Skin Care Basics

Every beauty programme should contain these essential three steps:

• cleanse
• tone
• moisturiser

and they should be followed every morning and every evening. But why do we do them?

Cleansing just means you're washing your skin. Whether or not you wear make up it's essential that you wash your face in the evening so your face is clear from the day's grime and is able to renew itself overnight. You should also cleanse again in the morning so you can clear your face of any dead skin cells shed overnight.

Cleansing can be as simple as using soap and water, but a cream cleanser, applied with cotton wool, is kinder on the skin, as is a facial wash, which is appliied to damp skin and then rinsed off with cold water.

Cleansers come in all sorts of prices - from the own brand inexpensive bottles to the high end designer brands. You can also get everything from organically certified natural ingredients, to laboratory tested chemicals. The cleanser you use will depend on your skin type and your budget, but just because you can afford something expensive you should still try the budget brands - sometimes simple is better.

Toner is a liquid applied to the skin after cleansing with a cream cleanser (if using a liquid cleanser the cold water acts as a toner so you shouldn't need anything else.) The toner acts in three ways - it removes any excess cleanser from the skin, helps shrink the pores and freshens the skin. . As with cleansers you can buy toners to suit all skin types and budgets - they range from the completely natural rose and lavender waters to high-alcohol astringents (commonly used for oily skin), and what you use should be dictated by your skin type and preferences

Moisturizing is the last, but most important, step in your skin care routine. All moisturizers do basically the same thing for your skin (no matter what price they are) - they make the skin soft by increasing the water content. Applying moisturizer to slightly damp skin is a neat little trick that will increase the water content even more. And why is water good for the skin? Adequate hydration keeps the skin suppleand prevents wrinkles.

If you want younger looking skin you have to moisturize.

There are moisturizers for all types of skin and different ages get different formulations (this true of both natural and chemical products). There are even different moisturizers for different times of the day.

Do you have sensitive skin concerns? Please see here for sensitive skin care advice on hubpages.