How To Begin Your Skincare Journey

Skin is the largest organ of human body. Like all the other parts of our body, Skin also needs to be taken care of. By following a skin care routine, your skin appearance can be enhanced and skin conditions can be relieved. By following simple and basic steps like cleansing, toning and moisturizing, you can improve the skin health and texture. Problems like acne, acne scars and dark patches or spots can also be taken care of by following a proper skin care regime.

The first step that should be taken towards improving the skin should be knowing your skin. A beginner should first devote time to understand their skin and discovering their skin type.

How To Know Your Skin Type?

For knowing your skin type, you can do a simple exercise that shows the amount of sebum produced by your skin. This is a very effective method.

1. Wash your face with a regular face wash and pat dry your skin. Then wait for 30 minutes.

2. Keep a blotting paper on your face and press it gently on the different areas like the fore head, chin, nose and cheeks.

3. Check the transparency of the blotting paper in light.

Conclusion-

-If the paper is not transparent and is flaky and you feel your skin to be tight and stretched, then you have dry skin.

-You are an oily skin type, if the paper is soaked in oil and you have a shine on your face.

-You are most likely to be a combination skin type, if the paper has different transparency in different regions of the paper.

-If the paper is not too oily and is not even flaky, then you have normal skin. (Lucky you!)

Along with one of these skin types, you can have sensitive skin and it depends on the following things-

· How fast products get absorbed in your skin.

· How often your skin turns red.

· Whether your skin react to various products.

· How often you suffer from skin allergies and rashes.

Once you have discovered your skin type, you are good to go!

Always remember “Less is more”.

A Basic Skin Care Routine Consists Of-

Cleansing- Cleaning the pores and taking out all the dust and dirt out of the skin. You should use a good face wash that is suitable for a your skin that doesn’t strip your skin and maintain your moisture barrier.
For cleansing, people with oily skin should use a foaming facewash, People with dry should use a cream or oil based soap free cleanser that does not lather very much.

Toning- A toner helps in maintaining the pH of your skin. It is the first level of hydration in the skin care routine. A toner also helps to shrink up your face pores and control your sebum production. Gently tap the toner into your skin instead of rubbing it. Tapping the toner into the skin helps in better absorption of the product. Wait for 30 seconds to let the toner get absorb and then move forward.

Moisturizing- A moisturizer provides hydration to the skin and locks it’s moisture in the skin to keep it hydrated. It aids in your skin rejuvenation. It helps prevent skin issues including excessive dryness and oiliness that lead to acne. This is a crucial step in the routine and you should never skip it as it maintains the natural water barrier of the skin.

Sunscreen- Use a sunscreen in the day as it is the most important step in the morning time. It protects the skin from the harmful UV rays of the sun that can lead to various problems like premature ageing, dark patches etc. You should use a sunscreen in appropriate amount i.e. a coin sized amount and apply it all over your face and neck. Apply the sunscreen to all the exposed areas of your body, 15 minutes prior to getting outdoors.

Do incorporate these steps in your skin care routine and let us know how it worked for you!