Skincare Tips Every Woman Should Know

In regards to our physical appearance, I always tells the younger women in my life ”take care of your skin!” I mean it wholeheartedly and I try to live it the best I can. Just as eyes are the windows to your soul, your skin is your canvas. The condition it is in is essential in not only looking great without makeup, but with makeup as well! All my life, I have had friends compliment me on my skin and say that they wished they had skin like mine. I would tell them that I was passionate about skincare and the best thing did was always wash my makeup off at the end of the day. Most would respond with “I never do that, I'm too tired!”. Well, no wonder they felt their skin wasn’t the best it could be. Granted, some of us may have skin issues due to our body’s chemistry that our beyond our control no matter how hard we try and our genetics can play a role too. Even people with the best skin can feel the quality vary from day to day. I call them “bad skin days” and I promise it is a thing. But why not do everything you can to make what tou have been given the best you can.

I am fortunate (and maybe even a minority) in this department because I can hardly stand to wear makeup out, let alone at home so taking it off is usually very easy for me no matter how tired I am. But I too have had nights where I am exhausted and I sometimes skimp on the extra steps after cleansing. I know we all get tired at the end of the day and it is the last thing you often want to do. My best advice is to find a way that makes it easy for you. It’s so important to got to bed with clean, moisturized skin because, just like your mind and body, your skin rests and rejuvenates too! Take a little time and put some good moisturizer on and let it work its magic. I wear a lot of makeup for my job and I have a two-part process any time i wear any makeup at all. First I use eye makeup remover and remove my eye makeup and micellar water or cold cream for my face makeup. I then proceed to my cleanser and lotions, etc. I actually find two steps to be easier even though it sounds more involved but its much more efficient and less frustrating. Just find whatever makes it possible for you to go to bed with clean skin. When you wake up in the morning, think of how good you'll feel, and look!

Sometimes upon application, our skin will respond well and look instantly radiant and hydrated. But often to get the full benefits of a product, we must use it daily/nightly and give it a few weeks to work its magic. Don’t expect instant results. Also too, follow the directions. This is important because that is how the product will work best. For example, for an eye cream, it's often best to use it day and night, everyday. While for an exfoliating product, a couple times a week might be plenty to get the benefits without risking irritation. Now with serums gaining popularity, they often instruct you to apply them after cleansing, but before moisturizing. So read and follow the directions if unsure to get the most of your products.

Sometimes a product will come along that we paid a lot of money for or something that works so well for someone else and we want it to work for us so badly. But sometimes, things just don't agree with our skin for whatever reason. If you have a product that just doesn't work for you, or worse, irritates your skin, move onto something else. Don’t be afraid to let something go and do what is best for your skin; it’s the only skin you will have.

If you have a problem with pimples, acne and breakouts, I'm sure anti-aging is the last thing on your mind. But hope is not lost. I would target treatment to specific areas. For example, you can use the acne fighting products where your acne shows up and use anti-aging creams around your eyes (make sure they are specifically formulated for your eyes, of course) and use anti-aging creams and serums on your neck, decollete, and hands (yes hands! They need tlc too). The eyes are often the first place we show signs of aging and those other areas are often neglected so treat them as you would your face.

This was a hard one for me, especially when I had breakouts more often. I know it's so hard to resist sometimes, but try not to pick your face when there are pimples. What's even worse, is when you think there is something that needs squeezing and it ends up being a big, giant nothing. There is nothing worse than not only not getting satisfaction from something coming out of a zit, only to then have a scab. Just try to resist. If you do cave in and do some damage, stop picking as soon as you can, moisturize well, and maybe use a fade cream after it heals if there's a mark. After some time, it will fade and you get a second chance to not do that anymore. In my experience, any marks I had accumulated are all gone now.

This doesn’t mean that you have to buy the most expensive products, it just means to buy the best products you can for your skin. The best doesn't always mean the most expensive. The prices of my skincare products varies. I just find what I like and if i can afford a higher end product that I adore (I love Estee Lauder), I buy it. I also have more affordable favorites (I like simple foaming cleanser and Pond's Dry Skin Cream). Good skincare is more about your level of commitment to doing your best versus expensive products I feel.

I just started doing this recently upon discovering that I am getting fine lines around my eyes. So now, when i apply my eye creams and serums, I not only apply it to my lids, inner corner area, and underneath, but I also carry out to my temples to target those pesky crows feet. I wish I started this technique five years ago.

This one is the most simple, but hardest. I find stress is the worst thing for my skin, more so than sleep and diet. As soon as I get stressed, my skin looks terrible. Just try to relax!

Have any tips/tricks/questions?

Please share and/or comment below! Likewise, if you have any questions about skincare for me, I'd be more than happy to give my best advice. I am not a skincare professional by any means. I'm just someone who loves skincare and skincare products.