Well, hello again, dear reader! Here on Misumi Skincare’s Blog, we’ve often talked about various skincare routines, covered some of the best skincare tips for flawless skin, as well as the best tips for reducing acne.
And while the abundance of skincare topics, products, ingredients, tips and skincare routines can sometimes make our heads spin, we still haven’t talked about the most crucial skincare tips that you should never skip.
From introducing amazing products into your skincare routine (Like Misumi's Clear Skin Duo Kit) to improving your diet, we'll walk you through the basics.
Well, today is that day - welcome to Misumi’s top 9 skincare rules that aren’t made for breaking!
1. Don’t Touch Your Face
When it comes to skincare there are many rules. Here's one rule you should never deviate from - never, absolutely never, touch your face. And, we know - this basic rule has been beaten over our heads so many times, hasn't it? But it’s so widespread for a good reason.
See, your hands are bound to collect various kinds of dirt and oil. The moment we wake up, and heck, even during our sleep, our hands are in contact with almost everything.
Dirty linen? Check. Door handles? Check. The smartphone that you put everywhere and haven’t disinfected in months now? Check. Faucets, handles, doors in public bathrooms? Check. Hand grips during your daily commute? Check. Tables at fast food diners? The tables at work? Keyboards? Check check check.
You get the idea. Your hands are literally everywhere and they collect all sorts of filth. And the worst thing you can do is start touching your face and transfer all that gunk to it - especially if you have an oily skin type.
Transferring all the dirt from your hands onto your face can cause all sorts of irritation and even inflammation.
Additionally, this rule is even more crucial for people who already have skin problems or acne inflammation. By trying to pop your pimples, you’re damaging the surrounding skin, and spreading all the bacteria around. You’re also pushing it deeper underground, squeezing all the pus into the deeper layers of your skin.
Popping your pimples will make them worse, and turn ordinary, and fairly innocuous acne into severe, cystic acne.
Wash your hands before you apply eye cream, oil cleanser, moisturizer, or any other product.
If there's a Skincare Bible with the Ten Skincare Commandments, guess what the first commandment is? Thou Shall Not Befoul Thine Countenance!
2. Don’t Clean Your Face Too Much
Wait, what? What do you mean "don't clean your face"? It seems a bit counter-intuitive, doesn’t it?
We all know that we should clean our faces, but just what does “too much” mean? And better still, why? Surely, washing your face too well couldn’t be that bad, right?
Wrong.
See, the purpose of cleaning your face is to establish some basic level of cleanliness. Regardless of where you live and move about during your day, both urban and rural environments will lather your skin with some less-than-ideal substances.
Most cities have heavy traffic, and the air pollution will cover your face with a thin layer of microscopic dirt. Out in nature though, things aren’t much better - microscopic particles, such as pollen, are constantly thrown about by the wind, and can land on your face and clog your pores.
And clogged pores turn to whiteheads, or blackheads, and then, if not dealt with, can cause a full-blown acne inflammation.
Acne is pretty difficult to get rid of, so we don’t want that, do we?
All of this makes washing your face pretty crucial. And while everyone has a different skin type, and in turn, different needs and different skincare routines, some basic rules apply. One rule is to clean your face twice a day.
Giving your face a good clean in the morning and evening is the sweet spot. Anything less will not clean your face enough, and anything more will risk washing it too much.
But just what is cleaning it too much? Well, water, and soaps (regardless of how mild they are, really) remove any dirt from your face. But they also remove most of the skin oil (sebum) that you've produced. And while too much sebum can cause clogged pores and lead to acne, too little sebum will cause a dry, itchy, flaky, and irritated skin barrier. Not to mention that washing our faces usually includes rubbing with our hands, which only makes things worse. So - don’t clean your face too much.
3. If You’re Using Cleansers, Make It Twice a Day
Besides cleaning your face, you’ll need to use cleansers and quality moisturizers if you want young looking healthy skin. Giving your face a good wash once in the morning and once before going to bed will only do so much. Your pores won’t unclog, and your skin won’t be moisturized.
You’ll need to use cleansers and moisturizers every day. Dermatologists and beauty experts recommend that you should cleanse and moisturize your face at least two times a day. For the best results, do this after you’ve washed your face in the morning or evening.
Applying the right cleanser, and topping that with a moisturizer in the morning will prepare your face for the challenges of the day. Commutes, coffee, and lunches during your break all contribute to covering your face with dust. If you don’t treat your skin well in the morning, it won’t have the nutritious resources to deal with those factors. That’s why cleansing and moisturize in the morning are so important.
But the same applies to the evening as well. After cleaning your face, you’ll need to remove your makeup too. and cleansers are very efficient when it comes to this. A good cleanser will not only remove any dirt and excess oil from your skin, but it will also remove makeup.
Makeup can be less than ideal - it can sometimes contribute to clogging your pores. Besides being mindful about makeup products, using a quality cleanser or toner for cleaning your pores before going to bed will prevent any skin care problems and may even approve the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, and crow's feet.
4. Never Skip Sunscreen
We know what you’re thinking. “Oh, I’m out on a picnic today, and tomorrow I’ll be spending time and money doing shopping. But it’s cloudy so it’s all right!”
No, it’s not! Especially if you have sensitive skin and you’re out and about in the middle of summer. Cloudy or not, the sun’s UV rays and UVA rays can still hurt, causing dry skin and more. So, as a general rule, you should never procrastinate on sunscreen.
The sun is one of the biggest offenders when it comes to causing all sorts of damage to your skin. Photoaging is one thing, but frankly, that's the least of your problems. A blemish here or there isn’t something that can’t be prevented. But harmful solar radiation is one of the most frequent factors that contribute to skin cancer, which makes UVB protection and sunscreen very important.
Discoloration and a wonky, uneven skin tone can be dealt with, and a nice tan can even complement your looks. But the worst-case scenario? Better not think about it at all, even. Just make sure you always wear sunscreen - ideally - every day.
5. Eat Your Greens
Skincare is not an exclusively external process. Enriching your diet with fruits and vegetables can boost your skin just as well as the most expensive skincare product. Or, to put it differently, no amount of expensive skincare products will make your body change the way it works.
But there’s something else you can do, and it involves making significant changes to your diet and lifestyle.
Your body is your temple, and you are what you eat. When it comes to tailoring your diet with the aim of improving your skin, some choices work better than others. For example, while you shouldn’t completely forget about tasty cheese, reducing dairy can improve your skin.
Additionally, most of us are guilty of enjoying coffee a bit too much, and sometimes it’s to our own detriment. While it won’t be the case for everyone, and definitely not with all kinds of coffee, coffee can encourage the formation of acne by messing with your metabolism.
The problem with coffee is that, too often, we enjoy it with sweets or processed sugars. All those tasty creams in the ever-larger selection of exotic lattes aren’t the healthiest of options for your skin.
And while fast food, barbecue, and french fries are deemed to significantly cause acne, that’s largely a myth.
Sure, existing on an unhealthy diet of fast food won’t do wonders for your health, but that, alone, doesn’t make for bad skin. When enjoying fast food, and other greasy dishes, the danger comes from the particles of grease that attach to your face. Your nose and the area around your mouth are the most vulnerable, but you can easily prevent this by cleaning your face after enjoying a tasty, oily meal.
Ditto for smoking. The smoke usually engulfs your face, covering it with microscopic dirt and tons of irritants. If you’re a smoker and would like to go easier on your skin (and overall health), transitioning to vaping can be a good thing.
There are also foods that can have a beneficial effect on your skin. Adding fruits and vegetables, and other foods rich in vitamin C to your diet is absolutely crucial. These anti-inflammatory foods can improve your immune system, and provide your body with enough antioxidants to keep your skin healthy. They can reduce breakouts, wrinkles, and more.
Getting enough sleep, not touching your face, and being mindful of your pillows and phone can go a long way. Add a good exercise regimen, and you'll not only boost your skin’s health but become a healthier person overall.
6. You Should Exfoliate Once a Week
We know what you’re thinking - who needs exfoliation? That’s for people who are beauty-obsessed. But you couldn’t be far from the truth.
Exfoliation has many benefits for the skin. Besides contributing to beauty, it also helps your skin regenerate itself. Not only that, but exfoliation will make your skin look much clearer than before.
That’s because exfoliation works by sweeping the surface layer of your skin, and getting rid of dead skin cells. Once those cells are out of the way, your skin will take less time to work on rejuvenating itself and replacing the old skin cells with new ones. In other words, exfoliation both cleans your face and literally “paves the way” for clearer looking skin.
However, if you’re exfoliating, be very careful as to how often you actually do it. Exfoliating more than once a week can cause damage to your skin.
This phenomenon is called over-exfoliation, and trust us, you don’t want to have to deal with it. Since the process of exfoliation involves scraping off the top layers of your skin, it can make your skin super sensitive, making your skin sore, raw, and red.
When that happens, there isn’t much to do to revert the process. You can moisturize, but the brunt of the work will fall back on your body and skin, and you'll just have to wait it out until your skin rebuilds itself.
Our skin actually goes through a process of natural exfoliation called desquamation. Desquamation is the gradual replacement of dead and old skin cells, with fresh, new ones. However, desquamation is rather slow - it can take at least a month before your body completely replaces the skin cells on the surface layer of your skin.
Alternatively, there are also natural, homemade exfoliation methods that you can use as a replacement for professional-grade exfoliation. But, even natural, DIY exfoliation methods can easily irritate your skin, so the same rule applies. Only exfoliate once a week.
7. Muster Some Courage And Try Dermaplaning
But what is dermaplaning? And isn’t it scary? Well… it’s basically running a sharp blade over the surface of your skin. Or in this case, your face. Sounds terrible, right? But once you realize that men drag razorblades over their faces almost every day, it doesn’t sound so scary at all.
Dermaplaning is very useful in maintaining the basic hygiene of your skin. The sharp blade will remove any peach fuzz that you find annoying, but also remove any surface dirt or dead cells. Of course, you should be careful when dermaplaning, but there are tons of well-made products that are designed to keep you safe.
Dermaplaning also clears the terrain, so to speak. This helps your skin become cleaner, and moves any dirt, gunk, and other debris out of the way. In turn, anything you apply over your face, be it a moisturizer, or a gentle cleanser will work much better.
Cleansers, moisturizers, serums and so on will find it much easier to penetrate your pores and the deeper layers of your skin, working their magic even more. And, not only that - makeup will sit on your face much, much better, with all the microscopic peach fuzz out of the way.
8. Always Pamper Your Skin at Night
It's a well-known fact that our bodies are much more efficient at repairing themselves during the night, while we sleep.
Why? Well, think of our bodies as computers. Every computer has a so-called working memory, conventionally referred to as the RAM memory. Now, while we are awake and active, our bodies sort of use up all our “RAM” in the activities we are occupied with. That means that during the day, very little energy is directed at our bodies repairing themselves - most of it goes to walking, reading, working, exercising, and even digesting food.
But all of this changes while we sleep. Since our bodies sort of shut down, we enter into low-energy mode. This, in turn, frees up all that extra energy, or the “RAM” for our body to use for everything else. This is why our bodies are so much more efficient while we sleep, and why it's advisable to apply whatever products you use before you go to bed.
According to some estimates, our skin is at least 60% more efficient at absorbing all skincare products during the night. So, if you can only do one daily routine, and have no time in the morning - keep the evening routine and skip the morning one. That’s what will benefit your skin the most.
9. Visit A Dermatologist Once in a While
Remember, everyone’s skin type is different, and we all react differently to the same skincare routines, products, or other ingredients. Oily skin, combination skin, dry skin, normal skin, and sensitive skin will all have different issues to deal with.
Let’s take acne and scarring for example. It could be a case of hormonal acne, due to hormonal changes or imbalances. However, it could also be due to that new skincare product you’re using Or it may be something else entirely - like an environmental irritant, a factor in your diet.
When it comes to our skin type, things can get complicated. Sometimes our skin stops responding to certain products. But thankfully, that’s where our dermatologists, enter the picture. If you're suffering from certain skin conditions and breakouts, or if you’re not even sure what you’re dealing with, a visit to your dermatologist will clear your doubts.
Additionally, you don’t even need to be facing a skincare problem to talk to your dermatologist. You can visit them to exchange opinions, or inquire about a new skincare routine. A professional opinion is exactly that - it can be of exceptional value both in regards to treating any skin condition you're facing and in regards to preventing it.
This information is meant to supplement, not replace advice from your doctor or healthcare provider and is not meant to cover all possible uses, precautions, interactions or adverse effects. This information may not fit your specific health circumstances, and its goal is to offer a general view of the subject. In case you are suffering from a severe case of acne or another type of skin disorder or condition, you should consult with a dermatologist or a certified medical professional.
