Skin Care techniques and tips!

Hi guys!

Okay so for the past 6 months I have made a promise to my skin that I will take better care of it. I wanted to use techniques to make my skin less irritated when doing my skin care routine and absorb all the effectiveness of the products more. This has really helped me realise that my skin is actually not that bad!

I have a ton of friends with acne so I also want to help them die the acne down so they can really see that their skin is not as bad as they perhaps thought so they don't have to do so drastic measures like use extra strong products on their delicate face. And no I cannot sympathise with you about the troubles of acne like a lot of other people can on youtube or other blogs. I guess it doesn't run in my family, my family has pretty good skin I guess. The only flaw of my skin right now is chicken skin on my upper arms, yuck! But I have learnt to accept. I noticed just remembering to ex-foliate the area and moisturising it straight away makes it less rough.

Also, a big down side of my skin is that it is easily scarring. If I get a pimple, be it one, it will sure to leave a scar! Even if I took extra care of that said pimple and did not let it pop. A scar will be there for literally months, guarantee! My skin is combination skin, at times it can be oily like on my T area and other parts of the face is some what dry, like my cheeks.

My dermatologist said that the best way to fight acne scars is to prevent the source. Acne. So let us work together and make little changes!

Tip No. 1: Know what skin type you are (Very important tip! You don't want to use the wrong products!) 

This can also be applied to your hair. If you have dry skin and use products for oily skin of course it may make matters worse, but even if your face is covered in acne it does not necessarily mean that you have oily skin. Switching to products more suited for your face will enhance it so much.

Oily Skin? Try using products that have Tea Tree oil. Not only does it dry your skin a bit but it also helps with any acne scarring you may have. You can even make your own mask by buying bottles of tea tree oil from your nearest chemist, drug store or even the health store. Tea Tree oil can be a bit harsh on your skin though so buy one diluted for the face or if you can only manage to find a concentrated one, put some drops into the next time you treat yourself to a bath!
However if you already have a skin care routine with your trusty products, try looking for the same thing but with tea tree oil added to it! Some companies like Neutrogena does this. They have the same products but different types for different needs.

Dry Skin? Try using products with Aloe Vera. There is a catch to using Aloe Vera though, YOU MUST USE PRODUCTS THAT HAVE A LARGE QUANTITY OF ALOE VERA IN IT FOR IT TO WORK!  Some products include a hint of aloe vera in it which will do nothing extra to your skin, they just want to hype it up. I highly recommend actually buying Aloe Vera gel. You can use it like a mask on your face but be warned, it is highly moisturising! Aloe Vera gel can be found in drug stores and chemists. I bought mine from Price Line in Australia. It's a company called "Palmers" and I paid $8 for a large tube which lasts for ages. Picture on the right is me with Aloe Vera gel on my face haha!
Also some products have toners that have no alcohol in it, it means less drying for your skin and your skin won't be stripped of it's natural oils.

Tip No. 2 CHANGE THE WAY YOU WIPE YOUR FACE.

Okay you must be like "Dude I know how to wipe my face" but really? Do you?
For the people who do, good! Well done! :D But for the people who don't...
DON'T JUST WIPE YOUR FACE, PAT IT. PAAAAT IIIIIT. Pat dry it! Just switch to pat drying! Do it! I know it may feel funny at first like as if your face isn't dry yet but trust me okay? It's these little changes that can tone your acne down!

Tip No. 3 Oily skin? Moisturise! Dry skin? Moisturise! Combination? You guessed it! MOISTURISE!

Even if you think that your skin is too oily to moisturise, think again! You may need more moisture than you thought. I used to clean my face and then not moisturise because I thought I had oily skin and did not need it. After that I broke out so bad because my skin started producing even more oils because I've been stripping it of it's natural oils. So dear lord please moisturise, it's like you sealing your face once and for all after cleaning it. 

Right now I use Clean and Clear basic moisturiser and some times change it to the Neutrogena SPF moisturiser when I need to go out through out the day. When I want to pamper my skin I switch to Aloe Vera gel!

Tip No. 4 The three main steps you should do, Ex foliate, tone and moisturise 

It's how you do each is what can help you. Cleansers these days can be so rough on your skin and some days you don't need much ex foliating. Too much can damage your skin because it is so delicate. This is what I do and recommend but please note that everyone is different.

I use Clean and Clear foam cleanser. I recommend any cleansers that is a foam cleanser because it is a lot softer than the other cleansers. If you do however need to scrub your face I also recommend getting one of these... 

This is a face scrub tool! I use it with the foam when I need a bit of extra buffing on my skin. I use the one you get with the Loreal Perfect Face scrub. Afterwards my skin feels like it used one of those face machines or gone through the spa treatment...ahhh~ so smooth!

Tip No. 5 Use cotton pads for your toner that are sealed away in a air tight plastic bag and make sure they are absolutely clean!

I've been taking care of where I place my cotton pads and I only use the ones that they sell for make up removal. I make sure they are all hygienic and clean because we don't want any germs to get on our skin do we? 

Tip No. 6 After using the shower (very important if you take hot steamy showers like me, oh god that sounds wrong) splash your face with cold or, if you can, ICE COLD WATER to close your pores!

Try and do this because your pores will be especially open after these times. Dirt and other nasties will get into your skin much easily. But we can also use this to our advantage. You can lightly steam your face so your pores will open when you use products like black head strips or serums for your skin. Black heads will come out much more easily and all the goodies of serums and other products (or facial masks!) can be sucked right up by your skin. 

Tip No. 7 DRINK MORE WATER  

Very simple but can be quite effective! Your skin loves water and it will help flush out the bad stuff out of your system. Thus your skin won't be so effected by the stuff your can't control that much inside.

Tip No. 8 Be more aware of your surroundings

Start being more aware of how long you haven't changed the sheets and pillow case. Also start cleaning your phone every now and then if you talk a lot like me. This can also explain why you may have more pimples on one side of your face than the other! 

Tip. No. 9 Germs germs germs are the reason for why pimples can exist for most of us. Wash hands often and think if your hands are clean or not when you touch your face! 

This may sound like a over neat freak germ phobia talk but it's true! I started washing my hands more and when I touch my face I think "...what was the last thing I touched". I rarely touch my face now without good reason or when I'm doing my skin routine, I sort of treat it like a temple...in a way haha. But make sure your hands are clean before your face routine!

Tip No. 10 When applying products like serums and moisturisers, slap it lightly on your face, the skin will absorb it more

Also a good way to wake yourself up and give your face a slight massage~

In Conclusion

I hope these tips have inspired you to at least think about it. Like "okay I'll do one thing on the list like cleaning my hands more or something" haha. It's the little changes like these that can really show you that your skin isn't as bad as you think and you don't need to spend a gazillion dollars on acutane or proactive or something similar. Get to know your skin just a little bit, be nice to it and if it's still not nice to you then see a dermatologist and see what they have to say. But remember! Little changes like these one can go a long way and hey, most of them are free! Don't use such expensive products, you may not need them unless you tried at least treating your skin nicer!

Thanks for reading!

- Teddy

All images from google apart from the photo of me. Any of these images yours? Please tell me and I will gladly credit! :D
List of products I've been using...
Clean and Clear Foaming cleanser and Moisturiser
Netrogena toner and Moisturiser
Lancome Genrifique Serum
Palmers Aloe Vera Gel