Saturday, May 27, 2006

Skin Care Essentials

Do you know how to meet the needs of your skin?

Determining and meeting your skin's essential needs with a comprehensive skin care regimen is critical to maintaining skin's healthy function and beautiful appearance .

While there are several ways to determine your skin's essential needs , the key to optimal skin health and beauty is to meet your skin's basic needs with a comprehensive skin care system. You can maintain beautiful skin and slow the rate at which it ages with a regimen that both supplements and protects the structure and function of the skin .

Basic and Advanced Skin Care Needs

Your skin has up to 10 essential needs for optimal health and beauty. These needs can be divided into 2 categories : basic and advanced needs.Your skin's basic needs are the minium , daily needs or regimen steps all skin types require. Advanced needs are those that address specific concerns of your skin and that can be met by incorporating additional regimen steps as needed. Starting in our late 20s, our advanced needs steadily increase. Together , basic and advanced needs form the essential needs of the skin.


Basic Needs

Although the skin has 10 essential needs to maintain optimal form , meeting the basic , daily needs with four regimen steps creates the foundation of daily skin care. The four essential steps are cleanse , tone , protect and hydrate. A look at each step individually will help to clarify how it specifically addresses the essential needs of your skin.


1. Cleanse: This step meets the skin's basic need to be free of excess oil , dirt and pollutants. If theses impurities are not removed , you may experience dull , sallow skin , clogged , inflamed pores that can discolour and scar ; or free radical oxidation that can damange cells , affecting healthy cell renewal, irritation of the skin ,and initiate hyperpigmentation. To avoid these negative effects, cleansing should be performed twice daily.


2. Tone: Toning fulfils a basic daily need by preparing the skin to receive the benefits from other products and should be performed twice daily , after cleansing. Toning works in several ways. It calms and soothes the skin ; toning also minimizes the appearance of pores and balances the skin's pH.



3. Protect : The protect step meets the skin's basic needs for a morning moisturizer with SPF to guard against harmful UV rays and environmental stressors. Sun damage degrades the moisture barrier and structual proteins and promotes discoloration - all signs of premature skin aging.


    4. Hydrate : The hydrate step provides vital lipids, replenishing moisture , and key repair components for optimal night time recovery . Night time hydration should be applied once daily in the evening.



      Advanced Needs

      In addition to the basic daily needs , your skin also has advance needs . When specific skin concerns such as discoloration , acne , free radical damage , and aging exist , addressing these concerns is critical for skin health and beauty. Incorporating regimen steps to target the skin's advanced needs gives your skin the needed advantage of advanced skin care. Consider some of the following advanced needs :



        • Nourish : For protecting skin health and maintaining skin youthfulness, the nourish step is essential . You can nourish the skin with powerful antioxidants to neutralize free radicals that damage and prematurely age the skin.



        • Treat: The treat step meets an essential advanced need of the skin when key components , functions, or structures within the skin are compromised, leading to signs of premature aging . Treatment products are specially formulated to target those key skin components.


        • Refinish : The refinish step focuses on skin that has become dull and rough. Refinishing helps to resurface and polish the skin for a fresh glowing complexion.


        • Exfoliate: When environmental stressors and intrinsic aging begin to interfere with healthy cell renewal, the exfoliate step becomes important. Exfoliation helps remove dead cell and build up for smoother, more youthful looking skin and can stimulate the cell renewal skin processes.


        • Mask: The mask step meets an essential advanced need of the skin when the skin requires a concentrated application of key ingredients for an extended period of time . Masks are excellent way to meet the skin's various need . Some masks delivery key ingredinets to the skin, while others draw out impurities.


        • Revitalize: Tired , stressed skin requires the essential step revitalize to restore vibrancy and promote cellular energy . This need be met once per wek after cleansing.



        By understanding both the essential , daily needs and the advanced needs of your skin, you can easily create a regimen that meets those needs. You can do this by incorporating specific regimen steps and specially formulated products into your daily routine. It is important to remember that the best skin care products are designed to work synergistically to meet the essentials needs of the skin . As they do this , they maintain and enhance the health and natural beauty of the skin.