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You are never too young or too old to start taking care of your skin. In fact, skin care and protection should be an essential part of your health, fitness, and beauty regime. If you take care of your skin, your skin will take care of you! With all of the lotions, creams, oils, treatments, and serums on the market, it may be difficult to know which product will work for your skin and which ones you need to be using. Many products make many claims, but are these all accurate? Are these the correct products for your skin type? Here is a guide to the basic skin care products on the market and how you can identify which product will work best for you. We will be reviewing only a few types in this blog. The other products will be continued in our upcoming blog
A Look at the Products
There are several types of skin care products that may make a useful additional to your daily skin care. These include cleansers, sunscreens, moisturizers, eye creams, toners / essences, exfoliants, masks, treatments, retinoids and many others.
Before we discuss the products, it is best to know your skin type.
Skin Type Basics:
- Dry Skin: You can feel when your skin is dry and tight, sometimes there maybe flakes on your face as well. Fine lines are more prominent especially around your eyes, and lip area. For this type of skin, it is suggested to use moisture rich products, including oils and serums. You want to smooth these fine lines & potential wrinkles.
- Normal/ Combination Skin: Your skin is not overly dry or oily. There are times you may experience oiliness in the T zone, or even dryness on your cheeks, and around your eyes. A good skin care routine is needed. The correct cleanser and moisturizer are a MUST!!
- Oily Skin: Your skin may appear shiny at times. Your facial pores are more visible and your face may be prone to blemishes. It is VERY IMPORTANT to note that oily skin may also be sensitive skin. That means it is important to avoid harsh products which claim to dry out the oiliness.
This just presents further problems down the line.
- Sensitive Skin: This is characterized with delicate skin and fine pores. The skin is easily irritated and can be prone to redness. There are reasons why skin may be sensitive, such as: genetics ( yes, it just may be your mother’s fault), a reaction to a poor diet ( fried, greasy food), changes in both the weather and your hormones ( notice your skin changing at different times of the month). Some cosmetic products, or even using the incorrect skin products can produce sensitivity. The important issue with this skin type is to use gentle and soothing products to relieve the symptoms and perhaps the irritation. We are noticing a lot of this now with people wearing the facial masks daily.
This creates a new category we call MaskNe
Sunscreen:
Sunscreen is an essential product for the care and protection of our skin. While it is true that some exposure to sunshine is necessary for the body to synthesize vitamin D, do you really need the sunshine for this? Research has found that sun exposure can cause changes in the skin cells leading to damages which can develop brown spots, skin cancer, dry skin and premature wrinkles. It doesn’t matter if your skin is fair, medium or dark. The fact is the rays if the sun will damage the skin. The number one reason of skin aging has been identified as sun damage!! Prevent sun damages and lower your risk of developing skin issues by applying a liberal amount of sunscreen with at least a SPF 30. Just because there is no sunshine does not mean there is no UVA/UVB rays. You may feel that if you are not outside you do not need any spf? WRONG! A window actually amplifies the rays of the sun. Are you aware that the snow reflects the sun rays more then the sand at the beach? For those that are doing activities in the sun, remember to also consider wind burn as well.
Another essential part of the sunscreen is the ingredients it contains. Mineral sunscreens help prevent sun damage, just like traditional sunscreens, but they do so using physical blockers like zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide. These ingredients work by reflecting the sun off your skin, as opposed to absorbing and transforming harmful rays on the skin as chemical sunscreens containing the likes of oxybenzone, avobenzone and homovalvate do.
Always try to find a sunscreen that contains Zinc and/ or titanium dioxide. Just because a sunscreen may claim it is safe for babies, does not make it the correct choice for either you or your child.
Now a new consideration of a sunscreen is if it is Reef Friendly. Many states and counties will not allow a sunscreen to be used unless it complies with the proper ingredients (such as Hawaii, parts of CA & FL), the list keeps growing. There are some excellent Reef Friendly sunscreens on the market, https://complexionbydesign.com carry a few of them. The ones we like are Tizo Mineral Sunscreen, PCA Sheer Tint Broad Spectrum SPF40, and others by Eminence Organic Skin Care, and Sorella Apothecary. Send us an email and one of our professionals will be happy to work with you.
Cleansers:
Cleansers help to remove dirt, debris, pollutants and perspiration that accumulate on your skin throughout the day. These cleansers may come in liquid, creamy, foam, oil, or bar form.
There are a variety of cleansers on the market that deliver results to different skin types.
Cleaners should be applied to the face in a circular motion, making sure you cover the entire face. Remove from your face with a gentle cloth, or your hands. Make sure to rinse the cleanser off thoroughly.
Currently with the use of facial masks it is an excellent idea that you double cleanse your face.
Another type of cleanser would be face wipes and cleansing water as well. These can be used without water and keeps your face clean & removes debris during the day.
Toners & Essences:
These are to be used after a cleanser, They are designed to balance the skin’s natural pH. Many help to relax and nourish the skin and to leave it glowing. They should be used before a moisturizer, treatment, or a serum. If you notice that your skin becomes dry, or flakey, it may be that the product you are using contains alcohol. We highly suggest avoiding these types of toners
What is an Essence? It hydrates and soothes your skin. The Essence was actually first seen in the Japanese and Korean skin care products. It replenishes, detoxifies and purifies your skin. They help to restore the barrier function of your skin, which allows your skin to better absorb & retain your next products. We feature the Newest one by Eminence Organic Skin, which is Birch Water Purifying Essence.
Identifying the Ingredients Label
You may be wondering why skin care products come with such a confusing labeling system. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)receives many requests each year to decipher the language of cosmetic and personal care product labels. But while the FDA empathize with consumers, there really is no way to change the labeling and keep the information accurate. The ingredients need to be listed by the chemical names because it is essentially what they are. Even though a product may be marketed by its trade name, the labeled name will provide little clue as to identify its ingredients. But despite the technical language of the personal care product’s label, it is possible to glean some useful information. Ingredient labeling must be listed in sequence based on how much is included in the formula. As a consumer, you can compare similar products by seeing where a particular ingredient falls on the list. For instance, if you have sensitive skin, you may want to avoid products that has alcohol listed as its first ingredient verse having alcohol listed as one of the last ingredients.
Nourishing our skin daily is as important as taking care of our health. So, the next time you’re up for skin care products, be sure to look at the ingredient
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