Even though we ignore it sometimes, we are all aware of how important personal skin care is. Every person has their own opinion on how it should be done. There are people who believe they need to have their skin care done professionally, and others believe it should be handled in the privacy of their own home. There are also other categories of people who have unhealthy skin care habits.

Some believe that skin care is an event that only happens once or twice per year, and others are so preoccupied that they never give their skin a rest. No matter where you stand in the skin care debate, we can all agree that skin care is best taken care of when you follow a routine.

Even before you begin your skin care routine, you must pinpoint your personal skin type. Is your skin normal, sensitive, oily, or dry? Does your skin have a mixture of possibilities? Make sure to purchase skin care products that are right for your personal skin type. In order to determine exactly what you need, you may have to try a few products.

Now that you have your skin care products, here is a routine that works best for most people who have normal skin, with minimal variations.

Step 1

The first step in any good personal skin care routine is cleansing. There are three ingredients that should be found in your cleanser, oil, water, and a surfactant. The oil and surfactant in the cleanser pulls dirt from your pores. The water then flushes the pores, and washes away the oil and surfactant. This will ensure that your skin is clean and clear of dirt and overbearing oils.

To make sure you have the right cleanser, you may have to try more than one. This will let you see how your skin feels using different products. Any cleanser you use should be free from soap, and soap based ingredients.

When you are washing your face, you should use Luke-warm water. This will prevent any damage to your skin. Make sure you do not over clean your face because it can cause damage to both your skin and your pores.

Step 2

The second step in any good skin care regimen is to exfoliate the skin. Your skin automatically follows its own natural schedule. It removes the dead skin cells and replaces them with healthy, new cells. When you exfoliate, you are helping the skin complete this process faster. Since dead skin cells cannot respond the way you need with skin care products, if you do not exfoliate they will absorb the products you are using. This keeps your skin care products from making it to the new skin cells, which is what you want to show.

For the best results, you should exfoliate right after you cleanse. You should make sure you understand how much you should exfoliate. For people with oily to normal skin, exfoliation should happen four to five times per week. For people with dry and sensitive skin, exfoliation should happen one to two times per week. If the weather is hot and humid, you may need to exfoliate more often.

Step 3

The third step in any good personal skin care routine is to moisturize. This is one of the most important steps in taking care of your skin. Even if you have oily skin, your skin will need a moisturizer to remain healthy. A moisturizer helps to seal healthy moisture in your skin. Your skin will also be able to attract moisture as it needs it. You should read the directions on your moisturizer to ensure you use the right amount. If you apply too much moisturizer, you can cause your pores to clog, which will damage your skin, and create acne. Moisturizer should always be applied when the skin is still damp after cleansing.

Step 4

The final step in a good skin care routine is to apply sunscreen. Many moisturizers already come with UV protection, but you should still apply sun screen. This will provide extra protection and keep your skin healthy, even in the sun.

When you are experimenting with skin care products to determine which one is best for you, you will also be able to determine how much of the product you choose will be needed. Always determine the exact amount you need to achieve healthy feeling, and healthy looking skin. If you have a preexisting skin condition, you should visit a dermatologist to treat it, and determine what skin care products are best for your skin type.

Put simply, ‘natural skin care’ is caring for your skin in a natural and chemical-free way. Natural skin care enables the skin to take care of itself without any assistance from synthetic materials or chemicals. ‘

Natural skin care’ is about inculcation of good habits in the way you lead your day to day life. A lot of natural skin care measures are actually the same as those for body care in general.

So, let’s see what these natural skin care measures are.

Well the first and the foremost natural skin care measure is – ‘Drink a lot of water’. Around 8 glasses of water is a must every day. Water helps in flushing out the toxins from the body, in a natural way. It helps in the overall upkeep of the body and promotes good health for all organs (not just skin).

General cleanliness is another inexpensive way of natural skin care. Daily shower, wearing clean clothes and sleeping on a clean mattress/pillow are all part of general cleanliness. After all, clean skin is the key to keeping the skin disorders at bay.

Regular exercise is the next thing on the cards. Exercise increases the flow of blood that helps in getting rid of body toxins and keeping you healthy. Exercise also helps in beating stress which is the worst enemy of good health.

Healthy food and eating habits are also recommended for natural skin care. Some type of food (e.g. oily food) is known to cause acne and should be avoided as much as possible. Your diet should be a healthy mix of various nutrient providing foods. Raw fruits and vegetables are known to provide freshness to your body and help in getting rid of body toxins.

A good sleep is also instrumental in maintaining good health and in beating stress. As a natural skin care measure, a good sleep delays slacking of skin.

Beating stress is another natural skin care therapy. Stress causes overall damage to body and health. Drinking a lot of water, getting a sound sleep and exercise has already been mentioned as stress busters. Indulging in a warm bubble bath, listening to music and playing your favorite sport are also good ways of beating stress. Yoga is yet another way of beating stress; it is fast gaining popularity amongst the masses.

Avoiding excessive exposure to sun (by wearing long sleeved clothes, hat and umbrella etc.), is another natural skin care strategy. Sunscreen lotions are also recommended as necessary.

A lot of traditional and homemade natural skin care products/ measures are also known to be very effective. Such measures are not only natural and easy-to-follow, but also relatively inexpensive.

Besides that, a lot of natural skin care products are available in the commercial market. These include things like lavender oil, aloe Vera etc., which don’t have any side effects.

To start the discussion on oily skin care, it’s imperative to first understand the cause behind oily skin. Put simply, oily skin is a result of excessive production of sebum (an oily substance that is naturally produced by skin). As is known to everyone, excess of everything is bad; so excessive sebum is bad too.

It leads to clogging of skin pores, resulting in accumulation of dead cells and hence formation of pimples/acne. Moreover, oily skin spoils your looks too. So, ‘oily skin care’ is as important as the ‘skin care’ for other types of skin.

The basic aim of ‘oily skin care’ is the removal of excessive sebum or oil from the skin. However, oily skin care procedures should not lead to complete removal of oil. ‘Oily skin care’ starts with the use of a cleanser.

However, not all cleansers will work. You need a cleanser which contains salicylic acid i.e. a beta-hydroxy acid that retards the rate of sebum production. Cleansing should be done twice a day (and even more in hot and humid conditions).

Most of the oily skin care products are oil-free; however, it is always good to check the ingredients of the product, before you actually buy it. This is especially important if a product is marked as ‘suitable for all skin types’, instead of ‘oily skin care product’. ‘Oily skin care’ is also dependent on the degree of oiliness, if you aren’t too oily, so some of these ‘suitable for all’- type of products might be work for you too.

For extremely oily skin, only oily skin care products are suitable. Your oily skin care routine can include an alcohol based toner (for an extremely oily skin). This can be the second step in your oily skin care routine i.e. just after cleansing. However, excessive toning can harm your skin.

The next step in your oily skin care routine can be a mild moisturizer. Again, the degree of oiliness of your skin will determine whether you need to include this in your oily skin care routine. If you do decide to include a moisturizer, be sure to use one that is oil-free, wax-free and lipid-free.

You could also use a clay mask (say once a week) as an oily skin care measure.

As far as the oily skin care products go, you might need to try out a few before you arrive at the one that is really suitable for your skin.

In case these measures don’t give you the desired result, consult a good dermatologist for advice. He could prescribe stronger oily skin care products like vitamin A creams, retinoids, sulphur creams etc , which can help counter the problems of oily skin.