Acne and Skin Care

Tips for Grooming and Skin Care

“Make up and skin care” is generally regarded as women’s forte. Men seldom indulge in Make up and skin care. Many men do care for their skin but make up is really alien to most men. Treating make up and skin care as different topics wouldn’t make sense; after all, make up will work only if the skin is healthy. So how do you exercise make up and skin care, together? Here are some tips for make up and skin care:

* Always have skin care on mind, whether you are buying products for make up or actually applying them onto your skin after you have bought them. So what you are buying is a make up and skin care product, not just a make up product. Check the ingredients to see if it contains things that you might be allergic to. Also check if it contains high concentration chemicals that can harm your skin.

* “Make up and skin care” is also about testing the products before using them. So, apply the make up on a small patch of skin e.g. earlobes and check how your skin reacts to it.

* Keep track of expiry date on your make up products and never use them beyond the expiry date. In fact some products (e.g. vitamin C based products), if not stored properly, get spoilt much earlier than the expiry date.

* Cleanliness is an important part of make up and skin care procedure. Sharpen your eye-liners regularly and keep all your makeup equipment clean at all times. You might fix a date, each month, for

Lotions vs Skin Care Creams

There is no dearth of skin care creams and lotions in the market. Name an ailment, and you will find hundreds of skin care creams, lotions and other products for it. As a result of ongoing research and due to ever increasing demand, the number of skin care products seems to be on the increase. Skin care lotions and skin care creams are the most popular forms in which these products are available, and there always seems to be a debate on which form is better?

Well, there is no definitive answer to this. It seems more like a matter of personal choice. However, greasy creams are surely less popular as compared to the non-greasy (or less greasy) ones. Since the application of skin care creams is easier, they seem to be preferred (over lotions) in cases where the skin care product is not to be removed immediately after application. So, skin care creams seem more popular as moisturisers than as cleansers or toners. For toners, lotions seem to be preferred over skin care creams. There are some skin care creams that acts as toners too, but generally the toners are available in liquid form only. For cleansing, lotions and skin care creams are equally popular; however, the tilt seems more towards lotions.

Creams are known to be most effective in keeping skin moist; hence, the most popular form of skin care creams is moisturisers. Due to the same reason, a lot of people tend to associate skin care creams with dry and sensitive skin.

Personal Skin Care Is A Routine

We all know the importance of personal skin care. The opinion on how-to (for personal skin care) differs from person to person. Some people believe that going to beauty parlours every other day is personal skin care. Others believe that personal skin care is just a matter of applying some cream or lotion on your skin, every now and then. Then there are people who think that personal skin care is an event that happens once a month or once a year. Still others busy themselves with personal skin care all the time. However, personal skin care is not that complicated and neither is it that expensive (considering how beneficial it is). Personal skin care is following a routine or a procedure for attending to the needs of your skin.

Even before you start with a routine, you need to determine your skin-type (oily, dry, sensitive, normal etc) and select the personal skin care products suitable for it (you might have to experiment with a few personal skin care products). Here is a routine that should work for most people with normal skin.

The first thing on this routine is Cleansing. The three main ingredients of a cleanser are oil, water and surfactants (wetting agents). Oil and surfactants extract dirt and oil from your skin and water then flushes it out, thus making your skin clean. You might have to try a couple of cleansers before you find the one that suits you the best. However, you should always use soap-free cleansers.

Why Serious Skin Care Is So Important

“Serious skin care” is about maintaining a healthy and glowing skin all through your life. As you grow older, your body’s natural skin care mechanisms become weaker. So, “serious skin care” is about responding to the changing needs of your skin. Thus, “serious skin care” is about constantly evaluating, analysing and changing your skin care routines. Your skin care routine should change based on the environmental conditions, your age and changes in your skin type.

Skin care is also about awareness. With the technological advancements and research, more and more facts are being brought to light everyday. Also, the composition and nature of skin care products seems to be changing with time. So trying out the new products is also a part of this care. However, serious skin care advises using a new product over a small patch of skin (not facial skin) first, just to see how your skin reacts to it.

Serious skin care also means knowing how to use your products. Good practices include things like applying the moisturizers while the skin is damp, using upward strokes for better penetration of skin care products, removing the make up before going to bed, cleansing before moisturising or applying make up, using the correct amount of products, etc. Thus, increasing the effectiveness of your skin care products is another focus area of care.

Some precautions, like avoiding contact with detergents, are also part of serious

Properties of Common Herbs and Essential Oils in Skin Care

Essential oils and herbs offer so many benefits in your skin care regime.  Below are common essential oils and herbs commonly found in skin care products:

Almond and Almond Oil – A great vegetable oil for dry skin.  Commonly used as a carrier oil to blend with other essentials oils.  Easily absorbed into the skin and is an excellent emollient with nourishing properties.  Safety Precautions:  People with nut allergies should avoid almonds and almond oil.

Jojoba –.Jojoba oil makes a great scalp cleanser and hair conditioner.  Additionally, because of its absorption properties it is commonly used in skin care propducts as a cleaning agent, makeup remover and moisturizer…  It has a great effect on fighting wrinkles, as well as having an anti-bacterial effect on the skin.  Jojoba oil can be used as base carrier oil into which other essential oils can be diluted before applying it to the skin. Safety Precautions: No reports of toxicity

Aloe Vera – Aloe is used externally for skin irritation, burns, sunburn, wounds, eczema, psoriasis, acne, and dermatitis.  Aloe Vera has good astringent qualities.  When used with other ingredients it soothes the skin and stimulates cell regeneration. The oil is combined in massage therapy for its healing and rejuvenating properties. Safety Precautions: When used topically, some individuals may have an allergic reaction and a skin patch test (behind the ear or on the forearm) is