I want to walk you through The Basics one step at a time. This routine should only take one or two minutes to complete unless you enjoy spending more time caring for your skin, which can only prove to be better. Three basic steps… that’s all it involves.
STEP 1: Cleansing
- Put a reasonable amount of cleanser in the palm of your hand. If you have a milk cleanser, use about the size of a quarter to a half-dollar. With foaming cleansers, you’ll only need half as much. Put your palms together so the cleanser spreads evenly on both hands and gently go over your entire face and neck. You should not be rubbing hard but merely gliding over your skin. Many skin care regimens get picky about exactly how to do each step, like “splash 15 times with water captured in your basin” or “only use counterclockwise circles when applying products.”
- Right now, my main concern is getting you in the habit of using your cleanser. After you have massaged the cleanser into your skin (this should not take more than 15 seconds), remove it by splashing with lukewarm water. Pat your skin dry with a towel (again, no rubbing or pulling), you’re clean, and ready for…
STEP 2: Toning
- Having said that, most likely you have always put toner on a cotton pad and gone over your face with it. Or you may have been splashing it on like aftershave. I recommend spraying toner on your face as the optimum way of applying it. This method is quick, economical, and the most effective way to apply toner evenly onto your face. Besides, men certainly don’t want to mess with cotton, having to inevitably spend time picking tiny strings of it out of their beards. Empty spray bottles are easy to find at any beauty supply store or Whole Foods Market.
- You may have heard “Wipe your face with a cotton ball soaked in toner and look at all the dirt it picks up.” What that really means is you didn’t get your skin clean, so it’s back to Step 1: Cleansing for you. Cleansers cleanse, toners tone or prepare the skin for moisturizer. Be careful that some toners that have an alcoholic and/or drying agent actually strip your skin causing it to dehydrate.
Step 3: Moisturizing
- To avoid using too much moisturizer, while your face is still wet from the toner, put a peanut-sized dollop in the palm of your hand, then rub your hands together to emulsify and warm the moisturizer. Smooth the moisturizer over your entire face and neck using both your hands/palms, not just the tips of your fingers. Applying the moisturizer this way increases your chances of getting the cream on all parts of your face evenly. This is important. The connect-the-dot method causes an uneven application. Also, if you nose tends to get too oily during the day, just lightly go over the nose area as you finish smoothing the moisturizer over your face and neck.
- You always want to apply moisturizer after cleansing and toning. You also want to use it both in the morning and at night. Usually, moisturizer is the last product you put on your skin. If you plan on wearing foundation and/or makeup, it will go on top of your moisturizer.
Quick Tips
- If you don’t have time or are too tired to cleanse your skin at night, before you put toothpaste on your toothbrush, put cleanser on your face. Brush your teeth and then you’ll be forced to take the cleanser off.
- If you left your makeup on overnight (yikes!), Do Not Skip This Step. You’ll need to also exfoliate your skin to get the imbedded junk out of your pores before you put on another day’s makeup.
- Put your spray toner in the refrigerator in the summer months so you can enjoy a cool spray of refreshment on your face during a hot summer’s day.
- Get rid of all those half-filled jars and bottles of potions you bought over a year ago. Use any remaining moisturizers on your body instead of tossing them.
- Many sunscreens can be used as your moisturizer. Don’t start piling on moisturizer, sunscreen, and makeup. It’s too much for your pores.
- Buy more than one package of eye cream. Keep an extra one at work, in your nightstand, in your purse, or all of the above. Put it on (sparingly) throughout the day to keep the delicate under-eye tissue soft. It is that important.
- Click here to buy Dr. Perricone’s 7 Secrets of Beauty
Until the next blog… feed your skin!
