We all have skin concerns that we want to remediate when setting up skincare steps. Beauty routines range from the systematically meticulous to borderline nonexistent. But the truth of the matter is, wherever you lie in the skincare spectrum, you could be making mistakes that cause your skin to age simply by washing your face incorrectly.
Skin Types
Depending on your skin type, you may need different treatment but there are basics you can follow to maintain healthy skin. These are skincare steps you can follow for the most common skin problems.
Sensitivities
Sensitivities may be caused by the weather, can depend on your health and products you apply. Some skin reactions are regular or sporadic, while others it’s all year-long. Hydrate, keep the skincare products or makeup light, avoid over-abundance to remedy sensitivities. Every night, wash products off your face. Gradually include new products before inducting them into your skincare steps. Test it on your hand to see if you react before applying it to your face.
Acne
If you’re prone to acne beware of the products you are using on your face. Various factors can cause acne, such as your health condition, stress, lack of sleep, genetics, and hormones. Small things can help diminish the production of acne such as:
- sanitizing your phone;
- cleaning makeup brushes;
- avoid putting on makeup when working out;
- taking lukewarm showers;
- not touching your face; and
- washing your face without overdoing it.
Dryness
Hydration internally is essential for dry skin to keep it nourished. Incorporate a moisturizer, hydrating serum, quick and lukewarm showers to give your skin the moisture it needs. Cleansing your face at night helps the skin hydrated while you sleep. Face masks can boost hydration as well.
Skincare Steps to Avoid
While skin treatments, injectables, and surgery can help maintain the visual appearance, your basic skincare goes a long way toward preventing premature aging. This is also important to keep in mind if you have dry, sensitive or acne-prone skin. Below are ways you could be incorrectly washing.
Too Much Toner
Facial toners are an essential but using too much toner can dry out the skin and may even lead to more sebum production as your glands attempt to overcompensate. If you find your skin feeling tight or irritated after applying toner, you may be using too much. This is especially true if you have sensitive or combination skin. Some toners come in a spray bottle, which is great for applying a light layer over the skin after cleansing. If not, simply pour a few drops of toner on a cotton pad and gently glide it across the face.
Avoid toners that have alcohol-based ingredients, such as denatured alcohol. They will dry the skin completely and remove natural oils needed to keep the skin moist and healthy.
Harsh Products
As consumers become more sophisticated, they enquire about ingredients such as retinol. They know it is super hydrating and great for the skin. What they don’t understand is that skincare needs to be sustainable, so they ask for the strongest, most active form of prescription retinoid. Retinol in less active forms will have similar effects without irritating the skin as much. This will be helpful to you as you continue using it on your skin over time.
Scrubbing Too Hard
Instead of rubbing and scrubbing your face to try to get it squeaky clean, your motions with your cleanser should be as gentle as possible. Your hands should not be doing all the work. Scrubbing the skin too harshly or with materials that add exfoliation can cause micro-tears in the skin as well as excessive elimination of essential oils which leave the skin dry.
Over Exfoliating
While gently exfoliating a few nights a week can do wonders for the skin, it’s easy to go overboard. What keeps your skin looking fresh, young, and hydrated is preserving the outer layers glow by lightly helping it shed old skin cells and moisturizing to help cell turnover. The danger is not considering your loofah or washcloth as an exfoliation tool. Even if you are only using an exfoliant a few days a week if you scrub with a harsher material daily, you’re exfoliating more than you intend. That can cause dryness, red patches, dehydration, and hyperpigmentation.
Washing With Hot Water
Though it might feel good, using hot water to cleanse your face can actually dehydrate it. Hot water can be abrasive, stripping the skin of its natural oils, leaving it dry and flaky. This can also lead to acne flare, breakouts, and skin irritation. For best results, rinse your face with lukewarm or cool water, not cold either, to help constrict blood vessels. Hot water enlarges your pores, and this can affect the oil production of the skin as well as the texture of it.
Washing More Than Twice a Day
You may be thinking, the cleaner, the better, right?! Over-washing your face can actually damage the skin’s natural protective system. It can affect how easily the environment irritates your skin, how efficiently you retain moisture, and over time, cause you to show early signs of aging such as fine lines and dry patches. If you have an activity like working out or an outdoor sport in the middle of the day, try to use a bland soap or cleanser to wash away dirt and sweat without further irritating the skin.
Forgetting The Moisturizer
The best time to apply moisturizer is after the shower or after applying toner. This will help prevent excessive dryness, and it will help to skin retain moisture. Moisturizers also come with a combination of vitamins and lipids that help the skin heal irritations, strengthen its protective functions, and look smoother and healthier.
Washing With Any Soap
People think that soap is soap and a clean face is just a clean face, but you could be damaging your skin and aging yourself by washing the face with any available hand soap. Soaps with fragrances can be especially irritating to the skin. Overall, these soaps are not made for the face, and while this may be a minimalist skincare routine, it borders on detrimental as hand soaps are dehydrating and lack many of the ingredients that optimize your skin’s complexion.
The Gist of it
You could be implementing everything you can for your skincare steps topically. However, that there are other factors that can impact skin. In the meantime, correcting your skincare steps and not overdoing it with harsh products, over-exfoliating or scrubbing too hard, washing your face more than twice, using any soap or hot water, will help ensure you keep your skin nourished. If you need additional skincare, check out what the best beauty parlor in Hyderabad has.
What skincare steps do you follow to keep your skin healthy?
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