The Best Way To Apply Your Skincare
Your skincare is carefully selected, lovingly cared for, and applied with care and concern - I hope! With this in mind, it’s good to think about the best way to apply your skincare products, rather than just chucking them all on and going on a wing and a prayer. Moving on from our blog of last week where we discussed the correct AMOUNT, this week we’re talking about the best way to apply your perfect measure of product - see here for a video on the subject!
Certain products are most effective when applied in a specific manner, and it’s the nerdie way to make sure that you have all of this super special knowledge at your skincare-smeared fingertips!
Pre-cleanser
When it comes to pre-cleansing, with something like the Cleanse Off Mitt, 30 seconds is the perfect amount of time - nice, effective and FAST.
Swipe your damp mitt in gentle circles over your skin to remove the oil, makeup, and SPF of the day - you might take a little longer if you’re wearing a full face of makeup to make sure you’ve gotten every bit of it off.
When it comes to pre-cleansing, my best tip is to get EVERYWHERE. That means your chest, your neck, behind your ears, your decolletage, the front of your ears, under your jawline (surprisingly, many people don’t do a great job here), around your nose, and your lips, too.
Cleanser
Amounts of cleanser and methods of application differ depending on the cleanser that you’re using, or the consistency of it.
When it comes to a gel cleanser - like IMAGE Clear Cell Clarifying Gel Cleanser, we suggest a chickpea sized amount, spread between wet hands, and then applied to your face. Massage this into your skin for at least 60 seconds to give the active ingredients a chance to work.
If you feel you need more water, we suggest you apply it to your fingertips and bring that to your skin, so as not to drench yourself or dilute your cleanser too much.
For a cream cleanser, we suggest a euro coin sized amount in the palm of your hand, also spread between your hands and applied to damp skin. Skingredients PreProbiotic Cleanse is a good example of a cream cleanser - we suggest two pumps of it to make the coin sized amount. Make sure to massage this into your skin, too!
Cleansing your skin for 60 seconds is super important, because it’s a great way to give yourself a facial massage. This is helpful when it comes to lymphatic drainage, and stimulating blood flow. It can make your skin appear less puffy - never a bad thing. You can do by pressing outwards, with pressure movements.
Cleanse your cleansing product away thoroughly with a Cleanse Off Mitt or pre-cleansing tool of your choice (a face-cloth, etc), to make sure your skin is ready for serums to follow.
You can spritz between your cleanser and serums if you like - it’s the nerdie preference, it helps to keep your skin hydrated and can help give your serums a little more slip, particularly if you’ve dried your face with a face-cloth post-cleanse.
Cleansing pre-serum is super important, as it means that there is nothing blocking your serums from sinking into your skin! You wouldn’t wax a dirty car, now, would you?
Serums
The general rule for serums is to tap them into your skin, as this process mimics the massage technique tapotement, by which tapping the skin stimulates blood flow.
Apply the pumps of product as recommended by your skincare consultant or as is listed on the product information, and spread this between your hands quickly, before applying it to your face.
Some people, including John Mayer, advocate for applying skincare directly to your face - no hands. Now, John, we aren’t Free-Falling for that one - no, sir. There’s no reason to avoid spreading your serum on your hands, particularly if you’re mixing serums together, to help them go a little further.
In this case, we think you ought to stick to the guitar, John.
Using your hands can help to give a more even application of the product. We can advise a prayer-like application - just make sure sure that your hands are clean, clean, clean before!
Moisturiser
For moisturiser, if you like to use it, you could mimic the kneading technique, by spreading product over your face, neck, and décolletage with the palms of your hands, like you’re kneading bread. Nipples up, baby.
Eye Cream
If you’re using eye cream, then a grain of rice sized amount is ample to cover both eyes. You should tap this into your skin with your ring finger - the weakest of your fingers - to make sure you’re not tugging on delicate skin.
Make sure to apply to your brow bone and eye lid too - just be careful and check the packaging to be sure that they encourage it! You can go all the way outwards to the pressure points on your brows for a bit of massage goodness.
SPF
Chemical SPF relies on a chemical interaction with your skin cells to protect, while mineral SPF uses zinc oxide or titanium dioxide to reflect the ultraviolet rays of the sun and need to form a physical barrier - but both should be patted into skin!
For Skingredients Skin Shield SPF 50 PA +++, we suggest applying half a teaspoonful of product, and spreading it between your hands, and then patting it all over your face, neck, ears, eyes, and even your lips. Tap the product into your skin, and avoid rubbing as this can make it less reflective!
Think of your mineral SPF as your invisible barrier protecting you from sun damage - by rubbing, you can disrupt this barrier and make your SPF less reflective, which is why we discourage it! It’s important to get every single inch of your skin with your mineral SPF barrier.
Did you know that you don’t have to wait between skincare steps? It’s not like makeup - you don’t need to let any products dry before applying the next one. The only exception to this is your SPF - after you have applied this, we do recommend leaving it to dry for a minute before applying makeup!
Korean Skincare Techniques
A Korean skincare regime, you’ll be well aware, has often got a lot of steps - and sometimes, the methods which they suggest of application differ from those that we might use!
Toner is a big part of Korean skincare, but not something that I am religious about at all. In Korean skincare, this is often poured into the hand, spread between the palms and pressed into the skin, including across the eyes.
Essence, the following step, is tapped lightly into your skin, and is one of the most important steps in the routine, so if you’re interested in Korean skincare, it’s not one to skip!
And of course, sheet masks are another big part of Korean beauty, so it’s important to remember that when you take them off, you should pat the essence into your skin to make sure it’s getting all the goodness it needs/deserves!
Masques
For masques which might come in a tub, you should always use the spatula or brush provided for an even application, and to get the correct consistency sitting on your skin!
Spritz
For your spritz, there’s never a better time than right now! Spritz your skin by holding your spray about 8 inches from your face and spraying liberally, from forehead to neck!
Correct application can make a big difference to your skincare products - and since we’re all about educating you on the best way to get the most out of your skincare, it just makes sense that we would be informing you not just on portion control of your products, but the best way to get those potent ingredients into your skin cells!