If you look almost anywhere these days, you’ll find ways to “solve” many skincare issues. Whether you want to lighten pigmentation thanks to too much sun, remove the “11s” between your brows that make you look permanently angry or lift what is falling, there seems to be a product or treatment that can “reverse” the ageing process and / or undo damage you may have inflicted on your skin during the folly of youth.
And when you decide what is right for you, your skin and body, I think it’s great that we have these choices. However, it’s also worth bearing in mind the Ben Franklin saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Translating this to skincare, it’s important to invest time now in a regime that looks after our skin, rather than relying on a fix later down the road.
Here’s what I suggest you keep in mind to look after your skin:
You are what you eat. Skin grows from the inside out and eating a balanced, colourful diet at each and every meal will help your skin to look radiant and healthy. Pay attention to foods that cause reactions. Whether your arms become scaly when you eat gluten or spicy food causes your cheeks to redden, which can cause capillaries to burst leaving a permanent mark, make choices that are good for your skin.
Revel in your routine. When you take care of your skin every day by cleansing, moisturising and applying sunscreen, your skin will retain its youthful appearance for longer. While you may not notice fine lines reversing as you apply eye cream, its usage will slow the appearance of more lines and wrinkles.
If you find daily skincare too boring to contemplate, think of it as an investment in your future self. What you do in your 20s and 30s will pay dividends in your 40s, 50s and beyond.
Choose your toppings. While I’m all for a 4-step skincare routine, there comes a time when you may want to enhance your homecare routine to combat issues you are noticing. Using an essence will help if you’re experiencing hydration issues while an acid will help with exfoliation, revealing fresher looking skin. Serum and retinol are great boosters for an established skincare routine. And regular masks and of course facials, help clean out what collects in our skin through daily city life.
Sure, there may come a time when you need a more than an aesthetician to provide more radical skin changes, however until then, it’s worth remembering that your daily choices can make a huge difference in how your skin looks.