If you’re new to the Sweet Cecily’s blog, Hi I’m Sophie! Every Tuesday and Thursday we upload blogs written by, usually either, Myself or Beth. We have a bunch of advice blogs regarding skincare, so make sure to check them out!
In this blog I’ve chosen a few of my favourite and important tips for those who are starting to get into skincare. You can be any age when getting into skincare, I’m currently 22 and am not completely into it, compared to how some of my friends are, but it’s useful to know some good tips!
Use the Correct Products For Your Skin Type
Figuring it out what your skin type is can be a difficult process, which is why we’ve made it easier for you in our ‘What are the 5 skin types blog’. If you don’t know your skin type, we recommend heading over there to learn about what you think your skin type might be and why as there a variety of different traits to each skin type. When and if you do know your skin type it’s important that you cater your skincare products to your skin. Products are usually easy to distinguish for each skin type as you’ll find that they are labelled appropriately on the front of the product. If you have oily skin you wouldn’t typically buy an oily product, and if you have sensitive skin you wouldn’t buy an acidic product because these may make your skin sore or cause a reaction – basically, be aware of what ingredients to look our for and what to avoid. When you do purchase a product, remember to always do a patch test on your wrist first to avoid irritation on your face.
Don’t Touch Your Face
Although this one is a hard one to avoid, it is super important that you at least try and avoid touching your face. Putting your hands on your face can spread bacteria that can sometimes make you ill but it also is one of the causes of breakouts, so if you want to stay healthy and minimise the risk of spots, keep your mitts off! When we say don’t touch your face, we also mean, don’t pop your spots! Even though it can be super annoying getting a spot, the best thing you can do is not pop it. Popping your spots can lead to bigger breakouts and acne scarring. Once you pop your spot it also delays your body’s natural healing process, so the next time you get a spot your body may take longer to heal than if you were not to have touched previous spots.
If you do touch your face, try to make sure that you are washing your hands regularly to minimise the risks I’ve spoken about above. Don’t forget to apply hand cream after – prolonged exposure to soaps and water can lead to your hands becoming dry – taking the time to use a cream can help to stop this from happening.
Clean Your Makeup Brushes Regularly
I feel like this is one that a lot of people definitely forget to do – myself included! But cleaning your makeup brushes is such an important thing to do, especially when it comes to looking after your skin. Although it’s not something that you directly do to your face, these are things that go on your face, potentially daily if you love to do your makeup. Washing your brushes helps fight infection and clogged pores, so we recommend washing them as little as once a month, and for eye brushes, twice a month.
I know I’ve sat down before and taken a look at my brushes and thought ‘when did they even start to look this grim?!’. Washing your brushes can be as simple as grabbing some shampoo and swishing the brush in your hand or brush cleaner board – which can be really cheap if you know where to look.
Keep a Simple Routine
I know when I was younger I thought skincare was really exciting and kind of went over the top with products which ended up being thrown in the bin 6 years after using them once and never again. I’m a sucker for packaging, so anything with a cute tub, I’m there for! But as of recently, at the age of 22, I’m coming to terms with the fact that I definitely don’t need acidic products for my sensitive face. So, I have stripped my routine down to the basics using our own handmade cream because I make them, so I know what goes in them! Fancy products can be fun to try, but realistically it’s best to find something that works for your skin best no matter how simple.
Focused Skin Treatments
Like tip number 1, it also goes hand in hand with this next tip which is, apply focused skincare treatments. By this we mean products that focus on skin that may have wrinkles, acne, or eczema. These days the shelves are full of ‘anti-irritation’ or ‘anti-wrinkle’ creams, but it’s genuinely quite hard to know which ones work and which don’t. We recommend familiarising yourself with certain ingredients that you know your skin works well with and finding treatments that help you to cater towards what you want to help/prevent, with these ingredients.
If you are trying out new skincare products, remember that you need to trust the process and creams won’t work overnight.
If you have sensitive skin, even the gentlest products can sting a little, but if you find that it is burning, please take it off ASAP! Burning does not always mean that it’s working.
