Skin Care: Steps for Beginners

I’m always at my friends to have a skin care routine and hold myself back from being a bore giving long lectures when I hear they are using baby wipes to remove make up!! You know who you are! 😛
I know myself though that before I did my beauty diploma I didn’t know much about skin care routines and how important it is to have one. Also it can be overwhelming when you go to the skin care aisles in boots and you may not know where to start.
You’re skin is for life and your face is the most looked at part of your body so I think it’s important to keep it in good nick and I promise you your 60 year old self will thank you 😉 Also, good skin is the perfect base for flawless make up.

Basic rule of thumb to remember for skin care your skin care routine is Cleanse, Tone, Exfoliate & Moisturise

Step 1: Cleanse
You want to cleanse morning and night to get rid of the dirt, pollution and sebum that accumulate on your skin during the day and while you sleep. There are many different cleansers from oily ones to creamy ones to the simple cleanse off mitt (review here) just please ditch baby wipes, they don’t properly breakdown the dirt and just smear it everywhere. Also oil cleansers are perfectly fine to use on oily skin. I’ll go into more detail in another post. My favourite cleansing method at the moment is using micellar water on a cotton pad. This stuff is amazing for removing dirt and make up. I’ve done a review of it here

Step 2: Toner
Toner sounds like some muscle exercises you do to tone your face haha. Basically it’s a solution you use on a cotton pad to get rid of any excess residue of cleanser/dirt from cleansing. You want to try and get a toner that doesn’t contain alcohol as that’s an astringent and will dry out your skin. If you use micellar water you can use that as a toner after you’ve cleansed. Toners can be great too for make up free days when you need a quick freshen up esp on hot summer days.

Step 3: Exfoliate
Exfoliation is important to slough off dead skin cells that make skin flaky and dull. I used to love abrasive exfoliators but have since learned these are not great long term even though you’re skin feels good straight after. Acid exfoliators are the best, they sound harsh but they gently break apart the dead cells that are on the skin.
AHA – alpha hydroxy acid eg glycolic acid, lactic acid, citric acid. These are natural occurring acids found in fruit and milk sugars. These are best suited for dry/normal skin.
BHA – beta hydroxy acid aka salicylic acid is best used on oily/acne prone skin

Step 4: Moisturise
Moisturising is very important to restore the skins moisture after cleansing. I always recommend a moisturiser for day and one for night. During the day you want a moisturiser with an SPF to protect against the sun. In winter I use one with SPF15 and summer I use one with at least SPF30. Depending on your skin type you’ll want one for dry, oily or combination skin. I can’t stress enough how important it is to wear an SPF everyday! It prevents wrinkles and more importantly against melanoma!
During the night when you sleep your skin repair and replenishes itself so a good cream or oil will give it a helping hand. Again I like to change moisturisers depending on the season. As it’s winter and skin is prone to be more dry I like using oils/balms at night, I wake up with my skin feeling really hydrated again. Rosehip oil is a gorgeous oil a is amazing for repairing skin, I use Trilogy’s Rosehip Oil. I also like Neals Yard Remedies Everything balm. It’s a multipurpose balm and very handy to have.
For summer months at night I change…a lot…joys of a skincare junkie. But it’s usually something fairly light as I’ve oily skin.

Bonus: Face masks
Every so often you might feel your skin needs and extra boost and cleanse. Facemasks are great for that extra boost. I love mud masks the best. There’s so many to choose from so find out if you need one for oil or dry skin first and have a browse. You could also do a homemade mask made from ingredients in the kitchen, go have a look on google. Lots of uses for banana, honey, strawberries, grapes etc!

If you’re starting from scratch with skin care routine I’d suggest you take a look at Ziaja. They have natural products for all skin types and at amazing prices too so you can buy all the products you need for  very cheap. Ziaja available online here or in some pharmacies. I’ve already done a review of some of their sensitive skin care line here.

As you get more into skin care and want to try new products then you can try the more expensive brands for serums and build up your stash 😉

Hope this has made skin care a bit easier to digest and if any of you have any questions Id be more than happy to help you can find me on facebook, Twitter or email me at glittermamawishes@gmai.com

Yaz xo