Your future skin wants a little chat with you…

Cue the game show theme music, and let’s have 60 seconds on the clock: it’s late. You’re really tired. You still have on a face full of makeup. Do you:

A) Thoroughly remove all your makeup and do the entire face care routine “shebang,”
B) Half-heartedly wipe at least some of the makeup off with some kind of wipe-y thing,
C) Just do a “face plant” on your pillow, swearing you will take care of it all in the mañana?

BZZZZZZZT!!! Lock in your answers, please! Let’s take a candid look at this very real-life dilemma, and how each of these choices play out…

Question: How often do I really need to follow my skin care regimen?

Let’s ponder the question thoroughly, beginning with real-world example number one: I just attended a skin care workshop along with a Lead-Educator Esthetician for a famous, medical-grade skin care line. This skin care line pioneered a certain type of anti-aging chemical peel, which won them an impressive reputation: these peels are now performed in medical spas all over the world. This woman was in her fifties, although her skin gave her the appearance of a very natural, healthy thirty-or-forty-something year old.  Another workshop attendee asked if she did a lot of those famous chemical peels on herself, to keep her skin looking so great? Her surprising answer: not at all. Instead, she relied on a good daily and nightly home care regimen that included vitamin A (this can come in the form of Retin-A, Retinol, or the whole form of vitamin A) and good sun protection. Good sun protection and vitamin A are not revolutionary notions in skin care. Her real “secret recipe” was that she applied a good home care regimen faithfully—meaning every a.m. and p.m.—for years and years.

Real-world example number two: I have repeatedly seen with my own two eyes how starting a good, regular skin care regimen (or adjusting your home care regimen so it works more effectively) and following it faithfully creates a healthier-looking complexion. I’ve seen chronically clogged skin get clearer, I’ve seen dull skin or uneven skin brighten up, I’ve seen fine lines start to smooth out, and I’ve seen all kinds of complexions become infused with a healthier, calmer glow (all this can potentially come about by following a good home care regimen faithfully—before adding in any professional treatments).

Now let’s consider this: consistency is one of your future skin’s best friends. If you’re aiming to make improvements in your skin, the vast majority of the evidence suggests that whatever steps you take will be much, much (did I mention “much?!”) more effective if they’re implemented all—or almost all—of the time. Consistency is tough for so many of us, and life very truly does “get in the way” of our best skin care routine intentions. Often when we choose to skip part of our home skin care routine, we’re not thinking about the fact that we’re trading future “skin happiness” for that “opting out.” If anyone asked us if we’d trade an extra 10 minutes sleep for future wrinkles? We’d say no WAY! Your skin’s love of consistent, quality care is similar to your body’s love of fresh foods and healthy supplements. Each day is a clean slate, yesterday’s nutrition has been utilized…and more, fresh nutrition is required to provide the energy needed for healthy cell function to happen. That energy then gets spent, and more nutrition is required to move forward. This process continues, gently building up the healthiest you, day by day. It’s truly the small, regular actions and care that, slowly, gently, reliably, quietly and over time support healthier, lovelier skin. Intended-to-be-daily nutritional supplements taken haphazardly (some days, but not others) leads to equally haphazard results. Fresh, organic, deeply nutritious whole foods eaten sporadically…with junky foods eaten the rest of the time…is likely to leave your body feeling only moderately okay. Doing a complete, challenging workout once in a while…then taking a nice long break…could make your journey to fitness and flexibility “snails-pace” slow. (Here’s a dramatic and hilarious example in the same spirit: what if you only brushed your teeth a few times a week, instead of twice a day? Your future teeth would definitely call an emergency meeting!) Let me reassure you, there are absolutely some benefits to be had by doing anything good for you…and, this cannot come anywhere near the full, bountiful benefits that occur with consistency. 

A good home care regimen followed faithfully is your surest foundation for creating and supporting your healthiest skin. Bottom line: professional skin care treatments and facials provide benefits on top of a good home care regimen, but they cannot replace a good home care regimen. They also may not be able to fully correct the damage caused by not following a good home care regimen regularly. Skin care treatments and facials actually do the most for your skin when supported by a solid, regularly followed home care regimen.    

Sometimes following a good home care regimen each a.m. and p.m. gets relegated to the “boring” pile, as more drastic measures grab the spotlight (Microneedling! Laser! Radio Frequency!). None of these flashier options can ever fully substitute for the subtle, regular missed opportunities for improvement created by daily and nightly neglect. Don’t underestimate how far simply following a good skin care regimen faithfully each a.m. and p.m. can bring your skin! While skin care treatments and facials are great options to have, there is so much support for healthy skin and age prevention (and even age reversal!) right at your fingertips.

Often more drastic measures (like chemical peels) are sought because a good daily and nightly skin care regimen has been neglected for a very long time, resulting in other issues to be dealt with—accelerated aging, for example. If you “slip up (skip your p.m. routine, or have a lazy/busy weekend and miss a few sessions),” don’t despair—simply get back on track as soon as you can. Be kind to yourself with your schedule, and also encourage yourself to take action: there’s definitely a huge difference between missing a night or two and regularly missing a week or two…just ask your future skin!

So the answer to our game show question? As easy as it would be to tell you not to worry so much about home care for your skin (and encourage you to focus only on the latest, buzziest, trendiest professional treatment), that would be TERRIBLE ADVICE! And just to be clear, I’ll repeat this: many professional treatments have much to offer your skin, far beyond what can be accomplished with regular skin care at home…but NO periodic professional treatment can take the place of a good, regularly followed a.m. and p.m. skin care regimen. So answer “A” at the start of our conversation here is the only real option for us. Fully caring for our skin each a.m. and p.m. is one of the essential ways to help our skin reach its fullest potential. The effective, regularly followed home skin care regimen is the unassuming, unsung hero for awakening our best skin. It’s simple. It’s at our fingertips. And (hooray!) it works.

If you are unsure about what steps are needed in a good skin care regimen, or if you’re wondering if your current skin care regimen is what your skin really needs (or whether or not a particular skin care regimen is a match for your unique skin)—book a facial with a professional esthetician. Listen to what she has to say. I TRULY LOVE when someone comes in for a facial simply to get some support and guidance regarding the most effective home skin care regimen for their skin. If a professional facial is not in the cards just now, you can read this blog (click here) to get a deliciously full breakdown of what’s included in a good home care regimen.

However you get there, a solid a.m. and p.m. skin care routine provides countless, far-reaching benefits. Don’t let yourself miss out! You’ll be glad you gave your skin as many youthful 60-seconds-in-a-row on that clock as possible. (And I can hear your future skin thanking you, even now…congratulating you for having the wisdom to encourage your most gorgeous skin both now as well as for the years to come.)  

Blog written by Marna Herrington with Rich Earth Organic Skin Care Studio
Blog copy editing and polishing provided by Karen-Eileen Gordon (MsGordonLovesWriting@gmail.com)

This blog is not intended to take the place of in-person consultations with qualified skin care and health care practitioners. This blog  is for the purpose of education and fun only.

All images and text in this blog are under the legal ownership of Rich Earth Organic Skin Care Studio. Permission is not granted for this text or these images to be copied and used out of the context of this blog, or for commercial purposes. If any part of the text is quoted in an article or other blog for educational purposes, a hyperlink to this page must be included.