To make the most out of a regular homage skincare routine, Dr. Ashley Magovern, owner and founder of Manhattan Dermatology, encourages you to follow three simple steps: moisturize, treat and cleanse.
Chances are, you are already familiar with moisturizing and cleansing, but what does “treating” your skin do?
According to board-certified skin specialist Dr. Magovern, it simply means using lotions, serums, or creams rich in skincare ingredients like vitamin C, oats, retinol, and more. She further adds that adding an intermediate step in between the other two sections is crucial since it can make a huge difference as you age and positively affect your skin health. As a result, you get healthier and younger-looking skin for many years to come.
Oat Lotion
You’ve all known oats as a healthy and nutritious breakfast option. However, this nutritious ingredient is now under the radar of skincare specialists for quite some time. Think about it – have you ever heard someone using oatmeal paste for a severe sunburn? You must have. It’s because the common oat you can find in your home contains Colloidal Oatmeal and Avena Sativa extracts that are clinically known to protect us from a heap of skincare issues and environmental stressors.
However, it’s not always possible for everyone to apply oatmeal to their skin. But there is now a way to reap the skincare benefits of oats more quickly and easily. Skincare specialists around the world have now found ways of incorporating the goodness of oats into a lotion. With an oat lotion, you give your skin all the benefits you get with this ingredient. Applying oat lotion to your skin will help your skin with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties.
All the ingredients present in the oat lotion are remarkable in maintaining skin health by protecting the skin from environmental stressors, scaliness in the skin, and reducing redness.
Vitamin C Serum
When it comes to applying serums to your skin, vitamin C serums are the most effective. Regardless of your age and skin type, anyone can use these serums. If you’re wondering what the perfect age for using vitamin C serum for your skin is, you can start applying it to your skin in your early 20s.
With the help of these serums, you can reverse a lot of damage caused to your skin by the sun and pollution. So, when looking for a vitamin C serum, make sure it contains a steady form of vitamin C, so your skin can quickly soak up its molecules.
If you are someone with a darker skin tone, you might already be facing the problem of hyperpigmentation, and applying a vitamin C serum to your skin in the morning can help you deal with dark spots. Thus, eating fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C is beneficial for your skin, but also applying serums can solve many of your skin problems.
Moisturizer
A moisturizer keeps your skin hydrated, which further strengthens your skin’s protective barrier. For appropriate daytime use, opt for a moisturizer that your skin soaks up quickly and won’t pile under your makeup. If you have dry skin, opt for a thicker formula that feels like a cream. Pro tip: Look for moisturizers rich with hyaluronic acid and ceramides acids since these two ingredients are the main ingredients of moisture retention in your skin.
Sunscreen
Without a doubt, this is one of the essential parts of your skincare routine. If you are not wearing sunscreen during the day, you might skip performing the other steps. It’s because the sun is the number one reason that is behind premature aging of your skin.
Moreover, if people of color neglect taking proper care of their skin, they can even get cancer. Plus, when you are treating hyperpigmentation without the daily use of SPF, you are taking two steps forward and one step backward.
Add a smooth and broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher sunscreen as the last step in your everyday skincare routine. Also, don’t forget to apply it to your neck and the back of your hands directly exposed to the sun.
Eye Cream
One of the most ignored portions of your face is the area under and above your eyes. Many people consciously or unconsciously forget to take care of it. To deal with this problem, try training the skin around the eyes with active ingredients like retinol and provide your skin with its advantages.
On the other hand, you don’t have to use a lot of it, but if you start training your skin to endure more active products around the eye, you’ll see changes very soon. You can begin by simply patting a bit of your serum or treatment around the eye skin area, then cover it by applying the eye cream of your choice.
Face Oil
Face oils are a perfect way to give your skin the moisture it needs while you are asleep. However, a majority of people think that if their skin has acne or it’s already oily, applying face oil onto their skin will result in breaking out. But, that is not true. On the contrary, face oils can help your skin be hydrated. As a result, you get softer and smoother skin, mainly if you use active ingredients such as retinol and alpha-hydroxy acids. Consequently, face oil makes for the perfect way to add moisture to your skin.
Taking care of your skin is not only essential but also a style statement. If you give your skin the care it needs, you’ll feel more confident and ready to deal with your everyday duties in the outside world. Irrespective of your skin type, with all the methods mentioned above, you can quickly give your skin the care and protection it deserves.
Emma Baker is a state-approved esthetician, lifelong skincare enthusiast, and blogger. She is always trying to find ways to promote skin health with her talent and love for writing. However, her first love is to find the most valuable natural skincare products and spread the word to help people with different types of skin facing multiple skin problems. Her philosophy is that we can improve the quality of our lives quickly if we only start taking good care of our skin, and in turn, it’ll help us live a happier and healthier life.
