Skin Care Articles

Most experts recommend consistently following a daily skin care regimen. Such a routine does not have to be complicated or long and drawn out. It can be performed by itself or as groundwork for more advanced skin care treatments.

Typical Treatments

The most common day to day routine for skin care would consist of washing, toning, moisturizing, protection from the sun light.

Protection from UV rays (both UVA and UVB) is important for any skin care routine. A good UNA+UVB sunscreen should be applied on top of your moisturizer and other products as a final part of the regimen if sun exposure is possible. It is always best to use a single product for protection from the sun, however some people like to use cosmetics that contain sunscreen to save time.

For most people, performing the routine 2 times a day is optimal. Some patients with dry and/or sensitive skin may have better luck with once a day washing/cleansing but moisturizing 2 or more times a day. Most doctors think that the routine should contain exfoliation, but not excessively. A few times a week is more than enough for exfoliation, however some can go without any exfoliation.

The Regimen for You

The steps of the basic routine should be adjusted to fit your skin type. You should keep in mind that your skin type can change with the season, diet and age. For example, the skin can be be oilier in the summer and drier in the cold months. Menopause often brings about a change from oily or normal to dry skin. Also, a shift from a low-fat diet to one rich in certain fats (particularly essential fatty acids) may turn dry skin to normal. Although the sun can damage any skin, the pigmentation of skin makes a difference in the amount of sunscreen needed. Light skin needs more attention while dark skinned.

Progressive Cures

For most people the general regimen will not work as well so it is best to add some type of secondary medication after doing some research on well known products. For secondary products to work well with your regimen you must integrate them into the process properly. In particular, if you apply products to skin that has not been cleansed, the effectiveness of active ingredients is reduced. If you cleanse, moisturize and then apply advanced products, the penetration of active ingredients can still be reduced because the moisturizer has blocked some the pores.

You need to add secondary products between cleaning and moisturizing while the skin is almost dry to help get the maximum results.. Since many of the active treatments have moisturizers, you can usually skip a separate moisturizer whenever you apply such a product. If you feel that you need extra moisturizing, wait a few minutes for the active product to absorb, and then apply any moisturizer over it.