Most people are shocked to hear that I cleanse, tone and moisturise fully every night (yes the whole hog!) so I decided to share my daily skin-care routine for those of you who just use handy aul face wipes every night! :P
If you do use baby/cleansing wipes to remove your make-up or clean your face - you should stop. First of all, they contain alcohol and other harsh chemicals to keep the wipes moist and fresh but the chemicals can cause harm and dry out your skin. Secondly, if you are constantly using wipes, this will lead to dryness, aggravated skin conditions like acne, rosacea and eczema, the dryness will cause wrinkles in latter years and from constant rubbing your eyes with them you can develop bags under your eyes. Personally, I don't use wipes because my skin feels dry, irritated and sometimes gets really blotchy and sore afterwards. So only in dire straits would I consider using them!
In the morning, it is recommended that people should use a daily face wash but I'll be honest - I don't. I splash a bit of cold water on my face before I put on my make-up. If you want to use a face wash I'd recommend the Garnier range if you are on a budget, they have a one called the Invigorating Daily Scrub. Good quality, a reasonable price and available in most Boots stores. If you want to splash out a wee bit, I would definitely go for Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant. I used this in college, it's pricey but you only use the tiniest amount every day and it would last almost forever.
Every evening I use a Garnier cleanser, toner and moisturiser (pictured below) with cotton pads that I pick up for next to nothing in any Aldi store. The only reason I use Garnier products is because they are really reasonably priced and I go through alot of it! I have sensitive-ish skin so I have to be careful about what I use and I've never had any problems with Garnier products. That and I'm always a last minuter so its handy to grab a cleanser in Tesco/Boots rather than order it online.
To begin, I wet approx. 10-12 cotton pads, more if I have alot of make-up on. I start with my eye make-up and brows by getting cleanser on my ring finger and running it through my brows, over my eyelids and down my lashes. When I have it rubbed in a good bit I take one of the wet cotton pads and run it over my eye area in the same way, removing the cleanser and makeup. I repeat this until the pad is clear so it usually takes about 2 pads (front and back) per eye. Remember though, take it easy with your eyes because the skin around them is thin and delicate so its more prone to wrinkles! As my Nanny would say "don't be rubbing your eyes!!" :P
For my face I get more cleanser and spread it out evenly on my face. I probably use too much cleanser because I like to give my face a good scrub but the recommended amount is a dollop around the size of a 2 euro coin. I then basically massage my face with my fingertips in upward, circular movements taking care not to drag the skin down the way but massage it upwards. This cleanses your skin, removing dirt from the pores and regenerates skin cells to replenish your skin aswell as clean it. Be sure to massage into all the finicky areas - your nose, your hairline, the skin between your brows (I always miss that bit!).
Once you massaged it in well, remove with a wet cotton pad in each hand using the same upward, circular movements. I repeat this once more, twice if I have alot of make-up on. To tone, I douse two cotton pads in toner and apply to my face with the same upward, circular movements. Then moisturiser is simple, a pea sized amount, not too much, and apply with to your whole face.
For people who wear alot of heavy eye make-up, gel liner, glitter etc, I would recommend using Garnier's Express 2-in-1 eye make-up remover, it's a great dupe for Matis' Bi-Phase. A few drops on a cotton pad, hold to your eye for 30 seconds or so and then remove as normal. I find it brilliant for stubborn glitter and eye-liner.
I can't stress enough the importance of cleansing your skin on a daily basis. Even if you don't wear make-up, cleansing cleans everyday dirt out of your pores, it brightens, refreshes and rejuvenates your skin and in the long term it helps to prevent premature ageing, wrinkles etc. Rather than spending alot of money on anti-wrinkle creams and other treatments in later years, cleansing your skin daily in the way outlined above will make all the difference and it will really show when you are older.
As a Beauty Therapist, I should advise exfoliating and using a face mask designed to your skin type once a week but again, being honest... I don't! However, if I do start using exfoliators/masks natural or otherwise, I will post about it ;)
I hope this helps, if you have any comments/questions you can post below or you can catch me on my Facebook page!
Aoife xx
