Know Your Skin Type and Optimize Your Skin Care Routine

You need to know your skin type to optimize your skin care routine. Over time this will save you money and get you better results. Here are a couple of questions to help you correctly identify the type of skin you have.

Wash your face in the morning with just water and use no moisturizer. How does your face feel by noon?

Dry and tight

Comfortable

A little oily thru the T-zone

Oily over most of your face?

What size are your pores?

Almost invisible

Somewhat noticeable

Larger in the T-zone

Large

Dry Skin

By noon, dry skin will probably still feel dry and possibly tight. The pores are generally almost invisible. The skin’s texture is very fine and the skin is prone to redness and flakiness. This type of skin ages more quickly than other skin types.

Normal Skin

Your face will feel neither dry nor oily by noon. The pores appear somewhat visible. The texture is smooth and the skin usually has good color and elasticity. This is the least problematic of all the skin types.

Combination Skin

Combination skin is exactly that. It will be a little dry and a little oily within 3 or 4 hours of washing your face. Your cheeks will feel dryer than the forehead, nose and chin, commonly know as the T-zone. The pores generally appear larger in the T-zone than they are on the cheeks. The texture is a little coarser than normal or dry skin.

Oily Skin

By noon your face will be noticeably oily. Oily skin has large pores that are visible all over the face and has a texture that is quite coarse. Although this skin can be blemish prone, one advantage is that this skin type does not wrinkle as quickly as normal or dry skin.

By identifying your skin type you will better understand why a certain cleanser or moisturizer may be better suited for your particular needs. Before spending money on cosmetics, ask questions and choose products to address the challenges that your skin type presents. By doing this you will spend your cosmetic dollars more wisely and will see better results from your skin care regime.

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The Causes for Sensitive Skin and How to Care for It

Sensitive skin challenges us to analyze what is going on with our bodies. Are the reactions sensitivities or allergies? The difference is that allergies trigger an immune response while sensitivities do not. Food intolerance or sensitivity may cause symptoms from eczema to dandruff. If you are a sensitive individual, pay attention to small changes you make in your daily routine: foods, shampoos, cosmetics, stress level, to make sure you are attributing the sensitivity to the correct food or product.

Sensitive skin tends appear as thin and delicate with a tendency to redness and irritability. B vitamin deficiencies can cause dry, flaky, sensitive skin. Try taking a B complex vitamin and you may see an improvement in the itching and dryness of your skin. As well this nutritional group is great for stress prone individuals.

To find a good skin care regime, look for fragrance free products that are gentle and noncomedogenic. Patch test each new product in an inconspicuous area of the face or throat to check for sensitivity. It is best to test each product alone. Try only one new product in a particular area. If there is no reaction it is safe to use. Keep in mind that some allergies are caused by combinations. A friend of mind could eat cheese on Tuesday and tomatoes on Wednesday but if she ate them both on the same day she would break out in hives. A product used alone may be fine but combined with another may cause a reaction. This is a good reason to use skin products from the same line. They are designed to work together.

Keep notes on what you try and the dates so that you can tell if it is a delayed reaction. There was a point in my life where occasionally the skin on my eyes would become itchy, red and dry. I went to a doctor and without asking any questions he told me I was allergic to makeup and to never wear it again. I went for food allergy testing, tried all sorts of changes to my skin care program and could not figure it out. Then after about two years I realized that it only occurred around holidays. As a young mom, that was the only time I would bother with nail polish. I was sensitive to something in the polish and the small amount of contact with it when I washed my face or applied makeup was enough to trigger a reaction. It was also high stress time in my life. Once I realized the cause and eliminated the nail polish, the skin on my eyes returned to normal. I tried polish again years later and find I am ok with it now. I suspect it was the combination of stress and the ingredients in the product.

Sensitive skin makes finding a skin care regime that works for you a little more difficult. The results of making the effort are worth the time because you will have beautiful skin that finally feels comfortable and looks fantastic!

For more FREE expert advice and to purchase products for sensitive skin, go to dalegrove.com. Dale Kathryn Grove is an entrepreneur and social media enthusiast and an expert on skin care.

How to Restore Thick Full Eyelashes

Thick beautiful lashes are like putting a frame on a picture and have been a hallmark of beauty since time immemorial. With age, however many women experience thinning, brittle lashes and a less than perfect lash line.

CAUSES OF EYELASH LOSS

First, rule out any underlying medical problems. These can be allergies to makeup, an under active thyroid, autoimmune disorders, chemotherapy, malnutrition, or certain diseases. Check with your doctor to make sure that there are no health issues or medications that could be causing the problem.

With the exception of medical issues where certain medications are the cause of eyelash loss, it is often caused by a few easily rectified problems: going to bed without removing your eye-makeup and mascara, using eye-makeup you are allergic to, the involuntary act of pulling on your eyelashes.

SOLUTIONS

Waterproof mascara is notoriously difficult to remove. Left on overnight, mascara can cause lash loss due to damage caused by involuntarily rubbing of the eyes. To prevent this use a gentle, oil free eye makeup remover. Apply on a cotton pad and hold it over the lashes for a few seconds before gently sweeping the makeup off. You may need to apply the remover a couple of times if you applied several coats of mascara in the morning. Be careful not to tug or pull at the lashes. Next cleanse your face as you normally would.

If you have a sensitivity to particular eye-makeup product you will probably notice a burning or itching after it has been applied. It may not happen right away so sometimes it can be a challenge to identify which item it is. If possible stop using anything on your eyes until the redness and itching goes away. Then use one product to check for sensitivity. If it seems fine, add one more product the next day repeating the process until you identify the product you are sensitive to. Eliminate that particular item from your daily routine and your eyelash growth should improve.

A medication for the treatment of glaucoma, XALATAN, may slowly increase growth and thickness of eyelashes however there are other side effects may make it an undesirable solution. This drug can cause permanent darkening of eye color as well as darkening of the eyelid and eyelashes, burning and stinging, eye redness and blurred vision

Once the cause for the eyelash loss is identified and solved, your lashes will start growing back. In six months you can expect a noticeable difference. Until that happens, you can use eyeliner and false eyelashes to create the appearance of thicker lashes.

For more FREE expert advice and to find out how to purchase one of the best selling eye makeup removers on the market, go to dalegrove.com. Dale Kathryn Grove is an entrepreneur and social media enthusiast.