Why it is important

Proper skin care is crucial and important. That’s because, against infection, our skin is the greatest
barrier we have. In order to keep this barrier healthy and strong, we need to know how to keep our skin
moist and healthy. Harsh soaps and other products can get the skin dry or irritated. That leads to cracks
in the skin. When a person has cracks in the skin, they’re more vulnerable towards different infection. If
you help your skin stay hydrated, your skin looks younger, more elastic, and beautiful.

Even though they say beauty is only skin deep, in fact how your skin looks, affects your emotional and
mental health. Skin is the first thing not only others notice about you, but probably when you look at
yourself in the mirror, is one of the first things you notice about yourself too. Without having healthy
skin, It’s pretty difficult to feel attractive. So, instead of trying to cover up skin problems by relying on
cosmetic products, starting a habit routine on skincare, is what helps to solve skin issues, and maintain
healthy skin as well. It is believed that it takes around 2 months to form a new habit. So why not invest a
couple of weeks to form a habit which will serve you good through all your life? If you want to have a
glowing skin without wrinkles in the future after years have passed, then you should start taking care of
it now.

Instead of allowing social platforms to determine how you feel about myself, better make self-care a
priority.

BENEFIT

1 Give your skin nutrition

Doing activities outside the home for a full day affects the health of the skin, especially the face.
Sunlight, cigarette smoke, pollution, and dirty air will continue to lurk your face if not cleaned and
treated. The impact may not be immediately apparent, but in the future, you will experience skin
problems if you do not treat it early. Caring for your face with skin care from an early age can nourish
the skin after a day of activities. The skin will be healthy and maintained thanks to the ingredients
contained in skin care, such as collagen which can tighten the skin, vitamin C that can neutralize free
radicals on the skin, hyaluronic acid that can moisturize, or AHA BHA which can brighten the skin.

2Minimize dark spots

Dark spots can be caused by many factors, one of which is due to UV exposure. If you often move out of
the house, you should protect your skin, especially your face, by using a sunscreen. Suncsreen is a series
of skin care that you should never forget. The SPF content in it prevents the emergence of dark spots
that damage skin health. Use a sunscreen that is comfortable and not sticky on the face.

3Prevent the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines

As you age, your skin will lose strength and elasticity. To stay tight, it's important to rejuvenate the skin
by using the right skin care suite early on. You can slow down the aging process significantly with the
right skin care routine.
As we grow older, our body starts to slow down in regenerating new skin cells, and collagen diminishes
faster thus making our skin lose its elasticity and becomes more fragile. Hence, we need to take care of
our skin in order to combat these changes and keep our youthful look.

Though we cannot stop aging, we can however control or limit its effects by 80%, as studies show. These
skin care habits such as sleeping early, eating the right foods, drinking lots of water, cleaning and
moisturizing your skin regularly and avoiding bad habits such as smoking, and drinking that causes
dryness are just among the things you can do and develop to fight premature aging. It is also essential to
know and be aware of all these signs and symptoms as some may not be as obvious as others.

4 Get a supple skin

With regular use of skin care, the skin will also feel supple and soft. Many ingredients that are in skin
care help to nourish the skin, one of which is collagen. Collagen has an important role to maintain skin
elasticity which makes the skin younger, supple, and also soft.

SKIN TYPE

Normal skin

‘Normal’ is a term widely used to refer to well-balanced skin. The scientific term for healthy skin is
eudermic.

Normal skin is well balanced: neither too oily nor too dry.

Normal skin has:

  fine pores
 good blood circulation
 a velvety, soft and smooth texture
 a fresh, rosy colour uniform transparency
 no blemishes

and is not prone to sensitivity.

As a person with normal skin ages, their skin can become dryer.

Dry skin

‘Dry’ is used to describe a skin type that produces less sebum than normal skin. As a result
of the lack of sebum, dry skin lacks the lipids that it needs to retain moisture and build a
protective shield against external influences.

Dry skin can feel tight and rough and look dull.

Skin moisture depends on supply of water in the deeper skin layers and on perspiration.

Skin is constantly loosing water via:

 Perspiration: active water loss from the glands caused by heat, stress and activity.
 Trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL): the natural, passive way in which skin diffuses
about half a litre of water a day from the deeper skin layers.

Dry skin is caused by a lack of:

 Natural moisturising factors (NMFs) - especially urea, amino acids and lactic acid –
that help to bind in water.
 Epidermal lipids such as ceramides, fatty acids and cholesterol which are needed for
a healthy skin barrier function.

As a result, the skin’s barrier function can become compromised

How to identify different degrees of dry skin

Dry skin ranges from skin that is a little bit drier than normal, through very dry skin to
extremely dry skin. The differences can normally be distinguished by:

Dry skin
Mildly dry skin can feel tight, brittle and rough and look dull. Skin elasticity is also low.

Very dry skin

If the dryness is not treated, skin may develop:

mild scaling or flakiness in patches

a rough and blotchy appearance (sometimes it appears to be prematurely aged)

a feeling of tightness

possible itchiness

It is also more sensitive to irritation, redness and the risk of infection. Find out more in dry
skin.

Extremely dry skin

Certain areas of the body – particularly hands, feet, elbows and knees – are prone to:

roughness

chapping with a tendency to form rhagades (cracks)

calluses

scaling

frequent itchiness

Extremely dry skin is most commonly found on the elderly or on severely dehydrated hands.
Read more in rough and cracked body skin.

Close-up from dry skin

Internal and external factors can disrupt skin´s hydration ability.

Close up from cracked heel

The soles of the feet tend to become dry and cracked.

Oily skin

What is oily skin?

‘Oily’ is used to describe a skin type with heightened sebum production. An over production
is known as seborrhea.

The causes of oily skin

A number of issues trigger the over production of sebum:

genetics

hormonal changes and imbalances

medication

stress

comedogenic cosmetics (make-up products that cause irritation)

Woman´s face with oily and blemish skin

Oily skin tends to have blemishes.

How to identify the different types of oily skin?

Oily skin is characterised by:

enlarged, clearly visible pores

a glossy shine

thicker, pale skin: blood vessels may not be visible

Oily skin is prone to comedones (blackheads and whiteheads) and to the varying forms of
acne.

With mild acne, a significant number of comedones appear on the face and frequently on
the neck, shoulders, back and chest too.

In moderate and severe cases, papules (small bumps with no visible white or black head)
and pustules (medium sized bumps with a noticeable white or yellow dot at the centre)
appear and the skin becomes red and inflamed.

Close-up from cheek with enlarged pores

Oily skin can be characterized by enlarged and visible pores.

Close-up of forehead with acne symptoms

Acne concerns often appear in the T-zone, especially during puberty.

What is combination skin?

In combination skin the skin types vary in the T-zone and the cheeks. The so-called T-zone
can differ substantially – from a very slim zone to an extended area.

Combination skin is characterised by:

 an oily T-zone (forehead, chin and nose)

 enlarged pores in this area perhaps with some impurities

 normal to dry cheeks

An oily T-Zone (forehead, nose and chin) and dryer cheeks indicate the so-called combination
skin.

Dry – If your face feels tight and pores aren’t noticeable to the eye.
Normal – If your skin feels smooth and pores are barely visible. It’s also is neither dry or
oily.

Oily – If your face is oily all over with visible pores.

Combination – If your skin feels smooth but has oiliness in the T-zone.
THE KOREAN MORNING ROUTINE

"It may sound extensive, but most Korean women use an 8 and 10-step skincare routine
each and every day to help keep their skin looking healthy and beautiful" Vicky explains.
"Although it's quite a bit of work compared to the average skincare regime, their effort does
not go unnoticed – these women take pride in knowing they have some of the best skin in
the world!" These are her key steps for morning:

Step 1: Wash with water

First thing in the morning, cleanse your skin with only water, not cleanser. Water removes
the few impurities that settle on the face during the night, and keeps skin hydrated, too.

Step 2: Toner

To balance the skin's pH levels, it's important to apply toner; otherwise the skin can become
dry and dehydrated. Toner further helps to absorb the next products you apply.

Step 3: Essence

Essence is a hybrid between a toner and a serum. It works perfectly to hydrate the
complexion, aiding cellular turnover for a youthful appearance.

Step 4: Ampoule

Similar to serums, ampoules actually comprise an even higher number of active ingredients
to target specific skin care concerns. They're used for a finite amount of time as a booster
when your skin badly needs the extra help.
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Step 5: Serum

Concentrated formulas with an unprecedented amount of active ingredients, serums target

specific skin concerns like wrinkles, dark spots, and dehydration.

Step 6: Eye cream

Smooth a light eye cream across both the brow and socket bone moving from the inner to
outer corner of the eye. Here, the skin is at its thinnest as there are no sebaceous glands to
produce natural oils, so it's important to keep this area hydrated and protected all day long.

Step 7: Moisturiser

Next apply a soothing moisturiser in a light layer across the skin for long lasting all-day
hydration.

Step 8: Sunscreen

Applying sunscreen shouldn't be reserved for the summer holidays. Protecting the skin on a
daily basis from UV rays will avoid the development of dark spots, wrinkles and fine lines.

THE KOREAN NIGHTTIME ROUTINE

Vicky says, "Korean skincare is all about layering. Toner, essence, serum, ampoule,
moisturiser… 10 steps sound like a lot, but each one has its own important job to do to keep
skin young, healthy, and glowing." This is her full routine for night:

Step 1: Oil-based cleanser

For the evening, select an oil based cleanser to start with as this will work to remove oil-
based makeup and impurities from the skin.

Step 2: Double-cleansing

Following the oil cleanser, use a water-based cleanser to gently remove the oil residue and
water-based impurities from the day.

Step 3: Exfoliate

Twice a week use a gentle enzyme or bead-based exfoliator to remove the dead skin cells
that can make the complexion appear lack-lustre whilst blocking pores and preventing key
product ingredient absorption

Step 4: Toner

In the same morning manner, next apply a toner to balance the skin's pH levels.

Step 5: Essence

Apply your essence to hydrate the complexion…

Step 6: Ampoule

By applying this super charged serum at night, your skin will be able to absorb all the
hydration it needs following a long day's work.…

Step 7: Serum

Following which the serum should then be worked into the specific areas of concern.

Step 8: Sheet mask

The sheet mask is a Korean beauty favourite – a cloth saturated with skin loving
ingredients! Perfect for all skin types, everyone can benefit from these masks which deliver
a deeply hydrating and anti-ageing treatment.

Step 9: Eye cream

Once the skin has absorbed the ingredients from the sheet mask, apply an eye cream to
protect and hydrate the delicate eye area.

Step 10: Moisturiser

Lastly, select a night time moisturiser to keep those skin loving ingredients locked in,
allowing you to wake to a beautifully rejuvenated complexion.