How To Take Care Of Your Skin

Do you know what your skin type is? Do you know how to take care of your skin so it looks youthful and radiant?

Know Your Skin Type

Knowing what type of skin you have is very important because everyone has a different skin type and will need to care for their skin in a different way. That is why one type of acne medication or treatment may not work well for you and another will do wonders.

For example, if you have fair skin, get sunburn easily of have a history of skin cancer you need to be especially careful when out in the sun and make sure you are well protected by using the proper sunscreen and wearing caps, hats and staying covered up. Individuals with a dark complexion or are of Asian heritage, may also have very sensitive skin and may not be able to use many of the different topical acne medications on the market today.

Daily Face Cleaning

Now that you have an idea of the type of skin you have, it is time to setup a good skin care program. Many people wash their face two, three or more times per day and a great majority of these people do it wrong.

When I was a child I was taught to vigorously wash my face and scrub my hands with lots of soap and water until they were immaculate. Then when I became a teenager, I was told to use soap, soap and more soap to get my face clean and clean up my oily skin to help prevent acne. In my early adult years I followed basically the same program that I did as a teenager but had different results because my skin had changed.

Now in addition to the wide range of soaps available for the skin, there are many different types of skin cleansers as well. Some of them only clean, others exfoliate the skin (remove dead skin) as well as clean and still others contain various concentrations of medications like benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid. If you wash to often and use these types of soaps in addition to any topical acne medications, you can unnecessarily irritate and dry out your skin.

It should be noted that washing more than twice a day, regardless of the type of facial cleanser used, will have very little beneficial impact on your acne. If your skin is already inflamed and red from acne, then washing too often will only make your face redder and more irritable.

I have tried many different types of soap from the medicated ones to the fancy wonderful smelling moisturizing and exfoliating soaps. However, after a lot of trial and effort on my part I have found that the simple basic types of soaps can work wonders. I have listed some soaps that I fully recommend for the different types of skin. They are not as expensive or have the fancy fragrances of many types of soaps on the market, but they do work and when used regularly will provide good results.

Oily Skin: If your skin is a bit oily, then Ivory soap is a very good as well as economical soap for your skin.

Dry Skin: If you notice that your skin is often dry, then try Dove moisturizing soaps.

If you have very sensitive skin or have an allergic reaction to most soaps, you may want to try some of the non-soap cleansers like Cetaphil, Aquanil, or Neutrogena's Extra Gentle Cleanser. Once you have the soap that fits your skin type, it is good to develop a regular face washing program. The following steps are ones I use on a consistent basis and I feel really help my skin.

1. First get your soap wet with warm water and lather up a soft washcloth.

2. Using the washcloth to apply the soap to your skin by gently rubbing it in circles all around your face. Lather up the washcloth as needed and make sure you go over your entire face.

TIP: Apply a light pressure and gently massage your face as you wash. Its a great way to help release tension and stress!

3. One thing I do is I count to three in each location before moving the washcloth an inch and counting again. This allows me to make sure I give each area of my face the care it deserves.

4. Once you have covered your entire face, splash some warm water on your face to remove the soap. Keep doing this until all the soap is gone.

5. Use a soft cotton towel gently pat your face (don't rush and rub it) until your skin is dry.

More Skin Care Tips:

The first thing you can do to help is to have a few hand towels set aside that you use just for washing and drying your face. (Don't use the same hand towel that everyone else in the household uses after they wash their hands before leaving the bathroom.)

Second, when you wash these hand towels, avoid using a large amount of detergent or heavy amounts of fabric softener. You want them clean and soft, but not laden with detergents or fragrances.

Third, this may sound a little off the wall to some people but I feel it helps. When you are washing your face, visualize having clear beautiful radiant skin. This helped me to stick to my program and look forward to my face cleaning as a welcome daily diversion rather than a chore.

Remember taking care of your skin is important, its all you get and its with you for life. Take a few minutes for yourself and your skin twice a day - once in the morning, and once in the evening - to properly wash and care for your face. After a while, you will notice that your skin feels better and is more radiant and then you will start to feel better as well.