Quick Skin Tip! - Where to spend your money

So what do you include in your skin care routine?

It's likely to look similar to this:

-Cleanser
-Exfoliator
-Toner
-moisturizer

Additions you may have (and SHOULD):
-Serum
-eye care
-Masque
-Sunscreen
and MORE

With all the options for skin care where do you spend money and where do you save it?

SAVE

-Cleanser This washes right off and what little that you skin does absorb is not enough to make much of a difference if any. There's really no reason to spend money here unless your skin can't tolerate anything else.
- Exfoliator There are lots of great exfoliators that are fabulous. I'm not saying go cheap here because you do have to be careful of the type of product that is used for exfoliation but there's no need to spend. You don't want harsh products but a super budget way to exfoliate effectively is use baking soda. Add a bit of water to your cleaner enough to make it a paste and there you have it!

- Masque ONLY if you're using a mud type of mask.
-Toner ONLY if it contains Alcohol or Witch Hazel. In fact if it does DON'T USE IT! There's a way to save!
-Sunscreen ONLY if your skin DOESN'T react to typical sunscreen

SPEND

Why Spend? Because you want to spend money on the products that will be absorbed into your skin and that contain ingredients that will be EFFECTIVE in helping to get your desired results.

Serums The number one product I would recommend spending on is Serums. They contain highly concentrated ingredients that will give you the the biggest bang for your buck!
Moisturizers
Eye Care Products The skin around your eyes is thinnest and most delicate. It's also neglected quite often and NEEDS moisture...that is unless you like those lines around your eyes.

- Masque ONLY if it contains concentrated ingredients like vitamins or others beneficial to your skin type & conditions
-Toner you don't really need to SPEND here but make sure that it contains moisturizing ingredients.
-Sunscreen ONLY if your skin reacts to typical sunscreen (sensitive or acne etc.)

DID I MISS SOMETHING? ANY QUESTIONS?
LEAVE A COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW!

Quick Skin Tip! - Applying your product

Make sure when you apply your product that you apply not only to your face but to your neck and even your chest (decollete) as well.

All of those areas are exposed all the time and often the neck and chest are neglected. We always think about our face aging but as we all KNOW your beck and chest do too!

Don't neglect! It's NOT a waste of your product to use it! That is unless your planning a necklift in the future.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVE SKIN CARE PRODUCTS?

I will be getting back into my skin care posting ASAP! I promise I will! I just need to get settled in our new place first. (Pics to come!)

Until then I would love to know what your fave skin care products are and why?

As I start posting about product, this will give me a better idea of what people are using and why they like it.

Let me know if there are any products or lines you are interested too and why!!!

*Don't forget to take the poll about sunscreen!*
You will find it on the upper LEFT column

NATURAL SKIN CARE AT TARGET

I'm pretty sure all you mamma's out there who are into natural skin care have passed by or even frequent the new Natural Skin Care section at Target.

Among the selections are:
Kiss My Face
Weleda
Alba
Avalon
Yes to Carrots
Giovanni

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think?

P.S. Have you tried those Eco Tools (I think that's what they are called). The Bamboo brushes etc in the last photo I took?? If not I HIGHLY recommend them. They are FABULOUS! They are soft and work as well as like some of the really expensive professional brushes at a FRACTION of the cost!

Mommy Book Review- A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients

If you're serious about skin care this book is a MUST! It is essentially an ingredient dictionary but it is so much more. It has lots of other info you will be glad to know, trust me. It will tell you about the standards (or lack thereof) for the companies and for the meaning of organic/natural etc. INTERESTING!

All of the skin therapists I know own this book and several make up artists too. You will be shocked at what's in your skin care and make up and you will be addicted to this book once you get it!


The newest addition will be released in October this year, it's on my list!

While you're taking a look at this book, pop on over and take a look at this too:

Mix & Match Your Skin Care Products

Christy of

SUPERHEROES AND PRINCESSES

Asked the following question regarding skin care and product:

"I would love to know what kind of skin care products you recommend. I currently use Origins for my sensitive skin and I'm pretty happy with it for the time being but I get bored with skin care products and don't typically stick with the same line for very long. Is that bad?"


I will eventually be getting into product selection and I will talk about some that I recommend. Off the top of my head I can tell you there are a few products I love by Dermalogica, SkinCeuticals, Aveda, and I actually like a few products from Orgins as well. But remember this is my personal opinion. EXPERIENCE is what is going to tell you what's best. I can look at ingredients and say YES! That sounds great! Then use it and it's not so great or the opposite. I would love to try out many more lines particularly for that reason. I am always on the look out for new products and especially organic and/or non toxic ones although I use and recommend any type.

I am not married to any particular line. I think it's more than OK to mix and match. No skin is alike and no line can cover everyone's needs. Don't get stuck in the product line trap and think that everything has to match...You don't have to buy only one line and you don't have to buy only one "skin type" in a line. It's all about finding what fits your needs.

It's perfectly fine to jump around with your skin care products if you have normal skin. You might reconsider changing things up entirely though because you don't want to cause problems either. If you know a whole line is horrible then check out of that ASAP! If you are not unhappy with a line but aren't jumping for joy either, start by changing up one product at a time.

If you just get bored, changing one product at a time might actually keep things more exciting. You won't get bored because you know next month you'll be getting that awesome new whatever you saw in a magazine. You might decide to ditch the old moisturizer in favor of the new one or you might decide you really like that boring line's moisturizer more than you thought...maybe this time you'll try a new exfoliator.

IF YOU HAVE A PRDUCT RECOMENDATION SHARE IT WITH ME! I'D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU USE AND WHY YOU LIKE IT!

Intro to Skin- Skin Conditions

Last week I talked about skin types. The next step to truly understanding your skin is to know your skin conditions. This list will include a few of the more common conditions. If you have questions about others leave a comment or email me.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SKIN TYPE AND SKIN CONDITIONS?

Well, as I stated before your skin is what it is. You’re born with it and it never changes. Skin conditions can and DO change with many things. Here is a list of some:

Stress

Hormones

Dehydration

Medications

Food/nutrition (or lack thereof)

Sun & other elements

Smoking

Wrong products …too harsh products

Medical conditions

Allergies

SKIN CONDITIONS

Acne – Chronic inflammatory disorder of the oil glands causing blemishes

Hyper/hypo pigmentation- Brown spots (liver spots) / lack of pigmentation from sun or other factors

Rosacea Irritation/Sensitivities- Redness and sensitivity generally with some breakout as well

Cupreous – Redness and visible capillaries

Keratosis/congestion/ hyperkeratinization- build up of skin cells, oil, debris. Bumpy texture across skin

Aging, lines, wrinkles- You know what that was is too right?

Dehydration- Lack of WATER moisture in skin. You can have oily skin and it still be dehydrated. In fact MOST people have dehydrated skin.

Asphyxiated- Lack of oxygen clogged like a layer over pours. Often seen in smokers.

Some of these conditions are preventable some are not; most are treatable to some extent. The important thing is finding the RIGHT products for your skin. But first you need to identify you skin type then any conditions and where possible the source of the condition. This could take some time. Start by keeping a log for a few weeks. Observe your skin see how it changes pay attention to what’s going on physically, emotionally, and topically (as in products you are using).

I was going to talk about treating these conditions but ultimately that will come into play when I discuss product selection. Before we jump into product though, now that you know some basics I will explain to you how to do an analysis of your skin.

**Note that I will likely update this and include more information/explanation on specific conditions.***

Intro To Skin- Skin Types

***Read note at end***

Intro To Skin

The beginning of any good skin care regimen is to first know your skin. Often people assume they have a certain skin type and choose products accordingly, then nothing changes, their skin is just as bad as before if not worse.

It seems easy right? Dry? Oily? Unfortunately it’s a bit more complicated then that. But it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With the right knowledge and help you can find your skin type and make products work much better for your skin.

Don't be discouraged if you are not finding what's right for you. Everyone's skin is different and needs to be treated differently depending on many factors including skin type, skin conditions, other health conditions, weather, climate etc... I will discuss many if these things in subsequent articles to help you begin to find products that work for you.

SKIN TYPES:

To begin, there is one basic fact and common myth, you must understand when treating your skin: Skin type NEVER changes. You’re born with it, it is what your skin IS.

So what are the basic skin types?

DRY- Dry skin is characterized by a lack of oil being produced in skin. Other indications are small pores and can even experience flakiness..

OILY- On the opposite side of the spectrum, oily skin is pretty easy to determine. BUT I have to warn you, there’s a lot of people who might be mistaken when they automatically think they have Oily Skin. There tends to be a lot of oil-phoebes who think their skin is oily when it’s really combo. Oily Skin is characterized by an excess of oil production that can cause build up on skin. A good indication to finding out if you have oily skin is looking at the pore size down the center of your face (forehead, nose chin) known as the T-zone as well as around your temples and additionally larger pores in general.

COMBO- Combination skin can be really annoying. Skin will often be oily and dry at the same time. Take a look at both of those skin types. If you experience both most likely you have combo skin. You will generally experience oiliness in your T-zone. And have larger pores in those areas. Other areas of the face will be dry and or flaky and have smaller pores.

NORMAL- Normal skin has a good balance isn’t too much of anything. It can sometime be more oily or less (but any skin type can). Pores tend to be small and breakouts are not common.

SENSITIVE- YES! Sensitive IS a skin type! And it’s not to be confused with “sensitized” which is a skin condition (I will address this in another article). Characteristics include: Redness, irritation, often people with fair skin, eyes and hair (red heads, blonde/blue) have sensitive skin. Skin can look delicate, suffer from severe allergies, and can known to blush.

With this foundation you can get started in the right direction. Next time I will go into greater detail and talk about skin conditions, treating them and how they differ from skin types.

About me:

I am a licensed Esthetician or Skin Therapist (as we are called) and have been for 5 years. My training is from Paul Mitchell The Skin Academy and continued education from The International Dermal Institute. I have a passion for skin care and enjoy sharing what I know and continue to learn. I hope you will gain something from my knowledge.

***This article was written by me for a company to help customers make make more informed decisions on their skin care choices. I have decided to go ahead and post this here along with follow up articles and tips etc.

Please leave feedback if you have any additional information to give. If you have product recommendations please leave that as well. Make sure that you include why you like a particular product or line.

If you have a very specific question email me by clicking on the "email me" link on the upper right corner of the page. If you do email, I will most likely post that question to give further info to readers. At your request I will leave it anonymous or put a link to your blog. ***