How many times have we heard that we must learn to crawl
before we can learn to walk? Well, this is true in every arena of life and
definitely when it comes to caring for the skin--so before you can graduate to
deciphering the saturated shelves lined with beauty products you have to first
learn how to properly wash, dry, exfoliate and moisturize your skin. Believe me
when I tell you that a large majority of my clients don’t even know how to
properly wash their face, so no matter how much you cleanse, moisturize and
apply your SPF, if you are doing it wrong your skin will show for it.
Washing Your Face - When it comes to cleansing almost everyone I meet is doing it wrong. Healthy
glowing skin starts with proper cleansing. To begin, one must wash the face
every evening. No ifs, ands or buts about it. The skin, after a day of living,
is dirty with environmental toxins, makeup and product, dust, dirt and
pollution. Sleeping with that night after night will congest the skin thus
preventing healthy excretion of toxins and secretion of protective oils,
leaving skin lackluster and sallow. Wash the face for a full minute, not five
seconds, not thirty, but a full minute, making sure to spend extra time around
the chin, nose and ear area. Also this is the time to get in a 30 second or more
massage to wake up those muscles and get healthy circulation going, which in my
expert opinion is the only thing aside from love that will make your skin truly
glow. After the minute, follow with a thorough warm water rinse, at least 10
splashes to remove all cleanser and hydrate the surface of your skin. If your
skin is tight and dry after washing your face then your cleanser is too harsh
and this is unhealthy. Skin should always feel soft and comfortable after
cleansing. Finally if you wear foundation or powder, you must wash twice to
remove all make-up. First do a quick surface cleanse, then follow with a more
thorough concentrated cleanse.
Drying Your Face – Before telling you what to do I am going to start by telling you what not to
do. Do not rub your face completely dry and do not use a hand towel or bath
towel in the bathroom that is being used on the body or that others are using
for their hands. Getting those two things right will make a huge difference.
Now What To Do: Always pat skin dry around the forehead and chin with a clean
towel leaving most of that moisture on your skin. I recommend going to Target
and buying a stack of 20 washcloths for $10 and using one of those every 2-3
days to dry your face. After the third day, put it in the laundry and
use a new one. If you have acne or congested skin, this is a practice you need
to pay special attention to.
Moisturizing Your Skin – Whether whole body or face it is
essential that you always apply moisturizer to damp skin. The water will help
draw your moisturizer in and your cream will spread more deliciously on the
surface leaving you feeling silky soft. When it comes to skin, water and oil do
mix. In fact they are best friends.
Exfoliating – The key is to never scrub and scour your skin.
Always exfoliate with a light gentle hand and be thorough but quick, the goal
is only to remove surface dead cells and unnecessary oils. Finally, rinse, pat
dry and moisturize. Also do not exfoliate with a scrub every day, just once or
twice a week and if you have acne – no scrubs, instead use hot towel compresses
on just cleansed skin.
By following the basics you will immediately notice an
improvement in your skin. Stay tuned for my next article where the focus will be on basic product knowledge
and how making the right choices will help you attain the skin you desire. So get
ready, gorgeous skin awaits you!
- Elisha Reverby
Elisha L. Reverby is a New York City native and is a CA And
NY state licensed esthetician. She has been in the beauty industry for fifteen
years, primarily in product development, which led her to create Elique Organic
Skin Food, her own line of fresh food and herb based skin care. As well, Elisha
divides her time educating the public on the dangers of mass produced skin and
body care and operating Get Waxed, her new eco-friendly waxing studio in
Venice, CA right off of Abbot Kinney Boulevard. To contact Elisha you can email
her at elisha@eliqueskinandspa.com
or call her at 310.396.2929.
↑ Grab this Headline Animator
It seems like everyone and his mother has their own blog. Much more than just an online diary, blog topics cover everything from politics and social issues to discussions about film and TV. Here at FashionTribes we not only discuss fashion, but movies, makeup and music as well as an assortment of other interesting topics. But we're not the only kids on the block, so I thought it might be fun to share a handful of my favorite blogs and bloggers with you:
