Skincare 101 is going to be a series of posts looking at the basic components for a simple skincare regime. These are going to cover the 3 stages: cleanse, tone, moisturise.
For me when I was younger and suffering from those teenage spots, I wanted to blast my skin with drying products, the ultra strong Garnier, Clearsil and who remembers Oxy? Well the aim of the game was to dry the hell out of my spots so that they would disapper, but I never knew that they were the reason for my oily complexion and it's one vicious circle.
Sebum is the oil produced from your skin and when that traps dead skin cells spots appear. An over production of oil is due to skin dehydration, it's trying to make up for the moisture that it has lost.
Starting with a cleanser, the recommendation is to opt for a cream or oil/balm and to double cleanse at night. That means, you MUST remove your make up (step 1) and then use a cleanser (step 2). My removers of choice are the Nivea Double Effect Eye Make-Up Remover which is a bi-phase formula (one that you shake up) for my waterproof mascara and Garnier Simply Essentials Soothing Cleansing Lotion, something lovely and gentle for sensitive skin to take the bulk of my make up off.
For a cleanser, I started off with the much hyped Emma Hardie Amazing Face Lift and Sculpt Cleansing Balm (what a mouthful!) amazing product, a bit pricey at £34 but the 100ml pot lasted me the good part of 7 months and that was everyday use. It's full of natural oils to help thoroughly cleanse the skin as well as keeping you hydrated and sometimes FeelUnique have offers on. For a more purse friendly option, L'Oreal Skin Perfection 15 Second Miracle Cleansing Oil and Super Facialist By Una Brennan Rose Calming Creamy Cleanser are lovely, I'd have to say out of the two, my favourite is the latter as L'Oreal's offering is mineral oil based (a pore clogger) so you have to remove that one really well.
All of these cleansers should be removed with a damp flannel. The flannel also exfoliates the skin shifting away dead skin cells. I'd still consider my skin to be in the normal to combination category as my T-zone (forehead, nose and chin) still gets a bit shiny but it's not as bad as it was. Having a two step cleansing routine is essential if you wear make up but it isn't necessary if you haven't been wearing any during the day. Your main aim to clean your skin so that is it prepared for the rest of your skincare products and a blank canvas means that you will get the optimum effects out of your regime.
I hope this has helped, and stay tuned for the next two posts!
Thanks for reading,
Steph
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