Skin Care 101

This thoroughly exaustive post is meant to complement the skin care video that I put up on my youtube channel. You can check that out by clicking here!

This is going to be quite a long (somewhat text book style) post because I am VERY passionate about skin care! This post should give a bit more in-depth information about skin care products and their uses for those of you who are interested! So lets get started!

The first thing that I wanted to mention was that I switched to an all-natural skin care regimen about 4 months ago and it is working wonders for my skin! Although I do not suffer from acne, I have always had issues with sensitivity, redness, and irritation. Since eliminating all of the products containing irritating (and potentially carcinogenic) ingredients from my skin care regimen I have seen a great improvement! Some of the things that I try to avoid include parabens, pthalates, sulfates and petroleum by-products.

Now, moving on to the actual skin care products and why they are important:

Cleanser removes dirt and impurities from the face and prevents clogged pores. I recommend using a milky cleanser if you have dry skin or a foaming cleanser if you have oily skin.

Toner restores the skin's ideal pH. Cleanser is basic but the skin functions best at an acidic pH of about 4.5-5.5. Toner converts the skin's pH back to its ideal acidic pH. It also removes any residue left behind from cleansing and reduces pores. Toner should not be applied to the eye area. I also recommend avoiding toners that contain large amounts of alcohol or witch hazel as these are very harsh/drying on the skin.

Moisturizer helps to hydrate the skin. If you have dry skin try a moisturizer that has more moisturizing properties but if you have oily skin look for an oil-free moisturizer. I recommend using a thinner moisturizer for the day time and a richer moisturizer for overnight.

Eye cream moisturizes the delicate eye area. Eye creams often contain anti-aging or brightening ingredients in them. I like to use an eye cream at night for moisture and an eye gel in the day under my makeup. It is actually necessary to wear eye cream in addition to regular facial moisturizer because the molecules in facial moisturizer are too large to be absorbed by the skin in the eye area.

Sunscreen is very important! If you want more info about sun protection, check out the post I did a while back.

Exfoliators/scrubs remove any dead skin cells from the surface of the skin. They can improve the complexion, making it smoother and brighter looking. Avoid exfoliators that are too rough as they can damage or irritate the skin. I recommend using exfoliators with microbeads in them, as they do the job but they aren't too harsh!

There are many different types of facial masks available, including moisturizing masks, clarifying masks, and exfoliating masks. I like to use masks containing clay, as the clay extracts your pores by sucking all the stuff out of them. Sounds gross but it works!

Acne treatments often contain salicylic or benzoic acid to kill acne-causing bacteria.

Serums usually contain high concentrations of anti-aging ingredients or vitamins to nourish the skin. I don't think that serums are necessary for everybody (I don't use one!) but they can be useful if you are having issues with your skin or if you want to fight wrinkles!

I know that was very long but I hope it was helpful! Check out my skin care video as well for my product recommendations and skin care routine! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!

xoxo, Caitlin