Advanced Skin Care: Let's Talk About Your Routine

Advanced skin care starts with a routine - what's missing from yours? We're laying down everything you need to develop the habit of gorgeous, glowing skin.

You know that good skin care is important.

The media and your mirror tell you that every day.

Reduce lines, banish wrinkles, look years younger!

But are you sure you're getting the most from your skin care routine?

An advanced skin care routine doesn't have to be complicated: let us show you how to look your best.

What's your type?

It's important to set up a routine for your skin care. Just like creating a calendar for appointments and events, your skin needs to be part of your daily schedule.

Plus, by creating easy steps that you can follow, you won't leave anything out and your skin will get what it needs every day.

Before we get started with how to treat your skin, have you thought about what type of skin you have?

Recently thought about it?

Skin changes as we age, so it's important to make sure that you're taking care of your current skin type, not the 25-year-old you. WebMD has a concise list of skin types to use as a refresher.

What's affecting your skin?

There are a variety of things that contribute to your skin's health and appearance: 

• Diet
• Hydration
• Genetics
• Age 

Others, like environmental factors, are even less under our control. It's important to understand what you can change (like drinking more water, since your skin is the last part of your body to get hydrated) and the effects that you can only mitigate (like the air quality in your city).

Makeup removers

Now that you've figured out your skin type, it's time to look at how you're preparing your skin for cleansing.

Simply rinsing with water isn't a cleansing routine, nor will it remove much (if any) of your makeup. The long-lasting, stay-put formulas wouldn't be worth much if you could just rinse them away, right?

And, not all cleansers are designed to remove makeup, which means it might be up to you to do that first.

Make sure you're also using a gentle remover for your eye makeup.

Cleanse

Cleansing is one of the most important steps in your skin care routine:

• Too little, you're leaving dirt and oils behind that can cause your skin to break out, or to look dull and lifeless.
• Too much, and you can cause dry patches or redness.

•      You want the one that's just right: a cleanser that leaves your skin feeling clean, but not squeaky and tight.

Take a little time

Read the labels of new products carefully. Knowing that you have oily skin may not make an oil-based product your best choice.

One important thing to remember, especially if you are switching to a new cleanser: your skin may take a little time to adjust to the new products.

Though things like burning or itching may indicate more than just an adjustment period irritation; watch for those signs and discontinue using new products until you can figure out the culprit.

Lukewarm is best

You might splash cold water on your face to wake up in the morning, but be careful!

Extreme water temps, either hot or cold, can burst small capillaries in your skin.

Using lukewarm water will help you put your best face forward.

Exfoliate

You want to remove dead skin and residues to reveal glowing, gorgeous skin - but do it gently!

This is a step that's often overlooked or skipped but is important for advanced skin care, to keep your skin looking fresh and supple.

As we age, cell turnover slows down and can result in dull, lifeless skin. Exfoliation helps by removing that layer of buildup.

Typically, you only want to exfoliate once, maybe twice a week at most. It's best to start with the minimum, and then add an extra day after your skin has adjusted to the new routine.

Moisturize

Picking the right moisturizer for your skin type is crucial.

While it may seem counterintuitive to add a moisturizer to oily skin, you might need something to help balance your skin throughout the day.

Moisturizers also contain another important ingredient: sunscreen.

While you may not feel like you spend much time outdoors during a typical workday, it counts anytime the sun hits your face, even on cloudy days.

When UV rays hit your skin, free radicals are created on a cellular level: this is oxidation, a similar process to when an avocado turns brown after you cut it.

UV rays can cause up to 90% of the visible signs of aging!

Give your  skin the protection it needs with the proper moisturizer.

Treatments

You've cleansed, exfoliated and moisturized your skin. Congratulations, you're well on your way to showing the world your best you.

Congratulations, you're well on your way to showing the world your best you.

There are a few more things you can do to maximize your routine, to really make it advanced skin care.

Day vs night

Ever thought about where the phrase, "get your beauty sleep" came from?

Like the rest of your body, your skin takes advantage of your night's rest to repair and refresh.

While daytime moisturizers include things like sunscreen, you don't likely need that in your bed.

Nighttime products often contain antioxidants, to help slow down and repair the damage free radicals may be causing to your skin.

There are a range of nighttime products available, from gels to rich creams to thicker balm-style creams.

Skin whitening cream

Damage from free radicals, combined with leaving dead skin cells behind if you're not exfoliating leaves your skin looking dull and lifeless. With a good exfoliator, you're half way there.

Did you know that Vitamin C isn't just for orange juice anymore?

It can also help brighten and lighten your skin, by protecting against sun damage and helping to neutralize free radicals.

Anti-aging skin care

While there's no single magic bullet in skin care, there are products that can help halt and sometimes even reverse the damage to your skin.

Serums contain the most potent doses of things like anti-oxidants and skin brighteners, all in a non-prescription product. They eliminate base ingredients like oils, which can make them a great choice for oily skin.

Taking out the excess fluids leaves you with a light, fast-absorbing product, perfect as the last step in your nighttime skin care routine.

Your skin at its best

Just like there are a variety of skin care products, there is an infinite variety of skin types. While there are broad categories, no one knows your skin better than you.

At Swiss Botany, we have a range of natural skin care options. 

Let us help you find the advanced skin care that's right for you.