Thoughts from Home

I’ve been finding literature for eczema treatment in my fave online magazine when I ended up going over the skin care tips that are really helpful. That reminds me to pay attention to my skin now even if I am staying at home most of the time. I am so vain before when I was working, and even spends a few bucks for skincare products. Then when I stayed at home, everything has changed…even the brand of beauty bar and the facial cleansers that I am using. I totally forgot about my beauty regimen – the homemade body scrub, and the natural facial wash. It isn’t too late yet so I’d better go back in taking extra care of my skin. After all, I will definitely benefit from it and won’t regret it later.

Anyhow, here are some skincare guide that I find helpful:

Normal Skin: Your skin is neither too oily nor too dry, and you rarely break out or experience redness. Your pores are small (practically invisible), and though an occasional blemish may surface, it’s usually tied to your period.

• Cleanse and moisturize daily with gentle, basic products. Look for those with antioxidants, which fight free-radical damage and stave off the signs of aging.
• You might also consider adding retinoids or vitamin C to your routine several times a week to boost collagen production
• Finally, don’t forget moisturizer?one with sunscreen for the day and one without SPF at night.

Dry Skin: Blame the flakiness?along with the redness and itchiness?on your skin’s barrier layer, which doesn’t retain natural oils or water as well as it should.

• To keep your complexion quenched and healthy, use cleansers and creams with emollient ingredients, like hyaluronic acid and ceramides.
• Skip foaming face washes, since they strip away lipids, and avoid anything containing harsh retinoids and alpha hydroxy acids
• If your skin is very flaky or peeling, try a face oil under your moisturizer?it will smooth out your skin.

Oily Skin: Soon after you wash your skin, it looks shiny. You may suffer from blackheads and breakouts that aren’t tied to your monthly cycle, and your pores are medium to large.

• Help keep your pores unclogged by sloughing away dead skin cells daily with products that contain salicylic acid or alpha hydroxy acids.
• And, logic to the contrary, it’s important to moisturize: If your skin’s surface gets dehydrated, your sebaceous glands, which produce oil, will kick in to action (brace yourself!).
• Use oil-free lotions and sunscreens, which won’t exacerbate acne

Sensitive Skin: Almost any new product, especially one that contains fragrance or preservatives provokes a response?usually in the form of redness or stinging.

• A daily dose of gentle products is the way to go.
• Avoid anything with an added scent, and pass up eye creams, which can be irritating.
• Calm itchiness and redness with products that contain anti-inflammatory ingredients, like green tea and licorice-root extract.
• And don’t skimp on sun protection: Just choose products with gentle UVA-blocking ingredients, like zinc oxide and Mexoryl.

Mature Skin: As you enter perimenopause and estrogen levels begin to drop, you experience a slowdown in both oil and skin-cell renewal. The result: skin that lacks elasticity and looks dull. You may also start noticing fine lines, brown spots, and rough patches as past sun damage (oh, misguided youth!) manifests itself.

• Get your youthful glow back with products that contain antioxidants and retinoids. The former fight the free-radical damage that ages skin, and the latter boost collagen production to keep it firm.
• Since your skin is slow to slough off dead cells, dermatologists recommend using a weekly at-home peel to help it along.

Now I’d better note in my planner to include my natural body scrub and other pampering products that I need in the grocery list. I am sure Ace would love pampering his skin too.