Skin Care 101

Ways to Create and Maintain Healthy Skin

What kind of skincare products do you use on a daily basis? Are you using products that are best suited for your skin? 

For example, skin lotion calms the skin. For people with dry skin, I recommend a highly moisturizing skin lotion that doesn't contain any alcohol.  Use a serum that penetrates deep into the dermic layer.

The correct order to layering skincare products is as follows: First skin lotion, then serums, and lastly milky lotions or creams. If you have wrinkles around the eyes or the mouth, apply special creams for those areas after applying the serums. Use the creams at the very end to trap in the moisture of the lotion and nutrients from the serums. Otherwise, the moisture and nutrients will just evaporate. People with dryer skin should opt for a more moisturizing cream to wear all year long. 

When putting creams directly on your skin, be careful of its expiration date. Even if you seal products properly when done using, once it’s opened the oxidation process will start and it may become unhealthy to apply to skin.

Don't stick your fingers directly into potted creams, but instead use a plastic spatula (spoon) instead. Don’t contaminate the cream by introducing bacteria. 

If you haven’t opened a product, it should be good for about three years, but make sure to store it in a dry, cool place, out of direct sunlight.

Skincare products that have been open have the shelf life of one year. Try using them up sooner rather than later, and use the leftovers on your arms and legs. 

Using too many products on your skin everyday can weaken your skin.   

Your skin has the natural ability to moisturize itself with the perfect amount of natural oils. 

The nasolabial fold is the line that appears from the side of your nose to the side of your mouth.

When you have a more pronounced nasolabial fold, you tend to look older than your actual age.

As you age, your face muscles get weaker, your skin starts to lose its luster, and sagging causes the nasolabial fold to look even more pronounced. Your face muscles will start to lose their strength if they aren’t used regularly, just like the rest of your muscles.

When you wash your face every morning, try over pronouncing vowels (a,e,i,o,u) to exercise the muscles around your mouth.

When applying skin products, make sure you massage your skin upwards.

When you exercise your cheek muscles you get a mini face lift, which helps soften up the look of nasolabial folds.

The skin around your eyes is very sensitive and thin. Wrinkles form very easily around the eyes. The skin around your eyes are attached to the skin around your mouth, so when you frown, the muscles are pulled downward and wrinkles are easily formed. For wrinkles around the eyes, please use a cream specially made for that area. Pat in lightly from the outer corner of your eye to the inner corner of your eye.

For beautiful skin, it is best to go to sleep between the hours of ten o’clock pm and two o’clock am. While you sleep, growth hormones are released, and your skin’s metabolism works hard to get rid of old skin and create more new skin.

That's all for now. Hope these basic tips will help you create and maintain healthy beautiful skin for many years to come!

 

 

Yuko Nishio

Yuko, also referred to as the anti-aging wizard, has been researching beauty and health for over 20 years and is the owner of the exclusive beauty salon "Natural Sage" in Tokyo, where her clientele includes royal families and A-list celebrities. She is also the founder of NNNY Skin Care, a premium skin care line initially created exclusively for her salon clientele.