It’s never too early to start taking care of your skin! The younger you start, the more likely you are to have smooth, supple skin well into your 50s and beyond. It’s easy to put off taking good care of yourself when you’re young - whether it’s forgetting to put on sunscreen, eating the wrong foods or not taking our makeup off at the end of a night out. However, there are certain skin care habits that we should cultivate in ourselves and our family members at as young an age as possible. Here are some tips on what you should incorporate into your routine, if they aren’t a part of it already!
1) Stay Loyal To Your Cleansing Routine
The first step in any great facial skincare regime is cleansing. Taking your makeup off, using a mild cleanser, perhaps the occasional exfoliator … depending on how much time you have on your hands. However, washing your face regularly is something you should even be getting your kids (if you have any) started on early!
Megan Cohn, a qualified skincare therapist for 17 years, shares more on this:
“One daily skincare habit that you should start early is to be loyal to your cleansing routine. Cleanse the skin morning and night with a cleanser that is suitable for your skin type. It sounds so simple and fundamental yet this is so often skipped. Regular cleaning ‘prepares the canvas’ and lays the strongest foundation to avoid unwanted congestion, dullness and build up while also improving the texture and brightness of your skin. You will also get better results from your serums and moisturizers as they will be able to penetrate deeper without having to fight through dead skin cell build up or excess sebum on the surface.
For more oily skin types, you may benefit from gel or foaming cleanser to help manage and cleanse away the extra sebum. For more dry or ageing skin types, a cream or milk cleanser is often prescribed, to help cleanse away surface dirt without drying out the skin and maintaining lipid and water content of the skin.”
So there you have it - straight from the mouth of a professional! If cleansing isn’t a part of your skincare regime, make it one! To find out more check out Lotus Healing & Wellness Centre online. You can also find the company on Facebook and Instagram.
2) Exercise - Sweat It Out
This next one is great to cultivate in your kids at a young age, in the hope it will stay with them for life. Exercising and keeping up your general fitness level is a way of life, and has tremendous benefits for your skin as well! It’s a great habit to get into as young as possible. Although many people associate sweat as being one of the causes of acne, it has several positive effects on skin (as long as you don’t leave it on there for too long before washing your face). Sweating helps to rid the skin of bacteria and oil that would otherwise be trapped and would begin to clog your pores!
If the gym is your thing, then make it a regular occurrence that you head down to sweat out those toxins. If you’re trying to set your little ones up for a lifetime of healthy, rosy skin, try and incorporate a good amount of physical activity into their daily lives. Put together an outdoor playset in the backyard and your kids will naturally be getting their heart rates up daily. Slides are a great form of exercise and are also heaps of fun! These are just a couple of examples of how you can cultivate your little ones to get active regularly at a young age, so that they stay healthy and have glowing skin in the years to come.
3) Don’t Forget To Moisturize
As much as we all love our country, Australia does have an extremely dry climate, and it’s important that you aren’t letting your face get crackly and lacking in moisture. Below are Rachel McVinish’s tips - the general manager of Jeunesse Global Australia:
“Once you have cleansed your face, it is important to moisturize as dry skin is not only not a good look, but can cause problems other than aesthetic ones. 30 per cent of our skin consists of water and lipids and keeping it moist can prevent it from cracking and exposing lower skin layers to dirt and infections.
We all know the saying ‘the more the merrier’ but this does not apply when it comes to moisturizer. Applying more moisturizer does not provide the skin with more moisture, it only gives it more product to absorb. This can lead to blocked pores and can undo your cleansing. A good application method is to use a dollop the size of a 10 cent piece on your face to avoid skin irritation.
If you feel like your moisturizer is not absorbing properly, I recommend trying a face serum. Serums ensure that moisturizers soak into your skin properly, so that all the benefits are delivered to your skin. A good quality serum will also help minimise the look of fine lines and wrinkles.”
Check out the company on Facebook and Instagram as well!
4) Ensure That Your Washing Is Thorough
One fault that is common, especially with younger people, is being in a rush to wash their face and not doing a proper job! This way you end up with a build-up from weeks and weeks without a proper wash - gross to say the least! Therefore it is important to form the habit of thoroughly cleansing your face early. Fabiola Gomez, the founder and director of LUXit, Australia’s premier mobile beauty and grooming concierge service, explains this:
“Cleansing your skin morning and night is key to maintaining a healthy complexion, but often we forget to properly cleanse our face and neck area. Aim to have your skin in contact with your cleanser of choice (be it a foaming wash, cream cleanser or balm) for at least 60 seconds. This way, you will thoroughly remove product from your skin and reap all the benefits included in your cleanser. If you wear a full face of makeup daily or a heavier sunscreen, you can even double cleanse to ensure there is nothing left behind and prep your skin perfectly for the serums or toners to follow. A professional facial on a regular basis is always a great way to identify what cleansing method works best for your skin type.”
For more professional advice, check out LUXit on Instagram.
5) UV Protection & Hydration
Rena Oura, the founder of a new Japanese skincare line, Gensen Japan, shares her top skincare tips:
“I have 2 key skincare habits that should be started early. The first is UV protection. Using a broad spectrum of UV protection everyday. UVA rays - which are the primary reason for skin aging - can penetrate through windows, so it’s very important to protect the skin everyday even as an office worker.
The second is hydrating the skin with water. No matter what type of skin you have, hydrating with water will ensure healthy, luminous skin. Water is less dense than oil, so it hydrates the skin at a deeper level. This ensures longer lasting hydration which will benefit not only dry skin but oily skin as well. This is because that deeper level of hydration discourages the production of oil (as that is the skin’s way of hydrating itself) leading to more balanced skin over time).
Gensen Japan was created with my skincare tips in mind - to make them easy daily rituals. Our Repair Serum and Revitalising Moisturizer are a water-based natural UV protection, so they are lightweight and leave no residue. This is possible because we use Plat Ceria which is the only natural UV protecting ingredient that is water soluble. We also use onsen (natural hot spring) water from Japan which is full of minerals and iodine - making it great at treating and healing many skin issues (from dryness to acne).
I have 2 products:
Sun Age Control
Repair Serum - 35mL
Revitalising Moisturiser - 60mL”
To find out more about this up and coming skincare brand, check out Gensen Japan on Facebook and Instagram.
There’s no time to waste - get cracking on skincare habits as young as possible. If you get your kids in good routines at a young age, they’ll be more likely to stick with these beneficial habits well into adulthood! Do yourself a favour, get yourself and everyone you know to start now - and have fresh, rejuvenated skin throughout the decades.