Skin Care Basics

As skin care products get more sophisticated, our questions about them become more complicated. Should your cleanser be a gel or cream? Should you tone or exfoliate? Is a serum necessary? For glowing results, you need to know what works best for your skin type.

Oily
Oily skin can be prone to acne thanks to overactive, sebum-producing glands. Sebum is your body’s all-natural facial moisturizer: too little and you have dry skin, too much and you’re prone to breakouts and clogged pores. But the solution to excess sebum isn’t less oil, it’s more-tea tree oil, to be specific, a powerful antiseptic and antimicrobial.

Wash and tone your skin twice per day and after sweating (perspiration can make acne worse) with a cleanser and toner that contains tea tree oil. Use your fingertips to apply a gentle, non-abrasive cleanser; anything else can irritate the skin. Don’t use harsh scrubs or exfoliants. Use a detoxifying mask once or twice a week to sop up excess oil. Moisturize with a light lotion containing anti-inflammatory herbs.

Balance oily and blemish-prone skin with MyChelle DermaceuticalsClear Skin Serum. Retinol resurfaces and clears pore-blocking debris while clay minerals detoxify and absorb excess oil. Tea tree oil, other antibacterial botanicals, and B vitamins heal and repair skin.

Dry
Dry skin doesn’t produce enough collagen or sebum. It’s usually characterized as tight and/or flaky, and it’s prone to wrinkles and dullness. Try not to overwash dry skin, and skip the toner. Instead, hydrate thirsty skin with heavier cleansers, serums, and moisturizers. Be sure to always use a serum before the moisturizer to boost absorption. Night cream and eye cream are musts.

Remove dirt and makeup gently while soothing dry and sensitive skin with John Masters OrganicsLinden Blossom Face Crème Cleanser. Rose and linden blossom essential oils soften; ginseng tones; ylang-ylang nourishes; radish root protects against bacteria and pollutants; and foraha oil repairs skin and promotes cell growth.

Aging
With age, your skin stops producing vital collagen-so wrinkles, fine lines, and dark spots become more prevalent. Skin becomes dryer, thinner, and less firm. Choose rich cleansers, serums, moisturizers, and eye creams that have been reinforced with revitalizing botanicals, replenishing oils, protective antioxidants, and strengthening peptides.

Turning a new regimen into a habit takes time and the results may be gradual. For your best skin, be patient and be consistent.

Smooth and strengthen mature skin with Dr. Hauschka Skin Care Regenerating Day Cream. Revitalizing kalanchoe, antioxidant red clover, silica-rich field horsetail, vitamin-packed acerola berries, and calming rose petals combine in a base of organic and biodynamic raspberry seed oil, avocado oil, and shea butter. This luxurious cream plumps wrinkles and fine lines, enhances tone and elasticity, and soothes irritated skin.

Normal
Skin with just enough sebum is considered “normal.” Keep it healthy with a twice-daily wash with a gentle cleanser followed by a hydrating moisturizer, then eye cream.

Diminish fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes with Derma eHydrating Eye Crème. Packed with hyaluronic acid to firm, tone, and rehydrate, and Pycnogenol, a powerful antioxidant that helps nourish and protect delicate skin, this fragrance-free crème is ideal for normal or dry skin.