Your Essential Guide to an Effective Skin Care Routine

Your skin is your largest organ, and it’s one of the first things people notice when they see you. Skin loses its elasticity over the years, which can lead to wrinkles. You need to establish a skincare routine in order to maintain your skin’s appearance. It can be hard to make time for your skin every day, but it starts with developing good habits. Get started with our essential guide to an effective skin care routine.

A Brief Introduction to Your Skin

Here are some interesting facts about human skin:

1. The average human has 20+ square feet of skin and 11 miles of blood vessels.

2. Skin makes up 15% of a person’s body weight on average.

3. Human skin regenerates every 28 days.

4. Skin contains four different types of nerve receptors that allow it to feel touch and pain.

Skin Types

Before you finalize a skin care routine, it can be helpful to understand the different types of skin.

There are four different categories to consider when determining your skin type:

Oily/Dry
Sensitive/Resistant
Pigmented/Non-pigmented
Wrinkled/Tight

In most cases, your skin type is the result of genetics, but certain activities, such as smoking and excessive sunbathing, can alter your skin.

Best Practices for Skincare Routine

If you’re new to effective skincare, try this simple routine:

Step One: Cleanse (AM)

Wash your face with a face cleanser when you first wake up in the morning.

Step Two: Moisturize (AM)

After you dry off from your morning shower, apply a facial moisturizer to your face and a body moisturizer to your body. Moisturizing gets more and more important the older we get.

Step Three: Apply Sunscreen (AM)

Protect your skin with sunscreen every morning, even on days with mild or moderate sunshine. The sun’s UV rays dry out the skin, causing premature wrinkling. You can use a foundation with UV protection instead of two separate skincare products.

Step Three: Cleanse (PM)

At the end of the day, you need to wash the makeup off of your face with a makeup remover.

Step Four: Exfoliate (PM)

Exfoliating scrubs use coarse materials to scrub off the outer layer of your skin, revealing the fresh skin underneath.

Step Five: Spot Treatment Blemishes (PM)

If you have oily or acne-prone skin, you should apply an acne spot treatment onto the affected areas. For people with dry skin, be mindful not to use too much product, as it may dry out your skin even more.

Step Six: Moisturize (PM)

Finally, add more moisturizer to your skin right before you go to bed. You can apply a moisturizer after acne treatment. You don’t want to apply acne treatment after you apply moisturizer.

Best Ingredients for Effective Skin Care

When you go to the beauty store or the pharmacy to buy skin care supplies, look for the following ingredients.

Retinol

Retinol is one of the most effective ingredients for people with oily skin. Retinol will block overstimulation of your skin cells, which can lead to excess oil clogging your pores. Retinol is best used at night, as the sun can hinder its effect.

Omega Fatty Acids

Omega fatty acids can be found in fatty fish, such as tuna and salmon. It’s a natural substance already found in your skin. It is especially helpful for dry skin.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is essential to your immune system. The immune system fights illness inside of your body as well as your skin. Vitamin C can also promote collagen stimulation, which will hinder wrinkles.

Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid is a substance that allows your body to absorb as much of the water you consume as possible. Therefore, it will make your moisturizer and all other skin hydration techniques more effective.

Additional Skincare Tips

Follow these healthy skin tips on top of your new daily skincare routine.

1. Get enough sleep.

Sleep rejuvenates the body and allows it to function at its full capacity, including your skin cells. Adults should get at least 6 hours of sleep every night. Lack of sleep can lead to washed out skin and wrinkles around the eyes.

2. Consume nutrients and antioxidants.

The things you put into your body impact the exterior of your body. Eat foods with plenty of nutrients and antioxidants to give your skin the nutrients it needs.

3. Limit stress.

Stress can adversely impact your skin. If you notice yourself feeling overly stressed, take steps to relax.

4. Reduce sun exposure.

The sun not only dries out your skin, causing wrinkles, but it also leads to skin cancer. Cover yourself when you need to be outside all day. Don’t forget to reapply sunscreen every couple of hours on sunny days.