Do You Have a Skin Care Regimen? Part I

I'm sad to say that many women do not know what to do to their skin to protect and prevent from sun damage. Prevention and protection are essential to great looking skin, even as you get older. There are just a few simple things you can do for your skin to help keep it looking healthy and youthful. 

First Thing in the Morning

1. Cleanse your face. Use a gentle cleaners or mild soap - that is, one with little or no added surfactants.  Apply with circular motions of your hands.  Rinse or wipe off with a washcloth wrung out in warm water.  Pat dry with a clean towel.  Do not use bar-shaped cleansers that are made from detergents rather than soaps.  These have been dubbed "syndet bars," which stands for synthetic detergent bars.  They are made from chemicals that are usually much more irritating to the skin than soap.  Actual soap is made from oils such as olive, palm, or coconut oil and is gentler for use on the skin.   Depending on the type of oil used, the soap can be more or less creamy.  Also, glycerin is a humectant commonly used in soaps.  The more glycerin in the soap, the more relatively moisturizing the soap is.  

Sometimes color and fragrance are added to the soap to make it more appealing to the user.  Ideally the scents in soaps should come only from the essential oils since the fragrance and color add nothing to the actual cleansing process and serve only to increase the potential for irritation and allergic reactions.

2. Moisturize! Apply a light moisturizer with an SPF of at least 15.  Use upward strokes on your neck and forehead, and outward strokes on your cheeks, the area around your eyes, and between your brows.  Never pull or press hard and never pull down.

3. Apply your makeup. Apply Colorscience micronized mineral makeup. This makeup is recommended by Dermatologists and backed by the Skin Cancer Foundation. It Colors, Camouflages,  Protects (30 SPF), Corrects and Soothes. It is completely waterproof and made from pharmaceutical grade mineral compositions and expressly excludes talcs, dyes, fragrances and preservatives. Colorescience makeup is a continuation of good skin care. It is non-irritating, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and non-comedogenic.  


This is an extra layer of protection over the moisturizer with SPF.  Again, stroke gently upward and outward, not down.  If you are prone to acne, look for products that say noncomedogenic or nonacnegenic on the label.  These products are least likely to clog your pores and contribute to your breakouts.  If areas of your skin tend to be especially dry, use creams rather than lotions, since these are more moisturizing.  I use the cream on most of my face, but I don't put it on my forehead, since that area is oilier.