The skin you're in

Today, I will focus on skin care. Many of you were kind enough to tell me that my eyes don't look 35 back when I posted a picture of one of them (see October's archives). I try to take care of my skin. I have the skin of a teenager - covered in acne. Haha. No seriously, in all those hours of class I took, I learned some tips that I still follow. I've been doing this stuff for ten years now, and when I see some women my age and even younger looking five years older than I do, I can gloat inwardly. Heh heh. So, on with the skin care tips.

• When choosing skin care products, buy from the same line. Particularly your more expensive brands are made to work together, so you want cleanser, toner and moisturizer made by the same company under the same label.
• Your cleanser should be applied in circular motions all over your face and neck. The neck is the most neglected area of skin and consequently, you can really see age on women who don't tend to it.
• Continue the circular pattern of cleansing for two minutes for maximum benefit.
• After rinsing the cleanser with warm to hot water, apply toner with a cotton ball or pad. Think of toner like a rinse cycle for your face. Would you wash your dishes and then just dry them, or would you rinse the soap off first? That's what I thought. Toner also closes your pores after cleaning.
• Moisturizer should contain an SPF of 15 or more to protect your skin. Sun damage is one of the main causes of aging in your skin. Make sure you get your neck, too!
  
• If you use other products, such as an alpha hydroxy lotion or eye creme, apply them before the moisturizer.
• When applying products around the eye, pat gently with the tip of your ring finger. Rubbing the eye area will damage the supporting structure underneath and eventually cause the skin to wrinkle.
• Use a lotion with at least SPF 15 on your hands every day, or especially on days when you will be driving. Think about the sun coming through the car windows and hitting your hands. Hands show age almost as quickly as the neck.

Okay, I think that will do it for now. If you want to see the products I actually use and love, you can go to My Health and Beauty Zone in the left sidebar. Next time, would you rather learn about color (am I a cool or a warm?) or makeup application? Let me know!