Build your Skin Care Routine

Healthy skin doesn’t happen overnight. A consistent skin care routine is essential to optimize your skin’s health, fortify its defenses and maximize your results. The Spa Serenity team have come up with some guidelines to help you make sure you are using the best products for your face and body for the new year. We love our Emincene Skin Care, Farm House Fresh Body Care and of course PCA Skin Care Line in Pause Facial Bar.

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Skin Care Steps

To select a skin care routine, we highly recommend booking a facial with a knowledgeable, certified professional at Spa Serenity or any of the Baraboo or Wisconsin Dells area spas . Our Estheticians have the experience and training to recommend professional treatments that boost your results as well as educated guidance for your home skin care routine.

To enhance your knowledge, we’ve compiled the essential steps for a skin care routine as well as additional recommendations tailored to your unique skin type and concerns.

1. Cleanse | Twice per day, morning and night.
A thorough cleanse clears your skin of oil and debris that can lead to clogged pores and dullness. It also prepares your complexion for further treatment, making it easier for your skin to absorb the beneficial ingredients in the rest of your routine.

2. Tone: Essence, Facial Mist or Toner | Twice per day, morning and night.
Toning completes the cleansing process by conditioning your skin and adding beneficial vitamins and minerals to your complexion. Unlike alcohol-based toners of the past, today’s toners, essences and facial mists support the effectiveness of your cleanser by adding replenishing ingredients that support your skin’s health. Cleansing and toning work together like shampoo and conditioner: Both steps help keep the skin as healthy as possible.

3. Exfoliate | Once or twice per week.
Exfoliating is essential to encourage healthy skin cell turnover, eliminate buildup and relieve pore congestion. Exfoliants comprise gentle chemical, enzymatic and physical varieties for home care, as well as more potent peels and treatments which must be administered by a professional. We recommend consulting with your esthetician to determine the best approach for your skin type and concerns.

4. Mask | Once or twice per week.
An additional treatment to indulge in is a face mask. Face masks contain high amounts of concentrated vitamins and nutrient-rich ingredients which absorb efficiently into the skin, making it appear healthy and resilient. In addition to their hydrating and firming benefits, masks can be used to control more persistent skin concerns like acne, large pores and dark spots.

5. Treat: Serum, Concentrate or Facial Oil | Twice per day, morning and night.
Your daily routine should include a serum, concentrate or facial oil. These potent formulas contain concentrated amounts of active ingredients to target concerns and neutralize the effects of environmental stressors.

6. Eye Care | Twice per day, morning and night.
Some areas require a lighter touch. The skin around your eye area is seven times thinner than the rest of your face and needs to be treated with special care. Regular eye cream application not only maintains the health, thickness and elasticity of this delicate area, it also reduces the look of fine lines, wrinkles, dark circles and puffiness.

How To Customize Your Skin Care Routine

Once you have mastered the basics, you and your esthetician can customize a routine for your particular skin type and concerns. This will determine the type of product you choose for each step of your skin care routine.

Skin Types

Skin types are determined by genetics. Your genes determine the amount of oil your sebaceous glands produce, the size of your pores and the texture of your skin. Each of these factors contributes to the overall dryness or oiliness of your complexion. While your skin type cannot be changed, it can be easily managed with proper skin care.

Skin types generally fall into one of five variations:

Normal Skin

“Normal” skin is best described as well-balanced. It has even moisture and hydration and uniform texture, with small pores and no apparent problem areas. Those with normal skin types may experience occasional dryness or oiliness as well as the odd breakout. Overall, normal skin looks and feels healthy but may experience mild dryness or oiliness as well as the occasional breakout, particularly when exposed to environmental stress.

For this reason, a normal skin care routine should focus on keeping skin healthy and protected. In addition to fortifying the skin with antioxidants, make minor adjustments to your routine depending on concerns and conditions of the moment. During periods of dryness, opt for products aimed toward dry skin; for oiliness and/or breakouts, choose products that will balance your complexion and target blemishes.

Dry Skin

Dry skin produces less oil than normal complexions. This skin type lacks the lipids needed to retain moisture and keep skin soft and supple. Skin feels dry and tight, and flakes sometimes appear on the cheeks, chin and forehead. Those with dry skin often have nearly invisible pores and may display more prominent fine lines around the eye and lip contour areas.

It is important to use moisture-rich products like oil or cream cleansers and daily moisturizers to replenish skin throughout the day as well as a rich night cream to repair skin while you sleep. Weekly moisturizing masks are also advised to plump and soften skin as well as reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Oily Skin

Oily Skin

Unlike dry skin, oily skin has overactive sebaceous glands which produce an excess of sebum. While sebum is necessary to lubricate skin and keep its moisture barrier intact, overproduction can lead to an oily complexion that has visible pores and is prone to spots and blemishes. Fine lines and wrinkles do not show as easily on this skin type, but it does need to be maintained to prevent breakouts and control shine.

The goal for an oily skin care routine is to control excess oil and maintain skin’s hydration. When dehydrated, skin will react by producing more oil; you can counteract this activity by hydrating skin with a lightweight moisturizer containing humectants like botanical hyaluronic acid. Also, consider adding an oil cleanser to your skin care routine. While it may seem counterintuitive, the oil in the cleanser will attract excess sebum, allowing you to rinse it away without stripping your skin.

Combination Skin

Combination skin is characterized by non-uniform oil production and appears neither overly dry nor oily. With more active oil glands in the T-zone and less active glands elsewhere, combination skin will tend towards oiliness on the forehead, jaw and nose, and dryness on the cheeks, jawline and hairline.

The best approach for combination skin care is often to divide and conquer, treating different parts of the face with different products and techniques. For morning, a gentle foaming cleanser will absorb excess oil. At night, a cream-based cleanser will replenish lost moisture. Multi-masking can be extremely beneficial for combination skin. This skin care technique involves applying two or more face masks, such as a clay-based mask and a cream-based mask, to different areas of the face so that multiple concerns are addressed at once.

Sensitive Skin

Sensitive skin is quite common and, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, affects 50% of people. This skin type has fine pores, can be easily irritated and is prone to redness. Often, it will react negatively to poor lifestyle habits, climate and weather changes, hormonal imbalances and harsh cosmetic ingredients.

With its wide variety of symptoms, sensitive skin does not manifest the same way for everyone, and its severity and frequency can vary. In general, sensitive skin should be treated with gentle and soothing skin care products that will heal skin and relieve symptoms. Opt for gentle peels to exfoliate without exacerbating sensitivity, and reach for calming natural and organic ingredients like chamomile and calendula to comfort reactive skin.

The Spa Serenity Team is looking forward to assisting our clients in helping in selecting the ideal skin care products for this winter season or year round. We love our Skin Care products and want to make sure you are finding the right products so you LOVE them too.

If you love Skin care as much as we do, mark your calendars for Tuesday, June 20th for the Spa Serenity Skin Care Event, a glam evening full of skin care knowledge, cocktails and Entertainment. Tickets will be available May 1st.