No.1 A New Routine: Swapping Your Middle School Skin Care Rules for More Mature On - Women Campus
As a middle schooler, life was tough. We had to deal with awkward friendship drama, strange bodily changes, and worst of all, we had to watch our perfect childhood skin turn into a war zone filled with pimples, blemishes and zits. I personally recall heading straight to the store with my best friend and her mom one day after school to get an entire line of skin care products to combat her acne. Nine years later, she still sticks to those same products even though her skin has changed drastically (the pesky pimples packed up and left during high school, luckily). Many of us are still using the same products we used when skin care first started becoming an issue, and we could definitely use a bathroom cabinet makeover. Read on for everything you need to know about updating your skin care routine from one fit for a middle schooler to the perfect routine for a collegiette™.
Determining Your Skin Type
All of us have different skin types, whether it's normal, oily, dry, sensitive or a combination, so there's no way that we can pick products that will work for everyone. Some of us are even still dealing with breakouts, so the harsher products that we may have used when we were younger are still necessary. "It's really important to keep reevaluating your skin over time and change your skin care products," says Alexis Wolfer, a beauty and wellness expert who is also the founder of The Beauty Bean. "Between when you enter college and when you leave college, your skin care needs change," she says. Wolfer recommends heading to a dermatologist, trying out a makeup counter or getting a facial for a professional opinion on what type of skin you have. "A lot of the time, we have a really tough time self-diagnosing, so we end up treating for what we think the average person of our needs is," she says, so make sure you find out for sure what your skin type is. Once you know exactly what you're dealing with, you can start revamping your skin care routine.
Switch Out Harsh Acne Wash for Something Milder… If You Need It
Depending on what your skin type is, you may not need to use a harsh acne wash on your face everyday. For people who have dry or sensitive skin, find a cleanser that is a bit easier on your skin, because an acne wash could dry out your face and be contributing to the lack of moisture in your skin. Neutrogena offers a very mild facial bar for dry skin, and a great gentle cleanser for sensitive skin. Both can be found at your local drug store for less than $10, so it's a perfect (and cheap!) way to update your face wash.
If your skin is a bit oily still, Neutrogena also offers a deep clean facial cleanser to help keep the oil under control. Wolfer recommends not being scared away by oil in your cleanser and to remember that sometimes some oil can be a good thing. "There are a lot of oils that can actually prevent breakouts," she says. "It's really important for people to not always be swept away by 'oil free'. When skin is dry and we over dry it, it produces more oil, so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Determining Your Skin Type
All of us have different skin types, whether it's normal, oily, dry, sensitive or a combination, so there's no way that we can pick products that will work for everyone. Some of us are even still dealing with breakouts, so the harsher products that we may have used when we were younger are still necessary. "It's really important to keep reevaluating your skin over time and change your skin care products," says Alexis Wolfer, a beauty and wellness expert who is also the founder of The Beauty Bean. "Between when you enter college and when you leave college, your skin care needs change," she says. Wolfer recommends heading to a dermatologist, trying out a makeup counter or getting a facial for a professional opinion on what type of skin you have. "A lot of the time, we have a really tough time self-diagnosing, so we end up treating for what we think the average person of our needs is," she says, so make sure you find out for sure what your skin type is. Once you know exactly what you're dealing with, you can start revamping your skin care routine.
Switch Out Harsh Acne Wash for Something Milder… If You Need It
Depending on what your skin type is, you may not need to use a harsh acne wash on your face everyday. For people who have dry or sensitive skin, find a cleanser that is a bit easier on your skin, because an acne wash could dry out your face and be contributing to the lack of moisture in your skin. Neutrogena offers a very mild facial bar for dry skin, and a great gentle cleanser for sensitive skin. Both can be found at your local drug store for less than $10, so it's a perfect (and cheap!) way to update your face wash.
If your skin is a bit oily still, Neutrogena also offers a deep clean facial cleanser to help keep the oil under control. Wolfer recommends not being scared away by oil in your cleanser and to remember that sometimes some oil can be a good thing. "There are a lot of oils that can actually prevent breakouts," she says. "It's really important for people to not always be swept away by 'oil free'. When skin is dry and we over dry it, it produces more oil, so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."
