Clear skin, clear mind

We're sure we don't have to convince on why you should regularly wash your face, but there is one thing we will always preach about - finding the proper skincare routine for your face type.

Of course, washing will be enough for some, but most of us are not so lucky, and we need clear and proper steps to keep our faces beautiful and healthy. You probably know a lot of reasons why a skincare routine is necessary, but we will remind you of some of the most important ones.

In addition to the positive impact on the skin, the skincare routine also significantly affects a person's mental health. Yes, we know it might sound silly to you, but think about it. We do our skincare routine every day, dedicating time exclusively to ourselves while also taking care of the appearance and health of our skin. It's like wellness every day!

When we take care of ourselves, we feel more satisfied and feel clean and refreshed. Just think about it - every day in those five, 10 or 20 minutes you invest in taking care of your facial skin, you support your happiness.

Of course, there is also the health part. When we do a skincare routine, we ensure that our skin gets the best from the products we have chosen in the form of glow, hydration and the necessary mix of serums and oils that work wonders for the skin.

Now that we have briefly listed some of the benefits of skincare, we will help you understand how to properly do skin care and adjust it to your skin type.

What steps should every skincare routine have?

Your first thought about skincare is washing, right? Maybe washing with soap and wiping your face with a towel, but regular skin care involves a few more steps. Of course, skincare does not have to be done only in the morning; it is preferable to use products and do skincare before going to bed so that the skin absorbs all the good ingredients while we rest from the previous day.

Depending on what part of the day you apply skincare, your product application schedule should look like this:

1. Morning skin care: facial cleansing gel, tonic, serum, moisturizer, cream with SPF
2. Night skin care: facial cleansing gel, tonic, serum, mask, moisturizer.

Each of the mentioned steps is important in skincare, and it is also good to remember the order in which we apply them to the skin for the best effect. After we have stated precisely which steps are in the skincare routine, we will briefly examine each step's importance.

First step: cleansing the face

Regular facial cleansing is key to maintaining healthy-looking and feeling skin. Cleansing the face removes oils, dirt and other unwanted elements from the face and helps increase and properly hydrate the skin.

We clean our face because excessive accumulation of dirt on the skin's surface can cause wrinkles clogging, which in turn allows bacteria to cause various inflammations and acne. Cleansing the face is recommended in the morning, evening, and after exercise to remove all dirt and sweat residue.

There is no prescribed time for how long you should clean your face. Make sure that you rub the product well into the pores during cleaning to successfully remove all the harmful elements that can cause various inflammations. Before you dare to clean your face, get recommended products depending on your skin type (dry, oily or normal).

Cleanse yourself by applying the product and washing it off the skin, then pat the skin dry with a clean towel. Remember to change towels often so that bacteria does not accumulate on the fabric, which will have a bad effect on the skin.

Second step: toner

After cleansing the face and removing unwanted elements or makeup, it's time for a tonic. Applying the toner creates a healthy layer for better absorption of the rest of the skincare products. You can look at toners in your routine as adding nutrients to the skin.

They are not mandatory, but they can serve as an excellent way to additionally renew the skin. They can be applied with a soft pad or cotton ball by pouring enough toner so that the cotton ball or pad is moist but not wet. Then gently spread the toner on your face and neck using a pad or cotton ball, depending on your preference.

It is important to emphasize that you should avoid the area around the eyes and lips and pay special attention to hard-to-reach areas such as the eyebrows, hairline and sides of the nose.

Third step: serums

Serums are known for their ability to penetrate deeper into the layers of the skin, usually used by those who want to do everything to repair and protect and achieve more youthful and healthy-looking skin. We use them in our skincare routine because they allow potent ingredients to be delivered directly to the skin and often help alleviate and prevent specific skin problems.

It is important to remember that serums are always applied before moisturizing creams or creams with a protective factor. The application method is very simple; it is best to apply it on the face with your fingers and pat it on the skin. Make sure to use the serum on the entire face and wait a few moments before moving on to the next step in the routine.

Fourth step: facial hydration

As the term suggests, this step's goal is facial hydration. The primary purpose of moisturizing creams is to give the skin sufficient moisture and make it soft to the touch. These types of creams can sometimes have a protective factor, but it is optional that they do since, in the morning or daily routine, the application of the protective factor follows after hydration.

Moisturizers can be applied in the morning or at night and should be the last step in your skincare routine before applying makeup. When doing night skin care, moisturizing creams or gels should be the last part of the routine since we don't apply SPF before bed. If you do not use a serum or tonic in your night skincare routine, apply the moisturizer immediately after cleansing your face.

When applying moisturizer to your face, apply the product with your fingers to critical areas such as the forehead, nose, chin, cheeks and neck. Apply the product in circular motions until it is completely absorbed into the skin. The same applies to applying moisturizer before makeup; wait for it to dry before using other products.

Fifth step: SPF cream

Every makeup guru and expert swears about the positive effect of an SPF cream, and they also emphasize how important it is to apply it every day.

We could write pages and pages about the benefits of SPF creams, but we will single out only three key and positive things about applying them:

1. They help prevent fine lines and wrinkles
2. They help prevent changes in skin color and reduce redness
3. They protect the skin from the development of potential skin cancer, which is often caused by careless exposure to the sun

How to do skin care depending on the skin type?

We distinguish four skin types: normal, dry, oily and mixed. What does that mean? The term "normal" skin most often means well-balanced skin, i.e., one that is neither too oily nor too dry. Next is the "dry" skin type, which produces less sebum than normal skin.

Due to the lack of sebum, dry skin lacks the lipids necessary to retain moisture and build a protective layer against external influences. When caring for dry skin, it is essential to use products that do not irritate the skin and do not contribute to the causes of dry skin. How to recognize dry skin? It is often tight and rough to the touch, and you look exhausted when you look in the mirror.

The third type of skin is the "oily" type, in which there is increased sebum production. Excessive production of sebum is also known as seborrhea. "Oily" skin is prone to comedones (black and whiteheads) and acne. It is characterized by an oily sheen, especially in the T-zone, i.e., the forehead, nose and chin area. You can also recognize this type of skin by visible pores.

The last skin type is mixed, where skin types vary in the T-zone and on the cheeks. It is characterized by an oily T-zone and enlarged pores where the oily type predominates with possible impurities in the form of blackheads and acne. Although that part of the face is oilier, the cheeks are usually normal or dry.

After briefly explaining the skin types, we will look at the recommended ingredients and products for the skin type. Products containing alpha hydroxy acids, benzoyl peroxide and hyaluronic acid are recommended for "oily" skin. These ingredients are recommended because they effectively control excessive sebum production, and hyaluronic acid will produce hydration only in the areas that need it.

If your skin is dry, look for products containing shea butter and lactic acid. These products provide hydration and gentle exfoliation to leave the skin looking radiant. Another skin type is the sensitive type, in which everything depends on what products suit your skin. It is recommended to use aloe vera, oatmeal and shea butter products because they moisturize the skin very well and do not cause irritation.

Moisturizing creams containing bacteriostatic agents such as tea tree and milk enzymes are recommended for oily skin care. Also, in the care of oily skin, it is recommended to clean the skin with gels, and never with soaps, because soaps can dry out the skin, which then excretes more sebum, and thus the skin will be even oilier.

The hardest thing to find products to use on combination skin is because you sometimes have to use different products on different parts of your face. For example, you should use lighter lotions, gels, absorbent products on the T-zone, and lotions and creams for dry face parts. Likewise, this may mean using anti-acne products on the areas where they break out, and they should use moisturizers on dry sites and around the eyes.

Indeed, before starting your skincare routine, find out what your skin type is and, in consultation with a dermatologist, find the products that best suit your face type.

Products that facilitate skincare and have a positive effect on mental health

Although, in most cases, it is recommended to apply the product with the fingers to have the best effect, you can add massage the products into the skin using different tools. Using tools such as rollers and massagers will have a positive impact on the skin and mental health because we are massaging the skin and relaxing.

One of the favorite tools in skin care is the Gua Sha massager, a stainless steel stone that helps reduce muscle tension and stimulates blood flow. It is advised that Gua sha pulls from the center of the face towards the edges, and before use, you can put it in the refrigerator for a short time so that the skin wakes up even faster.

In addition to the massager, a facial roller is also top-rated, which will reduce swelling, stimulate blood flow and activate the lymphatic system. If you are interested in trying these products, Noelle offers an excellent Skin Care Heaven bundle in which, along with a massager and a roller, you also get tweezers and two makeup brushes for a flawless makeup look.