Thursday, June 27, 2013

Give Your Face the Skin Care it Deserves!

A good happinesslifetime.com skin care regimen is essential if you want your face to look its best. It is the base to your makeup and no matter how great the makeup is or how skilled you are at applying it, if your skin is lacking you are not going to look your best. Think of it in terms of building a house, if your don't have a solid foundation, it doesn't matter what you build on top, it may look okay in the beginning, but over time the wearing effect will ultimately show, and so will makeup piled on unhealthy skin.

So to start your mission of healthy, glowing skin, you first need to identify your skin type as well as any problem areas. The most common types are dry, oily, normal and combination. Acne, blackheads, flaky skin, dull lifeless skin, and large pores are just a few common skin problems. So like I said before, if you want to have healthy, vibrant skin you must first get to know your skin type, otherwise you may use incorrect products treating it and end up with undesirable results. See below a quick description of the most common types.

Oily is generally characterized as having an all over shiny or in severe cases greasy appearance. A common result from this is acne.

Normal is the ideal skin type. It has the perfect amount of oil to keep the skin hydrated so it isn't dry and tight, yet isn't too oily.

Combination can have a couple of different characteristics but generally is dry to normal on the cheeks and jaw line but oily from the forehead, straight down the nose and to the chin (also known as the T-Zone.)

Dry skin can be generally characterized a peeling or flaking of the skin. It can also have an overall tight and slightly irritated feeling to it. It is often splotchy.

An absolute factor in maintaining healthy skin is to hydrate! I know, big yawn right? I'm sure you've heard this one a million times before, but seriously this is the foundation to great skin. If you take your foundation away everything will come crashing down or in this case your skin will come sagging down. Not only does water help flush out toxins and help eliminate dryness, it also helps to plump up the skin which helps fill in lines. The normal range for proper hydration is drinking 8 to 10, 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Distilled is the best because it is water at its purest. If you don't take in enough water your body will use what little you did take in for the more important functions in your body. Since vital organs take priority over your skin, your skin will be neglected unless you increase your intake of water.

Once you get hydration down, its time to start scraping away by exfoliating. Exfoliation is super important. Exfoliation is simply polishing your skin, by removing the dead skin. We all get a build up of dead skin cells on our faces; a huge build up can cause a dull, lifeless looking complexion. These pesky cells need to have some gentle assistance in coming off, simply washing your face will not remove them. There are some great scrubs that you can use once a week after washing your face. A scrub is similar to a cleanser except that it has a gritty sand-like substance mixed into it. This grittiness is what breaks away those dead skin cells. If your skin currently is suffering from a breakout, you may want to skip a gritty scrub, as this can irritate pimples, causing them to break open and potentially slow down their healing. Instead try a damp face cloth, rubbing it gently in circular motions all over your face. This will help in removing dead skin, without being as harsh as a scrub. This simple step can really get your skin glowing and improve its overall appearance.

For dry skin you want to cleanse your face with a cleansing cream. It is generally an oil-based cream that can be used to cleanse very dry or mature skin. Cold cream cleansers help replenish the moisture that your skin is missing. If you use a harsh cleanser designed for oily skin, you will actually be stripping away moisture, making your skin's condition worse. You will want to follow this with a skin freshener. A freshener is a toner that is in its mildest form, with the alcohol content usually being 4% or less. This should be followed with a hydrating moisturizer, preferably one that contains sunscreen. Once a week (providing you are not allergic to it) you may want to apply a coating of pure honey onto your face and let dry for 10-15 minutes then rinse, this is very moisturizing for dry skin.

For normal to combination skin you want to cleanse your face with a cleansing lotion. This is a water-based cleanser that will remove make up and other impurities. Next you will use a toner, which contains and alcohol content of 4-15%. Then follow with a moisturizer for normal skin.

With oily skin you really have to pay attention because one wrong product can cause a mega-breakout. You will want to use a face wash to cleanse your skin; it should be oil free and geared towards removing excess oil. If your skin is acne prone you should look for a cleanser that contains salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. This should be followed with an astringent, which contain the highest alcohol content up to 35%. Now the final step is to moisturize, I know you're thinking with oily skin that can be dangerous, but yes even your skin needs moisture. The key is finding an oil free moisturizer. Just like the other skin types you also need a sunscreen, just aim for one that's oil free.

A great add on to your happinesslifetime.com skin care routine is a weekly mask. The two most common and useful are clay and mud. Clay is perfect for oily skin. It dries up excess oil and tightens up pores. On the other hand, mud is an ideal solution for dry, mature skin. It moisturizes and helps soften the appearance of wrinkles.

Ultimately good happinesslifetime.com skin care lies in your own hands. This is just a quick overview to give you some basic knowledge to get you on your way. By treating your skin properly by its type you are allowing it to start to regenerate because it is getting the basic nourishment it needs. There are lots of other things that affect your skin, stress, pollution, diet, smoke, ect. Once you starting caring properly for your skin according to its skin type, you can then take it a more in depth level. You can start to examine more targeted treatments such as facials (these don't have to be pricey and can very easily be done at home), facial exercises and more.








Amy Turgeon is a former licensed cosmetologist that runs her own makeup blog called MakeupAndBeautyTutorials. MakeupAndBeautyTutorials contains how-to video tutorials, product reviews, beauty tips, natural beauty remedies and more!

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