You don’t have to have the internet on your phone to find yourself getting caught up in the latest skincare trends. Every time a new miracle moisturizer comes out, the world goes absolutely crazy for it. Subway platforms get bombarded with advertisements, radio stations stop to announce the breaking news and statues get put up in city squares, all of them hoping that this time the secret to glowing skin and perfect pores has been found. Of course, you know deep down that this it’s unlikely – you know this product will be just the same as the thousand that came before – but still you go out and buy the latest body care product and use it, and then use it some more. And what happens? Nothing. You look exactly the same and, well, you don’t know whether it is you or the product that is failing.
So, to help you out a little, we have come up with a useful guide to help you improve your skincare routine. We promise you will see results.
- It Shouldn’t Hurt. At All.
We’re all guilting of using a new skincare product and muttering the words, “oooh, it’s burning, that means it must be working really well”. Sure, a little tingle for a few seconds is fine (think about Original Source, the mint one). However, if this slight tingling starts to get worse and your skin gets red and itchy and inflamed, or anything like this, then stop using it. Straight away. Then make a note of it and never buy it again. No product should make you look worse before getting better. Never.
- Not All Skin Types Are Born Equal.
You may have grown up thinking life’s biggest mystery was about the CIA’s involvement in certain world events, but it is, in fact, working out what skin type you are. That’s the riddle that confuses so many of us. But without knowing what sort of skin you have you can’t possibly know what skincare products are going to work best. You could have oily skin, or watery skin or even combination skin. There is no right or wrong. However, once you know what you have you can act. You can look for the best bb cream for oily skin, or look for the best hydrating moisturiser for dry skin or see what is out there in terms of balancing your combination skin type. Basically, what we are doing is repeating that age-old adage that knowledge is power.
- You Can’t Rush These Things.
Okay, so if you used a fancy new skincare product to help get rid of that cluster of spots on your chin and it’s taken twelve days to work then, yeah, it is more likely that your spots just died of natural causes. The reason you can be sure of this is acne/spot/pimple cream is designed to work fast given that acne/spots/pimples are pretty urgent things. However, if you are looking at smoothing out wrinkles or quietening down dark spots then you need to accept time has a role. Something like two-weeks to a month – that’s how long it can take to see results. Our advice: the more permanent an issue is, the longer you need to allow a product to do its job. For example, wrinkles are pretty long-term, whereas moisturiser should be almost immediate.
- Tighter Is Not Better.
A lot of the time, people want their skin to feel tighter, which is because they’ve hit 30+ and learned that their collagen levels are falling like water off Victoria Falls. However, tightness might not be a good thing. In fact, that feeling of tightness may well be an indication that this new miracle product isn’t quite right for you. The best way to make sure this tightness is a good tightness is to check the bottle and make sure it boasts a balanced pH level. It might be nothing, that’s the best outcome. However, ignoring any tightness is not a good idea because it could be a health issue and one the ramps up your oil production, opens pores and dehydrates your skin, none of which is that much fun.
- Personalisation is Perfect
Instead of guessing your way through the shelves of Boots, what you can do instead is seek out a personalised skincare routine. That way you will be handed products that are proven to probably work with your skin type. You could go and speak to Skin Inc, Cover FX or Ask Ori, it doesn’t matter as they are all awesome. So long as you go and speak to someone, you’ll be put on the right path and what could be better than that?
Leave a Reply