Does a pimple, dry spot, or maybe the dull skin feel like an ultimate betrayal even after going out and about to take care of your skin? Are all those masks and treatments gone wasted? You find yourself thinking, “I am doing everything I am supposed to do, then why is it not working??” You're already aware that you should never go to bed with makeup on and that you should use SPF every day. So what gives when the dry flakes appear or a nasty pimple appears?
With a heightened level of awareness of skincare health recently, it appears that many people have "perfected" their skincare regimen. There's still a lot you're doing wrong with your skincare routine that's preventing your skin from achieving its goddess-like potential. So keep reading to see how you may improve your routine.
You’re applying your products in the wrong sequence.
If you want to get the most out of all of your skincare products, you need to apply them in the right order. The lightest products and those with the most helpful components should be used first, followed by your heavier creams, and last, your SPF (liquids, then gels, then creams).
Because most moisturizers are water-based, using them after your sunscreen will basically dilute the effectiveness of your UV protection. Water-based cosmetics are applied first, followed by heavier oil-based treatments. Spot treatments should be used before serums and preferably at night (check no. 3). Acne treatments should be applied to bare skin so that nothing gets in the way of them doing their job and you obtain all of their acne-fighting benefits. Only use eye creams on the undereye area; no spot treatments or serums should be used on this delicate area.
Day Time Routine:
· Cleanser
· Toner
· Serum
· Eye Cream
· Day Cream
· Sunscreen
Night Time Routine:
· Cleanser
· Toner
· Spot Treatment
· Serum
· Eye Cream
· Night Cream
Not allowing adequate time for your products to sink in.
Don't rush through your regimen; after cleansing, toning, and treating spots, give your skin 3-5 minutes to absorb all of the product. When you don't allow your skin enough time to benefit, you wind up diluting the products you're using, which means they won't perform as well as they could.
Not testing for sun sensitivity in your product's ingredients.
A lot of the time, products labeled "Night Time" should only be used at night since they include chemicals that might make your skin sensitive when exposed to the sun. So, don't ignore the labels and follow the rule that "Spot treatments should be done at night," because exposing your skin to direct sunlight might result in sun sensitivity, hyperpigmentation, or even a rash.
Not having a separate towel for your face and/or sharing a towel.
Your face and hands are very different, so why should they share a towel? You don't want the germs and bacteria on your towel to end up on your face, which is far more sensitive than your hands. Make a separate towel for your face and make sure no one else uses it. We don't want other people's skin issues to spread to ours; we already have enough to cope with.
Scrubbing, or rubbing your face with a towel instead of dabbing.
When wiping your face with a towel, always dab rather than rubbing. When we rub our skin dry, the fibers in most towels are excessively rough on our skin, causing irritations and making our skin more sensitive, red, and even breaking out.
You're either exfoliating too much or too little.
To begin, determine your skin type: dry, combination/oily, or normal. Then you may devise an exfoliation routine that is most effective for you.
Exfoliate 2-3 times each week if you have normal skin (depending on how your skin has been reacting that week)
Exfoliate 3 times a week for combination/oily skin (use a mild exfoliator; it's never a good idea to be rough on your skin).
Exfoliate twice a week if you have dry skin.
Skincare upwards, makeup downwards.
Always massage your skincare products in an upward rather than downward manner while applying them. This is to ensure that all of the substance seeps into your skin and is completely absorbed. When applying makeup, on the other hand, you want to apply it in a downward motion so that it remains on your skin and doesn’t clog your pores or become overly absorbed by your skin.
Taking off your makeup using makeup wipes.
Using makeup wipes to remove your makeup is never a good idea, in fact, it's never a good idea to use makeup wipes at all. These wipes can really help spread bacteria all over your face, and they can also help open up your pores, even more, allowing debris in the air to clog them. They're also never enough to remove layers upon layers of foundation, concealer, contour, highlight, powder (I could go on and on), regardless of how many wipes you use. You should use both an oil and a water-based cleanser, which leads us to the following tip.
You don't cleanse twice, especially when it comes to removing makeup.
You must twice cleanse to ensure that your skin is free of all the products you've applied during the day. To begin, use an oil-based cleanser to thoroughly remove any makeup or product that has accumulated on your skin over the day. Remove any leftover residue with a water-based cleaner. If you weren't wearing any makeup on that particular day, a single washing would suffice.
You believe you don't require SPF protection (Sun Protection Factor).
Everyone requires SPF. African Americans, too, require SPF. Stop making excuses and start using sunscreen every day, especially on overcast winter days when the sun's damaging UVA/UVB rays are still present. The darker your skin is, the less SPF you'll need, but you'll still need to protect yourself from the sun. SPF 50 for fair skin, SPF 15-30 for darker skin.
Wrapping up.
No more waking up with a huge pimple on your nose and a resentful scream of betrayal! Now you know what to do and also what not to do. Go on, get the glowing skin now!
