Start the New Year Right with the Essential Basics for Good Skin Care

Webinar by Reviva Labs recorded January 12, 2022 - LaShada helps you learn how to quickly identify your skin type and what products may work best for you. Walk away with a few simple guidelines for helping your skin to look its best.

Today, we’re going to Start the New Year Right with the Essential Basics for Good Skin Care. Knowing your skin type is a good place to start. Most experts agree there are four basic types of skin, with subtle variations of each.

Normal skin.

Most of us have normal skin. Though many people feel they don’t because they suffer monthly breakouts or have some occasional problems.

Normal skin means your oil and moisture levels are in balance. Skin tone is generally even.

Most of us have normal skin and only struggle with the occasional issues. Normal skin individuals can focus on addressing the occasional breakout, skin reactions, and jump directly into prevention or correcting or enhancing their complexions.

Oily skin.

Those with oily skin have constant shine or a ‘sticky’ feeling to their skin. Their T-zone is extra oily and that can extend to their cheeks too.

Oily skin is prone to frequent breakouts, full-blown acne, and their acne can appear on their bodies too.

And with acne you’re susceptible to post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH). The scarring and trauma of acne triggers the over production of melanin forming dark spots or patchy areas.

People with oily skin often over treat which makes their skin even worse. Over drying the skin with acne products can cause an out-of-control feedback loop – that actually prompts the skin to be even oilier.

Oily skin is the most challenging skin type. Fortunately, after puberty and young adulthood, the excessive oil often naturally subsides. So it does get better, but you don’t want to neglect the oil now, or you’ll have lingering issues later.

Dry Skin.

If you have dry skin, you probably have skin that feels tight or suffers flakiness. It often ‘burns’ or ‘stings’ when applying moisturizers. And it can look dull and it’s prone to redness and sensitivity.

Dry skin generally shows more fine lines and wrinkles and can appear crepey and dull. But dry skin needs more than simple moisturizing. Often dry skin has been caused by overuse of active ingredients leading to a damaged moisture barrier.

Just like over treating oily skin, over treating dry skin can create a negative feedback loop in your epidermis.

Mature Skin.

We all eventually develop mature skin because we all get older. Natural changes occur as we age that affect the skin.

Uneven skin tone, age spots, wrinkles, and sagging skin are the results of time and gravity. The good news is, if you work to prevent the ravages of time you can avoid some of the worst-case scenarios.

So, what are the essential basics for good skin care for each skin type? Well, it’s often more nuanced than we can cover here. But here’s a few general approaches for each skin type.

Those with normal skin can target major areas of concern. Prevention with antioxidants such as Alpha Lipoic Acid, CoQ10, Vitamin C will help prevent future issues. Occasional use of BHAs or AHAs will help keep skin radiant and fresh looking.

Daily moisturizing will keep the skin glowing and healthy. Spot treating fine lines or wrinkles with peptides will keep the skin supple and youthful and avoid the need to correct major skin issues later in life.

With oily skin you’ll need to gently moderate oil production without over drying the skin. And you’ll probably need to treat blemishes while also diminishing the appearance of residual scarring or dark spots from PIH.

AHAs or BHAs or PHAs will help with blemishes by clearing oils and sebum from pores. Niacinamide, retinols, and even activated charcoal will help to moderate oil production. And finally, brighteners such as Vitamin C, tranexamic acid, azelaic acid, and kojic acid will help to brighten skin and lessen PIH issues while also helping to retexturize skin.

Dry skin needs moisture, but more importantly it needs to help maintain and hold onto that moisture. Typically, this will mean a combination of humectants such as hyaluronic acid and glycerin layered with other moisturizers and emollient rich oils. And of course, you need an occlusive ingredient.

Occlusive ingredients form a layer that keeps the moisture you apply against your skin. And it helps avoid natural moisture loss too.

You may also seek out products that help calm the skin while nourishing it too. This will help reduce redness, inflammation, and sensitivity.

Mature Skin will need a little of everything. Brightening, Firming, Hydration, and Anti-Aging. If you’ve maintained a good skin care routine and avoided triggers during your youth (sun exposure, smoking, etc.) then you’ll be more spot treating.

But if you’re like most of us you probably need to correct some issues. You’ll need to replenish the basic building materials of your skin with elastin and collagen and then hydrate with hyaluronic acid and other emollients. And you’ll need to layer on antioxidants and peptides that target your major concerns.

Once you identify your skin type. You’ll need to experiment with a few products to discover which work best. Then stick with your routine for several weeks at least.

Every skin type should cleanse at least once a day. And all of us can benefit from exfoliation. Reviva’s Light Skin Peel Mask or Fruit Enzyme Mask are great exfoliators or try our 10% Glycolic Acid Creme that chemically exfoliates and hydrates with everyday use. And of course, always wear sunscreen when you’re outside during every season. It helps in so many ways – your older self with thank you.