It can be extremely overwhelming looking through different skin care products, ones that are for night time, ones that are for day time, ones that can only be used twice a week, ones that are intended for sensitive skin, ones for combination skin.
How does one know what product is right for them?
What ingredients should we look for?
What ingredients should we avoid?
My skin was never as good as it is right now. I wasn’t taking care of it as I should and I wasn’t using the right products. It wasn’t until I went to school for Medical Aesthetics that I truly understood and appreciated skin care.
I always thought that I had sensitive skin. The redness, the break outs and the overall sensitivity of my skin. I never thought that I would be anything else. Enter, skin care part one. Turns out that the best way to determine your skin type (oily, dry, sensitive, combination) is after you cleanse your face, how do your cheeks feel? It’s normal for our T-zone to be oily (hence the normal part of the combination) but our cheeks are a different story. If you feel tight and rough you have dry skin; if you look and feel shiny then you have oily skin.
What if I have sensitive skin? Let me answer that question by explaining what sensitive skin really is. There is a difference between sensitive and reactive skin. Reactive skin is when skin is extremely delicate to products and treatments. The skin reacts in a negative way, whether by breaking out, turning red and possibly getting an allergic reaction. I used to be this way, my skin was very reactive. It still is to a certain degree, but not as much as it used to be. What I did to counteract the reactiveness to my skin was using the right products at home and getting the proper treatments for skin. Sensitive skin is skin that is prone to redness, broken capillaries, and mild breakouts.
Now if I can battle my bad skin back to good health you can too.
What is most important to understand that great skin is two fold – One, proper skin treatments. Skin treatments that target the biggest issues and then maintain the results. Two, proper home care. Home care is so important, treatments will help solve issues but proper home care will maintain and prolong the results of the treatments and trust me, speaking from experience, it will improve your skin so much.
Skin care should be an essential part of life. I know that proper products and treatments can be costly and it is an investment. Remember – you wear your face everyday. Take care of it.
I suggest starting with the essentials in home care and building on to it when you’ve established a routine. It’s the best way in my opinion to train yourself to take better care of your skin.
What to start with … The Big Three
Cleanser – it is critical to have the proper cleanser for your skin. We need to cleanse twice a day. Using soap, or a cleanser not for your skin type will cause more damage than good to your skin. Our skin has a natural barrier to protect it from free radicals (the environment etc) if we strip that barrier with chemical infused, improper cleansers we are killing the one thing that is intended to help us have great skin.
Moisturizer – it’s always important to keep our skin hydrated and fresh. A proper moisturizer will do just that. It’s extremely important to use moisturizer that is suited for your skin or else your skin will react negatively. In my experience, when I used the wrong the moisturizer on my skin, I broke out from access oil on my skin. It wasn’t pleasant. Use the moisturizer best for your skin type.
Sunscreen – Short-term sun damage shows as a sunburn. Long-term, unprotected exposure causes gradual damage to skin known as sun damage and accounts for about 90% of the signs of skin aging. I cannot stress this enough, we all have to wear sunscreen all the time year-round. The sun although we love, causes damage to the skin. It’s not that we have to stay inside at all times but we all need to protect ourselves all year. Proper sunscreen is an essential in skin care, a physical sunscreen is the best to have in your skin care roster; it protects against UVA and UVB rays.
Photo from @AlumierMDCanada
Photo from @AlumierMDCanada
Photo from @AlumierMDCanada
My Essentials
Here is what I am using – thanks to the awesome people at AlumierMD my skin has been at it’s absolute best!
Side Note: I do use other products, quite a few actually. I will get to everything I use, I promise! What I am sharing is literally the foundation of Skin Care.
Cleanser – AlumierMD’s Purifying Gel Cleanser is a pH balanced foaming cleanser that gently and effectively cleans skin by removing impurities and excess oil, leaving it smooth and soft. Coconut and plant-based surfactants gently cleanse. Chamomile, aloe and opuntia ficus-indica soothe and hydrate for skin that feels fresh, supple and comfortable. I love this cleanser, it keeps my skin hydrated and it feels amazing every time I use it. I’ve tried many cleansers in my lifetime and this one is by far the best.
Moisturizer – AlumierMD’s HydraDew Moisturizer is an intensely rich formula that moisturizes, nourishes and improves skin texture using soothing and moisturizing ingredients like sodium hyaluronate, shea butter, aloe and niacinamide (vitamin B3). Powerhouse peptides stimulate collagen and elastin, firming the skin and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Antioxidants protect and neutralize free radicals formed from the sun and pollution restoring a healthy radiant complexion. This moisturizer is the perfect one for me as I am more dry than oily. The application of this product is seamless and light despite the richness of it.
Sunscreen – AlumierMD’s Moisture Matte Broad Spectrum SPF 40 Sunscreen provides powerful broad-spectrum protection against harmful UVA and UVB rays using a combination of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Antioxidants like caffeine, silybin and knotgrass extract protect skin from UV and IR (infrared)-induced free radical damage. This formula lightly moisturizes to smooth and hydrate, while absorbing excess oil to create a matte finish. Cutting-edge, color-encapsulated beads blend on the skin, creating a sheer tint and healthy glow. Offered in ivory, sand and amber tints (because one shade doesn’t suit all skin tones). TIP: Save time and use this tinted sunscreen as your daily foundation. I personally have never been a fan of sunscreen and never used it. But this formula has changed my perspective on sunscreen. These products are so concentrated that I really only ever need a pea-size of each product to cover my entire face. This particular product is also used as my moisturizer in the morning so it works out really well for me in the morning.
I eventually started including more products such as serums and eye creams which I will talk about in future posts.
Need more advice and/or help?
I offer virtual consultations over Instagram or via email. Feel free to drop a line. I’d be happy to help!