With the arrival of a new decade comes a new chapter in your life, a chance to start fresh and create a bright, new future for yourself to grow and prosper. Whether your goals for the new year are to advance in your career or education, make major lifestyle changes, or simply hone in on your personal growth to feel a steady sense of peace in your everyday life, you can achieve it all through hard work and dedication.
If skin care is at the top of your list of resolutions for 2020, we have you covered. Below are five skin care habits that will help you get your best skin ever for the new decade, we promise.
Exfoliate Regularly
We wrote recently about how chemical exfoliation is better for your skin than physical exfoliation because it helps to slough off dead skin cells without tearing the skin or creating any damage. But how often should you do it? Most dermatologists will warn against over exfoliating your skin, but it is important to find a balance of what “regular” exfoliation means for you. Some people can get away with exfoliating every couple of days, while others with more sensitive skin may need to limit their exfoliation to once per week.
Regardless, you should be exfoliating regularly to prevent dirt and oil from getting trapped beneath the surface of your skin. Plus, it helps increase cell regeneration which prevents wrinkles from appearing in the first place. One of our favorite products is Good Genes from Sunday Riley. The gentle lactic acid formula removes dead skin to expose young, radiant skin from underneath.
Double Cleanse
Want to know the celebrity secret to clear skin? Here is a hint: it has little to do with expensive spa treatments. Erno Laszlo has been championing the celebrity skin care routine for decades. With internationally known clients like Marilyn Monroe, the skin care specialist turned brand knows a thing or two about star-studded skin care. The company secret? Double cleansing.
Double cleansing involves removing your makeup with one type of cleanser (preferably oil based as it does not strip your skin of its natural oils), and then cleansing your skin with another gentle cleanser. We cannot get enough of this skin care secret, and the added step will leave your skin feeling cleaner than ever and looking more clear in no time.
Start with the pre-cleansing oil from Erno Laszlo to remove your makeup before cleansing once again with the Hydra-Therapy Foaming Cleanser to keep your skin clean.
Leave Your Zits Alone
No matter how tempting it may be we cannot stress this enough: leave your face alone. Not only will picking at your zits help to spread the bacteria that caused the zit in the first place, potentially creating more, but it can also transfer dirt and germs from your hands to your face. If you do not suffer from fungal acne, you easily could if you touch your face with the same hand you used to swipe yourself into the subway. Gross!
But that does not mean you have to suffer through your acne. Trust us when we say that the Mighty Patch was one of our better discoveries of the 2010’s. These hydrocolloid patches suck up all of the dirt and grime inside your zit in just a few hours, so put one on at night and find your zit has disappeared completely by morning.
Hydrate and Moisturize
Did you know that hydrating and moisturizing are two different things? While you may notice that your skin looks better when you drink more water, that is not the only way to keep your skin hydrated. Stock up on hyaluronic acid in addition to a rich cream moisturizer for night time. Use the hyaluronic acid after every time you wash your face and apply the moisturizer every night, we promise that you will wake up with plump, nourished looking skin!
We love this rich moisturizer from Perricone MD, as well as this hyaluronic acid serum from Peter Thomas Roth.
Not All Oil Is Bad Oil
Sometimes when you have oily skin, the best thing to do to combat it is … add more oil. When your skin produces oil in excess it often means that it is lacking the right kinds of oil in the first place. Try adding a nourishing oil to your skin care routine and you will likely notice that things will even out over time. Similarly, if your skin is dry (as most people experience in the winter) try adding an oil to the last step of your skin care routine to help lock everything in and avoid added dryness.
We say to add oil to the last step of your skin care routine because oil acts as a barrier. If you put the oil on first and then try to add other products, the oil will prevent them from absorbing into your skin. Instead use oil to lock in all of the nutrition that you just added by using it as the final step in your skin care routine, morning or night.
We love this superfood facial oil from Elemis because it contains tons of added nutrients to help keep your skin healthy while supplying it with good oils.