Making a small investment in our skin care wardrobe can transform the skin from dull and parched to glowing, hydrated and comfortably moisturized.
“Having a comprehensive resultsoriented home care program is like putting together the pieces of a puzzle,” explains Michelle Kelly, owner of La Piele Spa. “Each component carefully fits together to create a whole picture. Each individual may require different ingredients in their ‘puzzle’ and therefore have a varying ‘Spring Wardrobe.’ This three-part series will discuss the three parts to that puzzle so that you, as the reader, take time to enter each phase committed to its success.”
Daily cleansing is step one. It is preferable to choose creamy or milk cleansers for dry skin and a hydrating gel cleanser for combination to oily skin. Avoid bar soap or harsh foaming cleansers that strip the skin of all natural moisture and beware of the ingredient sodium lauryl sulfate, which acts like a detergent on delicate skin.
One of the most important skin care habits to practice, toning is the essential second step that most people neglect. Cleansing lowers the natural pH intentionally in order to break oils and grime in the pores. A toner increases the pH of the skin, restoring balance to the skin.
Our skin naturally exfoliates itself through a process called cell turnover. This process, however, becomes sluggish with age, as early as the 20’s. Without exfoliation, skin creams cannot be properly absorbed. Exfoliation is the third essential step in healthy, glowing skin. When performed via a mechanical or enzymatic product, exfoliation breaks down the dead, flaky skin cells that build up on the skin’s surface.
Hydration is also a key component in healthy skin. Many women complain that their skin is too tight and are baffled because they drink plenty of water. Skin hydration, however, must come from the outside as well as the inside.
