Here are some procedures which help in caring your skin :
Cleansing
This is top priority if you want to have good skin.
A quick cleanse in the morning (to remove toxins that have reached the surface via the sweat glands) and a thorough cleanse at night are important for every skin type. Soap doesn’t remove make-up and can be drying, so use soap-free cleansing bars, or wash-off or wipe-off cleansing creams instead. Toner, or freshner, removes the last traces of dirt and excess cleanser. Some toners contain alcohol to remove excess oil, but alcohol-free toners are a better choice. Toner containing alcohol can be drying and should be diluted even for oily skins.
Removing eye make-up
Dab a little eye make-up remover on to two cotton wool pads. Never use tissue on eyes.
Using one pad for each eye ( to avoid the spread of infection), hold it against your lashes for a few seconds to dissolve the make-up.
Supporting the skin by placing the fingers of your opposite hand on your brow, stroke in towards your nose and down from your eyebrow. Don’t move the pad up and out as you will pull the skin in the wrong direction.
Using wipe-off cleanser
Warm the cleanser in your hands so that it doesn’t go on cold.
Smooth it over your face with your whole hand, starting at the neck and working up and out.
Place your thumbs under your chin and work the cleanser in little circles with your index fingers around your nose and chin.
Remove the cleanser by wiping it off gently with a soft tissue or a piece of cotton wool.
Using wash-off cleanser
Dampen the skin with warm water and use the same movements given above to apply the cleanser.
Rinse the cleanser off very thoroughly with comfortable warm running water. Water that is too hot will dehydrate the skin and causes broken capillaries.
Pat your face dry with a tissue or a clean towel.
Using Toner
Sweep the toner on to your face with a cotton wool pad, moving up and out, avoiding the eye area.
Blot your skin dry with a tissue.
Moisturizing
Moisturizing are formulated to tackle different skin problems.
Creams help balance drier skin, while lotions and emulsions are designed for normal to oily complexions. Innovative, featherweight formulations are the latest trend—containing high-powered hydrating ingredients, they are suitable for every skin type, except very dry.
Oil-free and gel moisturizers are perfect for oily complexions. Anti-ageing ingredients, such as ultraviolet filters, and nutrients, such as vitamins, are often added to moisturizers and serums to help protect the skin.
Night creams are useful from the age of twenty-five, especially for dry skins, but avoid very heavy creams as these can result in puffiness.
Moisturizing the very delicate skin, surrounding the eyes, calls for special products. Your usual moisturizer may cause puffiness and stretch the skin. Eye gel is refreshing in the morning, and a little eye cream will strengthen the tissues at night. Pat on either, using the third and fourth fingers, tapping quickly but gently.
Your usual moisturizer is fine for your neck.
Quick Skin-care for Various
Types of Skin
Select your type of skin from the following list and devote every day just five minutes to make your skin healthy and glowing.
Normal skin
One hundred percent normal skin is a rare blessing.
It is smooth textured with no visible pores.
It shows no signs of dryness in youth.
It has an even tone that is not too pale, sallow or red.
It will tend towards dryness with age and as a result of external influences.
Morning
Cleanse using a wipe-off or wash-off cleanser for normal-to-dry skin.
Tone using alcohol-free toner on a water-moistened cotton ball.
Hydrate with a moisturizer for normal skin.
Evening
Remove your eye make-up first, then cleanse, as above, but more thoroughly.
Apply moisturizer or a lightweight night lotion.
Dry skin (Evening)
Remove your eye make-up, then cleanse as above, but more thoroughly.
Apply moisturizer just where needed.
Sensitive skin
Looks fragile and translucent.
It is generally dry.
It may have freckles.
It tends to become flushed, blotchy and irritated in extremes of temperature or through using harsh cleansing products.
It may suffer from broken red veins, dermatitis, allergies.
5-minute skin-care : Follow the programme for dry skin.
Special tips
Look for hypoallergenic products that are scentfree.
Before trying a new product do a patch test. Rub a good amount on to your shoulder and leave it one overnight. If there is no sign or irritation, apply some to your neck and wait again. If there is no reaction, then the product will probably be safe to use on your face.
Black skin
Tends towards extremes of oiliness or dryness which can be a real problem, since these conditions are more visible against a darker complexion. Dry black skin may appear greyish in colour.
It needs very gentle care as face scrubs, spots, ear piercing and hair removal can make the supply of melanin uneven, leading to skin that is darker or lighter in some places than others.
5-minute skin-care : Follow the programme for dry or oily skins.
Special tips
If your skin is sensitive, use toners that do not contain alcohol, and choose fragrance-free products.
If flaky, grey-looking skin is a problem, gently use a flannel to slough the skin, or use a peel-off mask.
Olive skin
It tends towards oiliness and often has larger pores.
Any sallowness is due to lack of pink pigment.
5-minute skin-care : Follow the programme for oily skins.
A mixture of skin types
Skin may develop the characteristic of several skin types as a result of incorrect treatment and environmental skin hazards. For example :
An oily, spotty skin can also suffer from the dry skin problems of fine surface lines and flaking, it you work in an over-heated office, perhaps smoke or eat a poor diet, or use harsh and abrasive cleaners (over-enthusiastic scrubbing with anti-bacterial products can aggravate oily skin and dry the surface).
Fast Skin Stimulants
Get your skin glowing with fast and easy treatments you can do at home.
Exfoliation
Exfoliators, or skin sloughers, are speedy skin improvers. By removing the dead cells from the surface of the skin, face ‘scrubs’ make your skin smoother and brighter in seconds. They also help skin that is prone to spots, stay clearer and increase the cell turnover so the skin looks younger for longer.
It is important to choose a product that is very gentle so that the dermis do not scratch the skin.
Tips for using an exfoliator
Use a facial scrub on cleansed, damp skin.
Rest your thumb against your skin (this ensures that you don’t use the full power of your arm) and use very light, circular movements.
Never rub your skin until it changes colour and do not use exfoliators near your eyes.
If your skin is fair, sensitive or very fine, use a gentler peel-off mask, instead of a facial scrub to lift away dead cells and revitalize your complexion.
Exfoliation is very useful for black skin, which can look ashen in colour, but a peel-off mask is better than a face scrub, as black skin is vulnerable to changes in pigmentation and face scrubs can trigger this, if too abrasive.
Although facial scrubs help prevent your skin breaking out in spots, do not use them if your skin is already inflamed or infected, as you may spread the infection. This is true for the body too.
Marvellous masks
Masks are a really good way to glaze up skin, in no time at all.
Cleansing masks, which often contain clay or fruit, absorb excess oils. The enzymes in fruits such as papaya have a deep-cleansing action and leave the skin glowing.
Moisturizing masks give drier skin a real boost, smoothing out fine lines and refreshing the face. Some moisturizing masks also contain toning and firming ingredients, such as seaweed, herbs and aromatherapy oils and are excellent as complexion-improvers before a party or after a late night.
Steaming
Steaming is an effective way of cleansing the skin. You can add herbs, such as soothing camomile if you have sensitive skin or skin that is prone to broken capillaries. However, specialists recommend that you do not cleanse with steam.
Tips for steaming
Cleanse your skin first.
Pour water that is almost boiling into a bowl and lean over the steam. Draping a towel over your head and the bowl will prevent steam escaping.
Be very careful not to get too close to the water (stay 30 cm, 12 or so away). Do not steam for more than a few minutes.
Apply a cleansing mask afterwards, while your skin is still warm, or cleanse your skin again and massage moisturizer into it.
