Skin Care Tips

Keep Your Skin Clean
Washing your face in the morning removes the waste products that build up in your pores as you sleep. These are normally internal and external toxins, sebum, and sweat. The same occurs during the day. So be sure to wash in the evening as well. Washing also helps remove makeup residues that may irritate the skin. Washing also prepares your skin for the application of moisturizers and sunscreens. Putting fresh skin products on dirty skin merely traps the dirt and dead skin cells and leads to clogged pores.

If you suffer from acne, NEVER go to sleep without washing your face. Sleeping with dirty skin encourages acne growth.

Tone Your Skin
In the early days, the purpose of toning was to balance and give the skin back pH. Now, toners are sometimes humectants also. The purpose of humectants is to make moisturizers work better by binding moisture to the skin. The best toners will also have vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, that help to give your skin further protection. There are several methods for applying toner. It can be splashed on, applied with a cotton pad, or sprayed on.

Moisturize Your Skin
A good moisturizer helps keep your skin moist, and protected throughout the day. It protects the skin, and allows it to feel hydrated and not tight or dry. Be careful in choosing a moisturizer. If is gives you irritation, a rash, or redness, stop using it immediately and switch to one that has different ingredients. Lighter lotions usually contain humectants such as urea, hyaluronic acid, glycerin, or sorbitol that work by attracting water molecules to the skin. Heavier moisturizers contain ingredients such as shea butter, petrolatum, and mineral oil that soften the skin and also add a protective layer.

Do your best to select cleansers, toners, and moisturizers from the same line. More often than not they designed to be used together to give you better results.

Wear Sunscreen Every Day
Try to use a sunscreen that has an SPF of 15 or higher. You can use a moisturizer or foundation, with sunscreen. Suncreen is absorbed by the skin over a two to three hour period and need to be reapplied periodically throughout the day. Sunscreens use chemicals to prevent the sun from being able to penetrate and avoid skin damage. Make sure to cover the entire area of you face with a generous amount of sunscreen, including your neck. Be sure you have sun protection on all day long, not just when you are out in the sun. Almost eighty percent of skin damage is caused by sun exposure while you are driving, walking into a building, or just about anywhere outside.

Specialists believe that many adult skin cancers are caused by by lack of sun protection as children. Just one serious sunburn as a child can cause skin cancer 20 to 30 years later. Always be sure to use an SPF 15 or higher, on children everyday. Look for one that contains bith UVA and UVB protection