Facial skin care: how to keep it young

The many little tricks for a toned and elastic skin and to counteract the signs of aging.

Skin aging is a physiological process that no one can escape, but why do it ahead of time?

To slow down age-related decay you can count, in fact, on numerous allies and good habits, which do not work miracles, but help to keep the skin, especially that of the face, younger, longer.

Cleansing

The first good habit to maintain a young and healthy face is to cleanse the epidermis adequately, removing dirt and impurities from the external environment (smog, make-up, etc.). or from the body, in particular from the sebaceous glands (excess fat, sweat and dead cells).

These impurities can in fact alter the pH of the skin and prevent its correct oxygenation, making the complexion dull, as well as damaging the hydrolipidic film that has the function of modulating the interaction between the external and internal environment of the body.

Water is not enough to adequately cleanse the skin of the face and the same applies to the soap that is commonly used for the hands which, in addition to being aggressive, has a basic pH, very different from the acidic pH of the skin of the face.

It is better to focus on targeted skin care products, choosing the cleanser that best suits your skin type (see table). For example, you can count on antiseptic formulations to disinfect the skin or enriched with normalizing active ingredients for oily skin, with antimicrobial substances indicated for those with pimples and blackheads, with vitamins and collagen to counteract aging or even with essential oils, minerals and plant extracts to deeply moisturize dry and sensitive skin.

Combination or oily skin	Dry or sensitive skin	Mature skin
Attention must be paid to detergents that are too aggressive and cause a Rebound effect, stimulating the glands to produce more sebum	These skin types are more prone to cracking and redness for which requires a delicate intervention. Dedicated products are recommended, with moisturizing agents of natural origin and without fragrance	It is often dehydrated or relaxed, so it is advisable to opt for a detergent that performs a slight scrub action to stimulate the microcirculation and counteract sagging wrinkles

If you suffer from dermatitis, acne, rosacea or other dermatological diseases, you should be particularly careful and seek advice from a specialist.

If cleansing the skin is a good starting point, it is equally true that we must not exaggerate, otherwise the risk of damaging the skin’s hydrolipid barrier, making it more sensitive to the attack of external agents.

Evening facial cleansing

Facial cleansing should not be done only in the morning, but also in the evening, even more so if you wear makeup. If you do not remove all makeup residues, the skin pores remain clogged, the skin does not receive proper oxygenation and wrinkles and expression lines end up being clearly visible ahead of time. Cleansing and tonic milk are essential to remove make-up properly, although in recent years micellar water is becoming increasingly successful which, not containing soap and alcohol, is particularly suitable for sensitive skin.

To remove make-up in a workmanlike manner, the advice is to dilute the cleansing milk with a small amount of water before applying it and then spread it with circular movements on the face. In this way you will also treat yourself to a small beauty treatment that will improve skin microcirculation.

To remove make-up from the lips and skin around the eyes, very delicate areas, it is advisable to use specific cosmetic products.

The next step is to rinse the skin with warm water, dabbing the face with a very soft cloth. At this point all that remains is to resort to the tonic that eliminates any residues of cleansing milk and gives brightness to the skin. Once you have chosen the most suitable product for your skin, pour it on a cotton pad and pass it all over your face.

Daily hydration

If cleansing is the first step to take care of the skin, the second is represented by hydration. If it is not properly hydrated, from the outside and from the inside, the skin appears rough, dry, its elasticity decreases and obvious signs of flaking may appear, especially on the legs.

In the daily routine should therefore not miss moisturizers and serums, fundamental both for the face and for body care. There are moisturizers that contain several useful active ingredients: from hyaluronic acid to phospholipids, from glucosamine to vitamin C.

But the skin must also be hydrated from the inside, drinking at least a liter and a half of water a day, depending on the season, and eating fruits and vegetables every day. These foods contain large amounts of water and, in addition, are rich in antioxidants and mineral salts, which nourish the skin and promote cell regeneration and turnover.

Once the skin is hydrated, all that remains is to apply foundation, the most important cosmetic for those who want to show off an impeccable, healthy appearance and a face free of imperfections. The important thing, once again, is to choose the most suitable product for your skin type. For example, those with acne skin should opt for non-comedogenic formulas (ie that do not favor the appearance of blackheads), that do not occlude the pores, that are sebum-regulating and have within them healing ingredients such as salicylic acid, Tea tree oil, niacinamide or zinc.

The most innovative formulations combine these benefits with medium-high coverage, combining not only skin care and make-up in a single product, but also allowing you to better cover imperfections.

Skin care for him

Like the female universe, the male universe also has its beauty secrets. After shaving or taking care of the details, it is necessary to use a good aftershave. To avoid redness after shaving, it is better to choose products without alcohol and with soothing agents. The same applies after hair removal, which is no longer a practice only for women. Avoid items that are too fragrant, as perfumes are potentially sensitizing.

Then you just have to apply a good moisturizer or an anti-aging serum and maybe one of the brand new ice-effect roll-ons for the eye contour, perfect for fighting bags under the eyes and dark circles.

Masks and scrubs

Facial care also passes through some treatments that do not need to be performed every day: the mask and exfoliation.

Regular application, for example once a week, of face masks gives the skin a youthful and fresh appearance. There are different types: moisturizing, revitalizing, purifying, nourishing and so on. Many women also use face masks to camouflage small blemishes, from acne scars to spots.

There are also “do-it-yourself” face masks, for example two slices of cucumber to rest on the eyes. This grandmother’s remedy takes advantage of the decongestant properties of cucumber, useful for deflating bags under the eyes and rejuvenating the appearance of the skin.

Another one-time treatment is exfoliation, which serves to remove dead cells that remain on the surface of the epidermis. It is generally recommended to perform it no more than once a week, otherwise the risk of making the skin more vulnerable to external aggressions.

The exfoliant is usually a gel or cream containing abrasive microgranules to be applied by performing circular movements.

Protect the skin from photoaging

If you want to keep your skin young for as long as possible, avoid uncontrolled exposure to sunlight. The danger comes from UVB and UVA solar radiation, which is implicated not only in the development of skin cancer, but also in premature skin aging or photoaging.

UV rays, the sun or tanning lamps, cause lesions to the structures of the skin, increasing oxidative processes and instability of the cells of the epidermis and dermis. As a consequence of this stressful situation, often complicated by bad habits such as smoking and unregulated nutrition, the skin tends to lose tone and elasticity, to thin and dry out. Not only do superficial wrinkles become deeper, but sun spots and ephelides may appear.

To counteract photoaging you have to expose yourself to the sun using common sense. This means avoiding sunbathing the first few times you expose yourself, not exposing yourself during the hottest hours, using sunglasses and resorting to creams that guarantee adequate sun protection.

The degree of protection of the sunscreen must be chosen according to your phototype and must be greater the lower the phototype: a fair complexion, poor in melanin, is much more delicate than a dark complexion that, thanks to a greater content of melanin, can better withstand ultraviolet rays.

Remedies against the signs of aging

To combat skin aging you can act on several fronts with more or less invasive remedies. They range from anti-wrinkle creams to fillers of all kinds, from facelifts to deep peelings with acids or lasers.

Compared to classic moisturizers, anti-wrinkle creams contain particularly active ingredients to counteract oxidative processes including, for example, retinoic acid (a derivative of vitamin A), vitamin E, coenzyme Q10 and hyaluronic acid.

Although helpful, anti-aging creams can do little well in the presence of well-defined skin wrinkles, such as the unsightly “puppet wrinkles”, or the folds between the nose and the corners of the mouth and between the corners of the mouth and the chin. In these cases, fillers (fillers) come into play, consisting of materials of different origin and injected with very thin needles into the superficial dermis or deep into the area to be treated.

The most used fillers are those that can be absorbed, such as those based on hyaluronic acid. This substance is naturally present in the extracellular matrix of the dermis where it performs support functions because, by binding to other substances, it forms macromolecular complexes that give compactness to the skin and hydration.