Written by Nicole Hackett, Master Esthetician
Maintenance and consistency are critical after you get a facial, or any other treatment for your skin such as lasers, peels, microneedling, Botox, fillers, etc. If you truly want to be preventative and have good skin health, you need to have a good at-home regimen. One facial a year is just not going to cut it. You can have great products, but to see results you need to use them on a regular basis. Miracles don’t happen overnight. Getting on a good skincare routine can be hard at first, but it’s important to make time and add it into your daily routine. Once you get in the swing of things, it just becomes habit.
These are the essentials that I believe everyone should be using:
- First, you want to be using a good cleanser and ideally not something you can find at the drugstore. You want something with high-quality ingredients that is going to clean your skin, get rid of makeup/dirt and not strip your skin – which can make it dry and flaky. You should be cleaning you face 2x day, but if that’s too much for you, then I recommend cleansing at night.
- Second, I recommend exfoliating at least 1-3x week. There are different ways to exfoliate the skin, either mechanical exfoliation or chemical exfoliation. Exfoliating your skin is going to remove the dead skin cells on the surface of your skin and help to increase your cell turnover rate, which slows down the older we get. It will help prevent fine lines and wrinkles from forming and help to control blackheads.
- In addition, everyone can benefit from a good quality vitamin C serum. Vitamin C helps to lighten and brighten your skin tone, it also helps to protect skin from the visible impacts of pollution, promotes collagen production, improves hydration and keeps your skin looking younger, longer!
- Keeping your skin moisturized is very important for anti-aging, as the drier our skin is, the more noticeable fine lines and wrinkles are. There are tons of different moisturizers out there, but hyaluronic acid is an ingredient that all skin types can benefit from. Hyaluronic acid is extremely moisturizing, holding 1000 x its weight in water and locking in moisture from the air. It is best used after you apply your serums because it is made with larger molecules and it will help to penetrate your serums deeper into your skin.
- Now the number one anti-aging product you should be using is SPF, and you should be using it EVERYDAY, even if its cloudy and rainy outside. The sun is the number one cause of aging and we are constantly being exposed to UVB and UVA rays. Even indoors, the fluorescent lights are emitting rays and when we are driving the rays are penetrating even stronger through the glass. If you are going to be outdoors for long periods of time it is important to reapply every two hours. Use a good sun screen with SPF 30 or higher and make sure it says broad spectrum.
To maximize your results from skin care treatments, it is vital to be using good skin care products at home and that you use them consistently.
Want to chat more about our options for healthy, glowing skin? Call us at 703-406-2444 to schedule your complimentary, private consultation with one of our Master Estheticians – we’d be happy to help you find the right products for your skin!