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Don't waste another dime - learn how to pick the right skin regimen for you! |
| Deborah Farrell, RN |
Are you like so many people when it comes to starting a skin care regimen? You have the best intentions, but when you go to purchase new products all the options leave you feeling confused and overwhelmed. Well, don't worry, because help is on the way. Whether you're a novice or a skin care junkie, the following information will help you determine what type of products are right for you and how you can be on your way to more healthy and beautiful looking skin in no time.
Assessing your skin type
No one skin care product is right for everyone. All quality products vary in the ingredients that effect oil, moisture and the exfoliation of cells within the pores. Different skin types and conditions benefit from specific blends; therefore you must choose a product that targets your specific skin type.
To determine what skin type you have answer a few simple questions:
| Characteristics |
Oily |
Normal / Dry |
Sensitive |
| What is your pore size? |
Large |
Small |
|
| Do you experience midday shine on the nose? |
Yes |
No |
|
| Are fine lines present on your face? |
No |
Yes |
|
| Do you have clogged pores and blemishes? |
Yes |
No |
|
| Do you feel tight and dry soon after cleansing your skin? |
No |
Yes |
|
| Do products often make your skin red and cause a burning sensation? |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Designing your personalized regimen
Now that you've determine what type of skin you have, the next step is to establish how you can best care for it. All regimens should include a twice daily cleanser, toner and moisturizer with an appropriate sunblock used daily.
Cleansers
The most important thing a cleanser should do, as is evident by its name, is to make your skin feel clean. A cleanser should also be pH balanced and appropriate for your skin type. The alpha hydroxyl acids and enzymes that it should contain are useful in removing the build-up of dead skin. Medicine like benzoyl peroxide reduces excess oil and bacteria and helps reduce acne. Many people often ask whether a cleanser should be creamy or if it should lather like soap. For the most part, this is really a personal preference, although a sensitive or dry skin type may prefer a creamy cleanser.
Normal skin
Pumpkin Cleanser from Rhonda Allison is a great cleanser for all skin types, because it contains powerful antioxidants derived from pumpkin and salicylic acid, which both help renew the surface of the skin and keeps the pores from clogging.
Oily Skin
Phaze #31 from Physicians choice of Arizona contains benzoyl peroxide and many anti-inflammatory ingredients to sooth inflamed blemish-prone skin. It also reduces oil and bacteria, while leaving the skin feeling soft.
Sensitive Skin
Skin that is reactive to products, sun and heat benefits form gentle ingredients like aloe vera, citric and lactic acid. Physician's Choice of Arizona's Phaze #1 has the formula that soothes while it cleans and is recommended for conditions like rosacea.
Dry Skin
Sun damaged skin is often dry and it is restored with antioxidant-enriched cleansers. Green tea polyphenols, vitamins A, C, and E build up the cells' defenses against free radicals. Procyte Herbal Wash is a creamy, soap free cleanser that will heal dry, sun damaged skin.
Toners
Toners are one of the most overlooked components of skin care regimens, and yet, they are absolutely essential to skin care treatment. Toners are important, because they restore the acid pH of the skin and also remove traces of oil and dead cells that cleansing alone cannot eliminate. These traces of make-up and oil that build up over time often lead to blackheads.
Normal and Oily Skin
Physician's Choice of Arizona's Phaze #2 contains citric and lactic acid, which keep pores clean and remove dead skin build-up. It is effective in reducing excessive oil and also reducing inflammation.
Sensitive Skin
This skin type benefits from a lower concentration of alpha hydroxyl acids and the addition of antioxidants. Physician's Choice of Arizona's pHaze #5 Nutrient Toner will heal sun damaged skin and soothe sensitive conditions like rosacea, while providing real nourishment to the skin.
Moisturizers
All skin types, even oily ones, need moisture. Applying the right moisturizer to acne-prone skin will inhibit the over-production of oil in the sebaceous glands. Moisturizers can reduce inflammation, repair sun damaged skin and stimulate the production of collagen, which diminishes wrinkles. You know you have used the right moisturizer for your skin by how it feels and makes you look.
Normal and Dry Skin
Skin that is mature with fine lines benefits from ingredients like pumpkin seed oil, olive oil and retinol found in Rhonda Allison's Regenerating Cream. It heals skin recovering from chemical peels or sun exposure.
Oily Skin
Physician's Choice of Arizona's pHaze #18 Clearskin is a light textured moisturizer that reduces inflammation in acne-prone skin types.
Sensitive Skin
Skin that is sensitive or is recovering from laser resurfacing or a deep chemical peel will feel soothed and hydrated with pHaze #17 Rebalance from Physician's Choice of Arizona. Men report that the product provides relief from shaving irritations.
Sun Protection
There are many over-the-counter sunblocks that claim to block both UVB and UVA rays. What you need to understand is that all the UVA rays need to be blocked if you want to avoid premature aging or, worse, cancerous lesions from developing.
Some studies have shown that avobenzone, (an UVA blocking chemical found in many over-the-counter sunscreens) is unstable in the sun and can cause sun sensitivity in some people. If you are regenerating collagen by using professional products, or are reversing sun damage with chemical peels, you really need to block as much of the sun's UVA spectrum as possible.
Zinc oxide is the only ingredient that Skintegrity relies on to promote the health of our clients' skin, because it blocks all of the UVB rays and UVA rays by reflecting the sun away from your skin. It comes in transparent, cosmetically elegant formulas that do not clog pores. If you play outdoor sports you can choose water resistant formulas. Wearing zinc every day is the most important health and beauty habit you can develop that may even save your life!
Normal, Dry and Sensitive Skin
Applied Therapeutics SPF 30 and SPF 45 contains 6.8% zinc oxide in a moisturizing transparent formula. If you want water proof protection, Maximum Sun Protection SunSmart by Applied Therapeutics is a great choice. Dry skin needs to use a moisturizer before applying this block.
Oily Skin
Sunforgettable by Colorescience is a matte finish (no shine) non-moisturizing formula that contains 12% zinc oxide. The unique powder formula makes this very water resistant sunblock appropriate for all skin types.
Conclusion
We hope that this article helped to shed some light on how you can care for your skin, so that it stays healthy, youthful and beautiful. If you have any further questions, or would like a personalized consultation, we would love to hear from you. Just contact us at 866 MY SKIN 1 or email us at advice@skintegrity.com, and you'll be on your way to looking as youthful on the outside as you feel on the inside.
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| About the Author |
©2005 All rights reserved
Deborah Farrell, RN
Deborah Farrell of Skintegrity is an RN with years of experience specializing in skin care. Skintegrity offers medical skin care products and skin care services for people looking for higher level skin care treatments.
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