Are you unhappy
with those fine lines that have crept onto your face? Dark circles or smile
lines around your eyes? What about the texture of your skin, dull and blah. Has
it lost its youthful, dewy glow? In the second part of my Skincare Regimen
blog, I want to provide you with some fun and easy options to help that pesky
aging process! You need a good foundation of cleanser, toner (if needed), moisturizer,
and of course sunscreen, BUT to combat the signs of aging you must have a
couple of additional anti-aging products in your skincare regimens!
Antioxidants:
1. An underutilized, yet important component of a
good regimen. Proper usage of
antioxidants can increase your sun protection up to 8x that of using sunscreen
alone.
2. Can come in serum, gel, or cream forms.
3. Thinner products are better for oilier skin
types.
4. Once applied, serums absorb deeper into the
skin, and the beneficial effects cannot be washed off.
Some great antioxidants that I love:
1.
Elizabeth Arden Prevage Face Advanced
Anti-aging Serum, $ 159.00.
2.
SkinCeutials Phloretin CF, $ 152.0.
3.
Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Anti-wrinkle
Serum, $18.99.
Retinoids (Retin-A):
1.
I know that many people will say they
have used this before, or know someone who has, and did not have a good
reaction. If this is the case, chances
are that it was NOT being used correctly!
Retin-A is a prescription medication and should only be dispensed and
prescribed by a licensed physician. It
has great anti-aging benefits for the skin and this is an important step in
many good skin care regimens. Consult a
physician if you have specific questions regarding the use of Retin-A for your
skin.
Exfoliation:
1. There is more than one way to get
exfoliation, but my absolute favorite way is with the Clarisonic Brush! Like I
mentioned in the first part of this blog, one of my first skincare product
obsession was St. Ives Apricot scrub. It was way too harsh for me and still is!
That is just my experience and there a lot of really great less abrasive scrubs
out there. However, my favorite is the Clarisonic. It is great for all skin
types, it has tons of options including sensitive brushes and acne brushes too!
It helps skin tone, reduces the
appearance of pore size and helps skin care products work their best. Can you
ask for more? Oh wait, did I mention it comes in colors? That’s right is comes in countless different
colors, including ‘graphite gray’ for the most masculine of guys!
Options for Clarisonic:
1.
Classic Clarisonic, $195. The original 2-speed Clarisonic offers tons of addition ad-ons
like a body brush, I need an entire blog to share my love for this brush!
2.
Clarisonic Mia, $ 149.00. The newest
addition to the Clarisonic family, the Mia 2 has two
speeds, a one-minute pulsing timer which tells you when to switch to another
area of the face.
3.
Clarisonic Mia 2, $119.00. A one-button, single-speed, smaller size brush that is
great for travel. Great option for teens and men!
No matter if you want a simple skin
care regimen or one that has 7 different steps, start out with what makes YOU
comfortable and add as you deem appropriate!