Keeping skin looking fresh requires a good skincare regimen. To keep pores clean and skin smooth, I recommend using a facial scrub 2 - 3 times a week. Look for exfoliants that contain very fine abrasive particles, such as date seed poweder or jojoba esters. I also recommend using a clay-based mask a few times a week to tighten pores and firm skin, but not on the same day you exfoliate. Doing both on the same day may cause overdrying.
And, like anything, preparation is key:
Before applying make-up, wash your face with a facial cleanser that fits your skin type.
Next, apply an astringent or toner with a cotton pad. A good toner will help refine pores while gently exfoliating dull skin.This helps prepare your skin for moisturizer. Again, you need to use a toner that matches your skin type, but I suggest not using one that contains alcohol because it can be too harsh or overdrying.
Next, follow with a moisturizer with a minimum SPF 15. No matter how oily your skin is, you need to use some type of moisturizer to balance the dryness or harshness of the toner. You need moisturizer to balance your skin’s oil production and SPF to protect your face from UV damage, which is the #1 factor in causing premature ageing (i.e. wrinkles, age spots, skin cancer, etc).
Moisturizer can also be considered a protective make-up base, so even though your make-up gets caked up in hot weather, you can be assured there is a ‘protective’ layer between your pores and the gunk. Acne sufferers should be aware that some thick creams can cause acne to flare.
LASTLY, try to wash off the caked-up makeup as soon as possible. Use a separate make-up remover, or a cleanser that can remove make-up.
Very useful info… Thanks!
Excellent post!
Can I add something about astringents?
An astringent (also spelled adstringent) substance is a chemical that tends to shrink or constrict body tissues, usually locally after topical medicinal application. The word “astringent” derives from Latin adstringere, meaning “to bind fast”. Two common examples are calamine lotion and witch hazel.
Astringency is also the dry, puckering mouthfeel caused by tannins found in many fruits such as blackthorn, bird cherry and persimmon fruits. The tannins denature the salivary proteins, causing a rough “sandpapery” sensation in the mouth. Astringency tastes unpleasant to many mammals (including humans), which tend to avoid eating astringent fruit; conversely, birds do not taste astringency and readily eat these fruit. It is thought that fruit astringency gives a selective advantage to some plant varieties because birds are better than mammals at long-distance seed dispersal, often flying a great distance before passing the seeds in their droppings.
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This is a good blog
Very informative and complete.
Thanks for the info Doc!
I’m having much more luck with my skin than my brother. He’s been having trouble with his acne. I had acne as well, but I have long since gotten rid of mine.
I recently read on http://campusacnetruth.org/
that male acne and female acne differ because the skin of boys and girls are different.
Has anyone heard this theory?
Kasey,
The gender difference is most likely why treatment is working for you and not your brother.
Guys’ skin is 25% thicker than the skin of a girl, which means that treatment has to be absorbed 25% deeper in order to reach the follicle level and truly have an impact.
For this reason, many treatments don’t treat acne at the source by reducing sebum. Instead, they can just lead to over-drying.
Also, did you know that many of the mainstream acne treatments contain parabens, which have been banned in Europe due to links to cancer?
Most acne treatments today use these parabens to prolong shelf life at the possible expense of the consumer’s health.
What a wonderful blog Dr. Kaplan. This is such useful information. It is refreshing to get such expert advice when there is so much garbage out on the internet today. I feel especially good that this advice comes straight from a skin guru such as yourself. Keep the blogs coming!!
-Caroline
This was a great article pertaining to how to clean your skin….