4 Step Skincare

1,2,3,4 Steps to Great Skin – A simple Routine for busy women

 Daily FAce Care Essentials

Daily Face Care Essentials – my essentials to good skin care

  Like many of you, it’s important for me to look good, but I don’t have hours to spend on a beauty regimen. And despite my planning and good intentions, weekday mornings at our house are always chaotic. With lunches to pack, homework to be found and two young children to get to school on time, I have to be quick. And at bedtime, sleep beckons so if my night time ritual weren’t quick, it wouldn’t get done.

I have normal to combination skin and am fortunate to be surrounded by a wonderful selection of skin care products. Though I’m always trying new products, I’ve settled into a regimen that works for me right now. I know that my skin’s needs will change as I age so I’ll keep experimenting (that’s sometimes half the fun!).

Despite what product you choose, there really are 4 basic steps to having great skin:
STEP 1: Cleanse
STEP 2: Tone
STEP 3: Exfoliate/Moisturize
STEP 4: Protect

 STEP 1: Cleanse. Cleansing is essential to remove make-up and grime from daily living. I consider it essential at night and optional in the morning, but follow whatever works for your skin type.

  • You’re either a face wash or cleansing milk kind of woman so go with whatever suits you and makes your skin feel good.
  • Choose something gentle that won’t strip away all your natural oils.

 STEP 2: Tone. Toning is a hot topic for debate – should you or shouldn’t you? Toning resets the pH balance of your skin, allowing moisturizers and other active ingredients to penetrate. Certain skin types – oily and/or sensitive – will particularly benefit from this step. For the rest of us it’s a matter of personal choice. If it makes you and your skin feel good then you should certainly consider it.
 STEP 3: Moisturize/Exfoliate. Exfoliation removes dead skin cells and allows for new healthier skin cells to come to the surface. In addition to improving the texture and color of your skin, it allows moisturizers to be better absorbed. Combination products are available (another step saver!) or may choose to moisturize daily and exfoliate daily or several times weekly.

My favorites depend on whether it’s the morning or night. In the morning I moisturize and at night I exfoliate and moisturize:

La Roche Posay Hydraphase UV SPF 30 Learn Morehydraphase uv spf 30 small  AM – Hydraphase UV SPF 30 – which is a wonderful moisturizer that contains sodium hyaluronate to provide relief for dry areas or dehydrated skin.
PM – I alternate between Neostrata Glycolic Acid Ultra Smoothing Cream or Neostrata Retinol Complex. Glycolic acid exfoliates dead dry skin allowing new skin to form. Retinol is a potent antioxidant that helps to create better, healthier skin cells and increase the amount of skin-support substances. Both products do double duty as moisturizer plus exfoliant or antioxidantFor oily skin: AM – Try  Redermic For Normal/Combination skin, Active C Light Texture
PM – Any of the above could be used at night as well. Also consider Neostrata Skin Brightener with 20% Active Vitamin C (highest concentration of topical Vitamin C anywhere) to brighten skin and create a radiant complexion.For dry skin: AM – Hydraphase UV SPF 30, Neostrata Wrinkle Repair (contains Matrixyl, a peptide), Redermic for dry skin, Active C for normal/combination skin and Neostrata Skin Brightener.
PM – Any of the above except Hydraphase UV SPF 30 as your skin doesn’t require SPF protection at night.

STEP 4: Protect – Absolutely essential to all skin types to protect against the sun’s damaging rays. If applying make-up, apply sunscreen first and wait 10-20 minutes to ensure that it will provide maximum protection.

La Roche Posay Hydraphase UV SPF 30 Learn Morehydraphase uv spf 30 small  My favorite: Hands down is Hydraphase UV SPF 30 which does double duty as my moisturizer and sunscreen. Now that saves me one step! A close runner up is Anthelios Creme Fondant SPF 50+ which could be used as a moisturizer/sunscreen as well for normal/dry skin.

For oily skin: Anthelios XL 50+ Fluide Extreme Visage receives rave reviews

 For dry skin: Consider Hydraphase UV SPF 30, Anthelios Creme Fondant SPF 50+

If you are looking for specific recommendations depending on your skin type future newsletters will give more guidance. And always feel free to email me directly if you have any questions – info@phamix.com