In the busy lifestyles that we have adopted, it is easy to forget about our own selves. Regardless of what stage of life we are at or how busy we are, all of us deserve some time for self-care. One of the most important types of self-care is skincare. To start off, let me explain what a “skincare routine” is. It is simply the steps and measures you take in order to care for your skin every day. While running errands throughout the day, all of us are exposed to harmful sun rays and other damaging things for our skin which may or may not affect our skin immediately but will surely and eventually harm us in the long run. In order to make sure that we are protected and that we restore our young-looking skin for years to come, we must do skincare.
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT SKINCARE
When we think of skincare, we usually think that using fancy facemasks once every week will be enough for our skin, but we need to change our perspective. In my opinion, facemasks are a luxury item that can be used occasionally but they don’t bring much benefit. While there may be some minor benefits of disposable face masks (and I agree that they can be really tempting at times), but they are bad for the environment as one plastic pack contains one mask which will be disposed after 15-20 minutes of use. So, what should be the components making up our skincare routine? I will talk about that soon.
Another misconception regarding skincare is that skincare is only for women and I think we all have seen memes which confirm this concept, wait lemme search for them.
Here they are:
Regardless of gender, our skin needs care. If you are a guy, your skin doesn’t have special protection which exempts you from taking care of your skin. All of us need to be protected from the harmful rays of the sun which not only change our skin colour but also promote ageing and skin cancer.
Additionally, many people believe that home remedies and DIY skincare are the best forms of skincare. It may work for some people, but this can cause severe allergic reactions and can be totally be useless in some cases. The skincare products made by chemists have measured amounts of active ingredients that are good for our skin when applied. Using DIY skincare may not do much for our skin because the percentage of active ingredients in the DIY mixture may not be sufficient to bring any visible changes. Also, never use lemon on your skin please! Do a lot of research and don’t follow other people immediately.
THE 3 STEP BASIC SKINCARE PRODUCTS THAT EVERYONE NEEDS
Before buying serums, facemasks and toners, we must make sure that we are first doing our basic 3-step skincare routine because without these 3 steps, it is most likely that our skincare routine will not give us our desired results. The basic steps include a face wash, a moisturiser and a sunscreen.
We need a facewash (especially at night) to flush away all the dirt and sweat that has accumulated throughout the course of our day. People with dry and sensitive skin can do a water wash in the morning or get an extremely gentle facewash that can be used twice a day (morning and night) without any irritation.
Moisturiser (lotion/ cream) is the second step of your skincare routine mainly at night. Moisturisers help keep your skin hydrated and plump, though each moisturiser may be targeted towards a different skin concern. Applying this before sunscreen is a must during winters especially for dry skin types but this step can be skipped in your summer morning skincare routine.
Sunscreen is the most important step of our skincare routine. We need to apply it every morning whether we go out or not, whether it’s a cloudy or a sunny day, whether it’s summer or winter. Sun protection is a must. After doing your first step, that is face wash, apply sunscreen not only on your face but also your neck, ears and other parts of your skin that will be exposed to the sun like hands and arms. Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to go out! (You can apply a moisturiser (lotion) as your second step which is optional but sometimes it’s too hot outside in summers so you might not feel like having layers and layers of products on your skin. But a moisturiser is always nice as the second step in winters.) I’ve heard many people complain about how sunscreen leaves a white cast on the skin and makes you look like a ghost but that’s because you’ve been using physical sunscreens. Physical sunscreens have ingredients that lay on the surface of the skin while chemical sunscreens get absorbed into the skin, so they do not make you look like a cream cake. I personally prefer chemical sunscreens but many people with sensitive skin have reported irritation after its use, so I’d recommend that you do a patch test before buying one for yourself. How to do a patch test? Apply a pea sized amount of sunscreen at the back of your ear, if you feel any burning sensation or irritation, don’t buy it and consider getting a physical sunscreen or some other gentle chemical sunscreen. If none of that happens, congratulations, you got your new bodyguard.
After you’ve bought the 3 main products you can start considering getting yourself some serums and other products like exfoliators (and the list goes on). Different ingredients are targeted towards solving a different skin concern. If you want to reduce dryness in your skin, you can consider getting products that contain hyaluronic acid while if you want to boost sun protection and brighten up your skin, you can use vitamin C serums (remember that I’m not talking about lemons and oranges when I say vitamin C). In order to reduce minor acne, you can use salicylic acid and to reduce acne scars, you can use niacinamide. But make sure to visit a dermatologist if your skin problems are severe.
THINGS TO KNOW AND BE CAREFUL ABOUT
Not all products suit everyone because all of us have different skin types and we are unique in our own ways so take some time identifying your skin type and researching about which products suit you best. YouTube is full of videos on this topic, and I recommend some channels like Liyah Yoo, Hyram, Dr Dray and Beauty Within that will help you understand more about your skin and what to use on it.
A tip I’d like to give you when you shop for your skincare products is that try to avoid products that contain fragrance because they can cause irritation. Even if you don’t feel any irritation now, fragrances increase sensitivity over the years so it’s better to avoid them overall. Never buy essential oils as they are full of fragrance.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND A THANKS TO ALL OF YOU
I hope this blog gives you some basic information about skincare and why it’s so important. If you have any questions, please comment and I might post another blog explaining about skincare in more detail. Go and get yourselves some products. MOST IMPORTANTLY, stay healthy, safe and happy. Thank you for reading! J
Why is lemon bad for your skin?
Why is sunscreen so important?
Identifying your skin type:
Some online skincare stores if you wish to shop online:
- Aodour.pk
- beautyglance.pk
- Makeup Stash Pakistan
By: Aisha Raja
