The beginning of any new year is a great time to start and adapt new habits and routines to improve your lifestyle and quality of health, as your skin care guru here are my TOP 5 TO START NOW...and make them last forever!
1. DO NOT GO TO BED WITHOUT WASHING YOUR FACE! This may seem like a no brainier but it always surprises me the amount of both men and women who go to sleep without removing their make up and washing their faces. Not only is it essential to remove the surface debris and any build up that accumulates throughout the day but we must allow our pores to be clear and breath. As we sleep at night our skin cells "breath" rest, repair and flush out toxins, if we do not allow this process to be facilitated by clean clear pores and surface to our skin the result can be dryness, sallow or problematic skin. So even in your most tired or tipsy state I urge and encourage you to wash that beautiful face of yours!
2. OUT WITH OLD IN WITH THE NEW...Skin care and make up like anything else with a shelf life expires after a certain period. The standard with skin care is 1 YEAR OPENED 2 YEARS UN-OPENED, be mindful of how long you have had something on your shelf, once a product expires the benefits and effects will do nothing for your skin and your are essentially wasting your money. On a side note from your skin care guru if you are not using a product within a year you either don't love it enough to use or are just not using it enough to to yield a specific benefit. In terms of make up, most powder based cosmetics will tend to last till they are gone...the key is keeping your brushes clean(wash at least once a month with anti bacterial soap and allow to dry completely to avoid mold). Liquid based make up and mascara have about a 3 month shelf life, keep them out of direct light or any heat sources.
3. MINIMIZE TO MAXIMIZE...I am true believer of having a smaller regimen that is easier to do morning and night then having tons of products in your bathroom that you are either not using enough or not really sure what they are meant for. An effective regimen should be anywhere from 1-5 steps and products: Cleanser, Exfoliant, Serum, Eye Cream and Moisturizer. I suggest supporting your local esthetician and creating a regimen that is formulated with active ingredients customized for your skin care program, work with her to prioritize what you need the most and build the rest of the regimen when you can.
4. HYDRATE TO TURN BACK THE HANDS OF TIME...This is a no brainer and a common theme throughout most of my skin care advice. Drinking water is essential to the most optimum function of our whole bodies and systems as well as does wonders to the look and feel of our skin. With proper hydrated skin we can absorb ingredients in our products more effectively and improve the over tone, function, respiration, texture and appearance of our skin. Drink and be merry!!!
5. GET SMART, READ MORE...Begin reading the labels of your skin and body care products more carefully. Eliminate ingredients like alcohol, parabans and petroleum's. These are considered "filler" ingredients and do nothing to benefit the skin and take away from more active ingredients that can be delivered deeper into the skin yielding a higher result. Stay tuned or next months blog breaking down the "top ten ingredients to avoid"...the three listed above are a good place to start.
I know new habits and routines are overwhelming to start as well as to keep, my goal here is to give a few easy and beneficially tips to jump start your way into adoring the skin your in!
From my brave heart to yours I wish you a healthy and abundant 2013!
