What is that tiny red dot on your face? A pimple. Are you going to pop it? No. Why not?

Skin care is a way to keep your face and skin healthy. It enhances your features and relieves skin problems you might have(ex. Acne, Pimples, ect). People would do anything to get crystal glass skin, use all types of product and go by a 10 step routine to get clear skin. But sometimes the simplest things help the most.

Skin Types

To start your journey for clear skin, you need to find out the type of skin you have. It’s very important; without this step you could be dehydrating your skin without knowing. For skin types we are left with 5 categories:

• Normal
• Dry
• Oily 
• Combination (Dry and Oily)
• Sensitive 

To find out what type of skin you have, you could do some simple tests to figure it out. 

Products

As important as your skin type is, the products go hand and hand. Reading the information on the back can tell you a lot about what you use. Look for Aluminum, Dea(diethanolamine), Parabens, Mineral oil, ect. in the ingredients side to ensure its safe for you to use. Products like St. Ives, Biore, makeup wipes, and charcoal masks are great examples of this. All are harsh on the skin and quite popular too due to people only starting to use Skin care products. Mixing products is a whole different thing to get in too. It could be a bad thing, but it could also be a good thing. Mixing products like Retinol and moisturizing products are good. But not as good with vitamin C, benzoyl peroxide, and AHA/BHA acids. The products don’t have to be popular, like Cerave, Cetaphil, or the ordinary. What works for other people doesn’t always need to work for you.

Routines

To get a balance of things you need a daily routine (AM & PM) to keep everything coustitant. If you want a simple routine you can alway do 3 steps like cleansing, toning, and moisturizing. Or you could do a complex routine, using additional products to get rid of certain things on your face like black spots. You can forget bi weekly routines like face masks, face shaving,or a serum if you don’t need them. 

Acne and Pimples

There could be a lot of reasons for the little bumps on your face, like stress or hormonal problems (and there is no shame in that). Some people would do anything to get rid of it, including spending tons of money, when there are simple things to do for way cheaper. The use of retinoid cream and acne creams are some of the cheaper options you can add to your daily/or nightly routine. If you still don’t see any changes, it’s recommended that you see a dermatologist.

Moisturization 

Within every routine, moisturizing is the key to clear skin. It protects your skin barrier from irritation, and helps to reduce the development of dryness. Moisturizing is very needed, especially in the winter, to protect your skin from dryness and irritation since winter is the driest season of the year.

Melanated skin

Due to the lack of information about darker skin, most people(including 47% of dermatologists) are not educated about how to treat darker skin. “People with dark skin tones deal with some skin issues more commonly, such as hyperpigmentation, inflammation, sensitivity to lasers, and more.”  There are even some ingredients that darker tones can’t use, which is why it needs the focus.  Even certain products could cause the irritation on the skin.

Caring for your skin doesn’t have to be a chore. It can be fun too. With this information you can have crystal clear skin in no time.