Beauty + Wellness Encyclopedia

Let's talk skincare.

The saying "beauty is skin deep" is not just referring to the goodness of your heart. It's also pertaining to how you nourish your body and keep it healthy. I know you've been through a dozen articles discussing the many ways to take care of your skin; but as always, I like keeping things fun and worthwhile so let me share with you a few mnemonics I employ to keep skin in tip-top shape.

What's a mnemonic? It came from the Greek word mnēmonikos which means "memory". Mnemonics is a learning technique I am most fond of. Often, Mnemonics consolidates a complicated process/term/list by using the first letter of a word in forming a series (sometimes a word) to represent said topic.

I created the following set of Mnemonics today because I really want to improve my skincare regimen. I'm naturally a forgetful person so I have to help myself remember these very important skincare facts.

First of all, let me share with you the "Hi Me!" factor.

Kidding aside, it's not about being self-love... though in a way a little bit of vanity positivity does help boost the confidence! :p

We all know that our skin is made up of layers upon layers of cells. It takes about a month for a cell to come up to the surface, and this process, by which the skin "erodes" gradually becomes slower or delayed as we grow older. This results to uneven skin tone. To prevent the occurrence of uneven skin tone, it is recommended to exfoliated at least twice or thrice a week. Exfoliation aids the skin's natural skin erosion and effectively reveals younger looking and radiant skin. But, how do you keep the layers of your skin healthy? What radiance are you to show if your skin cells are thirsty? That's where the "Hi Me!" routine comes in. 

Everyday, keep in mind to "Hi Me!"  Hydrate for the Internal health of your skin and Moisturize for the External nourishment of your skin.  The layers of the skin basically requires water to remain soft and supple. Without it, lack luster skin begins. By keeping yourself hydrated, you provide water to your dermis from within; likewise, by keeping yourself moisturized, you nourish your skin from the outside.  

There are two ways of moisturizing the skin. You either use products that have inherent humectants or you use products that prevents the skin from losing moisture. Humectants are ingredients that attract water. Moisturizers or skincare products with humectant ingredients (ie. glycerin) help your skin attract water from the environment thus keep your skin hydrated throughout the day. 

On the other hand, products that help seal in moisture (ie. body oil) basically helps the skin retain hydration throughout the day. Oil is your body's natural skin barrier and nourishment. Without oil, your skin would look dehydrated and rough; however, overproduction of oil leaves the skin feeling greasy.

Oil for Oil method 

I have always had combination skin. This means I have patches of dry and patches of oily skin. Oiliness of my face have been my topmost skincare concern and what worked best with me has been the oil for oil cleansing method. 

Growing up, I always use cleansers that would dramatically remove oil on my skin. I thought, oily skin is an all or nothing battle. I was wrong. Later did I realize that the more I strip my skin of oil, the harder my sebaceous glands work. The sebaceous glands of the skin are responsible in the secretion of sebum It's like going on a No-carbohydrate diet. When you deprive your body of something, the harder your body would strive to compensate! Although, watching the amount of oil-based products you use on your skin is essential, avoiding oil like the plague is not recommended. Remember, oil is your skin's natural barrier.

Speaking of diet, the food we eat also dictate the nourishment we provide our skin. There are certain food groups, vitamins and minerals that have been proven most beneficial in keeping the skin healthy and youthful.

Along with nutrition is of course hydration! Remember our "Hi Me!" regimen? It's a very serious factor that would dictate whether your skin would remain healthy or not. I have another mnemonic o inspire you in drinking that recommended 8 glasses of water (yes, just water. Your juices are not counted. Drink up!). Water is responsible in keeping your skin's FLOSS!

Now add in exercise and using the right products and you'd definitely be glowing all year-round... But how do you know what products you need? Well, it all begins in knowing what your skin's personality is. Here are a few fun mnemonics to help you analyze your skin ever so often. Unfortunately, your skin type is not a permanent state. Your skin's condition can change through time as it depends also in your age, iet, environment, and even stress level! Ideally, there are five skin categories: normal, dry, oily, combination and sensitive. Here are the mnemonics to help you analyze the very skin you're in!

I'm going to talk a little bit more about the oily skin personality as I believe this is among the most common of all types! Let me just quickly shed some light on the question: Do you moisturize even when you have oily skin? The answer is yes!

Earlier I shared my thoughts on the Oil for Oil cleansing method. Now let me share what I have learned about skin moisturizing--and why you shouldn't skip it even if your skin is oily you seem like you don't need extra moisture anymore.

Moisturizers not only help keep your skin hydrated but also it helps protect your skin from debris, weather and pollution. Frankly, I am one of those who believe that exposing the skin raw to your environment contributes to its immediate deterioration. All skin types benefit from using a moisturizer. The key is finding the right one.

Finding a moisturizer suitable for an oily skin personality is easy. Look for these three characteristics in a moisturizer: 1) matte finish, meaning it should be easily absorbed by the skin and it shouldn't leavy a shiny surface; 2) non-comodegenic, meaning it doesn't clog pores and 3) water-based. Note that using oil-based products is not the same as the concept that is followed by an oil for oil cleansing method.

Cleansing the skin with oil is simply a procedure that carefully deviates from disrupting your oil's natural oil production and is only a temporary "exposure" to an oil-based product; while using an oil-based moisturizer (that would linger on your skin for a long time) "tricks" the skin into thinking it doesn't need to produce moisture anymore thus leads to over drying. I hope that helped clarify the matter!

Now go ahead and befriend your skin. Listen to it and acknowledge what it needs. Don't forget to visit my Beauty Swap tab for some know-how on beauty swapping. Please click the like button and share this post to your friends if you found it helpful. Comment if you have questions. Thank you! :)

Much love,

Kumiko Mae 

PS. Thank you Bobbi Brown for providing me all this skincare knowledge in just one chapter! Surprise, all that know-how came from Bobbi Brown's Makeup Manual. It's such an amazing book. You have to have one if you want to take beauty seriously!

Makeup Manual is available at Fully Booked nationwide

Coming soon: EVERYDAY SKIN CARE REGIMEN

Photos/vectors are not mine, just googled. :) If something you own was used, let me know so I can give proper credit.

Updated as of 03-04-12 20:50

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