A streamlined skin care regime is essential if you want healthy skin and the prevention of aging.

We are oversaturated today with every kind of skin care product you can imagine and bombarded with information, so its hard to know exactly what we should be using and sticking to.

I sat down with Beauty Therapist Samantha Ellmers who takes us back to basics - clarifying exactly what you should be doing for your skin daily and why.





The three step rule still applies
There’s no myth to the basic three step rule. Always start off with the basics, a good cleanser, toner and moisturiser day and night.

Constant exposure to free radicals and pollutants means that a good cleansing is essential. Find out your skin type and match your cleanser to suit.

Samantha explains that all too often people skip out the toning step because they are not really sure what it does. A good toner is essential to refine pores and tone the skin. After cleansing we've stripped our skin of its protective layer, toner restores this and rebalances our skins pH level.

A good moisturiser is always essential to keep skin hydrated and must be chosen depending on your skin type. You don't want something too rich for oily skin, or not strong enough for a dry skin. A dryer skin type will also benefit from a night cream, where as oily skin already has enough good oils to use the one moisturiser.

Supplementing the basics
In addition to the three step rule, there are other vital components that make up an effective skin care regime; exfoliation, sunscreen and eye cream.

Dead surface skin cells give your skin a dull look. Exfoliation will keep these to a minimum and reveal new ones, helping smooth the skin out keeping it young and fresh. If we exfoliate too often we can over stimulate the skin which causes break outs so you should only be doing this two to three times a week.

Eye Cream can be added into your routine to help moisturise the eye area and keep those wrinkles at bay. A facial moisturiser is too rich for the eye area and can cause Milia, where trapped oils and skins cells under the surface come up as tiny white bumps.

After all this dedicated work we don't want it all to be undone by our harsh New Zealand weather. A good facial sun block with SPF 30+ should be worn ever day to protect the skin.

These six essentials can become expensive, so you want your money to go on quality products that really work. Salon products have more active ingredients in them then the cheaper brands you may find at supermarkets, so it is a good idea to spend the money and get products you know will work.

Samantha recommends Joyce Blok which is a New Zealand brand used in salons that is also affordable.

Make 2012 the year for your skin and sticking to a routine, you won’t regret it!


Amanda Jones