5 tips to healthy, glowing, youthful skin!

After studying human anatomy and physiology in college, I have come to develop a love for the complexity of the human body and its functions, one being the skin. Its serves as protection, being completely water proof and self healing. Our skin goes through so much from day to day. From makeup, to harsh sunlight and pollution in the air. We should really give our skin a little (or a lot!) of TLC every day! I by no means have perfect skin, but here are 5 tips I want to share with you on how you can achieve healthy glowing skin, that I have learned and studied.

1. Wash your face. DUH. We all know we should wash our face, BUT I want to stress the importance of how often we wash our face. EVERY morning and EVERY night. A lot of people make the mistake of not washing their face in the morning and only at night. When we sleep, all of the toxins, sweat, and oils come out of our pores, so we can’t have a good makeup application if we have all that gunk on our face. Then at night its time to take all that gunk off! NEVER sleep with makeup on!! I don’t care how tired you are, just DO it or you’re just asking for a big nasty zit to wake up to!

A great cleanser, Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel

 

2. Pour on the protection. This means sunscreen.  In the mornings, Even if it’s the winter time and you hardly go outside, the secret to keeping your skin youthful is to use a moisturizer with broad spectrum (meaning It protects against UV A and UV B) spf of 15-30 or higher. It not only protects against skin cancer, but also aging.  

MarioBadescu Oil free moisturizer spf 30

3. EXFOLIATE. This is so incredibly important in your skin care routine. Exfoliation helps the process of cell renewal, and will dramatically improve skin texture.  And without it, our skin will be congested, dull looking, and unhealthy.  For some DIY facial exfoliators check out this blog HERE

 You do want to be careful though, and not scrub too hard or use something too abrasive, especially if you have sensitive skin. I recommend exfoliating every 2-3 days, although I gently exfoliate every night using my Clarisonic Mia2 (which I will be doing a review on soon! )
here are some great exfoliators I recommend.

Dermalogica Genlte Cream Exfoliant

St. Ives Invigoration Apricot Scrub

4. Moisturize. After washing our face, we should always moisturize. Cleansing can remove essential moisture from skin, especially if you are using a harsh soap. By using a mild cleanser followed by a moisturizer each time you wash, you can help your skin to retain its natural moisture. It can improve tone and texture and mask… More imperfections.  A good moisturizer will create a protective barrier that prevents water from evaporating and drying out your face. I won't go too much into ingredients a good moisturizer should have, but look for vitamins, retinols, alpha hydroxy acids,anti-oxidants, lipids, etc. all of those things are good. Avoid mineral oils, as it is a cheap filler that will clog pores.  

Some of my favs,

dermalogica Intensive moisture repair (intense moisture, good for night time.)

Josie Maran 100% argan oil (also comes in a light version for day time)

Mario badescu caviar night cream – an AWESOME night cream!

5. TONE! Toners and astringents can be used for multiple purposes: moisturizing, calming, refreshing, disinfecting, exfoliating, and treating lots of skin issues. Toners and astringents also ensure the skin’s pH balance while removing excess residue from the skin and can help with cell turnover. Tone morning and night, after you wash your face, and before you moisturize.

Mario Badescu Glycolic Acid Toner

Dermalogica Multi-Active Toner

Sea Breeze Fresh-Clean Astringent Sensitive Skin




These are just a few things we should take the time to be doing in your skin care routine! Doing all these things can keep us healthy and youthful looking and feeling! Thanks for reading!