Skin Types

Your skin type is determined by how much - or how little - oil your skin produces. And what determines that? Genes, stress level, medication, even your skincare regimen and the products you choose. The amount of oil your skin products naturally will determine the amount of oil you need in your product.

Knowing skin type can help minimize irritation and cosmetics-related acne. Below are the skin-type test to know what kind of the products you'll have to use.

Wash your face with nonmoisturizing soap like Neutrogena and pat dry. Take a few pieces of rice paper of lens-cleansing tissue paper, and press them on different spots on your face.

• If your skin is oily, the paper will stick, pick up oily spots, and become translucent.
• If the paper doesn't stick and leaves no oily spots, your skin is dry.
• If it sticks in the T-Zone (forehead, nose, and chin) but not on the cheeks, your skin is combination (or normal).

Most women (about 70 percent) have combination or normal skin.

You can expect your skin to change at various points throughout your life, so recheck your skin type periodically and fine-tune your regimen in different climates and at different times of the year. (For example, most women need less moisturize in the summer, when the oil glands are more active.) However, this does not mean you need to run out and buy separate products for the oil and dry areas of your face, for day and night, or for travel across time zones. Not at all.

Four-Step Regimen for Skin Care

1. Cleanse
2. Exfoliate
3. Moisturize
4. Use Sun-Protection

Step 1: Cleanse

• Use a rinse-off cleanser and forget about soap. Cleansers remove makeup and dirt, but leave the skin feeling silky and supple.
• You might want to do the things when you wash your face: dissolving the dirt and oil on the surface of the skin and normalizing your skin condition. Cleansers consist of oil, water, and surfactants. The oil dissolves the oil on the face; the surfactants dissolve everything else; and water washes it all away. Some cleansers contain lots of oil; others have none. If you use a cleanser that is too rich for your skin, it can clog your pores; if it's too drying, it can irritate your skin. So choosing right one is important.
• Normal or dry skin: Need a more emollient cleanser. Look for a milky or creamy cleanser with plant oils like sweet almond oil or jojoba.
• Oily Skin: Need a cleanser that will control some of the excess oil. Look for "little" humectants like glycerine or butylene or polyethylene glycol used as substitutes for oil.
• Really Oily Skin: A foaming gel or an oil-free cleanser, especially one with citrus, will cut through the oil.
• It is important to clean your face thoroughly, but overly aggressive cleansing strips the skin's surface lipids. If you lose those, your skin loses its natural protection and can become dry and irritated - even if you have oily skin.
• Normal skin should use a cleanser at night to remove makeup, cellular debris, and the grime of the day. In the morning, plain old lukewarm water is all you need to get rid of any overnight oil buildup.
• If you fall asleep with your makeup on at the end of an evening, you might look glamorous then, but you won't be a pretty sight in the morning. Besides, your pores will clog.

How to cleanse gently

1. Wash face in warm water to loosen clogged pores and stimulate blood circulation to the skin. (The water shouldn't be hot!)
2. Wet the face, then squeeze a dime-sized dab of cleanser into your palm, rub hands together, and gently move them in circles around the face.
3. Rinse with cool water to tighten the pores. Water that is too hot or too cold can cause broken capillaries.

Makeup Removers

Spread the makeup remover on a tissue or a cotton ball, apply it to the area, and tissue it off with an extremely light touch. Always use delicate, gliding movements when careing for the skin to avoid wear and tear. If you're too heavy-handed, the day-in and day-out pull on the skin will eventually cause your skin to lose tone.

Step2: Exfoliate

Approximately every three weeks, new cells push up from the lowest layer of the epidermis and move toward the surface, changing shape as they go. Healthy new skin cells make this trek to the surface every 28 to 45 days, and what happens to them throughout the course of their journey has a great effect on the skin's appearance. At the end of the cycle, at the surface, the flattened and dried-up cells are shed. Sometimes the old cells from a united front and stick around longer than they should. Exfoliation helps the natural process along by giving those cells a little extra push. Removing dead skin cells helps pave the way for plumper, healthier, smoother skin cells to surface, which can make a huge difference in your appearance.

If you have oily or combination skin, use an exfoliant four or five times a week, after your cleanser. If your skin is dry or sensitive, once or twice a week will do. In warm weather, or in a warm climate, you need to exfoliate more often, because sweat acts like glue. (It clumps dead skin cells together and inhibits the skin's natural ability to shed like a snake.)

Exfoliation makes it easier for the skin to absorb moisture, removes surface debris, evens out the texture of the skin, and makes it look smoother, juicier, and less wrinkled. (One of the reasons men of a certain age often have skin that looks so much better than women's of the same age is that men exfoliate daily when they shave.)

There are two types of exfoliates: physical scrubs and chemical exfoliants (such as alpha-hydroxys (AHAs)). Scrubs are composed of irregularly shaped bits of organic materials - ground walnuts, almond meal, apricot pits suspended in a cream base, or synthetic beads or granules. They are cheap, and they work very well - provided you don't rub too hard. Baking soda, powdered milk, or finely ground cornmeal or oatmeal, moistened with a bit of water, though not as elegant as the commercial concoctions, work just as well.

Alpha-hydroxy (AHA) acids (and beta- and polyhydroxys) are chemical exfoliants that do the same job, except they depend on acid instead of a manual rub to loosen the hold between clumped-together skin cells. The best way to use these is in lotions and creams, not cleansers, because the acids need to say on the skin for a while in order to work. They may tingle, or may even irritate the skin, at first - they are acid, after all - but this is the rare instance where an irritating product can actually help your skin. But, if your skin turns red or rashy after using one of these product, stop using it.

You should consider using AHAs only if you have what is euphemistically known in the beauty industry as "mature" skin - aka aging or sun-damaged skin. AHAs can help correct, but cannot prevent, the appearance of aging on your skin, so there is no point in starting too early. Always use AHAs cautiously, since they can, literally, thin your skin. NEVER use both an AHA and a scrub - it's overkill.

How to rub your scrub

After you cleanse your face, take a bit of scrub into the palm of your hand. Wet it and lightly press the srcub into your skin. Then massage it gently around your face with the same easy pressure you use to shave your legs. The force of the abrasion should lie somewhere between that used to wash with a washcloth and a loofah. (Never use a loofah on your face; it's much too abrasive.) To really get your circulation going, splash with cool, then warm water.

WARNING: Don't overscrub, because you need some of that surface stuff around to protect your skin.

Step 3: Moisturize

Where moisturizers are concerned, the relevant question is not if, but how often and what kind of product to use: some of us benefit from a thick, oily cream several times a day, while others can get by on a couple of drops of light lotion or a dab of gel once a day. Listen to your skin; if it doesn't retain enough water, it will feel tight and dry. Pay attention and give it moisture.

How Do Moisturizers Work?

Moisturizers keep the skin healthy and protect it from dryness in several ways.

1. First, they attract moisture from the atmosphere and draw it into the skin cells, which keeps them plump and jiucy.
2. Second, they seal the moisture in with an occlusive coating - a kind of Saran Wrap effect.
3. Third, they help fill in or remortar the gaps between the skin cells, which keeps the skin's barrier function holiding strong and firm. 

Humectants that bind water to the skin, barrier ingredients that block water loss, and emollients that soften the skin and mimic its lipid structure make it possible for moisturizers to perform these functions.

One thing moisturizers will not do is prevent wrinkles - unless they contain sun-screen. Moisturizers can soften the appearance of wrinkles by plumping the skin tissue and swelling it with water, which is no small feat. Dry skin is only slightly more prone to wrinlkes than other skin types - unless it's been overexposed to the harmful rays of the sun.

WARNING: DON'T OVERMOISTURIZE. Overuse of a moisturizer is as bad as not using any - so don't slather it on. Too much moisturizer can lead to clogged pores and blackheads. It can also slow down your skin's turnover time: your dead skin cells will get "stuck", and they'll have a harder time sloughing off if your skin is oversaturated.

Always apply a thin coat of moisturizer before you enter a sauna. It helps prevent broken capillaries.

Types of Moisturizers

Tip: When you come home form work and your skin is almost as tired as you are, wash up and then slather on a face oil. Since you won't be going out again to face the world anyway, it doesn't matter if your face temporarily transforms into a reflecctor shield until the oil is absorbed. Once it does, your skin will feel like the proverbial baby's bottom.

Homemade Moisturizer

If your skin is extremely dry and super-sensitive, here's how to make your own moisturizer:

1. Mix 1 cup liquid oil, such as avocado or almond, with 1/2 cup beeswax.
2. Place over low heat until the beeswax melts, remove from the heat, and whisk until cool.
3. Add the contents of three capsules of Vitamin E and a few drops of pure essential oil for aroma (lavender, sandalwood, rose, whatever you fance), pour into a sterile jar, and store in a dark, cool place.

How to maximize moisturizer

1. Gently apply a dime-sized dab to your skin (too much is a waste of money).
2. Use an upward, circular motion ot lightly massage the moisturizer into your face. Make sure not to pull or tug on the skin. If your skin is oily, don't massage too much: facial massage stimulates the oil grands to produce more sebum, which is the last thing oily skin needs.
3. When you apply cream under the eye, do it gently. (This is the most delicate skin on the face.) Use your fourth finger (the weakest) and pat the cream back and forth under the eye, starting at the outer corner and working inward. Do this twice a day, once in the morning before applying makeup and once at night after removing it. Don't put eye cream on your upper lids before bedtime or you'll wake up with puffy lids.

How to Use Moisturizer

The best time to apply moisturizer is right after washing or showering, when the skin is already damp and the moisturizer can seal inthe moisture. Make sure to pat face dry first (always pat, never rub), because if the skin is too wet, the cream will just slide right off your face. Most important, always apply moisturizer to a clean face with clean hands. For most people, one application in the morning and one at night should be enough, but us common sense. If the skin feels taut or dry during the day, moisturize it.

Don't need moisturizer on the nose. The nose has an extremely high concentration of oil glands that usually don't need any extra encouragement.

Don't forget the neck. Stroke upward, so that you don't pull the skin down. Don't need a separate moisturizer for your neck, nor do yo need a separate night cream. Admittedly, the thought of an overnight transformation can make night creams tempting. But most of us, most of the time, don't need another beauty product to help us tell day from night. At the end of day, our skin doesn't really know the difference.

If your day cream has sunscreen in it, use a separate night cream. At bedtime, the sunscreen is not only unnecessary, it's apt to irritate the skin if used around the clock.

Spritzing

During the summer, the skin should keep an atomizer of water handy when the skin feels it's thirsty. In a climate-controlled office, or on an airplane, where the air is exceptionally dry, spray the face lightly throughout the day to hydrate the skin and blot it dry with a tissue.

A quick spritz on the go can help rinse, refresh, and rehydrate the face. If the skin is oily, spray the face with lemon water, annd use a cotton ball to pat it lightly around the face.

Though the moisturizing effect of a spritzer is temporary, it feels good - and it smells good, too.

Eye Creams

The eye is surrounded by the shallowest tissue on the face. The skin under the eye has no subcutanceous (fatty) layer and not much support structure, which is why it wrinkles easily and isn't very resilient.

It is not necessary for an eye cream to be thicker than a face cream - that is a matter of taste. The undereye area is a good place to directly apply a high-quality oil like kalaya, jojoba, rosa mosqueta, or evening primrose. Because oils spread smoothly and absorb easily,  it won't have to be disturbed that delicate skin area by touching it too much. When waking up in the morning, the undereye area will look notably smoother than it did the night before.

Step 4: Use Sun Protection

Although dry skin is more prone to wrinkles than oily skin, dry skin doesn't cause wrinkles and moisturizers do not prevent them. The wrinkles are caused by the sun's untraviolet (UV) light. The sun damage is the number one cause of premature aging in women. It is also the one cause of aging that can be controlled.

Ultraviolet light breaks down collagen, causing wrinkles and sagging. Ultraviolet light stimulates the skin to create abnormal elastin fibers, so the skin loses its bounce. Long-time exposure to UV light damages the skin cells' ability to divide properly and inhibits the growth of healthy cells. It can lead to dark sports and turn the skin yellowish of sallow. Chronically exposed skin also develops a thick, leathery texture because the body speeds up cell growth to thicken the top layer in a feeble attempt to block the UV light.

Until recently, it was assumed tha the UVB rays, which cause sunburn and suntan, were the only ones to worry about. But despite the fact that many of us were drenching ourselves in SPF (Sun Protection Factor) sunblocks, skin cancer rates increased in recent years. It is now believed that while SPF products protect the skin from damaging UVB rays, the UVA rays are the ones that cause the real problems.

UV light is ubiquitous, and it is persistent. It reflects off sand and snow. It penetrates at least three feet under-water. It is brazen, indiscriminate, and merciless, and it is the skin's single greatest adversary. If you are getting only incidental sun exposure (such as a stroll around town), you don't need a heavy-duty sunscreen as you would if you were spending a day at the bench. For ordinary exposure, an SPF 8, 10, or 15 moisturizer, a tinted moisturizer, or a foundation with titanium dioxide is enough for the face - and don't forget the neck. If possible, apply sunscreen at least 20 minutes before going outside to give the active ingredients a chance to be absorbed.

Sensitive and Allergic Skin

The women who are with weakened skin are prone to eruptions of red, flaky, scaly, extremely dry, itchy patches known as dermatitis. Dermatitis can be caused by many things, but the most common triggers are an allergy or physical contact with something that irritates the skin. Contact dermatitis, the most common type, is often triggered by a sensitivity to irritating or drying cosmetic ingredients, harsh detergents, and contact with certain metals. If you are allergic, you will react immediately when exposed to any amount of a substance, no matter how small.

If you have dry skin, you are most at risk of sensitivity reactions, but anyone can develop sensitivity to a specific ingredient in a product. Fragrances, colorings, talcs, alcohol, FD&C dyes, aluminum, and synthetic preservatives are the most common irritants.

If you are highly allergic or super-sensitive, look for natural alternatives to synthetic preservatives: Vitamin E (tocopherol), citrus seed extract, grapefruit seed extract, Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), Vitamin A (retinyl palmitate), wheat germ oil. Or try balm or oil instead of a lotion or cream, because these water-free products don't contain preservatives.

Eczema

If you have sensitive skin, you may be more prone to eczema. Eczema is a type of dermatitis that appears as red, flaky, scaly patches of dry skin. One of the most common forms, asteotic eczema, can actually be caused by excessive dryness. In extreme cases, eczema blisters and scales, and in all cases it itches. Sometimes eczema flares up as an allergic reaction, and, in fact, childhood eczema, which can appear all over the body, is common among asthmatic, allergy-prone children.

In adults, patches of eczema are common around the eyebrows, the hairline, and in front of the ears. Heavily perfumed soaps, shampoos, and moisturizers can aggravate the condition. Eczema thrives on humidity, though sometimes moisturizers can help soothe the flaking and eliminate the red patches. But they can also make it worse, especially if you apply a moisturizer with sensitizing ingredients, because the skin is already inflamed and hypersensitive from the eczema.