Secret to Youthful and Beautiful Facial Skin
Posted on August 27, 2007
Filed Under Health and Beauty, Information | Viewed 2061 times
Really—it’s no big deal, the secret is simple. Only 3 basic steps: CLEANSE, TONE and MOISTURIZE.
There are so many skin care products in the market that one gets overwhelmed, intimidated. Don’t be, as the best skin care regimen, according to dermatologists, is to wash your face with a milky cleanser in lukewarm water, hydrate it with a toner—to avoid dryness which causes unnecessay flaking, then apply moisturizer.
Cleanse, tone, moisturize, day after day (once in the morning), night after night (once before going to sleep). And it is good to begin young, as what my girls are doing. I should have done it myself years ago, but then, no one told me to. At that time, it was just soap, soap and soap. At any rate, I started the regimen after college—when I started working. To this very day, I have followed this regimen, I have to be more careful now that I am nearing the golden age.
Here are some information that might be useful in choosing your right skin care products.
CLEANSERS—unclog pores by removing dead skin cells, oil, pollutants and dirt from the face, preventing skin conditions like pimples, whiteheads, blackheads, and in severe cases, acne. They are better alternatives to bar soap, which tend to change the skin’s pH balance—they have higher pH level than the skin. An imbalanced pH in the skin can (higher or lower than the desired level) may cause bacteria-causing acne to proliferate. A lot of bar soaps have thickening agents—they clog pores, which lead to acne, and contain chemicals that can remove the natural oils from the skin, making the skin dry. Some cleansers already have moisturizers in them. Some have fragrance or essential oils, which may provoke allergic reactions causing skin irritation, in various degrees.
Choose cleansers that suit your skin type. Strong cleansers for oily skin—to rid the skin of excess oils that cause breakouts; creamy cleansers for very dry skin—to replenish moisture, but the cleanser should not leave an oily-feel on the skin after washing. If you have dessicated skin, select a cleanser that is alcohol-free.
TONERS—are lotions intended to cleanse the skin and contract pores. They are applied after washing with facial cleanser, either by dabbing with damp cotton, spraying onto the face, or by a gauze mask.
Choose toners that suit your skin type. Skin fresheners—for sensitive, and dry to normal skin, the mildest and least harsh to skin, they contain 0-10% alcohol, water, and humectants (moisture-sealing substances that prevent skin from drying, like glycerin and rosewater); skin tonics—for normal to oily types of skin, slightly stronger, they contain 20% alcohol, water, and humectants as ingredient; and astringents—for those with oily skin, and best applied only to problem areas of the skin, contain a high proportion of alcohol, from 20% to 60%, water and humectants ingredient, and antiseptic ingredients.
MOISTURIZERS—make the outside layer of the skin more supple and softer, by helping increase water content in the skin. Part of their ingredients are skin lipids, sterols, artificial or natural oils, humectants (such as glycerin, urea and lactic acid), emollients (act as barrier against loss of water, gives a smoothing effect on skin, and act as skin softener), and lubricants. They rejuvenate the skin by rehydrating it, repair scaly and damaged skin, build protection against skin’s water loss, alleviate severe dryness, and postpone the aging effects on the skin such as wrinkles and crow feet.
Commercial moisturizers may include certain emulsifiers and fragrance agents, some have additives such as vitamins (usually A, B, C, D and E), nutritive agents, proteins, and other minerals that are good for the skin.
Don’t forget, CLEANSE, TONE and MOISTURIZE, using the right products for your type of skin, and soon you are on your way to lasting, youthful and beautiful facial skin.
I personally use L’Oreal products (very cheap in Bangkok, I believe they have a factory in Thailand), and their facial wash is one of the only ones that don’t break son Vince’s skin, aside from Cetaphil. Monica swears by Olay Total Effects. Toners don’t seem to be very popular, because many of those that are sold in the Philippines may be too harsh and even sting quite a bit (I’ve had bad experience with Eskinol in the 80’s, I wonder if they have improved their products). However, Burt’s Bees has a mild toner made only with rosewater and glycerin, old-fashioned ingredients that withstood the test of time.
Monica and I have difficulty with finding an effective eye cream for fine lines and dark circles. Some high-end brands are too expensive for us to even try—some retail at Rustan’s at around P30,000 Any suggestions?
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Dine Racoma is Sexy Mom, a Filipina doing what she likes best—writing, her passion. She writes freelance, does research, advises on new media, and manages a virtual assistance office for home-based jobs. A mother of 7 (what joy!) foremost, a wife, MIL, grandma to 2 pretty girls and an angel in heaven, sister, daughter, friend. Was in the corporate world for 27 years, the first 5 as Executive Secretary to an affiliate of the country’s biggest drug chain, and the last 22 as an international civil servant in an international development bank with HQ in Manila. Traveled extensively to many countries bringing about rich experiences and lessons learned to share with dear Readers. All these—in The D Spot
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some people just have good skin genes. My eldest doesn’t have nice skin but I do.
eating right also helps. though i fall short in that aspect hehehe! how’s everything mommy dine?
ponds cold cream is also good for cleaning the face. i just started using cleansers and moisturizers. like you i should have started years ago. now fine lines are not going away even of products promise to do that. anyway, cetaphil is also good, olay total effects and ponds creme—i think they have an serum. maybe that will work. if all fails, how about cucumber on the eyes?
I too can swear on the benefits of Olay Total Effects. I’ve tried the serum but my face became too oily the following day. So I just stick with the original moisturizer. Nagsasabi ng totoo si La Greta. Hehehe
Eye cream? Nivea Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream with Q-10 Plus.
Swear by the benefits pala…hehehe
I agree. Nivea Eye Cream does work. I’ve been using it for three years.
hello din,
thanks for sharing this tips and advices….
oo nga, ako rin nandito na sa golden age….gusto na sana mastop itong mga lines and rough sa mukha….
panay, palit sa mga creams and cleansers….
the other week, recieved a package from carlota, that is a MaryKay products….really, ganda ang effects, sana tuloy na ito…..
sigi basa pa ako…..
I agree with you tita. But it’s harder for certain people po, because they have sensitive skin.
For me, it’s only the cleanser and my skin still feels fine. Hehe!
somehow the regimen didn’t do so well for me. i’m not sure what kind of skin i have, but i guess it’s sensitive. water worked wonders though. i was (emphasis on was ü)one of those people who are called “pimple na may mukha” (ouch
!!) but thanks to water my skin is so much clearer and nicer looking. 
When I was younger, I had been using Shiseido Concentrate for dry skin. Just recently I switched to AnnaYake Ultra Time series, para daw ito sa mga aging mamas like me. I luckily have no skin problems ever since aside from my freckles of course :).
Off topic:
Mader, ikaw ba yang nasa pic? Wow naman :)! Mind you what, type ko ang attire mo pwedeng mahingi? Thanks a lot pala for taking the time to visit my kubo.
Hi Dine, try the Clinique products. They’re quite effective.
It’s true that there are people who are born with generally good skin. It won’t hurt though if our skin is pampered some more. I got it from my mom too on how to take good care of our skin. What really works for me is lots of water and using a facial cleanser. I tried different brands, one is Olay but it didn’t give me the feel of a really clean face as much as Ponds did. But nothing beats a good rest and enough sleep for maintaining smooth skin.
Hi SexyMom and pretty daughters!
I use Pond’s White Beauty toner (yung pink). It’s very mild, doesn’t sting at all. My MIL gave me a jar of Elizabeth Arden visible difference night moisturizer. Ay, it’s wonderful! When i wake up in the morning, my face feels so smooth. (Insert ala La-Greta voice here. hehe).
For daytime, i moisturizer with sunscreen. Yup, best (and less expensive) to prevent sun damage rather than treat it!
And yes, the Nivea eye cream is great!
Moisturize. Definitely.
ang gaganda ng mga anak mo Dine, mana sa ina. I have a beauty secret for my face other than cleanse, tone and moisturize and am sharing it someday with my twins, hehe
very informative. thanks sexy mom. especially now that im giving extra attention to my skin. used to take it for granted and now im paying for it, hehehe! bumabawi na lang, hope it;s not too late.
hi tita dine!
thanks for the info 
for my skin care, i always see to it that before i sleep i wash my face with the right kind of soap 
i’ll try your beauty tips 
The problem with most commercial bar soaps is that they are made through a machine called the Pladder. For pladder-type soaps, they are made from pre-formulated soaps or soap chips that’s why most of the time they leave residues on the skin which is not healthy because it clogs the pores. It’s always wise to go for the hot-processed (transparent) or cold-processed soaps (cold-processed).
I rarely moisturise my face before but I do it everyday now coz my skin shifted from a bit oily to quite dry. I guess it is the weather here who is the culprit!
Thanks for the tips Tita ! The thing is I’m so lazy to put cream, I just clean it
! Having healthy skin could be one aspect of looking good !
Plain water works for me… no cleanser whatsoever.
I don’t have the habit of putting on anything on my face but staying in an airconditioned room all day at work is making my skin dry… so i put on cetaphil moisturizer or olay total effects when I remember.
Hei!!
I am using Vichy moisturizer and Eye cream. I am quite satisfied with them. I buy them from the drugstore here in Norway but I do not know if you can buy them in Manila, though.
sa akin, any soap then Nivea Cream.
yun lang.
Added to beauty na yung, stay happy, no problems, no worries.
Even tad tad ako non, sige lang, eventually nawawala din if i dont entertain those, lol
eat right, get lots of sleep and drink plenty of water, this has always worked and of course cleansing and moisturizing properly. i fall short on all of those, but somehow i dont have bad skin, only oily which is normal i guess.
I don’t know anything about this topic but an eye cream for P30,000! :-O
Hello Ms. Dine!
you & your girls have beautiful skin!
very informative post
I bought clinique’s all about eyes a couple of months ago and tried it for a month..unfortunately i didn’t see any difference. i’m still on the look out for a good eye cream. kaso lang ang mamahal kasi! :p
I guess the 4th tip is to choose parents with good genes… hehehe!
My Mom is 73 and she still has baby skin. Me, my skin is okay. But whenever I go to the States, it gets very dry.
whoa….i’d been using olay total effects for a year now but i cant see any difference in my face…the same with the nivea eye cream.
hi dine,
i use cetaphil as cleanser and olay total effects as a daily moisturizer. for the eye cream, i haven’t found the cream suitable for me. i have dark circles around my eyes and it just won’t go away!
i started the “vanity” way back in college.
great article!
Now, I know
Uy kikay post!
You know I learnt this 3-steps from a MAN of all people. He even gave me my first “set” of cleansers-toners-moisturiser by Almay. Take note though he’s not gay. He was the first metro-sexual I met after Uni.
Beauty products here are triple expensive, but we do have more choices. I am currently using the Nivea DNAge line. But since my face is mixed oil & dry, I am just “evaluating” them for 3 months to see if they work. If not I want to try the Olay Total Effects next.
now i am using Clean & Clear for both cleanser & moisturizer.