Facial Care Routine

So, how do you take care of your skin?? Do you have a daily regime? Believe me, if you take care of your skin, your skin will take care of you (will keep you looking good, etc for the rest of your life, ).

My recommended facial routine (and the 1 I try to follow most of the time)

Morning facial routine
1. Cleanse
2. Exfoliate (2-3 times a week) (this can be incorporated into your night routine as well if your are one of those people, like me, who tends to be running late in the morning)
3. Tone
4. Eye Serum(s)
5. Eye Cream
6. Facial serum(s)
7. Facial Cream/lotion (with minimum SPF15. I recommend SPF30)

Comments:
*Exfoliation is important for clearing off dead skin cells & keeping your skin looking bright & healthy. It is as essential to your skin care as cleansing & moisturizing...just not needed everyday.

*I will do a whole post on the importance of eye creams later, but if you aren't using eye cream (or serum) you aren't doing your eyes justice. In fact, in my opinion, you are 'abusing' them. Our eyes have no moisture glands. The only moisture they get is what we give them. This is why we wrinkle around our eyes first before other areas. Ladies/Gents, put something, anything on & around your eyes (however, don't use what you are using on the rest of your face, unless it specifically says it is made for your eyes as well)!!

*I know most of you think that taking time to add serums into your skincare routine is too time consuming. If you add both an eye serum & a face serum to your routine, it should take no more than an extra minute to your total routine and will make a huge difference in your skin. Is an extra minute a day too much to look better & stay younger looking longer? I think not :).


Nighttime facial care routine--
It is very important to remove your makeup & cleanse/moisturize at night before you sleep. This is your body's healing time. If you have makeup blocking your pores, your skin can't do it's 'healing' job properly..leaving you with skin that is less perfect than it could be. Don't you want to be the best you that you can be?? :)

1. Remove eye makeup (with designated eye makeup remover or a facial cleanser that states it is safe for eyes)
2. Remove makeup (with makeup remover..which may or may not be different from your morning cleanser)
3. Tone
4. Eye Serum(s)
5. Eye Cream
6. Facial serum(s)
7. Facial Cream/lotion (this may or may not be different than your AM moisturizer depending on your skin's needs, and what the product you are using specifies)

Weekly facial routine
*Facial mask(s)--- should be incorporated into your routine 1-3 times a week depending on the needs of your skin. oily/acne prone skin might want to deep cleanse 3 times a week, where as dry skin might want to deep cleanse once a week & deep moisturize 2-3 times a week. etc. we'll get more into masks later. There are all types of masks that do all types of things cleanse, exfoliate, firm, moisturize, relax wrinkles, etc. I love masks! They do wonders for your skin!

When using a mask, your skincare regime should look like this:

1. cleanse

2. exfoliate (exfoliation before a mask is helpful, as it clears away dead skin cells so that all products can go further into your skin cells & work more efficiently)

3. tone (yes, tone before you apply your mask...it restores your skin's pH balance and makes skin ready to accept products better

4. serum application--if you apply your serums before you mask, your mask will push them
further into your skin so that they can do more work where it's really needed.

Monthly facial routine
*Professional facial--- I highly recommend this once a month if you can afford it. While we can do our own facials at home, spas use professional strength products which work even better. They also have equipment, etc we don't have at home. (more on spa facials later). There are facials available at many different price ranges. I highly suggest finding one that you can afford...even if it's once every 6 months (however, i suggest once a month if it's not a strain on your budget).

2-4 times a year
*Glycolic peel--- This really helps your skin stay bright & glowing. There are many 'at-home' glycolic peels which work wonderfully. Some are used 10 days consecutively, others are used once a week for 6 weeks. I'll review some of my favorites later.

General Comments
*Application of all products--- Ladies & gents, your complexion does not stop at your chin. Your neck & decollate are just as important as your face. In fact, your neck has very few moisture glands. I really wish someone had told me this before I got my 1st couple of 'trunk rings'. Your decollate is where aging really shows. Ever see a woman who has a very young looking face but a very wrinkly cleavage? Our decollate needs some extra attention (this is why companies are now coming out with special products just for this area) especially considering the sun exposure it gets as well. I don't know about you, but my cleavage has been sunburned more times than i care to remember...I've always put a higher SPF on my face, but not on my decollate. I now am starting to get the sun spots on my decollate to show for it. Not pretty!

Also, your face does not end at your hairline or your ears. Sagging (and I believe wrinkles too) starts at the back. You want to extend your products into your hairline & to the back of your neck...this starts with your cleansers & ends with your moisturizers. They should get the same treatment as the rest of your face.

Ok, this is the basics.. we'll get into more detail as we go along. :)