Healthy Skin Care: Cleansing

Yesterday, I talked about creating a skin care routine that not only cleans your skin, but also creates the perfect baseline for healthy skin.  This basic routine has only 4 components to help your skin get back to it's natural starting point, and to break down any barriers that are preventing your performance products from working.  To recap, the four components are 1). Cleanse, 2). Tone, 3). Moisturizer, and 4). Sunscreen.  Today, I am going to go over the first step, cleansing.

Cleansing 101

A cleanser is a product primarily formulated to gently but thoroughly clean the skin.  Most often, you will find cleansers to be in a gel, cream or milky form.  Occasionally, a manufacturer will create a cleansing bar, which may be in the form of soap, but is not “soap.” The ingredients in soap tend to be harsh on facial skin.

Some manufacturers create their product to do more than just cleanse.  They may include ingredients to exfoliate, hydrate, or even reduce sensitivity.  It is beneficial to find a quality product that does double duty, but know your ingredients--some multi-functional cleansing products are worthless.  There is a book that I recommend to help you navigate the world of ingredient information called  "A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients," by Ruth Winter

Before you spend one more dollar on a skin care product, find out what skin type you are, and only purchase those products that are made for your type—regardless of what the product claims.  Seriously, who hasn’t been sucked in by advertising that targets our perceived week spots, only to end up having a reaction to the product, or discovering that it was completely ineffective for us?  I know I have.  Here is a link to a skin type quiz (of which I am not affiliated in anyway).  I do not endorse or not-endorse the products on this site, however the quiz results tend to be pretty accurate.  If you don’t already know (for sure) what your skin type is, go ahead and take the quiz now—I’ll wait.

Once you know what your over-all skin type is, you can design your baseline skin care routine around the needs of your skin.  As a (very) general overview, the label on the cleanser should say what skin type it was designed for.  If it doesn’t say anything specific, here is a (very) general guideline for matching the cleanser to skin type:

Normal/Combination Skin:  Gel based, milky or creamy cleansers.
Oily Skin:  Gel based, cleansing bars, even clay-based cleansers.

Dry/Dehydrated/Aging: Creamy, or milky cleansers.
Sensitive: Gel, creamy, or milky, but must be formulated for sensitized skin.

Acne:  Gel based, clay based, or milky if formulated to address acne.

Now that you have found the proper cleanser for your skin type, study the ingredients, and make sure it is beneficial for your skin.  If so, proceed to cleanse your face by using the following techniques, two times a day:

1.     Get your face damp with warm (not hot) water.

2.     Apply a quarter-sized dollop of cleanser on you hands, and rub together to emulsify.

3.     Place the cleanser on your forehead, nose, cheeks, chin, and neck.

4.     Starting with your neck, using your hands, make small circular movements in an upward direction, all the way to the top of your forehead. Try to do this for a full minute.

5.     Rinse completely with warm water, and repeat the process one more time.  Yes, if you want to get the most benefit, repeat this process twice. It is what the pro’s do.

6.     A second technique that you could use instead, and that I highly recommend, is to use the Cairsonic Mia, instead of your hands.  This is an ultrasonic facial brush that completely cleans your skin with out being abrasive, or drying.  To learn more about this tool, click here.

Now that you have completed the first step in your baseline routine, your skin it perfectly prepared for all the benefits that come with toning.  Tune in tomorrow to learn more.

As always, if this post brought up any questions for you, please feel free to comment below, or email us directly.