Whether or not your skin is looking flawless right at this minute, we’ve all dealt with rough patches before, where are skin was looking dry or had acne spots. It’s definitely not the best feeling in the world, and can really ruin your confidence. Now while you may have used all sorts of skin care products, you may have also realized that some of them simply don’t work. So we decided to list out the keys for proper skin care, not only to help you keep your skin looking young and healthy, but also to help you prioritize what sort of skin care products you should be buying to get the job done.

 

Makeup is not your friend

Most women already know this by now, but it needs to be said, and said first and foremost. It’s the hard truth – no way getting around it. Wearing makeup all day clogs pores and traps oils that end up causing acne and other skin conditions. Not to mention it blocks out any sort of skin care products that you are planning on using to improve your skin with. Now I know we won’t be able to get you to stop wearing makeup completely, but there are little things you can do. First of all, wear makeup sparingly. Use it to cover up blemishes only, rather than caking your entire face in it. And the next, perhaps most important thing you can do is to wash off your makeup as soon as you get home. Don’t wait until just going to bed, because that’s potentially an extra 5 or 6 hours of makeup doing nothing but clog your pores.

 

Sunlight is also not your friend

I know this can be in direct conflict with many of you who are looking for a more tanned skin tone, but the reality is that sunlight and heat on your skin is only damaging and removing your skin of the vital moisture required to keep it looking young and smooth. So instead of just looking for a great skin care product, also make it a point to look for a great sunscreen product. You could always spend all your waking hours indoors to avoid the sunlight, but we know that isn’t likely to happen, especially if you live a busy and active lifestyle. So use sunscreen as a preventive measure to keep from ruining all the hard work you put into your skin care routine.

If you really want to get a darker skin tone, it’s definitely possible. But you need to take it slow and slowly tan your skin over many weeks, using sunscreen sparingly to keep from tanning too quickly, as that will lead to damaged skin. It’s a fine line, but one that can be accomplished if you are diligent with it.

 

Unclogging Pores is key

This is a fairly blanket statement, but is the bread and butter of the skin care industry, particularly when it comes to acne. Finding a product that helps to unclog pours of dirt and makeup is the most important thing to help avoid breakouts from ever occurring. Most products that help to unclog pores also help to naturally exfoliate the skin (i.e. help remove dead skin cells), which is also is a big help at preventing breakouts. For most people, this sort of information is typically only apparent on the packaging and not necessarily from the ingredients themselves, so when shopping for skin care products, look for the words “unclog” and “exfoliate”. That will give the best indication of how well the product will actually be at preventing breakouts (at least until you try it out for yourself at home).

Also, in case you didn’t know this, once a breakout occurs, there isn’t much you can do to effectively get rid of it other than to wait it out. So it is always important to prevent breakouts from occurring rather than trying to treat them after the fact.

 

Moisturizing is also key

Ok, so we finally got our “not-friend” tips out of the way. Now we can focus on what does help your skin. We all know about products that supposedly unclog pores, which is definitely an important aspect to eliminating acne and other blemishes on the skin. However, when looking at the overall appearance of your skin, the most important factor is moisturizer. This helps provide healthy lipids to your skin, as well as hydrates your skin (hint, hint: that’s why they call it a moisturizer!). Dry skin enveloping your entire face is almost just as noticeable as a few skin blemishes so it is just as important to select a product that is excellent at moisturizing.

 

And that’s all there is to it really. As long as you keep your makeup habits and daily exposure to the sun in check, the only thing left to do is focus on finding skin care products that not only help to unclog pores, but on a general level help to moisturize your skin. These two factors are the biggest things when it comes to selecting a skin care product, and in reality, any other buzz words that a supplier uses such as “essential vitamins and minerals” are just there to make the sale. When looking for products, the focus should be on determining how good the product is at unclogging pores (including natural exfoliation) and at moisturizing your skin. Do that and you’ll find only the best skin care products to help your skin look remarkably beautiful all the time!