Easy Tips For Healthy Skin

I've said it before and I will say it a million times, spending a fortune on skin care is unnecessary. It's tempting when we walk into a spa and see all the pretty shiny boxes and bottles lined up to think there has to be a miracle considering technology. But, with money for most being tighter than ever today what are you really purchasing? Are you purchasing the miracle cleanser or just the pretty packaging. Let's go over the little things that you might not realize could be the source of your skin problems and try to make keeping your skin healthy simple.


One of the most common problems I see are allergies to products. Cleansers with harsh detergents can aggravate the skin. If your cleanser has copious amounts of foam, it most likely contains sodium laurel sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate. These sulfates are inexpensive ingredients frequently used in toothpaste, soaps, shampoos, cleaning supplies, etc. These ingredients when applied to the skin can give that "squeaky clean" feeling also creating a tight feel to the skin. The reason your skin feels this way is because the sulfates have stripped the necessary lipids from your skin. Thus, causing possible dryness, breakouts, eczyma, etc.

*Using a cream or fat based cleanser helps to remove makeup better, give you a more effective yet gentle cleanse, and keep that protective lipid layer intact. It took me a bit to get used to a cleanser that didn't foam, but I must say my skin has forever changed. An oil based cleanser is great for anyone, even if you have breakouts. Remember oil is not bad! Oil keeps our skin hydrated, nourished and young!


We've talked about using scrubs, exfoliating, and touched the topic of peels. (We will get into peels more later) Over exfoliating can lead to injured skin. I see it all the time. This is why I love the Clarisonic Skin Care Brush! It's beeps to tell you to move on to another area of your skin so you don't over exfoliate. We tend to want to scrub our skin with products that are either too aggressive and use them for too long on our skin. Our skin just needs about a minute of daily gentle exfoliation.


More and more I see the use of Retinols, a form of vitamin A, on young and mature skin types. Which are great, retinols are proven to prevent fine lines and reduce wrinkles we already have, we just need to make sure to keep the percentage used topically low for younger skin. It's great for helping control acne, smooth down the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, or even be used as a wrinkle deterrent. Just be sure to use your sunscreen everyday!! And if you are getting waxed be sure to let the technician know you are using retinols and how often.


Many think that if they have oily skin a moisturizer isn't needed. I don't care what skin type you have, a good hydrator is a must. Most of them have nutrients that our skin needs after a good cleanse. It will also help with oil production believe it or not.
When we cleanse our skin, we have cleaned off the a lot of the oil that we need. Leaving our sebaceous glands, oil glands, to over produce compensating for what is lost. Thus leaving us even more oily in the long run. It's about finding what hydrator is going to work for your skin type.


Cleansing your skin after you wash out hair products out is a great guideline to follow. Most of our conditioners and other hair care products have coconut oil and other skin clogging ingredients that we don't want to leave on the skin.


Getting facials once a month with a knowledgeable and professional skin care therapist can be a great skin booster. Your skin takes an average of about 2-3 weeks to get used to a new product. So, if you breakout from a facial it could be from the product used or the extractions moving all the "junk" from under your skin up to the surface for clearer skin.


Sunscreen is huge. Even when you are working indoors the use of sunscreen is imperative. All the quick unprotected trips to the car and back add up! Tinted moisturizers are great too, but I still recommend a good SPF base. And always remember your neck and chest!



Tip: A great sunscreen I found and absolutely love, COOLA. It's organic, affordable, and doesn't feel greasy or leave a funky tint to my skin, try the cucumber face lotion.