With the holidays coming to an end and those New Year’s resolutions beginning to surface, I think it’s time we discuss a good skin care routine. Skin care is so important. I feel like I say that at least 3 times a day, but I can’t stress it enough. If you’re looking for a good New Year’s resolution, I suggest coming up with a good, solid skin care routine. Over the span of the next few weeks, I’ll be giving a few ideas for several different skin types and I’ll tell you what I do everyday for my skin. I hope to help you get started on a routine.

Let’s start off with normal/oily skin. When the skin produces too much oil, it’s never a fun time. Constantly having to blot away that extra shine can be annoying. Start off your routine by cleansing your face. After a long day of sweat, dirt, and oils building up in the pores, it feels so refreshing to wash your face with a good cleanser. For oily skin, I would recommend Merle Norman’s Foaming Cleanser Normal/Oily. This lightweight foaming cleanser is great for oily skin because it contains astringent botanicals and humectants. I know what you’re thinking: English, please! Basically, the astringent botanicals constrict, or tighten, the pores to help keep the skin from producing too much oil. Therefore, the skin will become more dry. With that being said, this is when those humectants come into play. Humectants help to lock in moisture. Those two ingredients are very important for oily skin because they work together to control the oil without drying out the skin completely.

Toners are pretty important. Not everyone uses toners but, I do recommend finding one that works for you. Toners balance the pH levels in your skin to give you a nice, even complexion. It also removes cleanser residue. I recommend using Merle Norman’s AHA Toner Normal/Oily for oily skin. This toner’s main ingredient is actually in the name! AHA stands for Alpha Hydroxy Acid. This acid comes from fruits and it is used in this toner for it’s exfoliating properties. Now, you won’t be able to feel it exfoliating because AHA is a chemical exfoliant, which means it goes down deeper and loosens up the gunk that is holding the cells together, allowing that bacteria to break down and disappear.

Serums are a big part of a good skin care routine because they are so concentrated. This means they have tiny molecules that allows the skin to absorb it more quickly and deeply. The thing with serums is that they focus more on other issues like aging, dry skin or dark spots. I’ll talk more about serums next time. For now, I’ll give you a basic suggestion for oily skin in general. I would point you towards the Merle Norman AHA Intensive Complex. It’s the same concept as the toner without balancing the pH levels; it’s just a more concentrated version of the AHA.

Along with the serums, eye creams focus on other certain issues like puffiness, wrinkles, or dark circles. Therefore, the basic eye moisturizer I would use is Merle Norman’s Revitalizing Eye Gel. This gel helps to reduce puffiness and signs of fatigue to keep you from looking tired.

Last, but not least, for oily skin is the most common skin care product: the moisturizer. I highly suggest using Merle Norman’s Matte Oil-Free Moisturizer if your skin is crazy oily! This moisturizer helps to absorb excess oil and minimize the appearance of pores. It contains emollients which are used to soften and soothe the skin.

There you have it… No more oil! Well, a lot less oil, anyway. For those of you who struggle with quite the opposite of oily skin, next week’s blog post will be for you! Feel free to leave a comment with any questions or concerns about your skin or any of the products I have mentioned above. Feedback is always appreciated!