn’t include sensitive skin because often you can be a combination of dry-sensitive/oily-sensitive or normal-sensitive.  This shouldn’t take over the advice of your doctor/dermatologist but gives you a good indication of which type you might be.

How does your skin feel after washing?

a)      After a few hours it feels greasy

b)      It feels tight, and not very supple.

c)       It feels fine, neither greasy nor oily

d)      It feels fine but after a few hours I get a slight shine

e)      I don’t wash. I’m a man.

Can you see your pores?

a)      Yes, They’re very visible

b)      No, I can never see them

c)       I can rarely see them

d)      I can sometimes see them, but not all the time.

e)      What’s a Pore?

How often do you get black heads/blemishes?

a)      Often.

b)      Never, or on rare occasions

c)       Every now and then, say, once/twice a month, but not often

d)      I get black heads and Blemishes quite frequently

e)      You mean those volcano things in my skin? Yeah I pick at them in the mirror after I shave.

What’s your skin type?

Mostly A – Oliy skin

Mostly B – Dry Skin

Mostly C – Normal skin

Mostly D- Combination skin

Mostly E – You’re probably a man.

Myth

If I use a face cream for a long time, my skin will ‘get used to it.’  

This is a myth made up by companies to get you to spend more. If your skin looks and feels great then keep your skin care regime. If your skin needs something different, for example its getting dry/oily/dull then your skin has changed because of hormones or the weather or another reason. Your skin is not complex enough to ‘get used to’ something.

Hope this is useful! I'm really excited for all the other posts I have planned so pop back soon.

Did you know what your skin type was before you did my Quiz?

Hugs and Cupcakes,