An old saying that is worth a million bucks is “Prevention is the best cure.”
This saying especially goes for caring for your skin and getting the best out of it.
This picture is of my sweet one year old, Walker, who obviously has picture perfect-soft-zit-free baby skin that you just want to touch and kiss on all the time!! If only I could bottle those sweet cheeks up and somehow reverse time and get back that baby skin for myself! This handsome pic is compliments of Dylan Blue Photography – check out the site to see more wonderful photography!
So there are tons of steps and treatments out there we could all do everyday to achieve great skin, but that’s just not practical to try them all! However, there are a few specific steps that we should always abide by in order to get that newborn skin!
1. Wash Your Face.
- At the very least cleanse your face every night to wash away the evils of the day! And if you have time, wash in the morning, but an abbreviated quick version will do since your face hasn’t gotten that dirty overnight while asleep on your pillow.
- Pick a cleanser that suits your skin type just like you would a moisturizer because all cleansers aren’t meant for every face. Choose a mild cream cleanser for dry or sensitive skin, and a foaming cleanser for oilier skin.
- Be sure to work that cleanser all the way up to your hairline and down your neck. These two areas are generally forgotten but just as important to take care of.
- JennySue Product Suggestion: Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash($7) :: tough on dirt and makeup yet gentle on your skin (and wallet!). It’s soap-free and produces a nice lather so it’s a bit more cleansing than a creamy type.
2. Exfoliate.
- Once or twice a week is plenty to exfoliate, but should be done at least once a week to help slough off that dull outer layer of skin. Why? Because all of that pretty skin is hiding underneath.
- Stick with products that contain gentle ingredients like sugar, oatmeal, or synthetic beads. Hard, large, sharp exfoliaters do more harm that good and are too abrasive, which actually scratch up your skin making it look dull.
- JennySue Product Suggestion: Clinique Exfoliating Scrub ($18) :: a gentle alternative to some very grainy products on the market. This creamy scrub rinses away easily without leaving a filmy residue. And who wouldn’t trust a Clinique product??!
3. Moisturize.
- Picking a moisturizer is sometimes as hard as picking a boyfriend or a husband! You just need to pick your weapon for whatever battle you’re fighting: anti-aging, wrinkle prevention, antioxidants, acne fighting, etc, etc.
- Top 3 ingredients to look for in your moisturizer – (1) hyaluronic acid (helps your individual cells stay plump with moisture), (2) petroleum (helps form a barrier to keep water from escaping), and (3) retinoids (a stimulus ingredient that is a vitamin A derivative and THE best over the counter anti-aging warrior!). Granted it might be hard to find one with all three, so try to find one with at least one of the three.
- Use a heavier cream at night so it can soak in and work its magic while you rest and aren’t putting lots of makeup on top of it. Use a lighter cream with SPF during the daytime.
- Don’t forget your neck when moisturizing!! A wrinkley neck is a telltale sign of aging and not taking care of your skin.
- And yes, even if you’ve got oily skin, you should still be using a moisturizer, just make sure it’s oil free. That obnoxious oil sitting on top of your skin is not doing any hydrating. The moisturizer does that for you.
- JennySue Overnight Product Suggestion: Help Me by Philosophy ($45) :: just what the doctor ordered for retinol treatment. This is an award-winning, clinically-tested nighttime cream whose treatment is for minimizing the appearance of large pores and fine lines while also improving skin discoloration and clearing congested pores.
- JennySue Daytime Product Suggestion: Patricia Wexler’s Intensive 3-in-1 Day Cream with SPF 30 ($24.50) :: does it all! It lifts, firms, and is an anti-wrinkle cream with high SPF protection all in one product!!
4. SPF.
- This is where “prevention is the best cure” comes in. Every shade and skin type should wear at least an SPF 15 or 30 EVERYDAY. And that SPF for the face should contain protection against UVA and UVB rays.
- Here is why you should protect yourself again both types of rays: UVA rays cause the break down of collagen and cause wrinkles in your skin. UVB rays are what cause actual sunburn and in turn cause skin cancer.
- There are some moisturizers that do double duty and contain your SPF protection in them, but if your fav moisturizer doesn’t – apply it first, then your SPF on top.
- JennySue Product Suggestion: Cetaphil UVA/UVB Defense Facial Moisturizer SPF 50 ($14) :: non-comedogenic (which means it doesn’t clog pores), good for all skin types, and non greasy. And best of all, it protects against BOTH harmful rays which many facial SPF formulas don’t.
Simple steps to better skin like a baby – no crying or whining necessary!
