Top Five Kinds of Skin Care Products for any Skin Type
I like lists. So here is my list of the top five types of skin care products for every skin type. I have also included a non-exhaustive list of product suggestions with links to my reviews in those instances where I have reviewed the product. Do you have something you would add or substitute? Leave a comment!
Number 5: A chemical exfoliating product. Use of a product such as glycolic acid, retinol, or even salicylic acid (a common beta-hydroxy acid acne product), will help keep your skin blackhead and blemish free. These products break up the chemicals holding those dead skin cells together. This increases cell turnover and assists in dissolving black heads, keeping skin looking fresh and youthful. If you have hyperpigmentation or melasma, glycolic or retinol products can be particularly good used in combination with skin lightening products. Look at it this way, less dead skin cells in the way means more active product is getting to the cells that need it. Finally they can have anti-wrinkle effects, especially the retinol products. So these products have multiple benefits! A few favorites to try:
Glycolic products: Peter Thomas Roth Glycolic Acid 10% Clarifying Gel and B. Kamins Glycolic 10 are both quality products.
Retinol Products: Worth looking at is GreatSkin Retinol 10X Serum 1 oz.. One of my favorites and one with the highest concentration allowed over the counter (1%) is RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Serum. ROC products are also a good value.
Salicylic: Neutrogena Clear Pore Oil-Controlling Astringent, Salicylic Acid Acne Medication is a good basic and affordable salicylic acid. Or check out these salicylic and glycolic mixes: For 5% glycolic and 1% salicylic, try MD Formulations Glycare Acne Gel. You can up it to 10% glycolic and 2% salicylic with Peter Thomas Roth AHA/BHA Acne Clearing Gel. I have used the Peter Thomas Roth product with good results.
Number 4: A vitamin C product. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that can help your skin recover from exposure to daily pollutants and stresses. It also can help lighten hyperpigmentation or melasma and generally even out skin tone. Some favorites to try:
High potency: GreatSkin® Vibran C Creme with Ceramides 1.25 oz. (pictured). This creme has 10% stable vitamin C with moisturizing ceramides. Want a higher concentrated serum (also better for oily skin)? Look at GreatSkin® C Serum 1 fl. oz. This takes the concentration up to 14%.
Good value: Lumene Radiant C Plus, or for an antioxidant combo try Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Serum.
Number 3: A good moisturizer for your skin type. All skin types can benefit from the regular use of a moisturizer, even oily skin. For those with acne prone skin who worry about moisturizer use, consider a light cream or gel product. Many acne products dry the skin and cause it to increase oil production as a rebound effect. The use of a moisturizing products can actually help prevent acne in the long run. Some items to try:
Oily Skin: GreatSkin® Oil-Free Moisturizer with Ginseng and Grape Seed Extract 5 oz. or GreatSkin® Oil Free Moisturizing Gel 1 oz.. A really good, but a bit expensive one, that I used years back when I had issues with adult acne is Murad Skin Perfecting Lotion (Acne).
Normal Skin: Murad Skin Perfecting Lotion or DHC Rich Moisture and Extra Night Time Moisture. There is also the favorite of many: Estee Lauder DayWear.
Dry skin: Vita Amazonia Matrixyl and DMAE 5% Creams are my current favorites. I also really love Prescriptives PX Intensive Rebuilding Moisturizer. Unfortunately both are expensive. For a good value, consider trying one of the Lumene products.
For really dry skin or as a specialty product. I think Creme de la Mer can’t be beat. It is expensive, but a little goes a long way and this stuff really can moisturize with no irritation. Tip: Try it under your nose when it gets chapped from a cold.
Number 2: Water. OK, so it isn’t necessarily a product, but drinking a lot of water is one of the best things you can do for your skin. You can also look fashionable carrying certain bottles. Want more info? I like this article from Free Beauty tips.
Number 1: Sunscreen. If you do nothing else, at least wear sunscreen. Aim for full spectrum coverage with a minimum of SPF 15, and SPF 30 being optimal. Regular use of sunscreen fulfills multiple functions. It prevents skin cancer, it delays wrinkling and hyperpigmentation, and for most people it also can double as a light moisturizer. Think that it is OK to skip sunscreen because you need vitamin D from the sun? Think again. You can get your dose of vitamin D from the sun in matter of a few minutes. Better yet, get it from a multi-vitamin or fortified milk. If you want a tan, try some of the many excellent self tanning products that are on the market. Don’t believe me? Take a look at this top 5 list from the Mayo Clinic. Or look at this article on the Myths and Facts About Vitamin D and Sun exposure.
Some good sunscreens to try: For full spectrum physical blockers with high SPF, my favorite is Total Block UVA/UVB SPF 65. This also comes with tint packages to make a heavy coverage high SPF makeup in Total Block Cover-Up/Make-Up SPF 60. This is full wavelength blocking and is great for people with melasma, skin cancer concerns, and hyperpigmentation. But it certainly is not limited to those people and is good for anyone concerned about the sun.
For a medium SPF full spectrum sunscreen Neutrogena and Aveeno make some good ones. Or try the much talked about full spectrum chemical blocker found in La Roche-Posay Anthelios SX Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15.
Also, don’t forget your lips. Banana Boat Sport Sunscreen Lip Balm, SPF 30 is my all time favorite SPF lip balm.
So there are my top 5 types of skin care products for any skin type. This post was made as part of a group writing project at Problogger.net. For a bunch of other top five lists on a huge variety of topics take a look at the list of submissions.
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Judy | Sep 11, 2008 | Reply
This is a very helpful post for me because My niece is still suffering from Skin Cancer she had after suffering from Stomach cancer.Thanks for such a useful post about brain cancer.