All you need to know about Facial skin care

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‘Facial skin care’ is more a matter of discipline than anything else. A facial skin care routine is what you need, and you need to follow the facial skin care routine with complete seriousness.

So let’s check what comprises an effective facial skin care routine. Well, very simply, a facial skin care routine can follow the following 4 steps:

* Cleansing
* Toning
* Exfoliating
* Moisturising

Cleansing is the first thing needed in a good skin care routine. Cleansing helps in removing dust, pollutants, grease and extra oil from your skin, thereby preventing damage to that same skin. Just spot your face and neck with a good cleansing lotion or cream and gently massage it into your skin using upward strokes. Using a soft face tissue or cotton wool, then wipe your face in a gentle patting fashion (do not rub), until the face is clear. Cleansing should be done at least twice a day i.e. morning (as part of complete facial skin care routine) and evening (on a standalone basis). Water soluble cleansers are the best for inclusion in your morning facial skin care routine. Either wated soluble or cream cleansers can be used for your nighttime routine.

Toning is the next item in a good facial skin care routine. However, this is an optional part of any skin care routine. Mostly, proper cleansing with a good cleanser can compensate for toning. Toning will, however, help remove all traces of dirt, grease and excess cleanser, so is recommended at least once a day. You can also use toning when you have been exposed to particularly harsh environment/pollution, or you need that extra step.

Exfoliation is again, a kind of optional step in an everyday facial skin care routine. However, exfoliation is necessary at least once a week (or twice, depending on the skin type and the environmental conditions). Exfoliation finds its place in facial skin care routine because of the natural tendency of skin to replenish the skin cells every 3 or 4 weeks. As a facial skin care technique, exfoliation helps in removing the dead skin cells that block the pores, thus assisting the skin in the natural process. However, excessive or harsh exfoliation can cause damage to your skin; so you need to balance it out.

The next thing in facial skin care is moisturising. In fact, moisturising is the most important part of a good facial skin care routine. Moisturisers prevent your skin from getting dry. Dry skin is really undesirable since it cause the upper layer skin to break, leading to dead skin cells and consequqnt wrinkles. Again, use light upward strokes to make the moisturiser more effective. Moisturisers work the best when applied on warm and damp skin. So do not try to remove all the moisture in the previous steps of your facial skin care routine, as you need this moisture to spread the moisturiser over the entirety of your face without pulling.

Besides the normal facial skin care routine, you should also exercise the following for facial skin care, if need be, on a daily basis:

* Use proper make-up remover instead of just washing it away
* Pay heed to your skin type and the environment, when choosing facial skin care products.
* Before you start using a new facial skin care product, test it by applying it on a short patch of skin e.g. ear lobes.
* Never rub your skin too hard.
* Use sunscreen lotions for protection against sun whenever you go outside.

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