By Tori 
Skincare over the past few years has become prevalent. A good number of people seem to know about it and practice it. This is good because caring for our skin is something we should all be doing; especially because our skin is exposed to a lot.
In skin care, emphasis is put on facial care. Many products, devices, and techniques have arisen to promote facial care. People have found solutions to acne, hyperpigmentation, dry skin, oily skin, scarring, and many other issues that commonly affect our facial skin.
Ironically, despite the myriad of advice, techniques, and products, some people still wonder why no product seems to work for them. They have tried every technique in the books and they are still experiencing some issues. It can be frustrating, I know, I have been there, but after some research and realizations, I came to find out that facial care can also be product unrelated.
Product unrelated? Really? Yes! You can clear your acne without all the expensive products. Sometimes it can be about the exposure your skin is getting. The following is a list of things you should do to help in your skincare journey:
- Learn your skin- this is very important. Knowing your skin will guide you on what products to buy and how to use them. It will also guide you on what to do to avoid problems that may affect your skin. There are many ways people categorize types of skin but the most common ones are oily, dry, and normal skin. Sometimes, it is not that we buy bad products but we just buy products that are not suitable for our skin types.
- Stop touching your face all the time- this does not seem like it should be a major issue but it is. Your hands throughout the day collect an unimaginable amount of germs and bacteria. Each time you casually touch your face without washing your hands, you’re practically transferring the germs straight to your face. Gross. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to keep our hands from our faces for the whole day. We just find ourselves doing it. However, now we know, and we can be conscious and try to catch ourselves before we touch our faces with dirty hands.
- Change your pillowcase- don’t be surprised if you wake up with some pimples on your face and you have not changed your pillowcase for the past 4 weeks. Whether you want to hear it or not, your pillowcase is not as clean as you think especially if you are keeping it for long periods. Sweat, hair products, and even facial products end up on our pillows as we sleep so keeping a cumulation of all these for long is not going to treat your skin kindly. Keep that pillowcase in for short periods, maybe for a few days then change it.
- Sleep in a hair scarf or bonnet- this very much relates to the previous point. Sleeping in a bonnet or hair scarf, especially a satin one, not only protects your hair when sleeping but also prevents the transfer of hair products and dirt from your hair to your pillowcase.
- Be gentle- when cleansing, exfoliating, and drying your face do not use force. I know we all want that smooth clean feel on our faces but using force is not going to get us there. This is especially a problem during exfoliating using a face scrub. We tend to apply extra pressure to ‘smoothen our skin’. However, this will make us rip layers of our skin, irritate existing pimples and scars, and leave our skin really ‘raw’. With that said, we have to go through with our skincare routine with gentleness towards our skin.
- Wash your face at least twice a day- at this point, it does not matter what cleanser you use, just wash your face at least twice a day preferably, in the morning and evening. Wash it in the morning to create a clean foundation for products and wash it in the evening to remove all the dirt, sweat, and dust accumulated during the day. This ensures that your face is clean at least most of the time and no dirt is ‘stored’ on your face long term.
As I conclude, skincare these days is more of a spectrum. There are so many ways to care for our skin. There is so much to learn about skincare and the points above are just a few points in the ever-growing world of skincare. The more you know…
-Tori