This is a very inclusive list/essay haha but if you want to know what I use personally or recommend let me know!
So now that I discussed cleansers I wanted to talk about the best ways to keep your skin looking young. The best way to keep your skin young is to use a cocktail of ingredients: Retin A derivatives, glycolic acid, vitamin c, vitamin e and sunblock. There is also botox, fillers and ultherapy.
There are a number of ways to exfoliate. You can use a physical exfoliant like a grain or a scrub where you are manually removing dead skin cells or you can use a chemical exfoliant like an alpha hydroxy acid such as glycolic or lactic acid.
Exfoliation:
I’ve noticed that people either don’t exfoliate at all or they’re exfoliating too much or the wrong way.
If you decide to use a scrub make sure you are using it very gently. Make sure you wet your face first and when you move the grains around on your skin your skin shouldn’t move. Also, make sure you find a scrub that is not abrasive (a.k.a. no St. Ives Apricot Scrub). Ideally, you should exfoliate with a scrub about once or twice a week depending on your skin type.
I personally think chemical exfoliants are way more effective. The alpha hydroxy acids penetrate deeper into the skin to stimulate collagen synthesis. Not all glycolic acid formulas are created equal. It is always about the concentration of glycolic acid and how sensitive your skin is.
Retin A derivatives. They exfoliate while helping to build collagen production. I use tretinoin and I love it. (.025% concentration).
Antioxidants:
There are so many antioxidants. I use vitamin c and vitamin e. Vitamin c is super unstable. Stability and concentration are the key things when finding the right vitamin c serum.
Sunblock:
Never to be forgotten is sunblock. You should be using an SPF of 30 every single day rain or shine. You should put it everywhere the sun hits. This includes your neck, ears, hands, etc. Depending on whether your sunblock is physical or chemical you may need to wait 15-20 minutes for the sunblock to absorb. Physical sunblocks (titanium dioxide and zinc oxide) require no waiting time because they sit on top of the skin.
Lastly, there is botox, fillers and ultherapy:
Botox is amazing because it freezes the muscle from making the same repetitive movements that lead to wrinkles. Fillers are great because there are many different formulas depending on what area of your face you want filled. Cheek fillers also help produce collagen too which is amazing. Ultherapy is also amazing. It is perfect for anyone who is not at the stage of needing a face lift but is noticing visible loss of firmness. It is also perfect for people who want a less invasive procedure because there are no knives or needles involved.
KimConran 