Exfoliation and Toners

Great to Exfoliate and Tone

For those of you who are learning the steps to good skin care, understanding exfoliation and toning the skin is important. For starters, exfoliating is basically the process in which the dead skin is tackled and removed with suitable products.

On the other hand, a general explanation for toning is a process of using a lotion that cleanses the skin and shrinks the pores, adequately preparing the skin for moisturizing.

While exfoliating is generally considered a part of the beauty care regimen, many believe using a toner is almost a matter of personal choice. I believe it to be an important part of your routine. Toners not only remove what the cleansers do not but also bring the skin back to its natural PH level.

If you have an oily skin and have felt good after using the toner a couple of times, then there is no reason you should not include toning as a regular part of your beauty care regimen. Similarly, if your skin has been left taut and too tight after you’ve used a toner, then try a toner for dry and sensitive skin. Not all toners are harsh.

Natural products can be harsh on the skin too. Test products first to find what is best for you.

Personal Skin Care

Personal Skin Care Routine

Personal skin care is following a routine or a procedure for attending to the needs of your skin. We all know the importance of personal skin care. Some people believe that going to beauty parlours every other day is personal skin care. Others believe that personal skin care is just a matter of applying some cream or lotion on your skin.

Personal skin care is not that complicated and neither is it that expensive when you consider the benefits. Even before you start with a routine, you need to determine your skin-type, oily, dry, sensitive, normal etc, and select the personal skin care products suitable for you. Experimenting with different skin care products is a good way to see which ones work best for you.

Cleansing

Cleansing is the first step to a good skin care routine. The three main ingredients of a cleanser are oil, water and surfactants (wetting agents). Oil and surfactants extract dirt and oil from your skin, and water then flushes it out, making your skin clean. You should always use soap-free cleansers and use lukewarm water for cleansing not hot or cold water, as this can damage your skin.

Exfoliating

Exfoliate after cleansing. Skin follows a natural maintenance process wherein it removes the dead cells and replaces them with new skin cells. Exfoliation is just a way to facilitate the skin in this process. Dead skin cells are not capable of responding to personal skin care products but still consume these products, hence preventing them from reaching the new skin cells.

Removing dead skin cells is important in order to increase the effectiveness of all personal skin care products. You only need to exfoliate 4-5 times per week for oily/normal skin and 1-2 times per week for dry/sensitive skin. Exfoliate a couple of times more in hot and humid weather as the skin dries out faster and can become flaky.

Toning

After cleansing, follow with a toner. This removes any impurities left on the skin after cleansing and restores the pH level of your skin. Depending on the cleanser you use, you could make your skin too alkaline or too acidic. Toners are very important for the balance of your skin.

Moisturizing

Moisturizing is one of the most important factors of personal skin care. Even people with oily skin need moisturizers. Moisturizers not only seal the moisture in your skin cells, but also attract moisture from the air whenever needed. Applying the moisturizer when your skin is still damp is also very beneficial.

The last thing on personal skin care routine is sunscreen. Many moisturizers come with UV protection so you can get double benefits from them. Moisturizers containing sunscreen are recommended for all kinds of days whether it is sunny or cloudy.

Finally the night time moisturizer. What a beautiful way to finish the day. Your skin can rest and absorb the beneficial soaking of beautiful rich emollients. Before applying your night moisturizer, use your cleansing routine as described above for maximum benefits for your skin.

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