Beginner’s Guide to Skincare 101
6 min read
Good health care starts with good skincare and the secret to good skincare is knowing all the basics. Even if you do know all the basics, knowing when to use them or which one works for your skin is essential to achieving flawless healthy skin.
Or are you someone who does tons of skincare and still doesn’t get the desired results? That is because you’re doing the whole thing wrong! You do have all the products but the knowledge of when to use them is what you’re lacking.
Read below to find a detailed beginner’s guide to skincare 101 and thank me later!
Is skincare necessary?
Healthy and nourished skin is the key to feeling confident and happy. When you are happy within your skin, you radiate confidence and attract positive vibes.
Apart from that, your skin resembles a baby – i.e it needs care, good nutrition, and protection. Adding layers of makeup every day and only rinsing your face as your whole skincare routine is a plain no-go.
Skincare is quite essential as it removes the dead skin from your face, gives it the essential oils it needs, and removes any unwanted debris. Good skin also is one of the basics of a healthy life.
One of the main reasons why not everyone can use the same skincare routine is because everyone has different skin types. Your type is predominantly identified through the amount of oil your face produces. It is also influenced by how your skin reacts to certain ingredients and external factors.
Your skin type determines the kinds of products you use and the need for certain products. Read below to find out about the five main skin types and discover which one’s yours.
- Oily skin
Oily skin is a result of Excessive sebum production from the sebaceous glands that are located under the surface of the skin. Its production keeps your skin moisturized naturally and hair healthy and shiny.
- Dry skin
Dry skin is more than often a secondary result of a health condition. T could be something serious like eczema, or something minor like diabetes. It could also be due to the weather condition, a drying product, or simply the underproduction of sebum.
- Combination skin
Combination skin, as you might’ve guessed it has both oily as well as dry parts. For example, your T-zone might be oily but in other areas like under the chin, it might be dry. Such skin calls for specialized care for specific areas.
- Normal skin
Normal skin is the ideal skin for most people, as it is neither too oily nor is it too dry. It has something to do with the perfect levels of sebum. People with normal skin can use products meant for both oily as well as dry skin.
- Sensitive skin
Skin that is more prone to inflammation and adverse reactions hence cannot handle most products is known as sensitive skin. People with this skin type are always in for a surprise as they don’t know what works for them and what doesn’t.
Basic skincare products
There are a million different products out in the stores but which works for you? Which ones do you need to spend on and which ones are just a useless ripoff? Read below to find some juicy info on some of the basic skincare products.
- Cleanser
A cleanser is a must-have product in a basic regime used to remove all pollutants and debris from the face. It helps eliminate dead cells, oil, dirt, and remove makeup from your face while having different refreshing properties.
- Exfoliator
An exfoliator is used to remove dead or dulling cells from the face through chemical or mechanical means. Mechanical means include scrubs while chemical means might involve enzymes like salicylic acid. People with dry skin should avoid exfoliation as the skin naturally exfoliates causing the dryness of the skin.
- Treatment
There are different treatments to overcome different skin problems like vitamin C to brighten skin or night creams for hyperpigmentation.
- Serum
Each serum has a different property for example some rejuvenate your skin while some are hydrating. Serums are best used just after you have cleansed and your skin is raw.
- Face oil
Face oils are the key to healthy-looking hydrated skin. People with oily skin shouldn’t avoid face oils as your skin still does need moisture.
- Sunscreen
Anyone who does skincare or even knows a bit about skincare knows that sunscreens are the sine qua non of skincare. They protect your skin from everything from harmful rays to wrinkles and dark spots.
- Moisturizer
Moisturizers are essential for any basic skincare routine as they improve skin texture and mask dry skin.
- Toner
These are lotions or simply washes that help even out your skin tone, like the name suggests, ‘tone’ your skin.
- Eye cream
Since your under-eye area is more sensitive than your overall face, it requires special care which is why eye creams have been invented. They’re special creams with micro-beads that dissolve into the area under the skin and keep it hydrated and fresh!
When to use them?
Skincare is a complicated process but to get your skin healthy and glowing, you’ve got to put in a little effort. You need to know which products should be used when and this is only possible if you learn the basic mantra.
Daytime calls for protection and preservation while nighttime is for healing and growing. In the day, you deal with a lot of dust and damage, which is why you need to prep your skin well. In the night, however, you have all the time in the world for your skin to absorb all those essential oils and rejuvenate itself.
The don’ts of skincare
Now that you know all the things you should be doing, it is important to also know all the things that you should not be doing. These are all pretty basic and you might already be doing them thinking you’re doing the right thing!
Here are some of the things you should not be doing;
- Exfoliating every day: Exfoliating every day is a mistake that people with deep-rooted blackheads and acne perform religiously. Exfoliating every day strips the skin of its natural oils, resulting in breakouts and raw skin.
- Regularly moisturizing under the eyes: The skin under the eyes is the most sensitive area of the whole face and requires utmost care. The moisturizer has large beads that cannot penetrate through the skin around the eyes which causes white spots in the long run. Eye Creams are specially designed to infiltrate the area under the eye and keep it healthy and fresh.
- Applying SPF once: Applying SPF once a day and thinking you’re all set is a rookie mistake. It comes off easily and should be applied as much as you can throughout the whole day. Dermatologists recommend applying it after every 2 hours for a good result.
- Washing your skin a dozen times a day: It might come as a surprise that you need to wash your face only twice a day. Excessive washing causes all the natural oils of your skin to strip away, as a result, your skin produces even more oil causing acne uncalled-for.
- No moisturizer for oily/acne-prone skin: One of the basic mistakes is avoiding moisturizer if you have oily or acne-prone skin. Your skin still needs to be hydrated and when not given that, it produces extra oil to compensate. This might be the cause of even more acne.
Conclusion
By now you must have a pretty good idea as to which type of skin you have and which products you should harbor. Skincare companies are indeed a ripoff and the scent of lavender and strawberries in products does cause you to overspend.
But now that you have this knowledge, healthy skin on a budget is not impossible! Take good care of your skin as well as your diet, eat lots of vegetables and fresh fruits and drink lots of water. You will have healthy skin if you start following my basic guide.
If you found my beginner’s guide to skincare 101 helpful, do let me know in the comments below.
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