Top 10 Skincare Tips

If you’re a regular reader here then you’ll know I love to take care of my skin – and if you’re new, then welcome! Skincare is one part of beauty that I really take an active interest in. Make-up is so great and fun to experiment with, but skincare and finding a routine that works for you is just SO important. Your skin influences how you look and feel on a daily basis – let’s face it, your face is the first thing anyone notices about you and so it’s important to help yourself to feel as confident as you can in it, whether you choose to wear make-up or not.

Although products are definitely a big influencer when it comes to looking after your skin – see one of my fav’s at the moment pictured above! – it’s also about adjusting your lifestyle to compliment your skin as well. You are what you eat, and all that. But honestly, it’s true, and so below are my Top 10 Skincare Tips for getting healthy, glowing, photoshop-worthy skin!

1. You are what you eat. Yeah yeah, I said it above as a cliche but I’m counting it as a real point, because it’s totally true. I don’t mean you have to go on a diet, but if you’re eating tons of rubbish snacks every day, chances are your skin is gonna look a little rubbish too.
2. Drink plenty of water – again, a bit of a cliche, but drinking 8 pints of water a day not only keeps your insides happy but makes your skin lovely and dewy and glowy too. Trust me, I’ve tried it and it works.
3. Take your make-up off before bed. Come on, I don’t want to be a nag but taking off all that nasty foundation you’ve had on your skin for 10 hours whilst you’ve been at work or school is just common sense.
4. Get a good night’s rest. Once you’ve taken your make-up off and are tucked up nice and clean and fresh in bed, try your hardest to get 7 and a half hours sleep a night – you’ll wake up looking and feeling refreshed.
5. Find the right products that work for you. This can be trial and error, but as soon as you find the right cleanser, toner moisturiser for you, you’ll know, and once you have don’t risk changing it!
6. Protect your skin from the sun. Wear an SPF suncream under your make-up – or if that feels like too much hassle, then try a daytime moisturiser or foundation with SPF built in to it like I do.
7. Be gentle with yourself. Kinda weird, but think of all the times you’ve scratched your face, itched your eyes, rubbed off your make-up with a wipe to get it off as quickly as possible. All those times add up and end up causing lines and wrinkles, so take 5 mins longer and be gentle to your face.
8. Chill. Easier said than done, but stress can show in your face, through frown lines and breakouts. The perfect excuse for a pampering if I ever saw one!
9. Double cleanse. This is something I do every day – in the evening after work, I’ll take my make-up off with some micellar water, before then going in with a hot cloth cleanser to make sure there’s absolutely nothing left. You would be surprised how much stuff sticks around on your skin before your second cleanse – it takes a little longer but totally worth it for how clean you feel afterwards
10. If all else fails, there’s absolutely no shame in wearing make-up. Heck, I LOVE it! Just make sure you cleanse your face as soon as you’re done wearing it, to make sure your skin gets a little break overnight.

If you’ve tried all of these tips and nothing’s working for you, there’s no shame in getting a little help. A few years ago I went through a stage of horrible blemishes around my chin, which didn’t seem to budge no matter what I used on them. I hadn’t changed my routine and I carried on fulfilling my top tips which had previously worked for me, and so I was stumped and embarrassed. Feeling so self-conscious, I tried to battle my spots for a while on my own until they died down but sometimes the problem goes deeper than anything you can do to help yourself. I ended up visiting my doctor for a health check which is where I actually found an underlying problem, but now there are so many treatments that can help and more places then ever before to go to if you’re wanting to seek help. If you are looking to treat previous acne scars, then there are even specialist laser acne scar removal treatments available to help*, you just have to be brave and accept that sometimes skincare runs a little deeper than just what’s on the surface…