Facial Skin Care Routines Are Important

Facial skin care is an important routine to healthy beautiful skin. An effective facial skin care routine has four steps.

• Cleansing
• Toning
• Exfoliating
• Moisturising

1. Cleansing is first in a facial skin care routine. Cleansing removes dust, pollutants, grease and extra oil from your skin, preventing damage. Spot your face and neck with a good cleansing lotion or cream and gently massage it into your skin using upward strokes. Use a soft face tissue or cotton wool to wipe your face in a gentle patting fashion (do not rub). Cleansing should be done at least twice a day i.e. morning (as part of complete facial skin care routine) and evening (on a stand alone basis). Water soluble cleansers are the best for inclusion in your facial skin care routine.

2. Toning is next in a facial skin care routine. However, this is the optional part of the facial skin care routine. Proper cleansing can compensate for toning, but toning helps remove all traces of dirt, grease and excess cleanser. Instead of making it part of your daily facial skin care routine, you can using toning occasionally i.e. when you have been exposed to a particularly harsh environment or pollution.

3. Exfoliation is an optional step in everyday routine for facial skin care. However, exfoliation is necessary at least once a week (or twice, depending on the skin type and the environmental conditions). Exfoliation finds its place in a facial skin care routine because of the natural tendency of skin to replenish the skin cells every 3 or 4 weeks. As a facial skin care technique, exfoliation helps in removing the dead skin cells that block the pores, assisting the skin in its natural process. However, excessive or harsh exfoliation can cause damage to your skin, so to balance it out.

4. The last thing in facial skin care is moisturizing. Moisturizing is the most important part of a facial skin care routine. Moisturizers prevent your skin from getting dry. Dry skin is undesirable as it cause the upper layer of skin to break, leading to dead skin cells. Again, use light upward strokes to make the moisturizer more effective. Moisturizers work best when applied to warm and damp skin. Do not try to remove all the moisture in the previous steps of your facial skin care routine.

Besides the normal facial skin care routine, you should also exercise the following for facial skin care:

• Use proper make-up remover instead of just washing it away
• Pay heed to your skin type and the environment, when choosing facial skin care products.
• Before you start using a new facial skin care product, test it by applying it on a short patch of skin e.g. ear lobes.
• Never rub your skin too hard.
• Use sunscreen lotions for protection against sun.

For more information visit our ‘Facial Skin Care‘ Guide