The Beauty of Being a Woman
the ultimate self-improvement guide to fulfilling your full beauty potential
written by Kathryn Legg Flynt
for my beautiful daughter, KayLeanna,
may you always enjoy the beauty in every area of your life.
Copyright 2010 Kathryn Legg Flynt. All rights reserved.
excerpts from the chapter “The Beauty of Skincare”
As a licensed Esthetician, I’ve long known the benefits of taking care of your skin. This is one of the few areas that I was faithful in caring for the surface of my skin. However, I’ve learned that it is just as important to care for your skin from the inside out. What you eat as well as the amount of water you drink has a huge impact on the appearance of your skin.
Skin, the integumentary system, is the largest organ of your body with six primary functions: protection, sensation, heat regulation, excretion, secretion, and absorption. Your skin consists of two main layers: your epidermis (outer layer) and dermis (inner layer) and is constantly repairing and replacing itself. There is a constant action of cells dying and cells regenerating in the skin.
While the sun plays a predominant role in how the skin ages, our environment (pollutants in the air, secondhand smoke, etc..) can all influence the overall health and appearance of our skin. These pollutants can change the health of the underlying cells and tissues as well as affect the surface appearance of the skin. The best defense against these pollutants is the simplest one: follow a good daily skin care regimen.
Your absolute minimum skin care requirements will include cleanser and moisturizer; again, that being the bare minimum. However, I recommend using: Eye Makeup Remover, Milky Cleanser, Foaming Cleanser, Exfoliator, Treatment Mask, Toner, Serum(s), Day/Night Moisture Cream, Eye Cream, Lip Cream with sun protection (minimum SPF 15) included in either your moisturizer or your foundation for maximum benefit.
Skin Types vs. Skin Conditions: Many internal and external factors affect the condition of a person’s skin; however, people are born with their skin type, which is determined by their genetics and ethnicity. Skin types include dry, normal, combination, oily, or sensitive. Sensitive skin can be a skin type or a condition depending on the causes. Other skin conditions include acne, actinic (damage cause by sun exposure), dehydration, pigmentation disorders, comedones, hyperkeratinization, etc… When choosing a skin care regime it is important to take your skin type, any skin conditions, and your level of aging into account. It seems logical to me that you would either choose all of your skin care products from the same product line –or– do a very extensive study on all of the ingredients you are combining to make sure that all of your ingredients are compatible with either other prior to mixing them on your skin. Since most foundations on the market now are non-comedogenic and therefore do not go into your pores but simply sit on the surface of the skin then I will assume they do not mix with your skin care products and therefore not necessary to be of the same line.
The obvious beauty of skin care is that the more nutrients the cells receive, the more youthful the appearance of your skin will be. But I want to express my love for the beauty of the experience as well. When choosing your skin care line – touch and smell the products. Yes, the ingredients are of utmost importance but if you do not like how the products feel or smell then it is unlikely you will stick to the program long enough to see any benefits. There are so many high quality skin care lines on the market that you should easily be able to find one that has quality ingredients as well as a pleasure to your senses. I absolutely enjoy those five little minutes of self-pampering every morning and again just before bedtime.
Also, take the time to do learn just a few key ingredients of each step of your regimen. For me, just knowing the benefits my skin receives makes the experience that much more enjoyable. You will be surprised how willing your Esthetician or sales rep will be to educate you on the product line of your choice.
So let’s look at the purpose and the beauty of each step to your new skin care regimen:
Eye Makeup Remover is more desirable than your facial cleanser when removing waterproof or smudge resistant eye products for a more gentle removal of eye makeup. And if you wear contact lens then make sure your Eye Makeup Remover is ophthalmologist tested and ideal for contact lens wearers. To use – shake and then apply a small amount to a moistened cotton pad, gently wipe off eye makeup using downward strokes and follow with your milky facial cleanser.
A Milky Facial Cleanser is preferred for makeup removal in the evening especially for skin that is dry or sensitive. To use – apply with fingertips to face and neck in gently upward strokes or upward and outward circles, remove with warm wet facial cloth.
A Foaming Facial Cleanser is my choice for my morning cleanser. To use – thoroughly wet face and hands with water, place a small amount of cleanser in the palm of your hand and work into a foam, then massage lightly onto wet skin with upward and outward circular movements, rinse well. I keep this one in my shower and thoroughly enjoy the sensorial pleasure and the way if leaves my skin balanced and velvety-smooth.
Exfoliate approximately twice per week to thoroughly remove impurities and dead cells. While use will vary with the different exfoliating products most will be applied to damp skin with small circular movements, avoiding the eye area and should be rinsed well. This is another product I keep in the shower for easier removal.
Mask Treatments are available to treat a range of conditions such as purifying clay based mask to absorb excess oil and surface impurities, nourishing hydrating mask to help improve moisture, or even anti-fatigue masks to stimulate the skin. Most masks are to be used once or twice per week. To use – spread evenly over entire face avoiding the eye area, leave on for recommend time, and remove with warm wet facial cloth. Always follow with toner.
Toner or Toning Lotion – completes the cleansing process for 100% cleansing efficacy as well as restores the skins proper ph balance. To use – apply a small amount to a cotton round and gently wipe face. Follow with serum while skin is still damp.
Serums range in benefits from anti-aging, oil-controlling, hydrating, energizing, and many more depending on the ingredients. If using more than one serum you will usually be instructed to use your treatment (oil-controlling, hydrating, etc..) serum prior to your anti-aging serum depending on the product line of your choice and their recommendations.
Daytime (and Nighttime) Moisture Fluids and Creams are recommend based on your skin type and anti-aging level of concern. Fluids are best for combination or oily skin types while creams are usually more suitable for dry, normal, and sensitive skin types. To apply – simply massage gently into skin using upward and outward circular motions.
Eye Creams, depending on ingredients, can have a range of benefits such as reducing the appearance of dark circles as well as correct the appearance of visible wrinkles or fine lines. To apply – use ring finger to gently tap product under and above eye on the orbital bone and then gentle circles going inward under the eye and around.
Lip Creams to moisturize the lip area. To apply – simply pat on and around the lips.
More to come……..will update soon.
