SKIN CONDITIONS AND CARE
Every individual has a unique skin. Skin conditions can be generally characterized into three categories. Each person’s skin can be related to one of the three following types:
OILY SKIN
It has a shiny appearance with large visible pores containing blackheads and whiteheads. The texture is thick, coarse and sallow yellow.
DRY SKIN
There are two types of dry skin conditions—oil-dry and moisture-dry. The oil-dry skin is sensitive and has flaky patches with no visible pores. It tends to age and wrinkle prematurely unless carefully looked after. The moisture-dry skin has a fine texture. Its appearance is taut and dry with a tendency to chap easily and, even at an early age, may show tiny lines around the eyes and mouth.
COMBINATION SKIN
It is partly dry and partly oily skin. The central part of the face—the forehead, nose, chin and details of the cheek—look glossy and oily. The other parts appear dry.
HOME TEST FOR SKIN TYPE
All that is needed for skin type tests is a few strips of tissue paper. Or you may use paper napkins instead.
In the morning, before washing your face, rub the strips gently across your forehead, nose, chin and cheeks by sliding them back and forth. The strips will either gain greasy stains or remain transparent and clean.
If the strips used on the forehead, nose and chin are greasy, whereas those used on the cheeks are clean, you have a combination of skin.
You have incredibly oily skin if all the strips are greasy, including the one used on the cheek, and the stains are large.
You have dry skin if all the strips are clean and transparent. Through the strip-test method, one can find out the skintype and which parts of the face and body are excessively oily or dry.
CAUSES OF OILINESS AND DRYNESS
The oiliness is mainly caused due to the over-activity of the sebaceous glands and the over-production of oil secretions. Alongside this, the condition worsens if a proper cleansing routine is not followed. The nervous and hormonal irregularities in our bodies are presumably responsible for this over-activity of the oil glands.
Skin dryness is of two kinds: The oil-dryness is caused due to the sluggish activity of the oil glands resulting in inadequate oil secretions and insufficient lubrication of the skin surface. Apart from the improper functioning of the sebaceous glands, jittery nervous conditions, improper diet, the use of wrong cosmetics, strong soaps, and over-exposure to the sun and harsh wind are some other factors that aggravate dryness.
The inadequate functioning of the sweat glands and internal dehydration causes moisture-dryness. The natural elements, such as the sun and wind in extremes, contribute to it. Increasing the liquids in your diet and using skin moisturizers are extremely helpful.
THE BEAUTY COMPLICATIONS
Oily skin looks greasy, unclean and aesthetically unappealing. The skin pores are visibly enlarged. Over time, blockages of grime, stale makeup and horny dead cells appear in the skin pores, forming unsightly white and blackheads.
The excessive oiliness engenders a sallow, yellow complexion and thick, coarse skin texture. The makeup alters and disappears quickly.
The dry skin is thin and sensitive to weather elements and bacteria. It can develop an allergy quickly. The skin usually tends to flake during the winter, and fine wrinkles appear on the face prematurely.
The dark-coloured veins are evident on the thin, dry skin, and the delicate, red-coloured lines of the broken capillaries are also visible. The dry skin looks dull. Makeup tends to stand out, and face powder looks floury.
SKINCARE FOR OILY SKIN
Oily skin is the most detailed and cumbersome to take care of. To treat oily skin, it is essential to carry out an ethical cleansing routine, sloughing off the dead cells and removing thick makeup, excess oil and grime embedded in the pores.
THE CLEANSING ROUTINE
It involves washing the face and neck at least twice daily with a milk-medicated soap. Avoid using creamy and fat-enriched beauty soap for washing the face. Concentrate on the forehead, nose and chin area. Massage the lather thoroughly. Rinse with clear cold water.
During the day, clean your face with cotton saturated with a freshener or cleansing lotion. Toning and tightening the enlarged pores with an astringent is advised after cleansing the skin.
After using the toner, if the skin feels taut and dry, apply a mild moisturizer that will not block or irritate the skin pores.
THE HOMEMADE COSMETIC CARE
You can treat your skin at home by using homemade cosmetics to avoid costly market-available cosmetics.
CLEANSING SCRUB
Mix ¼ cup Multani Mitti (fuller’s earth), ¼ cup dried orange peel, and 2 tbsp. Sandalwood powder/oatmeal and store in a container. Take one tsp. Mix with water and work it into the skin; rinse it with warm water. Use every other day.
CLEANSING MASK
Mix ¼ tsp. Fuller’s earth, a little tomato pulp and yoghurt in a bit of cucumber juice, and apply on the face for 15-20 minutes. Rinse it off with cold water. It would be best to use this mask at least twice a week.
TONERS
Mix a tbsp. Of lemon juice or a tbsp. Of malt vinegar in a glass of water. Cabbage or cucumber juice, mixed with rose water, are also excellent toners. Add a pinch of alum and two drops of spirit of camphor. Keep a bottle of any of these toners handy for frequent daily use.
TONING MASK
Make a paste of one beaten egg white, 1 tbsp. Yoghurt and fuller’s earth and apply on the face till it dries. Later rinse off with clean water. Use this toning mask at least twice a week. Some Tips: Avoid using cream or oil-based makeup products. Use only water-based cosmetic creams and powder makeup. Since the face must be cleaned several times daily, use minimum makeup.
SKINCARE FOR DRY SKIN
The dry skin is either oil or moisture-dry. The skincare regime should emphasize moisturizing and nourishing routines. To remove the cream, dry, sensitive skin should be cleansed with cold cream and alcohol-free skin fresheners.
After cleansing, the skin needs a lubricating moisturizer. The moisturizer should be used while the face is damp after the wash for best results.
I am following homemade cosmetics that made dry skin care accessible and affordable to all.
DRY SKIN CLEANSER
Warmed milk cures rough skin. It can be added to oatmeal or almonds.
Try this milk lotion. Warm a cup of milk and add 1 tsp. glycerine, ¼ tsp. bicarbonate of soda and ¼ tsp. Borax till all three dissolve.
Melt together in a bowl, 12 tbsp. White vaseline, 4 tbsp. Baby oil and 1 tbsp. Of rose essence and stored in a bottle and used to clean the face. Remove the cleanser with damp cotton.
MOISTURIZER
Mix 3/4 cup of rose water, ¼ cup of glycerine, 1 tsp. Of vinegar and ¼ tsp. of honey and keep it in a bottle. Use it regularly after cleansing.
NOURISHING MASK
Mash a banana and beat in a tsp. of salad or vegetable oil. Brush it onto the face and leave it on for 20 minutes till it dries. Then rinse it off. This nourishing mask should be used once a week at least.
Some Tips :
• Do not use an astringent or a toner containing alcohol.
• Avoid the sun and harsh winds, and hot baths.
• Use oil-based creams and makeup products only.
• Do not use medicated soap. Use creamy and soft beauty soaps.