Facial skincare is more a matter of discipline than anything else. A facial skincare routine is what you need and you need to follow the facial skincare routine with complete seriousness. So let’s check what comprises an effective facial skincare routine. Well, very simply, a facial skincare routine can follow the following 4 steps:
- Cleansing
- Toning
- Exfoliating
- Moisturizing
Cleansing is the first thing in facial skincare routine. Cleansing helps in removing dust, pollutants, grease, and extra oil from your skin, thereby preventing damage to your skin. Just spot your face and neck with a good cleansing lotion or cream and gently massage it into your skin using upward strokes. Use a soft face tissue or cotton wool to wipe your face in a gentle patting fashion (do not rub). Cleansing should be done at least twice a day i.e. morning (as part of complete facial skincare routine) and evening (on a standalone basis). Water soluble cleansers are the best for inclusion in your facial skincare routine.
Toning is the next in a facial skincare routine. However, this is the optional part of the facial skincare routine. Mostly, proper cleansing can compensate for toning. Toning helps remove all traces of dirt, grease, and excess cleanser. Instead of making it part of your daily facial skincare routine, you can using toning occasionally i.e. when you have been exposed to particularly harsh environment/pollution.
Exfoliation is again, kind of, optional step in everyday routine for facial skincare. However, exfoliation is necessary at least once a week (or twice, depending on the skin type and the environmental conditions). Exfoliation finds its place in facial skincare routine because of the natural tendency of skin to replenish the skin cells every three or four weeks. As a facial skincare technique, exfoliation helps in removing the dead skin cells that block the pores, thus assisting the skin in the natural process. However, excessive or harsh exfoliation can cause damage to your skin; so you need to balance it out.
The next thing in facial skincare is moisturizing. In fact, moisturizing is the most important part of facial skincare routine. Moisturizers prevent your skin from getting dry. Dry skin is really undesirable since it cause the upper layer skin to break, leading to dead skin cells. Again, use light upward strokes to make the moisturizer more effective. Moisturizers work the best when applied on warm and damp skin. So do not try to remove all the moisture in the previous steps of facial skincare routine.
Besides the normal facial skincare routine, you should also exercise the following for facial skincare:
- Pay heed to your skin type and the environment, when choosing facial skincare products.
- Before you start using a new facial skincare product, test it by applying it on a short patch of skin e.g. ear lobes.
- Never rub your skin too hard.
- Use sunscreen lotions for protection against sun.
All about sensitive skincare
Sensitive skincare is governed by a few basic rules. However, even before we delve into the rules for sensitive skincare, it’s important to understand what a sensitive skin is. Sensitive skin is one which is unable to tolerate any unfavorable conditions (environmental/other), and which easily gets irritated on contact with foreign materials (including skincare products). For this reason, some products are especially labeled as sensitive skincare products. The degree of sensitivity can however vary from person to person (and depending on that, the sensitive skincare procedures vary too).
Generally, all skin types respond negatively to detergents and other chemical based products, therefore you may wish to avoid commonly available face washes and body washes that come in bottles and instead use an non-perfumed and non-colored vegetable-based bar soap.
However, the damage starts generally beyond a defined threshold (or tolerance level). This tolerance level is very low for sensitive skin types, leading to skin getting damaged very easily and quickly. Sensitive skincare products either avoid the potential irritants or keep them at very low concentrations.
Here are a few tips for sensitive skincare:
- Use sensitive skincare products only (i.e. the products that are marked for sensitive skincare only). Also, check the instructions/ notes on the product to see if there are specific restrictions/warnings associated with the product).
- Even within the range of sensitive skincare products, choose the one that has minimum preservatives, coloring, and other additives
- Do not use toners. Most of them are alcohol based and are not recommended for sensitive skin.
- Wear protective gloves when doing laundry or other chemical based cleaning. If you are allergic to rubber, you can wear cotton gloves below the rubber ones.
- Another important tip for sensitive skincare is to avoid excessive exposure to sun. Apply sunscreen lotion before getting out in the sun.
- Avoiding exposure to dust and other pollutants is also important for sensitive skincare. So, cover yourself adequately before going out.
- Use hypoallergenic, noncomedogenic moisturizer as a sensitive skincare product (if there is none specifically labeled as a sensitive skincare product)
- Use detergent-free and alcohol free cleansers. Cleanse your face whenever you return from spending time outdoors.
- Do not scrub or exfoliate too hard. It can cause reddishness and even inflammation.
So, sensitive skincare is very different from the normal skincare. Sensitive skincare is more about being careful with your skin (both in terms of sensitive skincare products and protection against environments atrocities on skin).
