Dry Facial Skin Care

When I was younger many of my friends were suffering from acne and I didn't. I had the opposite problem, dry skin. My friends thought I was lucky, but I knew better. I knew that they would likely outgrow their acne stage but I would have to deal with my dry skin for the rest of my life. Having dry facial skin presents unique challenges when it comes to finding proper skin care products. Here is some of what I've learned.


1. Be very careful of what types of soaps you use on your face. You need to find a soap that is gentle and has a moisturizer. Ideally you should use a totally organic product since, believe it or not, many store bought cosmetics including moisturizers have very harmful chemicals in them. Many of the chemicals in American made cosmetics have actually been banned from use in Europe. 


2. Limit your exposure to extreme temperatures. Too much heat and sun in the summer can be just as damaging as too much cold in the winter. Whenever you are outside in extreme conditions take care of your skin.  


In the hot summer months use sunscreen and wear hats and other protective clothing. In the cold winter months make sure to protect your skin from the biting winds by using scarves and gloves. 


3. Get plenty of exercise. It's important that you always remember that a healthy looking outside starts with a healthy inside. Exercise helps you skin in a couple of ways. For one thing it will increase blood flow which will give your skin that radiant glow that we all want to have. 


Secondly, when you sweat you are getting rid of harmful toxins in your body. By exercising,and sweating, several times a week you are preventing the buildup of these toxins.


4. Drink plenty of water. Remember, all your healthy skin care starts on the inside. If you want to keep your skin properly moisturized you need to keep your body properly hydrated. Drink about eight glasses of water every day. 


5. Find, and use, a good lotion, 'good' being the operative word. Like I mentioned above many of the products you buy at the store contain harmful chemicals. The minimum problem with them is that they simply don't work. The worst problem is that there is mounting evidence that these products can actually cause cancer. 


When looking for good skin care products try to find those that are organic. When it comes to choosing an organic product don't pay too much attention to the label, since many companies will try to make it appear their product is organic when it isn't.  


Instead pay close attention to the ingredients. That will give you a better idea of what is truly in that product. Basically, if you see something listed and you,ve never heard of it, or can't pronounce it, stay  away.


Use these tips and you can make real progress in battling your dry facial skin. Having dry skin can be challenging to deal with, but it's not impossible. 

Serious Skin Care

Serious skin care is about maintaining a healthy and glowing skin all through your life. As you grow older, your body's natural skin care mechanisms become weaker. So, serious skin care is about responding to the changing needs of your skin. Thus, serious skin care is about constantly evaluating, analysing and changing your skin care routines. Your skin care routine should change based on the environmental conditions, your age and changes in your skin type. 


Serious skin care is also about awareness. With the technological advancements and research, more and more facts are being brought to light everyday. Also, the composition and nature of skin care products seems to be changing with time. So trying out the new products is also a part of serious skin care.  However, serious skin care advises using a new product over a small patch of skin (not facial skin) first, just to see how your skin reacts to it.


Serious skin care also means knowing how to use your skin care products. Good practices include things like applying the moisturizers while the skin is damp, using upward strokes for better penetration of skin care products, removing the make up before going to bed, cleansing before moisturising or applying make up, using the correct amount of skin care products, etc. Thus, increasing the effectiveness of your skin care products is another focus area of serious skin care.


Some precautions, like avoiding contact with detergents, are also part of serious skin care. ëSerious skin care means being gentle with your skin. Things like over-exfoliation, use of low quality products, and application of strong-chemical based products, are all harmful to your skin. Some people have a wrong notion about serious skin care. For them serious skin care is - using large quantities of products as often as possible. However, this really isn't serious skin care (and that's why awareness is so important). 


Serious skin care is also about visiting your dermatologist for treatment of skin disorders. Ignoring the skin disorders can be fatal for your skin and might lead to permanent damage. So, if the things don't improve with over the counter medication, you should immediately visit a dermatologist. Self-surgery e.g. squeezing of acne/pimples is a big no (it can lead to permanent damage of your skin).


So, seriously serious skin care is more about precautions and preventive measures (than treatment). Serious skin care is about being proactive as well as reactive. In fact, we can say that serious skin care is about being proactive about the needs of your skin so that the need for being reactive is reduced to a minimum.