We are so busy with our lives that we forget that taking care of our skin is as important as eating or taking shower every day. Following a skin care regimen shouldn't be time consuming and simple tips and tricks can help you improve your skin care game. Here's how.
We all live on the same planet, same cities, same localities and still find only a few of us taking care of our skin. We all want to look beautiful and want our skin to look radiant and glowing all the time but we are somewhere not ready to take some time out of our busy schedules and look at our skin closely and realize that it needs us as much as we need our skin!
In India, we have extreme weather conditions. If it is summer then it will be really hot that you literally feel you might burn, and if its winters then literally a feeling of sitting inside a freezer.
Things are different in the western countries as they do have a more moderated climate. So people in India need to be more careful about their skin and should follow a skin care regimen suitable for your skin.
A simple skin care routine will only take you 20 minutes and is as easy as doing an everyday task.
Here are a few simple and basic steps that you need to follow:
1. Cleansing
It sounds fancy but yes it is simply washing your face with a good foam based or gel-based face cleanser with a balanced ph-value, which simply means that it should not leave your face dry or overly moisturized. In India, people have skin types of all kinds. From oily to dry skin textures can be found in this beautiful country. So please make sure that the face wash you are using is according to your skin type.
How? Well it's simple. As soon as you wake up in the morning, just grab a tissue and press it against your face.
If you see oil in most parts of your face then you have an oily skin type.
If there is oil in forehead and/or nose and other areas are dry then you have combination skin type.
However, if you see less to no oil then you are the few rare ones to have a normal to dry skin.
Sometimes we classify ourselves as sensitive skin type as well which is an incorrect label to put. A skin type could be normal, oily, combination or dry but a sensitive skin is not a type, it is what it is - a sensitive skin. Now, sensitivity could be due to hard water, prolonged sun exposure, bugs or insects and sometimes to food like dairy and eggs.
There are different products specially for a sensitive skin. Our advise would be to use a mild cleanser with little to no alcohol/acid in its ingredients. Scentio Milk Plus Whitening Q10 Facial Foam has been customer's favourite for all skin types. Ah yes! Anything that says 'good for all skin types' would be good for a sensitive skin as it is gentle. But again, we encourage you to read the label carefully.
How often to do? Twice a day
Cleansing helps to remove the impurities and open the pores.
2. a) Exfoliation
Now that your pores are open, it is the best time to exfoliate. We cannot see them with our bare eyes but they are there, yes we are talking about dead skin cells. It is important to remove them in order to let the skin rejuvenate and repair itself. This can be done using face and body scrubs.
Exfoliating is basically the removal of dead skin cells and preparing the skin to repair itself and generate new skin cells. You can exfoliate your face and body both. Exfoliation can go wrong in so many different ways but one mistake which you could probably end up doing is buying a cheap or a harsh scrub.
Let us elaborate on the above statement.
We go to a local drug store and ask for 'so and so' face scrub not knowing what is it made of, why would (should) it work on you or why should you buy it even.
Let's tell you what you should look for in a scrub and how you can ensure that it would be the best face exfoliator or face scrub for you WITHOUT TRYING IT first.
Videos! Yes, specially how-to videos. Any good beauty brand will have a how-to video of the product.
Head to youtube and search for your product. Now watch the video carefully and look for
- The product texture shown
- Benefits mentioned
- Ingredients mentioned
- How-to use the product
Now head back to the product on the website and read the ingredients. Google a few if you have to.
All this research, why? We told you in the beginning that exfoliation can go wrong at so many levels but the biggest mistake you would be making is picking the wrong scrub for you.
A face scrub should be
- Gentle, soft and gel like (if possible) in nature
- It should remove the dead skin and give you a smooth skin in return
- One application is enough for you to decide whether it's the one or not.
Scentio Skin Refining & Whitening Scrub is everything we have mentioned and the results are INSTANT. An organic blend, this scrub doesn't even require water to remove it!
How often to do? This step should be done only twice a week and not on a regular basis!
Exfoliation helps to remove the dead skin from the pores.
2. b) Masking
Your pores are still open so you can easily slip this highly nourishing step in between.
There are 3 kinds of masks available:
Gel based - for cooling effect. These are typically overnight masks. Some are one application, remove in 10 minutes kind of masks.
Quick tip - Overnight mask is your best bet if you are just starting out. The fuss-free leave-in mask is to be applied after cleansing (and exfoliation if it's 'scrub day'), applied and to be washed off the next morning. Try the best seller Scentio Tomato Lycopene Overnight Mask to get started.
Cream based - for a calming effect. These give you instant hydration.
Sheet Masks - a current obsession, sheet masks are being sold like vegetables. People are going crazy over it and rightly so, they are travel-friendly, require least of effort and give fairly good amount of results. Here are 7 Reasons Why You Should Use Sheet Masks.
How often to do? 3-4 times a week
3. Toning
After the first simple step now let's move on to something called toning! It is done in order to keep the skin tight and reduces fine lines and wrinkles. It helps in minimizing skin pores too. Wrinkles and fine lines are very common problems specially if you go out a lot (sun exposure is the main cause of ageing). So this makes toning a very important part of this routine. A good toner like Scentio Milk Plus Bright & White Serum would seal the deal.
How often to do? Every time you wash your face.
4. Moisturizing
This helps the skin to stay hydrated and less oil is produced by the skin if you have applied a good quality of face moisturizer. It reduces the visibility of blemishes and gives your skin an even tone too. Go for a moisturizer even if your skin is oily as oily skin needs moisturization too.
How often to do? Every time you wash your face.
5. Sunscreen
If you are following this routine in the morning then apply a good amount of sunscreen before you move out because UV rays are never good for the skin and you should completely avoid going out in the sun without applying a good amount of SPF protection over your skin. Sunscreen can be applied both on the face and body.
How often to do? Every time you wash your face & moisturize.
So, there you have it, simple yet effective skin care routine. This is the most common way to treat your skin good and if you follow just this, we are pretty sure that a good and healthy skin is on your way!