Want to banish acne, wrinkles, and sunspots or prevent them from forming? You can with an effective skincare routine. In fact, the key to successful skincare is to make sure you are using the right types of products at the right times. Here are some facts to take into consideration when thinking about your morning and evening routines:
P.M.
The night is a crucial time of repair for your skin. While you are sleeping, your skin is fighting off natural damage as well as environmental damage from pollutants and the sun. During this process, cell turnover occurs, and your skin is regenerating the collagen-producing cells that are responsible for skin elasticity. Keeping this in mind...
Before you go to sleep, remove all of your makeup, and cleanse your face of any impurities with a face wash. Left over dirt or makeup on your face can be sources of bacteria, clogging pores and allowing styes to form. Afterwards, any apply toners, serums (anti-wrinkle, retinol, radiance/brightening, anti-acne, moisturizing), and moisturizers that you prefer, making sure you incorporate the following components in some way, shape, or form:
- Hydration: Your skin loses moisture as you sleep, so make sure that you are wearing a heavier moisturizer when you sleep. Look for ingredients that will lock in moisture so that you do not wake up with your face feeling taunt. For example, hyaluronic acid and ceramides are produced naturally by the skin to help retain moisture, so look for products containing these ingredients. I like to pat some Melvita Orange Blossom Extraordinary Water all over my face after cleansing. In addition to tightening my pores, it contains hyaluronic acid that instantly softens the skin and works with my face cream to trap in moisture.
- Vitamins: Although your skin can do repair work naturally, supplementing the skin with vitamins and anti-oxidants to aid during the process can only yield better results. Most importantly, vitamin E and vitamin A can assist in fighting signs of aging and sun damage, and vitamin C helps promote brightening and cell turnover. Depending on how dry it is outside, I prefer to use Tarte Pure Maracuja Oil, which is packed with vitamin C, or vitamin E-rich Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil, under or in lieu of my moisturizer. An easy solution to getting necessary vitamins in a natural, potent, and non-irritating way!
A.M.
Having an effective evening skincare routine can give us a flawless complexion, but don't
forget that having a good morning skincare routine is equally as important. If you think about it, we actually wear our daytime skincare products for longer than we wear our night-time products.
One thing that you should keep in mind is that the repair process that occurs when you are sleep can make your skin more delicate in the morning. This repair process also makes your skin seem brand new when you wake up. For these reasons, make sure you are being gentle to your morning face by using milder products. Save products like aggressive acne treatments, exfoliating products, or peels for evenings.During the night-time repair process, your skin may release toxins, so you should clean your face in the morning, whether you use a gentle cleanser (Check out the JUARA Rice Facial Cleanser), gentle toner, or both. If you have very sensitive or dry skin, this may mean simply rinsing your face with warm water. If you apply products with photo-sensitive ingredients like retinol at night, you should definitely use a cleanser to wash them off your face before you go out in the sun.
In the morning, it is essential that you are incorporating some sort of sun protection, hydration, and anti-oxidant protection into your skincare routine. You can do so through any combination of toners, serums, creams, makeup, etc. that should desire, but just make sure that those ingredients are on your face before you leave the house.
- Hydration: Moisturizing is perhaps the most important part of the skincare process both in the morning and at night. Hydration can prevent skin from overproducing oil and causing acne and makes the skin more supple and flexible, preventing wrinkles form forming. Many foundations draw moisture from your skin during the day, which can cause it to cake. So, for those of you, who wear makeup, it is especially important that your skin is hydrated. Rather than piling on heavy creams (which are harder to absorb), I layer hydrating serums and toner (Try the JUARA Tamarind Tea Hydrating Toner ) under my daily moisturizer to trap in moisture.
- Anti-Oxidant Protection: Free radicals in the air as well as free radicals produced by the body can cause aging. Anti-oxidants like fruits, teas, vegetables, and vitamins can fight off free radicals and pollutants and help protect against sun damage. Make sure you are using a serum or moisturizer with potent anti-oxidants. This will create a powerful shield to protect your skin during the day. As an Asian-American, my skin is prone to sunspots. My attempt to prevent them is applying some Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum after cleansing to fight discoloration during the day. All Caudalie products feature grapes with resveratrol anti-oxidants that act as a shield against free radicals. Plus, it smoothes skin before I apply my makeup.
- Sun Protection: Even when you are indoors, sunlight through windows and certain light bulbs can emit UV lighting, so it is important to make sure that you are wearing a MOISTURIZER. Powders, serums, or foundation with SPF are not as effective in providing sun protection as a moisturizer with SPF, but wearing them on top moisturizer can only make your skin's defense against the sun stronger. Whether or not you wear foundation, primers are great for smoothing and softening skin. I wear Alison Raffaele Face Forward Primer with SPF 15 on top of my moisturizer. Loaded with anti-oxidants and a mineral SPF, it provides a strong barrier against the sun. Additionally, you may not know it, but many ordinary personal care products may contain substances like lemon extract, retinol, mineral oil, which can make your skin especially sensitive to the sun. Ultimately, sun exposure can cause sunspots and wrinkles over time, even if you aren't getting sun burn, so make sure you are applying a lot of sunscreen every morning.
