Makeup removal – your first step to healthy skin

When done properly,  removing makeup is one of the key elements of daily skin care. Unfortunately, it is oftentimes done sloppily, and with wrong products that compromise the skin’s protective barrier instead of protecting and nurturing it, thus leading to premature skin aging. What mistakes should you avoid in particular, and what products do you need at hand on a daily basis? Dr Danuta Nowicka PhD, a dermatologist, shares her advice:

There is a number of very basic mistakes in skin care, such as wrong makeup removing routine, that result with the skin quickly becoming dull, clogged with various impurities, and irritated. Comedones or the so called acne cosmetica may also surface. The majority of these issues are related to inadequate cleansing and makeup removal practices. Even investing in pricy skin care beauty products won’t help and buy you a healthy, glowing skin, since if  a cosmetic is applied to inadequately cleansed skin, it will fail to work its effects. Aggressive cleansing solutions may in turn irritate your skin, rendering it very dry and tense. Hence, removing makeup very thoroughly with products matched carefully to your skin’s particular type and needs on a daily basis, day in day out, is really key, and I cannot stress it enough.

CRUCIAL POINTS TO REMEMBER:

  1. DO NOT use soap to wash your face. Regular soap is alkaline in its pH, whereas the human skin is acidic. Whenever you apply soap to your face, you literally wash out the lipid content from the intercellular cement, thus extremely drying and irritating the epidermis. The sanitized, sterile skin becomes an excellent breeding ground for various bacteria. Even oily skin suffers from the use of soap, its surface becomes excessively dry, and what you get as a result is oily skin which is only seemingly dry, which is very difficult to manage.
  2. Removing your makeup must be a ROUTINE, and even when you’ve worn no makeup on a particular day, DO NOT skip your cleansing ritual. Every day, the skin is prone to so much external pollution, it is only thorough cleansing that will allow it to breathe properly, and absorb active substances delivered by the skin care products.
  3. Carefully cleanse your eyes and lips. This is where your cleansing routine should begin. If you’ve worn any eye makeup, treat them to cotton pads soaked with an appropriate formula. Wait for your mascara to begin dissolving, then remove any makeup with gentle downward motions, to avoid stretching the delicate skin around the eyes or any damage to your lashes (you don’t want to drop any, do you?). Finish it off with motions directed from the outer eye corner to the inner one. If necessary, repeat.
  4. You have a neck and decolette, too. Your skin there is as delicate as the skin of the face, needing special care. If you keep neglecting it, it will age more quickly.
  5. Finish off your cleansing ritual with toning. Toners restore the natural skin pH, and help it rebuild its hydrolipid coat. The acidic pH prevents unwelcome bacteria and fungi from settling and breeding on the skin’s surface.

If makeup removal is to become the initial step of adequate and effective skin care, the product you use must match your skin’s type. There is a plethora of beauty products available on the market that have not only excellent cleansing qualities, but deliver additional benefits to your skin. When shopping for a cleansing formula for daily use, pay attention to the quality and the selection of active substances the product contains, so that your skin’s needs are in fact met.

Arkana makeup removing products can be found at a Beauty Salons

Dry and dehydrated skin / skin after dermo-aesthetic treatments – Lactobionic MD Therapy

Normal skin and skin temporarily excessively dry skin – Hydrospheric Therapy

Oily and combination skin – Acne Out Therapy

Sensitive, allergy-prone skin– Amino Bio Therapy

Sensitive skin, prone to distended and broken capillaries – Sakura Therapy

Dehydrated / mature skin / anti-aging therapy – Biomimetic Peptide Therapy