Skin Care Essentials

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Inspired by Shirleen of womenlovebeauty ‘s post on Basic Skincare 101: Essential Daily Skin-Care Regimen, I decided to write this page dedicated to my male readers who have just started to take the first step to taking care of their skin and wishes to maintain a healthy complexion.

My DAILY skin care (face) started with a FACIAL WASH.

I wash my face twice a day,  in the morning when I shower and at night before I sleep to remove any dirt from my day’s activities. Twice a day is enough in our tropical humid climate (Singapore and Indonesia). I wash my face in cold or lukewarm water (is preferable – to open up the pores).

Well, I knew from a young age to not use the soap for my body as my facial wash. My face’s skin is much more delicate than my body’s skin and hence needs proper, better care.

When it comes to skin care, choose products based on your skin type. I have combination-oily skin type. I like cleansers that really cleanse, but does not dry out my skin. I don’t want my cheeks to feel tight. 

I tend to avoid moisturizing cleanser or for sensitive skin ones as they are typically too gentle and does not deep cleanse enough for my preference. Although cleansing my face twice a day is very important, for me, I am quite flexible with my cleanser. Most likely I use one in the range I am on.

I wet my face, put a pea sized amount of cleanser on my palm, rub my palms together until the cleanser foams, then spread the foam cleanser on my forehead, nose, cheeks and chin, as well the skin around my ears and my neck. I massage gently in upward, outward direction. Then I rinse.

After I pat dry my face using my towel / facial tissue, next is TONER. Toning restores the skin balance and help to refine pores that were open when cleansing. I love toning as it refreshes me.

I initially soak in a cotton pad generously with my toner but lately I felt that method was such a waste of my toner and I now pour a tiny amount of my toner on my hand and pat them on my face. In the near future, I am going to decant my toner to a spray bottle to make the application of my toner even more convenient.

The skin around our eyes are even more delicate than the rest of our face, I personally suffer from dark undereyes especially when I lack sleep. In my mid-20s, I do not have fine lines and wrinkles yet and my eyes are not puffy. Nonetheless, to maintain, I do need a lightweight EYE CREAM every day and night, simply to just hydrate.

Then I apply SERUM. Serums have tinier molecules that can penetrate into the deeper layers of our skin to deliver added nutrients. I personally am very fond of serum to repair or correct any skin concerns I have. Currently, I am into whitening / brightening serum to even out my skin tone and fade my acne scars. I like lightweight serum that sinks into the skin after gentle patting into the skin.

For my blackhead ridden comedogenic strawberry nose, I apply a clear transparent gel as a pore refining treatment to ensure my pores are not clogged.

In the morning, I end my skin care routine with a SUNSCREEN with wide spectrum UVA(aging) and UVB(burn) protection with SPF and PA rating. It is very important to use sunscreen for me as I don’t want my acne scars to become more visible due to sun exposure, in addition to avoid premature aging and burning of  the skin. For me, the texture of the sunscreen must not be greasy or oily. As I tend to get oily in the day, I skip moisturizer and use my sunscreen as my moisturizer with sun protection and this works for me.

At night, I seal off the goodness of my toner and serum with a MOISTURIZER. As I am acne prone, I prefer a lightweight hydrator, preferably in gel form but I’ve come to appreciate cream as well, with whitening properties to even my skin tone. I make sure to apply moisturizer on my neck as well. I prefer water based formulations, which are oil-free.

With suitable oil-free moisturizing products, I have managed to control my acne and I appear less shiny during the day.

However, during stressful periods, if I am experiencing a breakout (tiny active zits popping here and there), I apply acne spot treatment on the infected areas with a cotton bud. On my healed acne scars, I apply a spot lightening treatment, tapping gently with my fingertips.

My WEEKLY routine would be to EXFOLIATE twice a week- to remove dead skin cells and reveal smoother, brighter skin afterwards. Regular gentle exfoliation will ensure pores are unclogged, preventing acne and blackheads formations. In addition, also help in fading my acne scars.

After I cleanse my face, I use a scrub with fine beads or a peeling gel. Then  I proceed to apply a clay or peel-off mask.

When I am pressed for time or lazy, I apply my toner then a hydrating sheet mask to do the job of serum + moisturizer =P

That’s about it. To maintain a healthy complexion, I believe choosing the right products for your skin type and adhering to a daily and weekly skincare routine are most essential.

In Summary, my Face Skin Care Essentials:

  • 1. CLEANSER
  • 2. TONER
  • 3. EYE
  • 4. SERUM
  • 5. MOISTURIZER / SUNSCREEN
  • + EXFOLIATION

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