Page 94 -- SKIN CARE

General guidelines for skin care

Whatever our nationality or race, our skin care habits have some similarities of objective, even if the degrees of sophistication of the products we use are very different.
In theory 'normal' skin does not need any modification, since it is already well balanced with respect to its physiological and mechanical integrity. Nevertheless, this balance can be unstable to some extent, and therefore two essential approaches to the care of normal skin must be considered:

maintenance of this balance, and
protection from external injury.

The first aim is a passive one: it is more particularly concerned with avoiding products that are not active treatments as such, but may be harmful to the skin - harsh soaps, for example. The second plays a more active role, involving the use of photoprotective products and hydrating agents.
    Skin care, from the skin scientist's standpoint, means preserving the integrity of the stratum corneum while removing sebum and soiling and maintaining adequate moisturisation.
    For most women throughout many centuries, this was achieved by very harsh and primitive means. Even until relatively recently, the only skin and hair care product used by most people was a bar of harsh soap.
    Fortunately today's cosmetic industry is providing increasingly mild and sophisticated products at affordable prices which not only scientifically care for the skin, but also help to reduce the visible effects of aging.
    For most of us, skin care focuses on hands and face. Increasingly, however, industry is looking at the care of the body both in general and in specific areas, such as the delicate skin around the eyes, and good-quality products for these are now on the market.

In the rest of this chapter, we look at particular types of skin care and the products that are required for them.

Facial care

In this section we outline some suggestions for facial care regimens for skin of different ages.

Young (teenage) skin

Typical skin type - oily /combination:

remove make-up
cleanse, using mild or light cleanser
tone
moisturise (using a light product, because of the presence of sebum) containing sunscreen ingredients that will block UVA/UVB.

Adult skin

Example skin type - normal to dry:

remove make-up
cleanse twice daily with a mild cleanser
tone
by day, use a medium moisturizer, with sunscreen ingredients (UVA/UVB)
by night, use a heavier night cream without sunscreens
moisturise hands regularly.

Elderly skin

Usual skin type - dry:

cleanse with cream cleanser
use heavy-duty moisturizer daily with sunscreen
always use a night cream.