What Do You Really Need to Care for Your Skin?

With so many skin care products on the market today, it can be difficult to know what is really needed and what really works. Do the higher priced products really work better? Do I really need a night cream and an under eye cream? How strong should the sunscreen be in my daily moisturizer? Many of us would give virtually anything for some solid advice about skin care.



There are some basic items that provide for optimal skin care. Everyone needs a facial cleanser, an astringent, a daily moisturizer, and a night cream. Often when we need some advice about skin care our questions pertain to these basics. For example, how much is it really necessary to spend on these items? There are cleansers in a wide variety of prices that are effective. The key is finding one that is formulated specifically for your skin type that fits into your budget. When it comes to astringent, it really is not necessary to buy any at all. Well, not technically anyway. Witch hazel is the active ingredient in most astringents, and it can be bought for much less on its own at most dollar and drug stores. Making this switch alone can save money.


The most interest when looking for some advice about skin care pertains to moisturizers. It is good to have one for day and one for night. Day creams should contain an SPF of at least 15. They tend to be lighter and therefore easier to wear under make-up. A night cream, on the other hand, does not need to contain any sunscreen. It is also thicker, which is okay since it is not meant to be worn under make-up. Night creams can fight the signs of aging and nourish the skin while you sleep. In the morning the heavy cream is washed off before starting over with the morning product again.



These words of wisdom should be imparted to young women at an early age so they will not have to wait as long as we did to find out. Most women today probably wish they were offered some advice about skin care when they were younger. Skin care can be very overwhelming when faced with all of the products available in stores today. The thing to remember is to stick to the basics, and add any extras on an as needed and as the budget allows basis.