Want Healthy, Radiant, Youthful Skin?

If you want healthy, radiant, youthful skin regardless of your age, taking good care of your skin is essential to keeping it healthy and reducing the effects of aging. Our skin isn’t affected only by how we care for it, but also by the products we choose and their ingredients. So, knowing your skin type, following a skincare regimen, and selecting the best products for your particular skin type is the key to maintaining or restoring your natural beauty. 

Know your Skin Type & the Best Products for it 

Different skin types require different products and ingredients for the most benefit and to prevent exacerbating any problems. So, before you plan your regimen and buy skincare products, know your skin type and how to care for it. 

Also, when buying skincare products, keep in mind, price usually has little to do with quality and effectiveness. When you purchase expensive skin care products, you’re mostly paying for advertising, packaging, and branding. In fact, less costly products often beat out their more expensive competitors when it comes to quality and holding up to claims.  

Normal skin is neither too oily nor too dry. It’s the optimal type we all wish we had and aim to achieve. If you have normal skin, your pores are barely visible and your skin lacks sensitivity. It’s probably naturally radiant and flawless.

Despite being the most optimal skin type, it’s still vulnerable. Even normal skin can experience occasional dryness or clogged pores. Add to that, aging happens to all of us, whether we like it or not.

Look for products that are labeled for normal skin, or at least not labeled for a different type of skin. This will help your skin maintain its balance. Also, look for a moisturizer or other skin care product that contains AHA or BHA. This helps exfoliate the skin. Retinol is another excellent anti-aging choice. 

Dry skin is characterized by less visible pores and less elasticity. It’s prone to dry patches and a rough, dull complexion. You might get red patches, and the dryness makes lines more apparent. Certain conditions can intensify dryness such as sun, wind, and cold, as well as ultraviolet tanning lights. Indoor heating, hot showers, skin products, and medications can also wreak havoc. 

The good news is, you don’t have to deal with clogged pores and acne. But dry skin tends to age faster. So, maintaining moisture in your skin is crucial to warding off fine lines and wrinkles. You’ll also want to be extra cautious about sun exposure.  

Look for products specially formulated and labeled for dry skin or that contain ingredients particularly effective at hydrating and protecting elasticity. Some ingredients to look for, especially in moisturizers, include dimethicone, hyaluronic acid, ceramides, glycerin, urea, aquaporins, and salicylic acid. AHA also improves skin moisture, while sloughing off dead skin cells. Just don’t overdo it with the acids. Also, look for products with antioxidants. 

Oily skin is prone to breakouts of pimples or blackheads. It’s marked by large pores and leaves your complexion either shiny or dull. Often, oily skin is aggravated by hormonal imbalance, puberty, stress, heat, and humidity.  

Despite the frustration with breakouts, those with oily skin retain their youthful complexion longer. Still, you’ll need to take good care of it to prevent acne scarring. Maintaining oil balance is also crucial to radiant-looking skin. 

You’ll need moisturizers that are lightweight and oil-free to avoid clogged pores. So look for those containing dimethicone. You can also skip the moisturizer and just use a serum. Cleansers, toners, and creams containing glycolic acid are particularly helpful if you’re prone to breakouts. Retinol helps with acne-prone skin as well. For exfoliating, BHA is an excellent choice for acne-prone skin because it also helps unclog pores.  

Combination skin is signified by a mix of oily areas and dry to normal areas. Typically, the T-zone, which is your forehead, nose, and chin, is where you’re skin will be oily. You’ll likely have large pores and be prone to blackheads and shiny skin in that area. Other areas of your face will be normal or have characteristics of dry skin. 

This may be one of the most challenging skin types to manage because of multiple conditions. The best solution to caring for combination skin is to buy a set of products for dry skin and another for oily skin. Then, use the appropriate products in the different areas of your face accordingly.  

Sensitive skin is reactive and can lead to extreme dryness, pustules, erosion or bumps, redness, stinging, burning, or tightness. It also tends to flush or blush.  Some triggers are weather-related, such as heat, sun, wind, and cold. Those with eczema and dermatitis need to be particularly mindful of products that contain allergens. Although rosacea isn’t caused by allergies or sensitive skin, environmental factors can worsen the condition, so it requires special care. Even overly dry skin can mimic skin sensitivity. 

If you have sensitive skin, one of the best solutions is to avoid products and ingredients known to be irritants or allergens. Stay away from skincare or makeup products that contain fragrance, preservatives, essential oils, botanical extracts, and harsh exfoliants. Methylisothiazolinone, a doozy of a word, is also a common cause of allergy breakouts and is commonly found in makeup and skincare products.

You might also need to avoid toners, exfoliating, and serums, which may cause irritation. Also, look for products specially formulated for sensitive skin. 

Your Daily Skincare Routine

There are several steps to an effective skincare routine. It’s essential to follow these steps in exact order to get the most benefit from your regimen and products. The purpose of the particular order is to ensure the complete removal of makeup and debris and so ingredients in the products can sufficiently penetrate your skin. The following steps are for most skin types. Though, depending on your skin type, you may want or need to skip a step or two.   

Daytime

1. Begin by washing your face with a gentle cleanser. This helps remove excess built-up oil and environmental debris. Wash your skin gently with your fingertips. Then rinse thoroughly with warm water and pat your face dry with a towel.  
2. Toners used to always be recommended because cleansers used to leave skin soapy. But today, toning may not be necessary. Toners can, however, offer added benefits for particular skin types. For oily skin, astringents help remove additional oil build-up and contain ingredients to help reduce oil build-up and acne. Dry skin formulations can act as a humectant. Some toners offer other benefits as well. 
3. Exfoliating your skin is an integral part of keeping your skin youthful. Mona Gohara, MD, quoted in “Ask a Dermatologist: How Often Should I Exfoliate My Face?” says we shed 50 million skin cells a day. “If they remain on the skin,” she explains, “it can look dull and dry.” Gohara recommends exfoliating two to three times per week. Use a mask or peel once a week. Then use an acid serum a couple times a week.  
4. Next, feed your skin nutrients and antioxidants with a serum. These are highly recommended by dermatologists for both skin health and to slow the progression of aging. Serums have unique formulations and are lightweight, so they penetrate deeper into the skin. 
5. Moisturizing your skin is one of the most beneficial steps when it comes to slowing down aging. But serums moisturize the skin as well. If you have dry skin, you’ll definitely need to use a moisturizer in addition to serum, since they both offer unique benefits to dry and aging skin. If you don’t have dry or combination skin, you can skip this step if you use a serum. 
   Eye cream is also a vital component for moisturizing. These are formulated specially for the delicate skin around the eyes. They’re richer and contain more oil because this area is more prone to dryness and shows earlier signs of aging. Eye creams also contain active ingredients to reduce puffiness, improve elasticity, and boost collagen production.  
6. The last step is protecting your skin from the sun’s damaging rays. This is especially crucial during warmer weather. But even in colder months, the sun still causes damage to your skin, particularly over time. So, look for a facial sunblock that’s right for your skin type. Another option is a moisturizer or foundation that contains 30 SPF.

Nighttime

At night, follow a similar regimen, but with slight differences. Cleansing is particularly important at night to remove makeup and debris. Toning will help remove any makeup residue that cleansing didn’t.  

The next step depends on whether you choose to mask in the morning or at night. If you do your masking at night, apply it before serum and moisturizer. If it’s an overnight mask, you’ll need to apply the serum first, then mask. 

Finally, apply moisturizer, unless you’re doing an overnight mask. A nighttime moisturizer or night cream is best, particularly for dry skin, because it’s richer, thicker, and offers added benefits. 

Whatever your skin type and the regimen and products you choose, keep in mind everyone’s skin is different. So, if something isn’t working well for you, do some research. Look for studies, rather than just anecdotal evidence. Then make adjustments. Sometimes it’s all about trial and error.

Kimberly Blaker is a freelance writer. She also owns an online bookshop, Sage Rare & Collectible Books, specializing in out-of-print, scarce, signed, and first editions; fine bindings; ephemera and more at sagerarebooks.com