Today’s article is going to be about creating a skincare routine as well as everything you need to know about the first step to any routine; cleansers.

CREATING A SKINCARE ROUTINE:

The first step to better skin is creating a routine for yourself. If you’re just applying random products in a random order whenever you feel like it, or whenever your skin acts up, you’re not doing yourself or your skin any favours.

The purpose of a skin routine is to have more motivation to wash your face and to help your complexion by applying products in an order that will help the best.

Think of your routine in three steps:

Cleansing ~ Washing your face

Toning ~ Balancing the skin

Moisturizing ~ Hydrating and softening the skin

These basic steps will help beginners with their skin. You don’t want to go straight into using 10 products because your skin won’t be used to it and it might react harshly. The products I use are St. Ives Clarifying Cleanser, Biore Blemish Fighting Astringent and Nivea Soft Moisturizing Cream. I’ve used them regularly for the past couple of weeks and they’ve seriously helped my skin.

CLEANSERS:

Cleansers are the first and most important step when it comes to washing your face. Cleansing removes dirt, pollution, sebum, bacteria, makeup and sunscreen leftover on your face. Cleansers leave your skin feeling fresh and clean. There’s a lot to know about cleansers so just an fyi, this may get boring but it’s important to know if you really want to help your skin and grow your skincare knowledge.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF CLEANSERS:

Makeup removers like cleansing wipes and micellar water.

Water-based Cleansers

Oil Cleansers like cleansing oils, creams and balms

HOW TO PROPERLY CLEANSE:

Before you do anything, wash your hands. Washing your face with dirty hands is not good and unhygienic. Then, wet your face with warm water. Then use a dime-sized amount of cleanser and apply it to your face in a circular motion. Keep doing this for about a minute. Finally, rinse your face and pat it dry with a towel.

DOUBLE CLEANSING:

Double cleansing is when you cleanse your face with a cleansing oil and then cleanse your face again with water-based cleanser. The oil will break down oil based matter such as makeup, dirt, sunscreen, old skin cells and sweat and the water will cleanse deeper and remove any impurities. This helps, especially if you wore a full face of heavy makeup, to get rid of everything and make sure your face is bare. If you’re going to do this, don’t do it twice a day.

SYNTHETIC DETERGENTS:

Synthetic detergents are composed of oil and water which thoroughly cleanse your skin at a reasonable temperature. They don’t make your skin feel sticky and because they’re made of both oil and water, they can get rid of oil-based and water-based residue.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOAP AND SYNTHETIC DETERGENT?

Synthetic detergents cleanse your skin just as well as soap but it doesn’t cause damage to the barrier of your skin. Soaps have a pH level of greater than 7 so they are harmful to your skins natural barrier because healthy skin has a pH level of around 5.5. Soaps also aren’t great with water containing calcium, sodium or magnesium whereas synthetic detergents work with any skin type and all kinds of water.

PH IN CLEANSERS:

Finding a pH balanced cleanser ensures that the acid mantle won’t be damaged. The acid mantle is a fine protective layer on top of your skin that acts as a barrier. The acid mantle protects from breakouts, prevents water loss and preserves the health of your skin. If it’s damaged, it can lead to dehydration, oily skin, acne and sensitiveness.

And that’s it for today!