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INTRODUCING YOUR SKIN

Skin is your biggest organ, it regularly gets scratched, bruised and burnt. Its one of your main erogenous zones, yet much of the time it's not given any thought. Perhaps its time to change that, after all, how good you look depends on how well you take care of it.

Skin constantly regenerates and renews itself. The outer layer, called the epidermis, is as thin as a pencil line. It consists of a protective layer of skin cells that continually sheds and gives way to new cells. Below the epidermis are the dermis and hypodermis, two layers that produce the oil, collagen, and elastin that give your skin support, elasticity, and shine.

WHAT IS YOUR SKIN TYPE

There are 4 basic skin types: oily, dry, combination and normal

Be aware that your skin type will change from time to time and you will have different needs depending on the time of year, if you are under stress, or as you age.

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR EYES

Always treat the skin around the eyes gently; the skin surrounding the eyes is the thinnest on the body. Add to this your eyes are always moving subjecting your skin to constant wear and tear. The result eyes are hard to treat and the first place to show their age.

° Always try to keep friction to a minimum, whether cleaning or applying moisturiser
  (always use a light moisturiser, some face moisturisers are too heavy).

° Always if possible keep the skin supple, dry or taut skin will age faster.

° Don't rub your eyes, it puts the skin under added pressure.

° Don't smoke (if you are a smoker sorry to bang on about this but it doesn't help your
  skin in any way, particularly around the eyes).

° Don't use an exfoliator around the eyes.

° When cleaning the skin surrounding the eyes and the eyelids themselves use a cotton
  wool bud soaked in cleanser, then make sure all the cleanser is removed with a fresh
  bud soaked in warm water.

° Use a eye gel or an eye cream, eye creams are often the same as a light moisturiser
  (you can save money by buying light moisturiser).

See products for your eyes

EYE PROBLEMS:

Dark under eye circles
Under eye skin is so thin that you can see the underlying blood vessels. Drinking water can go someway to reducing them; it eases blocked lymph and a sluggish system making the area look a little clearer.

Some eye creams will also help, because the problem is difficult to treat the best eye creams have light reflective particles to lighten the area making the dark circles less obvious. Grooming Health recommends

Puffiness
This can be caused by late nights and too little sleep, a cooling eye gel is the best remedy, eating less salt and drinking more fluid should help.

Puffiness can also appear with age, the pads that cushion your eyes begins to pull away and sag. Try facial exercises . The other alternative is gels which drain excess fluid from the tissues.

Grooming Health recommends

WHICH EYE PRODUCTS TO USE

° Gels; Moisturise and have cooling effect, some have properties which drain excess fluid
helping to reduce puffiness. See Eye Gels

° Cream; The most moisturizing; they also have light reflective particles to make dark
eyelines less obvious.See Eye Creams

° Emulsion; Halfway between the two.

WHY LIP BALMS ARE ESSENTIAL

The skin covering your lips is extremely thin allowing the blood vessels to show through giving lips their characteristic redness. They have no sweat glands. The only moisture they have is from saliva which when it evaporates can lead to chapping. Lips have no melanin, so they cannot tan making them vulnerable to the sun.

A good lip balm should moisturize and lubricate without being greasy and should protect you from the sun.

See Lip Balms

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