All About Facial Skincare

Facial skincare is more a matter of discipline than anything else. A facial skincare routine is what you need (and you need to follow the facial skincare routine with complete seriousness). So letís check what comprises an effective facial skincare routine. Well, very simply, a facial skincare routine can follow the following 4 steps:
* Cleansing
* Toning
* Exfoliating
* Moisturising

Cleansing is the first thing in any facial skincare routine. Cleansing helps in removing dust, pollutants, grease, and extra oil from your skin, thereby preventing damage to your skin. Just spot your face and neck with a good cleansing lotion or cream and gently massage it into your skin using upward strokes. Use a soft face tissue or cotton wool to wipe your face in a gentle patting fashion (do not rub). Cleansing should be done at least twice a day i.e. morning (as part of complete facial skincare routine) and evening (on a standalone basis). Water-soluble cleansers are the best for inclusion in your facial skincare routine.

Toning is the next in a facial skincare routine. However, this is the optional part of the facial skincare routine. Mostly, proper cleansing can compensate for toning. Toning helps remove all traces of dirt, grease, and excess cleanser. Instead of making it part of your daily facial skincare routine, you can use toning occasionally (i.e. when you have been exposed to particularly harsh environments or pollution).

Exfoliation is again, kind of, optional step in everyday routine for facial skincare. However, exfoliation is necessary at least once a week (or twice, depending on the skin type and the environmental conditions). Exfoliation finds its place in facial skincare routine because of the natural tendency of skin to replenish the skin cells every 3 or 4 weeks. As a facial skincare technique, exfoliation helps in removing the dead skin cells that block the pores, thus assisting the skin in the natural process. However, excessive or harsh exfoliation can cause damage to your skin; so you need to balance it out.

The next thing in facial skincare is moisturizing. In fact, moisturizing is the most important part of any daily facial skincare routine. Moisturizers prevent your skin from getting dry. Dry skin is really undesirable since it causes the upper layer skin to break, leading to dead skin cells. Again, use light upward strokes to make the moisturizer more effective. Moisturizers work the best when applied on warm and damp skin. So do not try to remove all the moisture in the previous steps of your facial skincare routine.

Besides the normal facial skincare routine, you should also exercise the following for facial skincare:
* Use proper make-up remover instead of just washing it away
* Pay heed to your skin type and the environment, when choosing facial skincare products.
* Before you start using a new facial skincare product, test it by applying it on a short patch of skin e.g. ear lobes.
* Never rub your skin too hard.
* Use sunscreen lotions for protection against the sun.