Monthly Archives: April 2009

How To Care For Acne Prone Skin

Posted for Acne On April 23, 2009

Hi,

Acne prone skin is perhaps the most difficult to manage. One of the prime reasons for acne is oily skin. Oily skin accumulates dirt and debris more than other skin types. This clogs the skin pores and forms a breeding place for bacteria which further leads to acne.

Though, difficult to manage, taking care of acne prone skin is not impossible. Here are some tips to help keep acne at bay:

Don’t touch your face with your hands
When do you not use your hands? As you read this article, your hand might be resting on the computer mouse. During the course of the day, your hands touch so many things. It could be typing on the keyboard, opening the door or just about anything. All these surfaces are covered with bacteria and when you touch your face with your hands, you end up transferring the bacteria there. Therefore, always avoid touching your face or worse picking pimples already on your face.

Keep hair off your face
People with oily skin generally have oily hair. When oily hair falls over your face, the oil residues get transferred on the face and adds to the greasiness. Dirt, debris and excessive oil residues can clog your skin pores and accelerate acne inflammations and pimples. If there are pimples on your forehead, cheeks or chin, it might be a cause of oily hair falling onto your face.

Wash your face regularly
Ideally, it’s enough to wash your face twice a day. However, people with oily and acne prone skin should wash their face three times a day to combat excessive oiliness. Once in the morning, once in the afternoon and once at night before going to bed. Also make sure you wash your face with a lightweight oil-free cleanser.

Follow an acne skin care regimen
Following a skin care regimen is essential and people with oily and acne prone skin should make sure that they follow an acne skin care regimen. Use anti-acneic skin care products that particularly cater to oily skin types.

Do Not Stress
Acne and pimples are often consequences of how stressed you are! Stress can have a severe influence on your skin. It can promote acne inflammations and cause dark circles under the eyes. Moreover, acne can be caused by hormonal fluctuations as well. For instance, right before you have your monthly period, you might have a pimple or two.

Sleep Well
While you sleep, you skin performs its healing process. Lack of sleep means not letting the skin rest and heal. This results in acne breakouts and inflammations. Always make it a point to get at least 6-8 hours of sleep every night.

If you keep all these points in mind, acne will be kept at bay. Take care…

Bye!

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Skin Care Product Basics How Much To Use?

Posted for Skin Care On April 21, 2009

Hi,

If little is good, a lot is better! Maybe… But certainly not in the case of skin care products!

If a little drop of acne care product eliminates your pimples, slathering on a large amount won’t make your face any better… rather, it can make it worse. Skin care products should be used as directed and no way else. You should know exactly how much of your skin care products you should be using. Read on to find out…

Cleansers
Cleansers are used to remove make up.The problem is, people tend to use too much of it in order to ensure that all traces of make-up are completely gone. However, over-use of cleansers can have detrimental effects on your skin. It can cause irritation and aggravate acne and blemishes.

Always splash your face with warm water before you begin the cleansing routine. This way you can use a lesser amount of cleanser. And when you use it, just take a dime sized amount, rub it in your hands and apply it on to your face.

Moisturizers
Whether you have a large can of moisturizer or just a small travel bottle, always take a dime size amount of the moisturizer and take more if truly needed. Remember, no matter which moisturizer is used, oily skin requires less while dry skin needs more. Always warm the moisturizer between your palms before you apply it on the face. This will ensure an even application! Moisturizers should hydrate the skin and do just that and no more. If your skin feels heavy and sticky… it means you have applied a bit too much.

Facial Serum
Serums are lightweight and feel almost like water. It’s easy to apply and they get absorbed by the skin almost instantly. Take about one or one and a half pumps on your fingertips and massage it gently on your face and neck. It should be more than enough. The deal with serums is there is no tell-tale sign to indicate you are using too much. So, use them cautiously.

Eye Creams
Eye contours are very sensitive and fragileand they need to be taken care of very carefully. Even though eye creams are designed to do the same, they can have severe effects if not used correctly.

Never rub the cream under the eyes. Rather use your ring finger to pat the cream along the orbital bone and eyelid.

Now that you know how much is too much, you can use your skin care products as indicated!

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Retinol In Skin Care – How Much Is Too Much

Posted for Skin Care On April 13, 2009

Hi,

Retinols are the buzzword in the anti-aging skin care products market. A derivative of Vitamin A, it is extremely effective in reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines and healing sun damage.

Protection against sun damage? That’s what sunscreens are for!

True… But when you notice that first wrinkle on your face you know that simple prevention is not enough. In fact, anti-aging skin care should not be started only after the damage is done. Rather, it should be something that you incorporate in your daily skin care regimen now in order to keep aging signs at bay.
 
How does Retinol work?
Retinol increases the cell turnover ratio in the deeper skin layers. It prevents collagen degradation and helps the skin to actually reverse certain signs of aging.

All well… But like with everything else, Retinol should be used based on your individual skin type. Different people have different tolerance levels for Retinol. Here are some tips to follow while using Retinol based skin care products:

Always start using Retinol in smaller quantities. Start by using it sparingly and as your skin gets used to it, you can increase the frequency of application.

Retinol can become unsuitable for some people during winter because of excessive skin dryness.

Avoid using Retinol during the day. This is because it is photosensitizing as well as photodegradable. When you apply it under sunlight, the skin can get irritated and also break down the beneficial properties of the Retinol.

Ideally, use Retinol based skin care products at night so that it can perform its healing process well enough.

So, there you go. Gather all the benefits of Retnol.. just do it wisely so!

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