Looking After the Skin You Have

Looking after your skin is as simple as eating the right foods and following a simple skincare routine. Having a healthy lifestyle will go a long way to keeping your skin in good condition.

Maintain a well balanced diet, which includes five plus a day of fruit and vegetables. Eat at least six servings of bread, cereals, rice, pasta or noodles (preferably wholegrain), each day; as well as two to three servings of milk, yoghurt and cheese (preferably reduced fat). And eat one to two servings of lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs and legumes. Drink six to eight glasses of water a day, the added benefit of drinking water is that it flushes out the toxins form your body as well as keeping you hydrated.

A simple skincare routine:

The reason we undertake a simple skincare routine is to look after our skin. By carrying out this simple routine you also help to balance out your skin and any skin conditions you may have. By moisturising you are helping to protect your skin against the harsh environment. Plus it also makes you feel better about yourself. After all if you don't like who you are nobody else will.

There are three steps, which are explained in more detail below. Step 1 - Cleanse; step 2 - Tone and step 3 - nourish.

Night-time routine:

The cleansing process:

Put a small amount of cleanser onto damp hands and gently swipe hands together to evenly distribute product over finger tips. Massage cleanser onto face. The water helps to emulsify the cleanser better. Alternatively you could place a few blobs of cleanser onto your face and then massage with damp hands. Remove cleanser with a damp sponge. Repeat this process but spend longer on the massage. Splash face with cool water then dry the face ready for the toning process.

The toning process:

The toner will refresh your face, apply with a damp cotton wool pad and pat onto the skin.

The nourishing process:

In the palm of one hand place some moisturiser, rub hands together then massage onto the face. Use a small amount of eye cream, with the tips of your fingers massage the eye area gently twenty times. Leave the cream on as long as you can up to 20 minutes then tissue off before going to bed.

Once the routine becomes habit it can be done in about five minutes. This routine stimulates circulation, removes dead skin cells.

The morning routine:

The cleansing process:

Oily or combination skins use a cleansing lotion and dry normal skin use a cleansing cream. With damp fingers gently massage the face. Cleanse the face twice. The first cleans skin and the second balances the skin.

The toning process:

The toner will refresh your face, apply with a damp cotton wool pad and pat onto the skin.

The nourishing process:

All skin must be moisturised. You can massage the moisturiser into a wet face which helps retain the moisture on the skin. You can use the moisturiser as a environmental barrier or you can use it as a base under foundation. For a more natural look use a tinted moisturiser thus avoiding a thick foundation base.

This concludes the simple skincare routine. Remember once you have been doing it regularly it will become habit and it will only take a few minutes complete.