Beauty Bus

There are four basis steps to looking after your skin and with regular practice they can not only help keep your skin healthy but also contribute to keeping it looking younger.

The first step is a good cleansing regime which works best the simpler it is kept. Finding a cleanser that suits your skin type is paramount and as soon as you find one that your skin responds well to you should stick with it. There is no need to over cleanse either and once in the evening should be quite sufficient with a splash of lukewarm water in the morning to clear the skin of excess oils acquired the night before.

Step two is all about exfoliating and in order to see noticeable effects in your skins condition you should make it a weekly ritual. There are several ways to exfoliate the skin such as scrubs or microdermabrasion, chemical peels and retinoids. Scrubs work by removing the top layer of dead skin cells that tend to dull your complexion. Peels can take off five years from your face but tend to come at a price that is not always either affordable or practical. Retinoids such as Retin A also remove the top layer of dead skin cells but also generate collagen in the skin. Collagen is the skins structural fibre which breaks down as we get older causing lines and large pores to appear.

Step three involves moisturising the skin. Moisturisers seal in moisture to the skin preventing it from looking dry, taught and becoming wrinkled. The skin around the eye is susceptible to wrinkles as it contains no fatty tissue therefore a good eye cream is essential.

Step four in basic skincare is applying sunscreen. The number one cause of wrinkles is without doubt sun damage so it is important to use a sunscreen from an early age. It should be applied everyday and even in cloudy weather conditions.

The condition of your hands can speak volumes on how you live your life and even how old you might be. The hands are without doubt the part of the body that we use the most since we communicate with them, eat with them, perform tasks with them, feel, touch and sense things with them. But perhaps what we do the most and fail to realise is constantly wet them, usually for washing and particularly dishes, which more often than not can strip the hands of their natural oils leaving them dry and wrinkled.

The skin on the hands is delicate and thin, especially on the back on the hand. It is here where you can often tell the age of a person or what kind of life style they live. Well kept and healthy looking hands are a reflection on how well we care for our skin and respect the bodily part without which we would be seriously lost.

The best way to take care of your hands is to protect them on a regular basis. Try to avoid using soaps that are extremely alkaline with a PH of 8 and above. The skin has a PH of 4 and 6.5 which is slightly acidic so an alkaline soap will strips the skin of its natural acid mantle which serve to protect it. A mild soap with a PH of 7 such as Dove is the kindest soap you can use on your hands.

Moisturise your hands as often as possible, at least 4 times a day and always after washing. When washing clothes or dishes always wear rubber gloves and again apply a moisturiser afterwards. Protect your hands from the changes in weather conditions and don’t forget to apply SPF sun screen to the backs of the hands every day even in cloudy weather.

Whenever you can treat yourself to a manicure and give your hands and nails a good pampering. Healthy looking hands not only look nice but they also make a good impression on others.