Skin Care Articles

Doctors advocate using the same skin care routine everyday. These routines don't need to be elaborate or expensive, and can be used unaided or along with a more serious skin care treatment.

Radical Solutions

For most people the general regimen will not work as well so it is best to add some type of secondary product after doing some research on common products. However, the benefits of advanced skin care products partly depend on whether you properly integrate them with your basic routine. In particular, if you apply products to skin that has not been cleansed, the penetration of active ingredients is decreased. If you use the regimen then apply advanced products, the penetration of active ingredients can still be reduced because the moisturizer has occluded some the pores.

Common Usage

A usual skin care routine would contain the following steps: washing/cleansing, toning (optional depending on skin type), moisturizing and sun protection.

The majority of patients have the best luck with two times daily skin care, however for people with sensitive or dry skin it is recommended to use the treatment only once and moisturizing more frequently. Some dermatologists agree that exfoliation should also be part of a basic routine. However, daily exfoliation can be overkill and could possibly lead to chronic irritation in some people. Exfoliation once or twice a week is usually sufficient. People with fast natural epidermal turnover may need less or none at all.

Protection from ultraviolet light (both UVA and UVB) is important for any skin care routine. A good UNA+UVB sun block can be applied on top of your moisturizer and other products as the last step of your regimen whenever sun exposure is possible. Some people use cosmetics with added UV blockers. It is always better than no sun protection at all and it can save time. However, using a separate, specially formulated sunblock appears to be more effective.

The Routine for Your Face

Everyone has a different skin type, so the standard routine needs to be adjusted to work better with your skin. Skin can change from a many factors such as weather, diet, or age. In particular, 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 that rich in certain fats (particularly essential fatty acids) can turn dry skin to normal. Although UV rays can damage any skin, the color of skin makes a difference in the kind of sunscreen needed. Light skin needs more attention while dark skinned.

A good time to use secondary products is soon after you washed/cleansed, rinsed and slightly patted your skin with a towel, when the skin is clean, warm and still slightly moist. Since many of the active treatments have moisturizers, you can usually forego a separate product whenever you apply such a product. If you feel that you need more moisturizing, wait a few minutes for the active product to finish, and then apply your favorite moisturizer over it.