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Three Essential Skin Care Steps

Did you know the key to glowing skin starts with proper cleansing? Yes, cleansing. This is the most overlooked component in the skin care market today. Prepping your face with the right products and preferred techniques will deliver real results in renewing a more youthful appearance.

Even though the trend in skin care is focused on the super-serums as the answer to achieving “glass” skin, using serums in the hopes of achieving radiant skin won’t deliver the maximum results without proper cleansing.

Skin serums deliver active ingredients in order to correct skin conditions – ingredients such as superoxide dismutase or beta-glucan to repair cellular damage. We know certain ingredients can stimulate collagen production and correct cellular misfiring when the skin is nourished from within and from topical applications. But if skin isn’t properly cleansed, serums will not absorb down to the skin layer they were designed to affect.

One of the problems is that all skin is aging due to loss of circulation. There is a 1 percent loss of circulation to the skin every year after about age 25. Imagine how much cellular function is lost when, by age 50, the skin has lost 25 percent of its vital circulation. Additionally, for the skin to respond to active ingredients, it must be properly oxygenated. Increasing oxygenation allows the skin to breathe and better absorb nutrients from skin care products, such as serums.

The way to offset this oxygen and circulation loss is to incorporate massage every day during your cleansing routine. Most importantly, massaging the skin while cleansing helps purify it by bringing blood to the surface, where it helps to detoxify the skin.

The evening is your most important cleanse because the skin has accumulated a day’s worth of grime and environmental pollutants, as well as sunscreen and foundation. Proper cleansing at the end of the day consists of three steps.

Whether you have oily, acne-prone or dry skin, cleansing in the evening should begin by massaging with a cleansing oil. This oil is tissued off, followed by a cleansing milk lotion to emulsify and wipe away any remnants of make-up and sunscreen. The lotion is then rinsed off and followed with an after-cleanse product like a gentle soap or cleansing gel. This step ensures all contaminants are removed, leaving the skin’s pH balanced, thereby not stripping the skin of precious essential fatty acids needed for the skin’s protective barrier to function and look more ageless.

In the morning, repeat the massage during the cleanse to increase blood flow and oxygen, so the skin is again prepared for active ingredients. A cleansing gel or proper facial soap is all that is needed for the morning cleanse.

Following this daily cleansing protocol will also help remove dead skin cells, keep pores free from blockage, and reduce blackheads and acne breakouts. Proper cleansing improves the efficacy of any skin care ritual and enhances your skin conditions to create a more-timeless beauty. 

Annaliza Spiga has been in the health and beauty industry for 30 years. Her store, The Skin Curator, is located in Westlake Village.

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