I get questions everyday on how I get my skin to look so clear and glowing. I am going to give you my top 8 tips on achieving great skin!
1. DRINK WATER. Seriously. Stay hydrated. I aim for a gallon a day, or 4 of my 32oz Yeti cups. Staying hydrated keeps everything going in your body. Your body is a well oiled machine when you are fully hydrated. Cell turnover is faster, headaches are lessened, your organs are happy and doing their jobs and your blood is circulating efficiently. Also, your skin cells are plumped up and the appearance of wrinkles are lessened.
2. INVEST IN QUALITY SKINCARE. I use Circadia which is a professional skincare line. This means that only professionals can buy it and then sell it. This also means that your neighbor down the street isn't selling it out of their home. Win win for everyone! I use 5 main products from this line and they are:
Lipid Replacing Cleanser; once at night
Microexfoliating Honey Cleanser; 2x a week at night
Light Day Sunscreen SPF 37; everyday before going outside
Vitamin C Reversal Serum; morning and evening
AquaPorin Hydrating Cream: nightly after cleansing and applying Vitamin C Serum
3. WASH YOUR SKIN ONCE A DAY. Yes, I am serious. I wash my skin once a day, in the evening before I go to bed. I know you're probably thinking, "what? Why not in the morning also?" This is totally a preference as an esthetician, but this is a tip I learned from a Hungarian esthetician. Estheticians in Hungary have to go to school for 6 years to become an esthetician unlike here in the US where it is much, much less. Like, 5-12 months long. However your skin is, in the morning when you wake up, is how it is supposed to be. Your skin repairs itself over night, so if you wake up with some oiliness, that is okay and how it should be. Just doing this will help your skin tremendously with balancing out the oils. Your skin texture will improve drastically!
4. HORMONE REGULATION. Yes, if your hormones are whack and unbalanced, guess what. Your skin will also be whack and unbalanced. Usually an imbalance of estrogen will cause some hormonal breakouts. DIM (Diindolylmethane) helps regulate estrogen and prevents any drastic increases or decreases in estrogen levels. It also prevents conversion of testosterone into estrogen. I take a supplement that contains this and it has helped tremendously.
5. DO NOT EXFOLIATE DAILY. Yes, this is a big deal. You should not be exfoliating everyday. Your skin needs you to be gentle to it and be nice! Only exfoliate 2-3x a week. Over exfoliating can cause microtears and inflammation in the skin which will slow down healing and overall health of your skin. If you have active breakouts, definitely do NOT exfoliate aggressively! A chemical exfoliant would be much better for that because it can penetrate the layers of skin rather than a manual exfoliant since it physically wouldn't be aggressive.
6. WEAR MINIMAL MAKEUP. By this I mean, I rarely wear makeup anymore. I can count on one hand how many times a MONTH I wear makeup. It just isn't important to me anymore since I have gotten my skin cleared up and glowing. Less makeup = less clogged pores. When I do wear makeup, I make sure to remove it THOROUGHLY before bed and do my skincare regimen afterwards.
7. STICK TO A REGIMEN FOR 6 WEEKS. Seriously. This is a no brainer to me, but I guess it isn't to some. If you are switching from a really harsh line like Proactiv or Rodan + Fields (which are actually from the same founders lol) then your skin is going to have a transition period. If you are going from a regimen of washing your face with just water, you're also going to have a transition period. This is just how it goes when you are changing up anything in your routines. Rome wasn't built in a day, so neither will your skin. Having patience and trust in your esthetician is KEY.
8. BE SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR NUTRITION & EXERCISE. Are you working out and eating to fuel your body? If you aren't, your skin won't be living its best life. You need to focus on fueling your body and taking care of it, rather than punishing it with bad food that you not only feel bad about eating, but you literally feel bad. If you are drinking a bunch of sugary drinks or sugary alcoholic drinks all week, then you can expect your skin to be looking dull, dry and probably having some breakouts. Fuel your body and you'll be amazed at how good it can look!
I hope this has helped you in some way, if it has please share with your friends & fam!
-Kelcey