Skin Care - Know your skin!

The skin is the largest organ of our body. How you feel inside is reflected by your skin. Lifestyle, diet, seasons, environmental changes, stress at work, fluctuating hormone levels, age and of course genetical predeposition, all these things take effect on the appearance of your skin. Skin appearance on the other hand influences how we feel about ourselves and how we interact with other people. This interaction often defines our self esteem, which in turn again can take effect on our skin.

We all are looking for the right skin care to influence this circle for the best.

It is important for us to understand that not only skin care products differ, but also everybody's skin. We live in different climates, eat, sleep and exercise differently, and have different genetical predepositions. A product which is excellent for one person may show very poor results or even have negative impact on another person's skin.

Skin care products can help to clean, moisten, revitalize and protect your skin and can bring great relief to some of the stress your skin has to deal with every day and every night, but you need to learn how your skin reacts to the many inside and outside factors.

Knowing your skin is key.

Usually, you get to hear that you have either sensitive, dry, normal or oily skin or some combination thereof, which - as a general statement - is not sufficient.
Different parts of your face show different skin characteristics. Some areas of your face could be quite oily and tend to be acne prone, while other parts of your face feel very dry at the same time. The center of the forehead, the nose, the chin and areas of the cheeks - the so called T-zone - have more oil glands and may need to be treated with a different formula than other parts of your face. In problematic cases you will require a set of products for different areas of your face and sometimes even a different set of products for the same areas when seasons change.
Our skin condition is changing often and we need to adjust our skin care routines and the skin care products to these changing needs. You may find different skin appearances based on where you live, the time of the year and many other circumstances that you may not be able to control. Pay close attention to the changes in your daily life and how your skin reacts to them. This is the first and most important step towards finding the right skin care product and the right skin care routine for you.

In addition there are several important skin care rules that you need to follow at all times:

1. Protect your skin from sun exposure!
The sun is damaging your skin, promotes premature aging and is a primary cause for skin cancer. Always apply sunscreen before going outside - period. Check your skin regularly and visit your dermatologist for a skin examination once a year.
Sunscreen needs time to get absorbed, so make sure to apply the product at least 15 minutes before any sun exposure. Always put sunscreen on your kids!

2. Do not smoke!
Active and passive(!) smoking causes serious damage to your skin. Besides its negative impact on other organs and the overall blood circulation in your body, there is scientific evidence that smoking advances the breakdown of elastic fibers in your skin and promotes yellow and artificially thickened looking skin. Just another reason to quit!

3. Be gentle to your skin!
A common mistake in skin care is the use of too aggressive products and treatments. Avoid irritating ingredients and excessive scrubbing. Cleansers do not have to tingle to be effective and should never hurt!