Looking Your Best through Skincare and Makeup, Part One: Skin Care
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Admit it. You care about what you look like. We all do; it's part of the human experience, the mating dance, the allure of beauty. With so many promises from advertisements, most women (and men!) don't know what to do to look their best.
The truth is as complicated as it is simple: it all depends on how much you want to do. The basics are a good cleansing routine, plenty of protection, and a moderate level of comfort with makeup.
Books to Get You Started
Best of skincare and makeup books
These beauty "mega-books" deal with just about every category of beauty, skincare, and cosmetics.
Beauty, The New Basics
This is my favorite beauty book. I refer to it often, when I am stumped, or just need inspiration.
Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 12/26/2009) 
The Beauty Bible: The Ultimate Guide to Smart Beauty
Amazon Price: (as of 12/26/2009)
The Beauty Workbook: A Commonsense Approach to Skin Care, Makeup, Hair, and Nails
Amazon Price: (as of 12/26/2009)
Skincare Basics
What you Need to Know
Skincare can be as simple or as complex as you need it to be. Those with aging skin (basically anyone out of her teens) need to pay extra care, especially if you see lines, wrinkles, or age spots.
There are a few basics. If you practice the basics, you don't need to worry about buying extra products that promise youth in a bottle.
Wash your face once a day, preferably at night. If you use a night cream, you can wash again in the morning, otherwise just rinse with lukewarm water.
To wash, use a gentle cleanser (check out the right kind for your skin type, below). Wet face with lukewarm water. Smooth on the cleanser in circles, moving upwards from the neck up to the hairline. Rinse with clean water, but make sure the water isn't too hot.
Twice a week (or more often, but no more than every other day) you should exfoliate. Exfoliating takes a thin layer of dead, dry skin off of your face. This helps keep skin healthy and smooth. There are two types of exfoliators. One type uses light acids (usually AHAs or BHAs) to "eat" the dead skin. Others have tiny grains of anything from plastic beads to walnut shells that buff off the skin. Either way, when you are done cleansing, smooth on the exfoliator in a circular motion. Use the same pressure you would to shave your legs.
The next step in your daily routine should be to moisturize. Use a mild moisturizer, and be sure to apply to your neck. Finally, apply a sunscreen with -AT LEAST- SPF 15. You can apply a moisturizer with sunscreen, but make sure that it is at least SPF 15. If you plan on being in the sun, apply a stronger sunscreen over your normal moisturizer.
Additional steps include toning (applying a thin liquid called toner after cleansing), undereye cream, anti-aging gels or creams, etc. Some people use pads, creams or washes that prevent acne, but these are usually too harsh for skin over 20. Others use a vitamin solution or specialty creams before their moisturizer.
There are a few basics. If you practice the basics, you don't need to worry about buying extra products that promise youth in a bottle.
Wash your face once a day, preferably at night. If you use a night cream, you can wash again in the morning, otherwise just rinse with lukewarm water.
To wash, use a gentle cleanser (check out the right kind for your skin type, below). Wet face with lukewarm water. Smooth on the cleanser in circles, moving upwards from the neck up to the hairline. Rinse with clean water, but make sure the water isn't too hot.
Twice a week (or more often, but no more than every other day) you should exfoliate. Exfoliating takes a thin layer of dead, dry skin off of your face. This helps keep skin healthy and smooth. There are two types of exfoliators. One type uses light acids (usually AHAs or BHAs) to "eat" the dead skin. Others have tiny grains of anything from plastic beads to walnut shells that buff off the skin. Either way, when you are done cleansing, smooth on the exfoliator in a circular motion. Use the same pressure you would to shave your legs.
The next step in your daily routine should be to moisturize. Use a mild moisturizer, and be sure to apply to your neck. Finally, apply a sunscreen with -AT LEAST- SPF 15. You can apply a moisturizer with sunscreen, but make sure that it is at least SPF 15. If you plan on being in the sun, apply a stronger sunscreen over your normal moisturizer.
Additional steps include toning (applying a thin liquid called toner after cleansing), undereye cream, anti-aging gels or creams, etc. Some people use pads, creams or washes that prevent acne, but these are usually too harsh for skin over 20. Others use a vitamin solution or specialty creams before their moisturizer.
Skin Types
Beyond the Basics
Check out to figure out which skin type best describes yours.
- DRY SKIN: You'll know you have dry skin if your skin feels "tight" or "tingly". Other signs would be flaky skin, fine (small) pores, and skin that feels dry to the touch.
USE: A creamy cleanser, like philosophy purity made simple, or The Body Shop Vitamin E Cleanser. - NORMAL SKIN: You have normal skin if your skin feels neither dry nor oily. It should feel clean at midday, and you will seldom see breakouts. Pores may be visible, but will not be large or clogged.
USE: A mild cleanser, like The Organic Makeup Company's All Natural and Organic Facial Cleansers. They come in two "colors", Tea Tree and Peppermint, and Palma Rosa and Geranium. Also, The Body Shop Vitamin C Facial Cleanser is a good smelling, healthy face wash. - OILY SKIN: Oily skin will usually feel oily to the touch. It will feel thick and coarse, with large, clogged pores. By midday it will look shiny, and you may break out often.
USE: A light, (or foaming) cleanser. Try La Roche Posay Toleriane Foaming Cleanser, or The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Facial Wash. - SENSITIVE SKIN: If your skin is sensitive, you probably already know. Most skin care products will cause irritation or even a negative reaction. It can feel dry and flaky, or break out even after being treated.
USE: The only recommendation I have is The Body Shop Soy and Calendula line. I use this, as I have sensitive skin, but it may not work for you. Unfortunately, the only sure way is trial and error. - COMBINATION SKIN: This type of skin is sometimes hard to identify. You may have oily skin on your "T-Zone", which is the area of your face from your nose and across your forehead, in a "T" shape. You may be dry on the rest of your face. Really, combination skin is a true combination of the above skin types.
USE: Use any of the above, for whatever best describes your face, or splurge and buy different products for different times. Another option: buy a cleanser for one problem, a toner or moisturizer for another, etc.
Some Stuff to Try
Some cleansers to try out. While I haven't tried all of these, I have looked at the ingredients, and the ingredients listed meet my standards (and I'm picky!).
Use your best judgement when trying a product. If you can, try it out first. If not, check the label. A good product (and this goes for almost all beauty products) will contain only ONE or TWO ingredients that end in the letters "ate". These ingredients can be very drying, and really, who needs the extra chemicals?
Expensive products are not always the best, check the ingredients. The books in the next section should help you out with that.
Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.
Use your best judgement when trying a product. If you can, try it out first. If not, check the label. A good product (and this goes for almost all beauty products) will contain only ONE or TWO ingredients that end in the letters "ate". These ingredients can be very drying, and really, who needs the extra chemicals?
Expensive products are not always the best, check the ingredients. The books in the next section should help you out with that.
Further Research
Books to take with you when you shop
These books should help you to understand the ingredients in skin care and cosmetic products. Take them with you, or use them to do research at home (helpful to keep by the computer!).
A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients
Amazon Price: (as of 12/26/2009)
Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me
Amazon Price: (as of 12/26/2009)
The Next Two Parts of this Series
Makeup and Haircare
Check out the next two parts of this series.
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by twyls
Amanda has been a consultant for Avon, and, more recently, The Body Shop at Home, a branch of the Body Shop that comes to your home. Currently s...
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