Skin care is very important and it’s necessary to develop a regime that you follow religiously, at least if you want your skin to thank you in the future. Even if you do not have problematic skin, you have to follow a certain skin care routine. Most of the times, when you have acne prone skin, while it could be genetic, it could also be due to lifestyle choices. Perhaps you’re skimping on necessary skin care steps that you should not and we are here to remind you on what you need to do for good skin. The first step is to find out your skin type because that way, you will be able to cater to the needs of your skin accordingly. That being said, here are habits you must adopt if you want to achieve good skin.
1. Never sleep with makeup on: It’s really tempting after a night out to sort of just doze off. But, your future self will thank you for adopting the habit of taking off your makeup every night before you sleep. More often than not, makeup contains harsh chemicals that may be bad for your skin and not just that, makeup clogs your pores and your skin needs to breathe. So, ladies, take off that makeup if you want to have good skin.
2. Double cleanse always: In the event you are not aware, you definitely need to cleanse your skin twice a day; in the morning and evening. While a majority of us cleanse just once, well, actually, we are supposed to cleanse twice just to make sure that all the excess oil, dirt and grim that our skin collected throughout the day is cleaned out. When cleansing, do it gently instead of vigorously and do not forget the neck – always treat the neck as though it’s a part of your face. Remember to use luke warm water to rinse your face because very hot water may leave your skin extremely dry and that’s something you want to avoid.
3. Do not forget to tone: A toner should be part of your daily skin care routine and should be used twice a day; in the morning and evening. Not only does a toner help remove the excess dirt that may have remained on your skin after cleansing, but it also helps tighten your pores while restoring its pH. Try and go for toners that are alcohol-free so that your skin is not left completely dry and moisture deprived. For beginners, you can use organic apple cider vinegar (with the mother) as a toner and it works perfectly.
4. Moisturising is a must: Once you tone, you must moisturise your skin, without forgetting the neck. Moisturise gently with the tip of your fingers, doing so in circular upward motions? You don’t want to drag your skin downwards because you’re trying to delay the appearance of wrinkles as much as possible. Truth of the matter is, you cannot avoid wrinkles (unless through surgery) as growing old is inevitable but what you can do is delay their appearance and anyone who knows a thing or two about skin care will confidently tell you that if you want your wrinkles to start appearing early, skimp on moisturiser. It’s very important not to forget your neck because that’s the first part of the body that actually tells away your age. The neck is very prone to wrinkling and you have to take equal care of it.
5. Sunscreen must not be forgotten: You may choose to have a moisturiser with SPF and if not, always apply sunscreen to block away the harmful rays of the sun. Contrary to popular belief, even with all the melanin, yes indeed, black people do need sunscreen. This is especially important for people who spend a lot of time under the sun – not only will applying sunscreen prevent skin cancer, but also prevent premature aging and wrinkling.
6. Adopt ‘once in a while’ beauty routines: These include exfoliating, to remove dead skin so that your skin can be able to take in products with ease, clay masks are especially perfect for people with oily skin as they help draw out excess oil, dirt and open up pores, face steaming, as well as DIY face masks using natural products like plain natural yogurt, honey, turmeric etc. There are a tone of face masks out there that cater to different skin types that you can try out. Some face masks help restore moisture to your skin and leave it soft, supple and rejuvenated. These routines can be done weekly or even once in a month. Think of it as giving your skin a ‘spa treatment
