Cocktailing your beauty regime

Cocktailing my skincare is something I like to do. Your skin is in a constant state of change and renewal and can be influenced by many extrinsic factors. The weather, your health, your diet, your environment, your current routine, your lifestyle, pregnancy, sleep and water consumption all play a part. We all generally know what works for our skin and when we find a routine that seems to be working then we tend to be too scared to deviate from our safe products, however sometimes you need to amp up an area of your routine to see new fresher results.

A good habit to get into is waking up, looking at your skin in detail and thinking “what does my skin need from me today?” It’s too easy to fall in the trap of being hard on your skin and getting angry with it when it’s not playing ball for you, picking it and applying harsh treatments and layers of makeup. Don’t desert it, now is the time when it needs you the most!

 By assessing visually how your skin looks and feels enables you to alter your product choice to benefit it for that day/week/month.

 Spend at least one minute in the mornings and evening massaging your cleanser of choice into the skin. Whether it’s a balm or oil because your skin is feeling dehydrated/dry or a cream or milk cleanser for an oiler day, you can instantly benefit and refresh your skin from the initial cleanse.

 I like to remove with a warm flannel (washcloth) on a dry skin day or a cool flannel for a day when your skin feels a little oily and needs a fresh feel.

An acid step in your regime can really refine and balance your skin and also give a dull skin tone a kick up the bum! Using AHA’S are particularly effective.

 Glycolic toner is great at loosening the bonds, which connect dead skin cells to the surface (and to each other) resulting in dulling dead skin cells being removed. Check the % on your glycolic depending on the strength you require. Great for days when your skin is dull, congested or flaky.

If your skin is a little sensitive then Lactic acid maybe a better AHA to use.

If your skin is feeling more oily than usual then you may want to reach for a BHA such as Salicylic. Where AHA’s tend to work more superficially, BHA’s penetrate into the pores a little deeper and help with regulating sebum and assisting congestion.

Serum’s are something I never really invested in until my mid to late 20’s, I felt that they were firstly, very confusing as well as one more step that I couldn’t really be bothered to incorporate. These days, I love mixing up my serums depending on my skin concerns.

 Serums ideally need to be used over time to reap the rewards but you can certainly add in addition ones and take some out depending on what you need right now.

 Certain serums/pastes work better with others so you do need to do a little research. Some make each other ineffective, some will make each other pill off of the skin and some need to be applied in a certain order to ensure the molecule size can get into the skin and not be blocked by something occlusive, such as an oil.

Retinol is massive at the moment, and possibly always will be. It’s also a product than can cause a lot of confusion but it’s an invaluable product that those over around 28 years old should think about incorporating into their regime. There are different strengths of retinol and it’s important to know which type of retinol your product contains and how many steps of conversion it needs to go through (by the body naturally processing it) in order to provide the strength you require.

Moisturisers and night creams/oils are a product that most use, sometimes all they use. You can easily switch up your moisturiser and nighttime is a great opportunity to try out a more intensive night oil that would normally leave you too greasy during the day.

Don’t be afraid to mix things up a little and just like you ask yourself what you fancy for lunch today, observe your skin and think about how you can assist it a little better today in your skincare choices.

If you would like me to go into detail on any areas of our skincare regime then let us know.