. Cleansing
. Evening face cleansing
. Daily hydration
. Skin care for him
. Masks and scrubs
. Protect the skin from photo-aging
. Remedies against the signs of aging
. The many little tricks for a toned and elastic skin and to contrast the signs of aging.
Skin aging is a physiological process that no one can escape, but why do so ahead of time?
In fact, to slow age-related decay you can count on numerous allies and good habits , which do not work miracles, but help to keep the skin, especially that of the face, younger, longer.
Cleansing
The first good habit to maintain a young and healthy face is to cleanse the epidermis adequately, removing dirt and impurities from the external environment (smog, make-up, etc.) or from the body, particularly from the sebaceous glands (excess of fat, sweat and dead cells).
These impurities can in fact alter the pH of the skin and prevent its correct oxygenation, making the complexion dull, as well as damaging the hydrolipidic film which has the function of modulating the interaction between the external and internal environment of the body.
The water is not sufficient to adequately cleanse the skin of the face and the same is true for the soap commonly used for hands which, in addition to being aggressive, has a basic pH, very different from the acidic pH of the face skin .
Better to focus on targeted skin care products , choosing the cleanser best suited to your skin type (see table). For example, you can count on antiseptic formulations to disinfect the skin or enriched with normalizing active ingredients for oily skin , with antimicrobial substances indicated for those with pimples and blackheads, with vitamins and collagen to counteract aging or with essential oils, minerals and plant extracts to deeply moisturize dry and sensitive skin .
Mixed or oily skin Dry or sensitive skin Mature skin
Be careful with excessively aggressive detergents that cause a rebound effect, stimulating the glands to produce more sebum These types of skin are more prone to cracking and redness, so delicate surgery is required. Special products are recommended, with moisturizing agents of natural origin and without perfume Often it is dehydrated or relaxed, so it is advisable to opt for a detergent that performs a slight scrub action to stimulate the microcirculation and counteract relaxation wrinkles
If you suffer from dermatitis, acne, rosacea or other skin diseases you need to be particularly careful and seek advice from a specialist.
If cleansing the skin is a good starting point, it is equally true that we should not overdo it, otherwise we risk damaging the skin’s hydrolipidic barrier, making it more sensitive to attack by external agents.
Evening face cleansing
Facial cleansing should not be done alone in the morning, but also in the evening, even more so if you wear make-up. If all make-up residues are not eliminated, the pores remain clogged, the skin does not receive proper oxygenation and wrinkles and expression lines end up being clearly visible ahead of time. Cleansing and tonic milk are indispensable for removing make-up as it should, even though micellar water, which does not contain soap and alcohol, is particularly suitable for sensitive skin in recent years.
To remove make-up in a workmanlike manner, the advice is to dilute the cleansing milk with a small amount of water before applying it and then spread it with circular movements on the face. This will also give you a small beauty treatment that will improve skin microcirculation.
To remove make-up from the lips and skin around the eyes, very delicate areas, it is advisable to use specific cosmetic products.
The next step is to rinse the skin with warm water, blotting the face with a very soft cloth . At this point all that remains is to resort to the tonic that eliminates any residual cleansing milk and gives brightness to the skin. Once you have chosen the most suitable product for your skin, pour it onto a cotton pad and pass it over your entire face.
Daily hydration
If cleansing is the first step to take to care for the skin, the second is hydration. If it is not properly hydrated, from the outside and from the inside, the skin appears rough, dry, its elasticity decreases and evident signs of flaking may appear, especially on the legs.
In the daily routine, therefore, moisturizers and serums , essential for the face and for body care, should not be missing . There are moisturizers that contain different active ingredients useful: by hyaluronic acid to phospholipids, from the glucosamine vitamin C .
But the skin must also be hydrated from the inside, drinking at least a liter and a half of water a day, depending on the season, and eating fruit and vegetables every day. These foods contain large amounts of water and, moreover, are rich in antioxidants and mineral salts , which nourish the skin and promote regeneration and cell turnover.
Once the skin is hydrated, all that remains is to apply the foundation, the most important cosmetic for those who want to show off a flawless, healthy appearance and a face free of imperfections. The important thing, once again, is to choose the most suitable product for your skin type. For example, those with acne skin should opt for non-comedogenic formulas (that is, that do not favor the appearance of blackheads), which do not clog pores, which are sebum-regulating and contain curative ingredients such as salicylic acid, the Tea tree oil, niacinamide or zinc .
The most innovative formulations combine these benefits with medium-high coverage, combining not only skin care and make-up in a single product, but also allowing imperfections to be covered in the best possible way.
Skin care for him
Like the female universe, even the male one has its beauty secrets. After shaving or taking care of the details, a good aftershave should be used. To avoid redness after shaving, it is better to choose products without alcohol and with soothing agents . The same is true after depilation, which is no longer a practice for women only. Avoid over-perfumed items, as perfumes are potentially sensitizing.
Then all that remains is to apply a good moisturizing cream or an anti-aging serum and maybe one of the brand new ice-effect roll-ons for the eye area, perfect for fighting bags under the eyes and dark circles.
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Masks and scrubs
Facial care also involves some treatments that do not need to be performed every day: the mask and exfoliation.
Regular application, for example once a week, of face masks gives the skin a youthful and fresh appearance. There are different types: moisturizing, revitalizing, purifying, nourishing and so on. Many women also use face masks to camouflage small imperfections, from the scars left by acne to spots.
There are also face masks “do it yourself”, for example two slices of cucumber to rest on the eyes. This remedy of the grandmother exploits the decongestant properties of the cucumber, useful to deflate the bags under the eyes and rejuvenate the appearance of the skin.
Another one-time treatment is exfoliation, which is used to remove dead cells that remain on the surface of the epidermis. It is generally advisable to do it no more than once a week, otherwise you risk making the skin more vulnerable to external aggression.
The exfoliant is generally a gel or a cream containing abrasive microgranules to be applied by performing circular movements.
Protect the skin from photo-aging
If you want to keep your skin young for as long as possible, you should avoid uncontrolled exposure to sunlight. The danger comes from the UVB and UVA solar radiation involved, as well as in the development of skin tumors , even in premature aging of the skin or photoaging.
UV, sun or tanning lamps cause lesions to the skin’s structures, increasing oxidative processes and instability of epidermal and dermis cells. As a result of this stressful situation, often complicated by bad habits such as smoking and unregulated eating, the skin tends to lose its tone and elasticity, to thin and dry up. Not only will superficial wrinkles become deeper, but sun spots and freckles may appear .
To counteract photoaging, one must expose oneself to the sun using common sense. This means avoiding sunbathing the first few times you expose yourself, not exposing yourself to the hottest hours, using sunglasses, and using creams that guarantee adequate sun protection.
The degree of protection of the sunscreen must be chosen based on one’s skin type and must be greater the smaller the skin type: a light complexion, poor in melanin, is much more delicate than a dark complexion which, thanks to a higher melanin content , can better withstand ultraviolet rays.
Remedies against the signs of aging
To combat skin aging, one can act on several fronts with more or less invasive remedies. They range from anti-wrinkle creams to fillers of all kinds, from facelifts to deep peels with acids or lasers.
Compared to classic moisturizers, anti-wrinkle creams contain particularly active ingredients to counteract the oxidative processes including, for example, retinoic acid (a derivative of vitamin A), vitamin E , coenzyme Q10 and hyaluronic acid.
Although helpful, anti-aging creams can do little well in the presence of well-defined skin wrinkles , such as the unsightly “marionette wrinkles”, that is the folds between the nose and the corners of the mouth and between the corners of the mouth and the chin. In these cases, fillers (fillers) come into play, consisting of materials of different origins and injected with very fine needles into the superficial or deep dermis in the area to be treated.
The most used fillers are those that can be absorbed, such as those based on hyaluronic acid. This substance is naturally present in the extracellular matrix of the dermis where it performs support functions since, by binding to other substances, it forms macromolecular complexes that give compactness to the skin and hydration.
