Your At Home Skincare Routine Guide

Once you have gotten a Facial ( scroll down to "Why You Should Get A Facial" ), it is important to maintain your skin at home, not only to keep it looking good, but also to help in correcting any skin conditions or concerns that prompted you to get a facial in the first place. Its best to have your Facialist go over a routine with you after your facial, in order to have a more individualized skincare routine.

Here is a simple routine with guidelines to put you on the right path to care for your skin.  (If this is too much for you, then scroll down to my simplified version)

• Cleanser to wash your face day and night
• Exfoliating Granular Scrub or Enzyme Mask to remove dead skin cells, refine your pores and smooth your skin. Depending on your skin type and type of exfoliant, it is normal to exfoliate 1-3 times a week after you cleanse your face.
• Toners are used for a variety of reasons from reducing oil, refining and cleaning your pores, to hydrating the skin and infusing the skin with herbs and antioxidants.  They also help to restore your skins' PH balance and penetrate serums and moisturizers into the skin better. Use it everyday after you wash your face and right before applying your serum and / or moisturizer.
• Serums! I'm a big fan of serums! They penetrate deeper into the skin and really help in correcting and preventing skin conditions. There are many types of Serums from oil, to water, and gel based. Most are full of anti-oxidants that help fight free radical damage and nourish our skin. Think of them as a vitamin and mineral rich cocktail for your skin to drink up. Especially good for helping to prevent and reduce fine lines, wrinkles and reverse sun damage. Some serums help with blemishes, skin irritations,  and redness.  There is a serum out there for everyone!
• Moisturizers - they work on the upper layers of skin, making our skin soft and supple. They help to hydrate and can have ingredients that are anti-aging, or that help in aiding in reducing or preventing certain skin conditions. Always use your moisturizer on top of your serum, day and night. Choose a moisturizer with SPF (sun protection) for day only, as its focus is on protecting your skin from the sun, while still hydrating your skin, and use a moisturizer with out SPF for night, that can focus on other skin conditions and anti-aging benefits.
• Eye Cream is important to use day and night. The eye area is one of the first places to show signs of aging. The skin around the eyes is more delicate than the rest of our face and needs special care to not wrinkle as quickly. Eye cream can help make your eyes look less tired, reduce dark circles, puffiness and bags. It can make your skin look firmer, and prevent crows feet and fine lines. 

Simplified Skin Care - for those always on the go, or those who just don't have any skin concerns yet:

Depending on how skin conscientious you are, is going to determine how much time you spend on your skin. If the routine above seems like too much for you to incorporate into your already busy life, let me simplify things even further for those on the go types and those who really don't have any real skin concerns yet.

• Cleanser and Exfoliating scrub ( you could get a2 in 1 cleanser with built- in exfoliating grains that cleans and does a gentle exfoliation at the same time. This will save you a step).
• Serum - some serums can be used alone, without the need for a moisturizer on top, unless your skin is very dry. Pick one that can double as a face and eye serum. Use alone at night.
• Moisturizer with SPF (sun protection factor 30 is best ) for day.
• Eye cream day and night

Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant - The Scrub For All Skins!

Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant - The Scrub for All Skins!

Exfoliation helps remove dead skin cells so the skin appears smoother, brighter, and  cleaner. They help do a better job of cleaning the pores to prevent blackheads and congestion. They also help to prep the skin and make it easier for other products, like serums or creams to penetrate better into the skin.

All skins need exfoliation, but finding the right one can be hard. Most formulations are either too gentle and don't do enough, or they are too rough, irritating the skin and causing capillaries to dilate, making the skin red.

My favorite is Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant. Its a powder consisting of Lactic and salicylic acids. When added to a cleanser or water the powder will feel slightly grainy which makes it easy to exfoliate with. Its the best I've found that is super cleaning and exfoliating without irritating or drying out the skin. Your skin is just left smooth!

Summer Skin

Its Summer Time! It Is Time To Change Up Your Skincare Routine!

With warmer air,  and more sunshine, we look forward to being out doors more. But Summer heat can make the pores look larger, skin starts to get  oilier, especially in the T-zone areas (nose, chin, inner cheeks and middle of forehead.) This creates a tendency towards pores clogging, and breakouts. Sun exposure also can cause skin to hyper-pigment and freckle. Tanning can cause dead skin cells to accumulate on the surface of the skin and get trap in the pores for additional clogging. We are out side more, our skin gets dirty!

Whats to do? First, you need to come in for a facial! Get a good Deep Cleansing Facial and slough off all that dead, dull, skin. At that time you can be advised at to what products will be best for you to use during the summer months based on your skins' type and skins' concerns. 

Here are some of Summer's must- haves no matter what type of skin you have:

• Sun screen is a must! Look for sun screens that use Zinc only. Its a physical sun screen that is good for you and your skin. SPF 30 is the recommended number that safe and effective.
• Exfoliator - granular scrubs can help remove dead skin cells and clean pores better. Exfoliators also keep pores looking refined and skin smooth.
• Lighter moisturizers- your winter creams will definitely be too heavy for summers warmer weather.
• Serums with melanin inhibiting properties to help reduce and prevent dark spots, hyper-pigmentation caused by the sun.
• Always think Antioxidants! Our skin needs them year around for healthy, and youthful skin!

At this point, you should be thinking about that Facial. There are some great Summer Specials at Vfranca Spa. Check them out and see you soon!