What to focus on first of all
For home skin care to be effective, you need to build on two key criteria. They set the right vector for the selection of the entire line of care products.
Age
Many products differ in the following age categories.
- 18–25
- 25–30
- 30–40
- 40+
Choose a product that indicates for which age category it is intended. It takes into account the peculiarities of age-related skin changes. For example, a cream of category 18–25 is light, with an airy texture, while the composition of a product in category 40+ is more intense and concentrated, and therefore costs more.
Many people think that using products of a more adult category is harmful to the skin. Allegedly, she gets used to the rich composition and for the rest of your life you will be doomed to use the means of strong concentration. However, this is only a popular misconception. If you apply a cream for the age category 40+ to your skin at the age of 25, she will only take what she needs. It is impossible to overfeed our skin, so there is no need to be afraid of addiction syndrome.
Skin type
Skin can be of one of three types.
- Dry. The pores are narrowed, almost indistinguishable, peeling is observed.
- Normal. The pores are not visible, there is no peeling.
- Bold. The pores are enlarged, rashes, comedones can be observed. Note that blackheads on the nose are not signs of oily skin.
Skin type is genetically determined and does not change over the course of a person’s life. You cannot turn dry skin into oily and oily skin into normal by a wave of a magic wand. The common term “combination skin” is a marketing ploy. If you observe both dryness and oily skin at the same time, this is a consequence of improper care. This condition occurs when the lipid barrier is disturbed. Pay attention to products with ceramides – the most important component of the lipid barrier.
Must have home care
What should be on your home dressing table? Quality home skin care does not require too many products. The main thing is that they are correctly selected.
Cleanser
Cleansing gel or foam is designed to gently remove basic dirt. The main criterion for a good product is that after using it, the skin should feel comfortable. If, after washing, there is a feeling of dryness, tightness of the skin, then you need to change the product, even if it is formally selected in accordance with the skin type and age. A feeling of tightness indicates a violation of the lipid barrier, the balance of which is very important. A suitable cleanser will never leave you feeling dry.
Tonic
The tonic is quite often neglected in home care, considering that it duplicates cleansing. This is not entirely true. The toner plays an important role in restoring the PH-balance of the skin, so its use provides a complex of proper care.
Gommage
Gentle skin cleansing is a must. Gommage is much more gentle than regular peeling, cleans the surface of the skin from dead cells. Gommage does not contain solid particles, therefore its effect is delicate and soft. You can use it once a week or two.
Hommage is sometimes called “rolling” due to the fact that it rolls up dirt and particles of dead epithelium.
Purifying mask
It complements the gommage and provides an even more thorough cleaning of the skin from dead skin cells. Such procedures, in addition to the function of cleansing, also have an activating, tonic effect.
His majesty face cream
I will express a seditious thought for marketers. It doesn’t matter if your cream is moisturizing or nourishing. A good cream will naturally do both. Agree, it’s strange to imagine a quality home skin care product that provides only hydration without nutrition and vice versa. A manufacturer with a good reputation produces products that care for the skin as much as possible. Therefore, a cream of decent quality both nourishes and moisturizes at the same time.
Day / night cream
If there is a day and night cream in the line, then you should buy both. This division was not invented in vain. The day cream has a lighter, transparent texture. It does not overload the skin and is quickly absorbed. The night remedy is always denser and more intense. If you use a night cream in the morning, and apply decorative cosmetics on top of it, this will overload the skin too: thick cream, primer, foundation, blush, concealer, powder. As a result, instead of the effect of young and fresh skin, we will get an unnatural mask.
In addition, the dense base of the night cream can give the effect of melting of decorative products and your makeup will be ruined.
Do I need a special eye cream?
If there is a cream for the skin around the eyes in the line, then you can safely purchase it. The main difference between this tool is its special, light texture. It is less saturated than the cream for the main area of the face, as the skin around the eyes is thinner and needs more delicate care.
A good option is a cream for the skin around the eyes, which contains peptides with a botulinum-like effect.
UV filters
It is imperative to protect your face from exposure to UV rays, as they are one of the most powerful factors in skin aging. If the cream you bought does not contain UV filters, then be sure to purchase an additional sun protection product with an SPF factor of at least 30.
Why do we need serum?
For women over 30 years old, it is possible and necessary to supplement the list of home care products with a special serum. It has a high concentration of active active ingredients, which is necessary for adult skin. The serum should be applied under the daily cream at night.
No matter how competent home skin care is, they alone will not be able to prolong youth. One salon procedure once a year is also not going to fix things. How to combine salon procedures and home care , I have already told in one of my interviews.
Let’s read the composition!
The composition of home care products can be read, but it is very difficult to correctly assess the information received. At the university, a whole course of lectures is devoted to the composition of cosmetics. If you have a chemistry-biological or medical education, then you have a better chance of understanding what active substances are in the complex, how they interact with each other and what effect they lead to. But in most cases, it is difficult for an ordinary buyer to assess the composition of the product.
No need to be fascinated by terms. Vitamins, retinol, hyaluronic acid are wonderful and even useful, but I advise clients to use common sense.
- Individual approach. Ask yourself – is it good for my skin? For example, retinol can cause redness and even burns if the concentration is incorrectly selected or if used incorrectly.
- In creams, it is not individual elements that work, but a complex of substances, the formulas of which you still do not recognize. Therefore, advertising phrases like: “the cream contains grape seed extract and buffalo milk” do not make sense or benefit.
Of course, you can add textbooks and learn all the secrets of cosmetology, but let’s ask a question: why did you suddenly decide to delve into such a jungle?
In my experience, interest in the composition of a cream often arises when a woman ceases to see the effect of using home skin care products. She wants to get an exact guarantee that this particular cream will turn out to be “what you need”. Trying one means, then another, and each time coming to a disappointing result, a person is looking for new approaches to the choice. For example – to thoroughly understand the composition of the cream and the mechanism of its action.
How to guarantee efficiency?
Instead of wasting time and money on endless trial and error, it is much wiser to finally go for individual recommendations from a specialist. Cosmetologists not only study at the university, but also undergo training modules and courses throughout their practice. In addition to this, be sure to attend product seminars organized by manufacturers of cosmetic products. Therefore, the recommendations of a professional will always be accurate, individual, taking into account a lot of factors that you do not even think about in everyday life.
The only way to get a guarantee of the effectiveness of care products is to sign up for a consultation with a specialist and select an individual complex of facial products.
Do not think that the beautician in the salon will only recommend expensive products. This is a misconception about our work. There are excellent funds worth about 1,000 rubles. Effective complexes are not always promoted on the market. Conversely, in many super popular brands, the most remarkable thing is the advertising campaign, not the quality of the product.
The main outcome of your visit will be a personalized care program. It will be most effective not for “millions of women around the world”, but for you – the one and only.
Read also: 7 Super Effective Tips to Remove Dark Circles Naturally
