he way one’s skin looks changes as we age, no matter how you identify. Suppose you are reading this; it is more or less likely because you acknowledge that you won’t remain young forever. Wrinkles, bumps, and scars are just a few natural things we develop throughout our lives. It is a wise tale that wrinkles can often happen due to stress or are signs of one gathering knowledge throughout their lives. Whether these rumors are true or not, aging is a factor in life that almost everyone dreads.
Our bodies are changing shape and unable to keep the same looks we had when we were younger. A factor that many individuals, women, in particular, begin worrying about in their late teens and into the early to mid-twenties is the way their skin ages. Aging is not something many of us want to think about, but if you're going to keep your skin youthful for as long as possible, the following will provide different tips and tricks for you.
Skin Care in Your 20s
If you are reading this, you are most likely looking for the best way to keep your skin looking young. There must be some secret or formula one can follow to stay young forever. Unfortunately, there is no spell or secret potion. However, there are ways to keep skin smooth and soft as you enter your mid to late twenties.
Many individuals like you may spend hours surfing the web looking for the various ways to keep your skin healthy, depending on the types of skin you may have. Here you will read about a few of the different skin types and the best courses of action one may take to keep their skin looking pristine. While some individuals may use just soap and water to maintain clean and healthy skin, others may turn to the following items: facial cleansers, daily sunscreen, retinal treatments, eye cream, exfoliating treatments, body polish, and hyaluronic acids, to name a few of the commonly used products. One thing for individuals to keep in mind when purchasing these various items to use on their skin is that some brands may work better than others varying from person to person and the price of the product depends on the brand one decides on using.
List of Some of the Best Facial Cleansing Brands:
- La Roche - Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser $15
- Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne - Fighting Facial Cleanser with Salicylic Acid $21 for 3
- Youth to the People Superfood Antioxidant Cleanser $37
- iS Clinical Cleansing Complex $45
- Fresh Soy Face Cleanser $38
- Cera Ve Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser $15
- MELE Refresh Gentle Hydrating Facial Cleansing Gel for Melanin Rich Skin $14
- Pai Light Work Rosehip Cleansing Oil $49
How to Avoid Dry Skin
Now that winter is coming to an end. Warm weather invites us to spend more time outside doing activities that we may enjoy, whether walking around the park or drinking coffee on the patio of that cute little cafe around the corner. The possibilities are endless. Just like the weather, our skin also changes too. For some, they may get a luscious tan, while others may turn cherry red. Unfortunately, one thing that occurs to individuals, no matter their age, race, or sex, faces the curse of dry skin once they reach their twenties. Isn’t that why we wear sunscreen? The simple answer to this question is yes.
Like during the winter with warm air, being under direct sunlight for long periods without keeping ourselves hydrated can physically dehydrate our bodies and our skin. After all, approximately 60% of our body's anatomical makeup consists of water. Therefore, one of the best practices that one can begin to prevent their skin from drying out is to start a basic skin routine.
Basic Skin Care Essentials:
- What Cleanser. When choosing a cleanser for your skin, many dermatologists recommend choosing one consisting of a gentle formula. One of the best ways to do this is to avoid facial cleansers that have dyes, fragrances, and alcohol in them. Keeping this in mind will help prevent your skin from being irritated by the daily use and help keep your face hydrated and moisturized with the good bacteria your face needs.
- Why choose a Moisturizer. Before getting too far into picking one out, note that this is false if you have heard the rumor that applying moisturizer on oily skin is a bad thing. On the contrary, if you have oiler skin, you are helping your skin create a barrier not to continue overproducing by using moisturizer. Now choosing a moisturizer that works for you will take time and consist of trial and error before finding one that works best for you. Here are a few guidelines to consider when picking out a moisturizer: what type of skin you have, the time of day you are applying it, and what season. Keeping these three factors in mind will help you when at the store looking through the different brands offered.
- Importance of Sunscreen. Like many individuals, I had the idea that you only have to wear sunscreen if you plan to spend the day out by the pool or have a job that keeps you outside a lot. Although this is still true, by applying sunscreen to your skin frequently, you are helping decrease your chances of developing skin cancer and preventing the sun from making you age prematurely. Isn’t that crazy? UVA rays aren’t what cause sunburns; however, they are what end up penetrating wrinkles and lines that your skin already maintains. A general rule of thumb is that if you want to keep your skin as smooth and youthful as long as possible, you should use SPF 30 or higher to help slow down the aging process.
One can establish a basic skin routine by cleansing your face to remove any makeup residue or oil. As you wash your face, you need to know what you are using to exfoliate your skin and how hard you scrub your skin. Cleansing your face too hard or exfoliating your skin can also impact how dry your skin becomes. Although no one wants their faces to appear oily, a little bit of oil on your skin helps your face to remain hydrated.
Isn’t exfoliating a good thing? The simplest of answers is yes. But it is something you don’t want to overdo. Our bodies are both beautiful and complex things. And one of the things that it naturally does is shed our dead skin cells at least once every 30 days. This means we get a new layer of skin at least twelve times a year. Exfoliating our skin can keep skin soft and smooth and allow us to buff away dead skin. Although we can do this frequently, it is best only to do it once a week to avoid potentially damaging your skin.
After cleansing your face applying face cream and eye cream to your skin will make you appear more awake to those around you and keep your skin hydrated. A final thing one can do to avoid your skin from becoming too dry is to drink at least 2 liters of water a day. By doing this, you are keeping your skin hydrated and the rest of your body.
Oily Skin
Who enjoys waking up after a good night's rest to only look in the mirror to find a patch of pimples that wasn’t there yesterday? Or go to make your bed and find a light outline of their face on their pillows? It's easy to assume that the answer is no one.
Unfortunately, oily skin is another one of those aspects of life that you can’t run away from; a few of the causes are genetics, age, having enlarged pores, or even using the wrong type of skincare, etc. Of course, one can’t run away from their genes, age, or having enlarged pores, but they can use different skincare products to help prevent skin irritation and the amount of oil they produce. A few ways one can combat oil and keep their skin clean include washing their face regularly with soap and warm water, blotting pads and paper throughout the day as needed, and applying face masks and moisturizers.
Along with the ways mentioned how to combat oily skin next are a few more ways you can go about controlling it:
- Wash your face FREQUENTLY, in the morning, at night, and even after working out.
- Don’t use cleansers that are oil or alcohol-based. Using these can run the risk of irritating your skin.
- Apply moisturizer daily.
- Use a foam face wash that is gentle on your skin.
- And finally, perhaps one of the harder ones, Don’t touch your face throughout the day. One thing that complicates this particular tip is that this tends to be something many people do throughout the day without realizing it. You may wipe your eye or scratch an itch on your nose, or even rest your face in your hand. Despite how tempting it may be, by touching your face throughout the day, all you are doing is spreading oil and bacteria that your hands have picked up throughout the day to your face. And we do touch some pretty dirty things.
Hydration! Hydration! Hydration is key to keeping your skin moist, clean, and healthy. When using masks, don’t use them every day. Some of the standard facial masks reduce acne, clean your skin, and prevent oily skin.
Skin Care for Minimalists
Do you enjoy rolling out of bed earlier than necessary in the morning or spending large sums of money on skincare products? If your answer is no to either of these questions, then this is your section. Many young adults can fall into one of the two categories previously mentioned.
They either fall for false promises that exceptionally high-priced products guarantee clear and healthy skin in a matter of days or get sold a time-consuming skin routine that will cause you to lose precious hours of sleep. Unfortunately, looks play an essential part in the beauty world. As a result, many individuals go to great lengths and spend a copious amount of time completing skincare routines when similar instead of using cheaper and less time-consuming ones.
As mentioned in the section “How to Avoid Dry Skin,” the skincare routine that a minimalist uses should be time-saving and affordable. In addition, no matter what brand of cleanser one uses on their face, it should maintain the ability to remove any oil, dead skin cells, or makeup residue that you may have from the previous day. Next, some forms of treatment and eye cream to help exfoliate and combat aging around your face, and finally, use a moisturizer on your face. No matter what skincare routine you may choose, keeping your skin hydrated is one of the most, if not the most, essential things about maintaining healthy skin.
Skin Care for Men
Finally, when it comes to skincare and skincare routines, it is common for individuals to forget that women and men will follow skin routines to maintain a healthy, youthful appearance. Unlike women, skincare for men tends to be very similar to minimalist women in their skincare routines. Starting around their twenties, identical to women, more men should consider beginning to partake in skin routines because whether they like it or not, just like with women, as they age, so will their skin.
It’s a shame that the fountain of youth is just a myth. The three essentials for a basic skincare routine at a minimum include a cleanser, moisturizer, and SPF sunblock. With these three elements alone, men's skin will benefit greatly.
You finished reading this. Now what? Sit down and decide what kind of skincare routine you want to try. There is no better time to begin a skincare routine to help your skin feel good.