Foundation of Skin Care (Part 3)

Skin care does not stop at cleansing and exfoliating. The next step is moisturizing. It is required for all skin types, and yes… even for those with oily skin. I’ll elaborate on this topic in my future post. For now, let’s just concentrate on moisturizing your skin. However, there is an exception for those with acne prone skin. Olay Total Effect moisturizer is a product that you should consider as it has received lots of good reviews.

Step 3: Moisturize
Why do you need to moisturize? Reason, because it increases the skin's water content (to avoid dry/flaking and wrinkly looking skin). Another reason is that not only it protects the skin, it also encourage an orderly desquamation (shedding of the outer layer skin) process that makes the skin appear smoother.

How about moisturizing the eye area? Well, some skin experts strongly recommend eye creams because the skin around the eye contains no fatty tissue. They are very thin and susceptible to wrinkles. Therefore eye creams are formulated to 'thicken' the area around eyes and keep it sturdy. However there are other experts that claimed normal moisturizers also do the job as well. So it’s up to you to decide which is best for your skin.

Experts say that a good moisturizer should contain the following ingredients:

• Emollients such as Jojoba, squalene and lanolin. They are the best as has the most similarity to skin’s natural moisturizing agent(sebum) and it is also least comedogenic or clog pores.


• Water-binding agents such as ceramides, hyaluronic acid, elastin and amino acids that helps to retain moisture in the skin. Besides, Humectants such as sorbitol, glycols, glycerins and sodium PCA helps to attract water to skin and are important for skin damaged by sun and dehydration.


• Soothing agents and anti-irritants, such as bisabolol, allantoin, burdock root, aloe, licorice root, glycyrrhetinic acid, green tea and chamomile extract to help skin balance out the ingredients that could cause irritation.


• Antioxidants to help to prevent some of the damage caused by free radicals. Antioxidants protect cells by external causes (e.g. skin damage due to sun, pollution, wind, and temperature) and internal body causes. However, there is one thing to take note. Antioxidants can easily deteriorate due to repeated exposure to air and sunlight. In order to be effective they must come in stable packaging. Therefore, good moisturizers containing antioxidants should be packaged in opaque tubes or dispensers with small openings to minimize air exposure to protect the antioxidant property.


• Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs such as glycolic acid and lactic acid) and beta hydroxy acids (BHAs such as salicylic acid) helps to clear pores and remove dead skin. AHA may cause skin to be sensitive to sun light, so if you're using an AHA product, make sure u have sun protection.

Lastly, another skin tip, experts recommend that moisturizer should be applied right after showering while your skin is still slightly damp. Preferably within 3 minutes of showering as it helps to keep in the moisture. Hope this helps...

Foundation of skin care (Part 2)

Step 2: Exfoliate
Why do you need to exfoliate? Over time, more and more dead skin will accumulate on the top of your skin. This causes your skin to look dull and also hampers the absorption of nutrients from the applied skin products. So remember to exfoliate or you’ll just waste your money applying all the expensive skin product on your skin.

Exfoliating your skin should be done on weekly basis. With proper exfoliating, you can see almost an immediate effect on your skin. There are few ways of exfoliating your skin which are using microdermabrasion (scrub), chemical peels and retinoids. Below are more information on them:

The most common, microdermabrasion or scrubs which work by removing the top layer of dead skins that tend to dull your complexion. By doing so, this will reveal a much younger and refreshing looking skin that was hidden before. Be careful in choosing your scrub. Cheap scrub that contains big grains might tear skin and cause more harm than good. So, make sure choose gentle scrub with tiny grains. Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant as shown here does the well.

Secondly, chemical peel which is also known as chemexfoliation or derma-peeling, is a technique used to improve the appearance of the skin. It uses chemical solution that causes the skin to blister and eventually peel off. The regenerated skin is usually smoother and less wrinkled than the old skin. Chemical peel is used to reduce fine lines under the eyes and around the mouth, treat wrinkles caused by sun damage, aging and hereditary factors, improve the appearance of mild scarring and reduce age spots, freckles and dark patches. Some types of chemical peels can be purchased(over-the-counter products) and administered without a medical license, however due to safely reason it is advised to seek professional help from a dermalotogist on a specific type of chemical peel before a procedure is performed.

Thirdly, Retinoids or Retin-A also work by removing the top layer of dead skin cells while also generating collagen in the skin. It is effective in removing whiteheads and blackheads and also wrinkles. However, retinoids effect of increased skin cell turnover can cause irritation and flaking. For this reason, many people stop using Retin-A after a couple of days to weeks, then think that it didn't work. Normally it take at least 6-8 week before noticeable effect on your skin. Fortunately, using wash cloth to remove the flaking skin and applying moisturizer will make the drying effect of the medicine more tolerable.

Ok, that all about exfoliating. I've listed a few choices that you can consider. But personally, I found that scrubs works for me just fine and it is the simplest. I'm using Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub and loving it because it is able to clean deep down into pores, non abrasive and does not dry my skin. It also has helped to control my pimples. But whichever product or scrub to use is up to you, as long as it works for you. So, remember to exfoliate...you don't want to hide your younger more radiant skin under the dull skin rite!