What are the links, content and methods included in the skin care process

In fact, the core of most daily care for healthy skin is the three steps of cleansing, moisturizing, and sun protection. The rest of the operations, such as exfoliation, functional essences, and facial masks, are all flexibly superimposed based on skin type, current skin condition, and specific needs. There is no universal standard process.

The two statements that have been hotly debated on the Internet before, "The 10-step full-process skin care is an IQ tax" and "Simplifying skin care is equivalent to fooling the face" are actually quite extreme. I have a 40+ sister with dry skin and mature skin. When it is dry in winter, she will add foundation serum, anti-aging essence, and repair cream in addition to the basic steps. Even with skin care oils, my skin has always been moisturized and there are no fine lines. There is also an 18-year-old cousin with oily skin. She used to follow the trend and bought a bunch of astringent lotions, anti-acne creams, and cleansing masks every day. She stacked them five or six times a day, but her face was full of tears. Later, she simplified it to amino acid cleansing + refreshing lotion + sunscreen, and her skin became much more stable in less than a month.

Speaking of cleansing, this is probably the most common pitfall for ordinary people. I had a lot of oil in the summer of the past two years. I foolishly washed my face three times a day and used scrub twice a week. As a result, my cheeks became red and stinging for half a month. It took me a long time to get over it. Later I figured out a routine. No matter what my skin type is, I use mild amino acids every day. Cleansing is enough. You only need to use makeup remover when you wear makeup at night or apply waterproof high-power sunscreen. If you don't stay up late in the morning, you won't produce much oil. You can even just splash it with warm water twice. Exfoliation should be done with caution. Once a month is too much for dry skin, once every two weeks for oily skin at most. Don't touch it at all for sensitive skin.

The 30 seconds to 1 minute after washing your face is actually the golden period for applying moisturizing products. At this time, there is still some moisture on the surface of the skin that has not been dried. Applying toner, lotion or cream can better lock in moisture. This does not mean that expensive moisturizing products are necessarily good. When I was sensitive during the season change last year, I used more than 100 yuan of Ceramide Soothing Cream. This soothing facial cream is much more suitable than the lady's cream that cost thousands of dollars. If you have dry skin in winter and still feel tight after applying facial cream, you can mix a drop or two of skin care oil into the cream and rub it on your face. The moisturizing effect will be directly upgraded. If you have oily skin and are afraid of stuffiness in summer, you can even just apply a refreshing gel or toner instead of applying heavy cream to stifle acne.

Among the three basic steps, the most easily overlooked but most useful one is actually sunscreen. When I learned to drive last summer, I applied SPF50+ sunscreen on my face and wore a mask, but I didn’t apply it on my arms and legs because it was too troublesome. As a result, I got two shades of tan. It took me almost half a year to get rid of it. It’s really true. Applying a whitening essence for a year is not as effective as applying sunscreen for a month. You must apply it no matter it is cloudy or sunny, winter or summer. If you go to the beach or stay outdoors for more than four or five hours, in addition to applying high-power sunscreen, you must also wear a hard sunscreen such as a hat or parasol. The effect is much better than applying sunscreen alone.

If you have specific needs such as whitening, anti-aging, and anti-acne, just add the corresponding essence after moisturizing and before sun protection. For example, Morning C and Night A are very popular nowadays. Many people around me use high concentrations as soon as they start, and the result is redness and bad skin. In fact, you can start to build tolerance by using low concentrations twice a week. If you feel that there is no discomfort on the skin, then slowly increase the frequency. Slower effects are better than damaging the skin.

There is also a lot of debate about whether facial masks are useful. My own experience is that when the skin is dry and flaky, applying a hydrating mask as a first aid can indeed quickly relieve redness and flaking. However, if applied every day, it will over-hydrate the skin and destroy the barrier. In the past, a friend used an internet celebrity mask every day, and his face turned red at the first touch. It took him more than half a year to get rid of it. There is really no need to mess around with it just for marketing gimmicks.

To put it bluntly, there is no fixed standard answer to skin care. The good process used by others may not be suitable for you. Touch your face more often, reduce a layer of heavy products if there is a lot of oil, and add a moisturizing essence when it is dry. It is much more reliable than following the trend and hoarding a lot of useless products.