Glow In The Dark: Our 7 Skin Care Tips To Help You Achieve That Glow

Want to shine so bright you make the sun run and hide? Then we have some things we want to share with you about how to achieve that natural glow. Hopefully you will be running to the bank, and getting hit on by anyone bold enough to approach you. Now, one must preface this by saying these are just tips. You should always consult a physician about your skin care needs. Now that we have all of that legal jazz out of the way we can get to the good stuff.
We all know that the most important component of getting your sexy on is silky smooth skin. What goes through your mind when you see buttery seemingly poreless skin? "I gotta have it!" At least that's what goes through our head. Some people hit the DNA lottery and have excellent skin. For those of us who have to gaze upon them in contempt we've go the skinny. DNA is just one aspect of good skin. Achieving the look is about understanding your skin type and developing good habits pertaining to skin care.

1. First thing, drop the cigarettes and pick up a sun screen bottle. Sunscreen helps prevent fine lines, wrinkles, age spots, discoloration, and photoaging. When it comes to skin the sun is not your best friend. While its important to get that vitamin D, you don't want to be out in the sun all day without that SPF. Think of SPF as that hood friend that you keep with you when you need to ride out. Ladies you know who i'm talking about. Its the friend you ring when your man is creeping, or when you have to check a chick. Sometimes you have two on call. One of them is probably the loudest girl in the club that seems to be tipsy at all times, yet becomes uncharacteristicly sober if something pops off. Then you have Debo (AKA BABY D) that chills in the cut. You usually won't even see her until she runs up on you from the sidelines.  I'm losing myself a bit...back on topic.


2. Introduce retinoids into your regimen. Retinoids are derivatives of vitamin A. They help to reduce the size of your pores, clear up acne, reduce fine lines, boost the production of collagen, even skin tones, and improve texture. I know your thinking "this sounds like a magic pill." It really isn't, of course all of these things must work in conjunction with one another to achieve the desired effect. I have some bad news though. Retinoids have been found to initially cause redness, dryness, and flaky skin. There is no way to know that you will exhibit those symptoms upon introducing the powerful agent to you regimen. It is a wait and see thing. It is recommended that one should begin with a small pea size amount from the outset to lessen the possibility of that occurring. It also gives one's skin time to adjust to the introduction.

4. Keep it simple stupid. One shouldn't exacerbate the skin by using too many products. In fact some products cancel each other out when used simultaneously. For example salicylic and glycolic acids shouldn't be used in conjunction with retinols and vitamin c. Stick to the basic four component regimen: a simple cleanser, moisturizer, SPF, and a retinol/ retinoid. A simple cleanser is one of the most integral components of the skin care process. It shouldn't strip the skin and should be gentle enough for most skin types. Its also really important to understand your skin type to understand what products will work best with your skin.
Types: Oily, dry,sensitive, and combination.








5.It won't happen over night. It takes about two to three months to fully get it together. Don't get discouraged. These things take some time, but once you get it together you'll be happy with the outcome. The important thing is that you make the lifestyle, or habitual changes to your routine.

6. Like mama always said "you have to eat your fruits and vegetables." I know that this age old adage gets annoying but it is quite true. Your body needs the nutrients from those foods in order to operate properly. Since most of us are probably in college and on a tight budget it may be hard or unappealing to eat those foods. We are working on a "healthier diet on a budget" segment, so check back with us periodically.

7. Exfoliate. Get an effective exfoliante and use it weekly. You can even make your own scrub. There are tons of recipes for sugar scrubs. It is my personal favorite, constructed using olive oil and sugar. It leaves my skin super soft.




Products:
Cleanser: I personally like to use Cetaphil. I read about it in an issue of GQ or Details. I also read about it on other sites when I was in search of an effective one. I love it! it doesn't distroy your skin or leave it all dry. It smells really awesome to. You can find it at Wal-Mart and most other stores. Its a bit expensive though.

$9

Moisturizer: I like to also use Cetaphil's SPF 15 moisturizer. It is a little to oily for my taste but I have yet to find a really light moisturizer. My skin is oily so I can't really tolerate many moisturizers.This one does the job though. I also use Equates Healthy Face Lotion SPF 15. IT has alpha- hydroxy acid in it.
 
$10, $6.82
Retinol: I use a basic generic brand retinol anti-aging cream. It does work and you will notice the effects after a few weeks.

abt $5


Exfoliante: I use a homemade sugar scrub. I just mix some sugar and olive oil together in a small bowl and scrub a bit with that. Don't use it with any soap and don't scrub harshly.


[content via: WebMD]