Where was I from the last post?
Oh right…it’s really important to know your skin and to understand the best way to take care of it.
Knowing is HALF the battle.
Most of us believe we have a certain skin type…but…in all honesty we don’t. Just because our foreheads shine during the summer, with the need to powder our nose more often than some people, doesn’t necessary mean we have “oily” skin. Just because our skin is flaky and dry during the colder winter days, doesn’t mean we have “dry” skin.
We also have to consider environmental factors like PM2.5, air conditioning, and heating just to name a few. Singapore has a haze season where there are major particulates in the air. Japan has some season when there are more PM2.5 in the air flying in from China. These factors add on stress to your skin leaving particles which could irritate and do something funny to your skin. Air conditioning and heating of course is notorious for drying out the skin. Being in an environment with excessive heating or A/C takes away natural moisture leaving your skin with dryness.
So you could have a shiny T-zone, but if you lived in Singapore spending a lot of time in the A/C parts of your skin could be suffering from a condition which often described as “inner dry” (parts of your skin could be more oily trying to overcompensate for these dry areas). In which case using oily skin items (with less hydration or less oil input) may not be the best idea.
This was my situation.
Another side maybe when you have dry skin, but have a higher moisture or hydration content in your skin. Just because your skin looks dry doesn’t mean your skin is “dry”. It may be just lacking natural oils that trap the moisture in the skin. Without this layer of natural oil your skin dehydrates…naturally using moisture high content may not save your “dehydrated” skin.
In each case our skin isn’t working properly because it’s lacking something.
As we age the skin turnover isn’t as high and take longer for our skin to renew itself. This could be made better by drinking more water, and using items that help to “peel” the old skin to help turnover. Eating fresh vegetables and fruits in your diet help add to a healthy skin.
I know, I know…it’s all relative, and I agree. It may not be the solve all, but it does help…a bit. Small things do add up.
I won’t ever tell someone that whatever they are doing is wrong. For years I’ve managed to live without really using sunscreen, and sticking to oily skin care items…while I was younger it worked. I guess it was a blessing from my genetics that I never really had too much of an issue growing up except for the acne…but then again that’s a teenager thing and everyone goes through it…right?
However, thinking back there are things I should have considered better so that I have better skin NOW when I’m older. I could have done a better job preventing the inevitable…but again I am blessed with a youthful looking face and I guess now it’s about keeping it that way.
So what exactly am I saying?
Skin Care isn’t something that happens over night. It’s an accumulation of the small things we do everyday. The best way is to understand our skin so that we can figure out the best option for us. What works for me may not work at all for someone. Therefore, it’s always best to take in beauty advice (especially from the make up counters) with a grain of salt. It’s just a guideline and not a solution.
However, a few things I believe will benefit EVERYONE in the long run.
- Increasing Turnover – using face peel items that help to get rid of the old skin will not only help your skin take in hydration, but will even out the skin and close up those enlarged pores
- Drinking Water – keeping hydrated…it’s easy so why not?
- Eating a Healthy Diet – I will never say you need to just eat veggies & fruits cutting sugar out of your diet, because I love sweets and meat…but it’s something we all can do and if you prefer taking vitamins hey that’s cool too
- Branding – sometimes going with the big name brands isn’t the best way to go…I like to use ones that specifically are made for Asian skin because it works better (just so turns out Korean and Japanese items are better suited for me) but may not be the major brands
- Stronger is Better – instead of targeting certain things, I now believe it’s better to make the skin stronger…so instead of trying to fix a minor flaw and target a small factor it’s always best to use items that help to strengthen your skin and get it better over all
Like I said form the beginning. I am not a consultant and I will not brag and say I know what’s best for everyone. From my trial and error I realized that trying to fix something doesn’t necessary help. It’s best to make your skin stronger overall so that you can prevent problems later on. It’s always better to have your skin be able to repair the damages. I am very against plastic surgery, but I am all for Spa Treatments (facials, scrubs, you name it!). These days dermatology has come to the age of lasers and there are treatments that help your skin turnover, even out pigmentation, lessen pores, even target age spots and even increase collagen. I am ok with those and naturally Korea is in the lead for beauty treatments…also very affordable! Unlike plastic surgery these treatments require little to no downtime, so it’s totally doable over a weekend and go back to work on Monday with make up.
Conclusion :
- Figuring out what works best for YOU is the best solution.
- Healthy skin = getting your skin to its original condition.
- Just take what others say with a grain of salt
Happy Skin Care Hunting! *。ヾ(｡>ｖ<｡)ﾉﾞ*。
A.BUM 