The theory of personal skin care is very subjective and differs in different parts of the world, because climate has an effect on how you should look after your skin too. Some people, mostly men, follow totally no skin care tasks at all except everyday washing; others also put some cream on regularly too; still others add an infrequent visit to the beauty salon and others go to a sauna or Turkish baths as well.
Residing in a hot climate requires frequent showering, because dust and bacteria can enter the open pores more easily causing dermatitis, whereas living in a cold climate can result in dry skin requiring frequent moisturizing. This is why skin care should be a routine personalized to the personality of the person and the climate of the area.
Besides those considerations, different people have different skin types. The most frequent skin types are normal, dry, oily, sensitive and mixed). So, you will have to ascertain your skin type and work out a personal skin care routine with all these factors in mind. A basic skin care routine for people with normal skin might be as follows.
Cleansing: there are many different cleansing agents on the market, so you will have to try a few until you find one that suits you. Your cleanser should contain oil, water and surfactant(s). The idea is that the oil and the surfactants lift the dirt and the water washes it away.
Some cleansers are quite harsh, others contain soap, try to avoid both of these kinds. The water you use to rinse away your cleanser is important too. Try to use unchlorinated luke warm water, because chlorine damages skin and both hot and cold water are not beneficial for it either. Do not cleanse too often, or you will lose your skin's natural oils.
Exfoliation: skin renews itself by killing off the uppermost layer and creating a new layer underneath. This dead layer of skin will erode and fall off on its own, but you can speed up this process by exfoliating or rubbing the dead skin off. Dead skin cells are just that - dead - and nothing you can do will improve or save them, but they do soak up (and therefore waste) the lotions you rub on, preventing some of that goodness getting to where you want it to go.
Therefore, exfoliating will increase the effectiveness of the lotions that you apply. If you have oily or normal skin, you should exfoliate four or five times a week, whereas people with dry or sensitive skin should do it only once or twice a week. Exfoliate a couple of times more per week in hot, humid weather.
Moisturizers: moisturizing is perhaps the most important skin care routine after washing. Every skin type needs to be moisturized, however, there are so many kinds of moisturizer that you will have to discover a good one by trial and error. You should know within a week or so whether your moisturizer is right for you. Moisturizer is best put on when the skin is still moist.
Sunscreen: the sun's UV rays are harmful to your skin, so it is best to filter them out when you go outside, even when it is cloudy. Factor 15 is the sunscreen for 'normal' use, sun and skin.
More Information:
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently concerned with
Obagi skin products. If you are interested in
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