Daily Skin Care Routine For The Face – A daily skincare routine for the face

Thorough but gentle daily cleansing and a good moisturising care will help to keep your skin healthy. Quality skincare products, chosen to match your specific skin type and skin concern, can protect facial skin from damaging external influences such as the sun, hot and cold climates and air pollution. They can also help to soothe irritated skin, restore it to a healthy condition and prevent the development of skin diseases.

Good skincare involves four basic steps: cleanse, tone, care and protect

Protect

Sun protection is important for the days when your skin is going to be exposed to harmful UV rays: the main cause of premature skin ageing. Most day creams already come with an SPF 15.

Your skincare routine should take place twice a day – in the morning and in the evening. The specific routine will vary depending on the time of day and the particular needs and condition of your skin.

An effective face care routine starts with thorough but gentle cleansing and toning to:

• remove dirt, sweat, sebum and make-up without drying out the skin.
• prepare skin for your face care regime. The valuable ingredients in face care products are absorbed more effectively when applied to cleansed skin.

Cleansing is particularly important for skin prone to acne as it helps skin to maintain its natural healthy balance and supports the natural regenerative process.

There are two main steps to a thorough cleansing routine: a cleansing milk or gel followed by a toner. If you are wearing eye make-up then it is advisable to add a separate eye-make-up-remover as a third step in your cleansing routine.

• Gel cleansers should be rinsed off thoroughly with lukewarm water. Avoid using water that is too hot, especially on sensitive skin, as extreme temperatures can cause irritations.
• Cleansing milks are applied and removed with cotton pad and do not require water. You can, however, gently remove cleansing milk with lukewarm water if you prefer.
• Three-in-one products provides a convenient combination of cleanser, toner and eye-make-up-remover. Though best results are always achieved by using a separate cleanser, toner and eye make–up remover. Three-in-one cleansers should be applied by wiping a cotton pad gently across your face and eye area.

Water alone will not clean your face. You need to use a surfactant (a detergent that dissolves both water and fat) to bind with the dirt and remove it gently from your skin. It is important to choose products that are gentle on skin. Frequent washing with ordinary soaps or aggressive surfactants can weaken the barrier function of skin by:

• changing the pH from its naturally slightly acidic state of between 5.4 and 5.9 to a neutral or even alkaline pH, reducing its ability to fight bacteria
• disrupting the proteins in horny layer (the outermost layer of the skin)
• removing skin-protecting lipids (the fats that hold cells together in the epidermis)

When skin’s barrier function is weakened its sensitivity is increased and it is more prone to dryness and irritaton.

Read more about skin structure.

Cleansers

Choose a cleanser that:

• will be gentle on your skin and will not dry it out
• has been formulated for your specific skin type and concern
• has been thoroughly tested and is, ideally, compatible with sensitive skin

When choosing between a milk and a gel product the general rule is that the drier the skin the more it will prefer a cleansing milk. It leaves your skin’s own lipids untouched, your skin stays balanced. Cleansing gels are ideal for cleansing normal to combination skin types.

Toners

Eucerin recommends alcohol- free toners for most skin types. Alcohol based toners have a cooling effect, but they can strip skin of its natural lipids. Skin may then over-produce lipids in an attempt to replace those that are missing. Alcohol can intensify the dryness in dry skin and, for those with oily or combination skin, an alcohol-containing toner can help to regulate excessive oiliness by removing sebum.

Three-in-one products

Three-in-one products, also known as micellar cleansers, offer cleansing, toning and eye-make-up- removal all in one. Oil molecules suspended in water lift away dirt and make-up quickly and gently. Micellar cleansers offer a convenient alternative to using three individual products.

The Eucerin DermatoCLEAN range of cleansers includes a gel, milk, toner, eye make-up remover and three-in-one product. All of the range has been tested on, and proven to be compatible with, sensitive skin and contains products for all skin types.

The Eucerin DermoPURIFYER range has been specially formulated for skin prone to acne. For hypersensitive, hyperreactive skin Eucerin recommends Eucerin Re-Balance Soothing Cleansing Cream.