The one question I am asked all the time “what do I use on my skin?”
And to be honest this is great to hear because make up will only go so far. Make up is an easy quick fix to cover acne, blemish breakouts and dull skin but unless someone has a regular and healthy skin care routine it’s all for nothing. I’ve had a few situations at the moment where people have been asking about products for their skin, especially young girls and with prom season looming… There’s no better time to give you some handy hints.
First of all lets get technical… Skin naturally produces oil, it doesn’t produce water. Hence why we are urged to drink lots of water and use lotions and potions on our skin. When a skin has an excess of oil 9 times out of 10 it’s due to skin being dehydrated. In our climate of cold weather and central heating it’s no surprise! So ask yourself these questions..
1. Do I have an oily t zone or do I shine all over?
2. Does my skin feel tight without moisturiser ?
If a skin has blemishes and shines were made to think we have an oily skin… If we have flaky, sore skin we have dry skin. What if we have a blemish proned, shiny, dry skin? What if we have both? Well apparently that’s combination… a word I thoroughly hate. A combination skin is basically a dehydrated skin and is so common. Because we can not naturally produce water in the skin it goes in to overdrive. Producing excess oil to comfort the skin which causes excess oil and blemish breakouts. Skin can change so quickly especially for a women… Time of the month am I right?? So no matter whether your skin is oily or dry it is always a good idea to keep up its hydration and balance.
1. Cleaning….
Clean skin is where it all starts. If you’re skin is not clear from the daily dirt and oil that settles on the surface nothing else will make an impact. Make sure you use a cleanser that works with your skin type. There are loads of cream cleansers out there that come with cloths which make a massive difference. The exfoliating cloth gives an extra deep cleanse, opening and unclogging pores. Using water to cleanse the skin can actually have a dehydrating effect so make sure you use a cleanser that will replace this hydration. A lot of spot prone cleaners (I won’t name names but you know who you are) work by drying out excess oil causing break outs on the skin. In the long run these strip the skin leaving it totally dehydrated and dry. It’s a vicious circle, drier skin, more oil, more blemishes…. Making sense now?
Now you know I all rave about the Liz Earle hot cloth cleanser and I think for the price it’s value for money. However there are so many out there. Let’s budget….
5. Chanel Sublimage Comfort cleanser £69
4. Elemis pro-collagen cleansing balm £39.50
3. Clarinet pure melt cleansing gel £20
2. Liz Earle Hot cloth cleanser £15.50
1. Peaches and clean wash off deep puryfing cleanser £8
No these don’t go in range of most expensive is better but it just shows what a range of cleanser there are no matter what your budget!
Balancing…
There are a lot of items out there that can help balance the ph in your skin, oil levels and dryness. Masks, toners, exfoliations night oils LOADS!! Puts knowing what you need. If you have oily (and I mean oily not dehydrated 😉) these little beauties are rescue remedies…
5. Chanel tonique for oily skin £27
4. Origins spot remover £15
3. Lush Magnaminty face mask/exfoliator £9.75
2. Good things deep clean blackhead exfoliator £4.99
1. Bowl of hot water, tea tree oil, towel… See where I’m going?? £0
And for those dry skin saviours…
5. Chanel sublimage masque £145
4. Elements pro collagen marine cream £99
3. Clarins Blue Orchid oil £33
2. Garnier moisturise match for dry skin £4.99
1. Good things manuka honey scrub £4.99
stephmartistry 