10 Top Skin-Care Faux Pas

Male or female, we can all do a little more to help our side on the skin-care front. Here are some of the top foolish skin-care mistakes that we all make, heed where applicable.

1. Not having a skin-care regime
“Cleanse, tone, moisturize.” Let that be your mantra. It’s one of the most basic ways to help maintain your skin, keep it healthy and get it glowing. If you wear makeup, it is critical that you remove your makeup at night before bed as not doing so can lead to clogged pores, which can lead to blackheads among other things.

2. Not knowing your skin type
Because if you use the wrong type of skin-care products on your skin you can exacerbate skin condition(s) you may have. Get products that are suited for your skin type. A qualified esthetician can help you determine your skin type through a skin care consultation, which is normally complimentary.

3. Not moisturizing
As we age our skin loses moisture, gets drier and needs to be hydrated from both the inside and the outside. Replenishing the moisture that our skin craves, through the use of a moisturizer, will help skin maintain it’s vibrancy and elasticity.

4. Not drinking enough water
Our bodies and our skin need water to perform the processes required to detoxify itself. Coffee is a diuretic, meaning it causes increased passing of urine. It is recommended that you drink two (2) glasses of water for every one cup of coffee ingested. Additionally, cut down on your daily intake of soda and fruit juices (save the calories for dessert!) and replace with water.

5. Not re-applying sunscreen
Sunscreen, when applied, does not last forever, especially if you sweat or get wet. Do reapply. The sun’s ultraviolet rays only speed up the aging process by damaging skin cells. Protect your skin. For more the damaging effects of the sun see article here)

6. Yo-Yo dieting
This confuses your skin. “Am I only getting only protein today, or am I only getting only cayenne pepper?”. The skin needs nutrients: vitamins, minerals and various antioxidants to maintain itself and repair against environmental damage. Protein diets do not offer all the nutrients the body needs so do get off the fad dieting and start a healthy balanced lifestyle, one that encourages you to start moving and to stuff your face with green and leafy veges.

7. Drinking excessively
Apart from obvious health and cognitive issues, high alcohol consumption can severely dehydrate the skin. Moderation is key.

8. Smoking
Really a one-way first-class ticket to accelerated aging of the skin. Also your breath smells and your teeth get yellow. It also takes a huge toll on the health of your lungs. Generally not considered ‘sexy-aging’ in 2009.

9.  Popping zits and picking pimples
This is a big ‘NO NO’. Popping zits or picking pimples with finger nails on an uncleansed face increases the risk of a bacterial infection on site.  It also increases the risk of hyper-pigmentation on skins at are prone to discoloration or darkening, especially on darker skin tones. Instead, reach for of for a cleanser and spot treatment that specifically targets acne. Product ingredients like benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid and sulphur specifically target acne. Do avoid using harsh alcohols directly on the skin. 

Do consider monthly professional facials to keep problem skin in check.

**If you cannot resist the urge to pop, do wash both hands AND face, and wrap each index finger in a sheet of tissue paper before you make your best go at it. Do not force the issue if the pimple is stubborn, it will come out eventually, maybe tomorrow. Over-squeezing will only break the outer layer of your skin causing damage, which can lead to hyper-pigmentation (darkening) and/ or scarring.**

10. Not getting enough sleep
The Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School states that sleep plays a critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, and other vital functions. Most of us do not get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep every night. With respect to the skin, sleep deprivation can result in dull skin tone, under eye puffiness, dark circles and bagginess. 

11. Stressing unnecessarily
I know I said ’10′, but this is just too important to leave out. Elevated stress levels can have an adverse effect on the condition of our skin and can potentially lead to break outs. Relax. If you can’t fix it today, leave it for tomorrow.

A little TLC goes a long way. 

Let us take better care of ourselves.

POSSIBLY RELATED GC POSTS

Tip | Skin Types
Anti-Aging Tip #1
HAIs: Infections anyone?
Premature aging
Sun and Skin Types
 

Q/A: How do I get my man to moisturize?

My best advice would be to purchase a suitable moisturizer for him. If he’s not already moisturizing his skin on his own accord then the chances that he is going to buy himself a moisturizer are slim to none. However, this does not mean that he would not use one, if it is standing right next to his shaving cream.

First, is he using a skin cleanser or is he using soap?

If he is using a cleanser great, you just have to introduce one more step, if, like most men, he’s using soap, then you would want to add a cleanser  as well to your shopping list.

Look for products that are both anti-moisturize and man-friendly, i.e.

Do avoid:
~ Anything with pink on it’s packaging

~ Anything that says “Invigorating/ Fresh morning burst/ Bliss/ Sweet Escape”… you get the idea

~ Anything with a strong scent especially floral 0r citrus

Do look for:
~ Something with a clean, understated packaging with primarily neutral colours – White, black, grey, blue for example.

~ Something that keeps the description on the cleanser to “Clean” and “Hydrate” on the moisturizer

~ Something with a mild ‘clean‘ smell, or unscented. Generally any added fragrance to products can potentially irritate skin that is already irritated from shaving, so do avoid any products that contain the words ‘fragrance’ or ‘parfum’, which is normally listed as the last ingredient in the list of ingredients on the product packaging. Many products, however, do contain essential oils in small amounts that work their special magic on the skin, most of which are lightly scented and may impart this to the product – this is okay.

~ A cleanser and moisturizer in the same brand. This is not always a requirement but, in general, men like to keep it simple, especially in the event that he gets hooked on it and decides to surprise you by restocking them himself in the future.

Men, who do not moisturize, usually have oily skin as the skin would tend to compensate for being stripped of moisture and natural oils (as a result of either the use of body soap and/ or not being moisturized). Do look for products that are formulated for oily skin.

Speak with him about it (in a light and cheerful manner, not a sermon!) and let him know which is which and what he is supposed to do with each, and place them in the bathroom, right next to his shaving cream/ aftershave or whatever else he uses daily.

A little goes a very long way with these products so just a pea sized amount of each would do fine. The morning routine:
~ Cleanse face
~ Moisturize face
~Brush teeth

No brushing teeth allowed first because then the other steps will be forgotten. *smile*

Most of all relax and don’t make it an issue.

All the best!

Hope this helps

Supernova

Can I keep a secret?

Come on y’all. You know that we all love to hear one.

A secret.

It’s like being a part of an exclusive society, even if it is just in our minds. Knowing a secret appeals to the human desire to feel important, or at the very least to be cool enough to belong… to something. To be ‘in the know’.

It is not so much a consideration when it’s someone else’s secret, someone else’s business that can be manipulated to extract as much juice as possible. However, it is a different ball-game when you realize that it’s your ’secret’ that’s being passed around like the H1N1. 

‘One person always tells one’. 

A little something to consider before baring your soul to another – best friends and significant others included. Not that I’m pro-keeping secrets from our peoples, but lets be real, most of us are human and will tell someone else, especially if we think that the other individual is so far removed from the situation or circle that it wouldn’t matter, or will tell it again in a different, round about way. So why should we hold it against another for being unable to contain something that we weren’t able to contain ourselves? 

By telling someone a ‘secret‘ we transfer  our responsibility of safeguarding ‘precious cargo’ to someone else, sans clause.

Some information, especially if it doesn’t affect an outcome or … I don’t know… isn’t relevant perhaps, can just be left alone. I like to file this type of info under ‘TMI’ 

So the next time that we get the urge to spill info about ourselves or about someone else, let us imagine it plastered on Facebook’s Live News Feed, comments et al. If we are okay with the visual then, let us be as juicy and as messy as we possibly can be because after all, bad decisions make for good stories. If not, how about we pass on it?

Supernova

Random quote of the day

“… Don’t you see just how fly my style is? 
I don’t see why I need a stylist when I shop so much I can speak Italian…” 

- Champion, Kanye West

Have a Terrific Tuesday!

Supernova