5 basic skincare products to be used daily and WhatWhenHow of each product

I have talked about skincare in some of my previous post and I realised there are many girls out there who is not aware of any basic skincare products. They are unsure of how to use a certain product or how often to use or how to choose the right product.

This post deals with all the basic skincare products and WhatWhenHow of each product.

Cleanser:

What - Many of you confuse cleanser with face wash and vice versa. They’re both from a different world. What a face wash does is, it simply removes all the dirt on the topmost layer of your skin and rest is history. Since our skin is naturally porous lots of dirt, dust, makeup enters into the deep layers of the skin. This is when a cleanser comes into action. It has the tendency to get deeper into the skin and clean the entire gunk from inside out. When choosing a cleanser make sure to pick a pH balanced or low pH ones as the skin pH level tends to vary so much. Soapy cleansers strips your skin of all the natural oils and makes it even oilier since it has higher pH range.

When – It’s mandatory to use a cleanser in your night time routine. All the bad stuff that was collected throughout the day needs to be cleaned thoroughly. Make sure to use a good cleanser like Neutrogena deep clean facial cleanser to extract all the dirt and grime from the face. You can definitely use a cleanser in the morning as well but choose a very mild cleanser like Cetaphil gentle cleanser as the skin does not collect much dirt over the night. If you want something natural then use a gram flour paste or honey as your cleanser in the morning. Especially gram flour makes your skin vibrant and clear over use.

How - Whenever you use cleansers either natural or store-bought, take a coin size amount in your palm and massage it into the skin for at least 30 sec and then wash it off. There is no use in applying them and washing it straight away. Give it some time to get in there and clean it out. If you use gram flour or honey, you can apply and leave it upto 5 mins and then wash it for better results.

Toner:

What - Although toner feels like oh-not-so-important product, it does change the skincare game totally. It helps with large pores and keeps your whiteheads/blackheads at bay. It removes all the extra dirt from the skin that was left over in cleansing. When choosing a toner make sure to pick up a alcohol-free toner. Alcohol has a tendency to dry out the skin and sting the skin so badly. People with sensitive skin totally avoid alcohol or fragrance toners as it might irritate the skin. Choose a mild toner with skin calming ingredients like green tea, cucumber extracts and the like.

When – As I mentioned earlier, most of us avoid toner on a daily basis. It’s crucial to use a toner everyday twice in the morning and night skincare. When I say toner, don’t think it as a special product or something expensive. This can be a very simple product that is available in your stash like Rose water or Green tea. Or simply rub ice all over for a more firm skin over use.

How – After the face is cleansed and clean, take a cotton pad and apply few drops of toner into the cotton pad. Swipe it all over the face including your neck and then leave it to dry for few seconds. Once it’s dried, take some drops of toner in the palm and massage in the skin. This will ensure the toner penetrates into the skin and does its action. Leave it to soak in for atleast 30 seconds and then follow up with the rest of skincare.

Moisturizer:

What – This is the product that helps to lock the moisture in the skin and keeps the skin moist throughout the day. When the skin lacks moisture, it makes the skin wrinkly, pigmented, aged, dull and saggy in the long run. That’s why it’ crucial to topically apply a moisturizer to keep the skin young, plump and firm. From plenty of options available, it seems tricky to find the best one that suits our skin. I still struggle to find a perfect moisturizer for my skin. One thing that has worked for me and most of my friends I recommended it gave good feedback as well i.e using facial oil as a moisturizer. Facial oils are light-weight and can be used by all skin types. Avoid oil-free moisturizers at all cost be it whatever your skin type. As oil-free products can clog the pores and eventually the skin produces more oil.

When – This is one product that has no specific time of the day to use. You can apply it whenever you feel the skin needs moisture. Even if not possible to apply several times, keep it to a minimum of 2 times every day (preferably morning and night). In case you wash your face in the middle of the day do apply a moisturizer or facial oil to reduce oiliness further.

How – When it comes to moisturizer, less is always more. A pea-sized amount is enough for the entire face. Take it in the palm and warm it up between your hands and dab across the face. Wait till it gets absorbed well before proceeding further. As mentioned earlier, incorporate facial oil in your skincare by mixing two drops of oil in aloe vera gel. This is the best moisturizer I have used so far.

Eye cream:

What – Skin under the eyes are the most delicate in our face. This needs extra hydration than rest of the face. That way the skin under the eyes will stay young and fresh looking. If not taken good care, it tends to fine lines, sagging, dark circles, crow's feet. That's not cute, isn’t it? Eye creams look very much like a moisturizer but little bit thicker. Eyes need extra moisturizer, so a thick cream is needed to hydrate it enough. Adding a eye cream in your daily routine can make a huge difference in the appearance of the skin under the eyes. Invest in good quality eye cream and you will not regret it.

When - Make sure to apply an eye cream every single day morning and night. During night you can use a heavy and thick eye cream or even oil like sweet almond oil, castor oil or sesame oil. In the morning, you can use a light eye cream under the makeup or any gel-based cream like Aroma Magic under eye gel that will absorb easily. Since we work with computers or phones all the time, eye cream is very important to be used everyday both times.

How – Now that you got a eye cream, it’s really important to know how to apply it. Take a dot of eye cream or gel in the ring finger and gently massage it in circular motion around the eyes. Since eye area is very delicate you don’t want to put too much pressure and that’s why you should use ring finger to apply it, as it’s the weakest finger of all. Feel free to go more than dot-sized during night routine.

Sunscreen:

What – Sun rays are a good source of Vitamin D but when exposed for longer time it can cause more harm to your skin than good. The UVA & UVB rays in the sun can damage the skin which makes it dark, pigmented, sun spots, age spots, wrinkles and what not. Hence it’s required to use a sunscreen that has broad spectrum protection with a minimum of 30 SPF to protect the skin from the harmful effects of sun. Although exposure to sun for  atleast 10-20 mins everyday is good to get a good dollop of Vitamin D. Make sure to avoid peak hours though.

When - Whenever you are out in the sun do apply sunscreen 15 minutes before you step out. Be it any sunscreen with any range of SPF, the effects of sunscreen does not stay more than a maximum of 3hrs on the skin. Especially when you are in beach or out in sun whole day, try to reapply at least 3 hrs once. However not all sunscreen available in the market are safe to use because of the various bad chemicals put into it’s making. The one that I found with safer ingredients and easily available in India is Suncros matte finish sunscreen. Check this best sunscreen and toxic ones post by Dr.Axe for the ingredients to avoid in a sunscreen.

How – Unlike other skincare products where a little goes a long way, sunscreen is exactly opposite. Even more is not enough. The reason being the main ingredient in most sunscreen is Zinc Oxide which naturally has a bigger molecular size. How much ever you apply there is always a gap which is not filled due to its molecular size. The Zinc Oxide in Suncros is micro-sized which means it gives much coverage and it’s okay to apply a coin-sized amount for the whole face.

Hope everyone got useful information about different skincare products from this post. Do comment below if you have further questions.