With spring just around the corner, getting your skin back to it’s glowing glory is much easier, and with summer holidays following shortly after the arrival of spring, it is all about getting your skin back into shape, along with all those wobbly bits that seemed to appear over the festive season! A great way to start getting your skin ready for spring is to invest in a hydrating face mask, which will give your skin a much needed moisturising drink. There are some fantastic masks available, some of which smell good enough to eat!

Elemis Exotic Cream Moisturising Mask

This mask is one of the ones that smells good enough to eat. It’s rich creamy texture makes it a pleasure to apply, and it feels amazing as it sits on your skin, in fact you can almost feel it feeding your skin with it’s creamy goodness.  It almost seems a shame to have to remove this divine smelling mask, and it’s smell is guaranteed to have you coming back for more on a regular basis. It’s results are noticeable instantly, with skin left feeling soft and silky for days afterwards.

Origins Make a Difference Sheet Mask

Origins Make a Difference Sheet Mask is a hydrating mask with a difference. Their ingenious design takes all the mess out of applying a face mask, and all you have to do is lay one of the gorgeous smelling pre-soaked cloths over your face and lie back and relax. They leave your skin feeling refreshed and revived the next day, and you won’t have any stray bits of face mask that you missed when you washed it off, lurking in your hair.

Trilogy Ultra Hydrating Masque

This mask is packed with things for organic product lovers. It is cooling and soothing the moment it is applied, and smells lovely and fresh. With a lovely blend of natural ingredients, it makes you feel like you are giving your skin the treat it deserves after the long cold winter, and you can almost feel your skin taking a long,  hard-earned drink from this refreshing mask.

All of these masks promise to make your skin look and feel fresher and softer, and while the results differ slightly between them, they all live up to their claims. While the results may not last for longer than a week, they are a great way to start repairing and replenishing your skin after the long cold winter. Using a hydrating face mask once a week, or once a fortnight, depending on your skin type, will go a long way to helping bring back the natural balance of your skins moisture levels. Of course, you will need to combine this with a good skincare regime, using your regular skin care cream to keep your skin looking and feeling healthy all day long.

As winter draws nearer, and our summer holidays are starting to fade in our memories, finding a skin care cream that can give our skin a little bit of a glow becomes a priority for many of us. There is nothing worse than looking back over your holiday pictures to see yourself tanned and smiling, only to realise that your tan has faded to nothing, and your skin is starting to look a bit dull and lack lustre. This is where self tanning moisturisers step in to save the day, they have been around for a couple of years now, stepping in to rescue those of us who have either fallen foul of a shocking fake tan, or who have seen enough shocking fake tans to not even want to think about giving it a go. Self tanning moisturiser claim to allow you to build up a lovely golden glow, with no risk of streaks, patches or strange orange hues gracing you with their presence.

There are many different gradual tan moisturisers on the market now, with more appearing as their popularity increased, so the question now is which one is the best. Let’s take a look at some of the main players in the self tan moisturiser market to see how they perform.

Garnier Summer Body

This comes in two different shades, one for pale to medium skin and one for medium to dark skin so you can decide on your tan level. It smells quite sweet, and may even get a bit sickly if you are not one for sweet smells, but this does fade so it’s of no great concern. It’s a lovely moisturiser and goes on very easily, although you can’t really see where you have applied it as it is white, and absorbs very quickly. Garnier summer body has a nice consistency, which makes it very easy to apply and within about 5 minutes it feels like it has soaked in and there is no sticky “fake tan” feeling. It does give a good, even colour, with no hint of orange, and doesn’t really need to be used every day as the colour builds quickly and easily – you could probably get away with using it 2 or 3 times a week and maintain a lovely tanned glow.

Dove Summer Glow

This also has two different shades, fair to medium and medium to dark. It smells OK, although does have a little hint of fake tan smell about it, but nothing to overpowering. It goes on very easily, but again it is difficult to see where you have applied it as it is a pinky/white cream that disappears on application. The drying time seems to be a bit of an issue with this one, and it says on the bottle not to get dressed until the moisturiser has soaked in, which it never quite seems to do. There is a definite feeling of stickiness left over, and this doesn’t really go until you have showered. The colour is nice, but if you don’t apply enough then you are in danger of getting streaks, and of course you won’t know this until the next day. Still a good product, but needs to be treated with similar caution as full on fake tan – exfoliate and moisturise before applying, paying particular attention to dry areas such as knees and elbow to make sure they don’t go orange.

Johnsons Holiday Skin

This also comes in two shades, fair to medium and normal to darker. With the distinct smell of fake tan it can be a little overpowering, but if you use it at night then only you will be able to smell it! This goes on very nicely, although as with all these products it is a white cream so you cna’t really see where you have applied it. The moisturising aspect of Johnsons Holiday Skin is great, it leaves your skin feeling wonderuflly soft and silky. The colour however isn’t so hot. Unfortunately it seems to rub off on clothes and towels etc. after application, so not something to put on first thing in the morning if you are intending to wear light clothes. It is also a bit on the sticky side, although this does wear off after a couple of hours. It does give a lovely golden tan, but seems to go a bit streaky/patchy if you use it for a few days in a row, and starts to build up a bit of an orange hue. Definitely one to use two or three times a week, before going to bed so you can restrict the dodgy smell and colour transference to your bed.

Out of these three it seems to be Garnier Summer Body that delivers the best results, with minimal smell, stickiness and risk of streaks and for a reasonable price too – all of these self tan moisturisers retail at around £4, although you will find many shops have great offers on them from time to time, so if you have found one you really like then snapping up a couple of bottles while it is on offer is a good idea. If you are looking for a nice glow throughout the winter, and don’t want to subject your skin to sunbeds or risk a full fake tan, than you could do far worse than investing in a good bottle of skin care cream that lets you build up a tan as you moisturise.

]]> http://www.bestskincarecream.com/self-tan-moisturisers-skin-care-cream-with-a-twist/feed/ 0 http://www.bestskincarecream.com/skin-care-cream-for-dry-and-dehydrated-skin/ http://www.bestskincarecream.com/skin-care-cream-for-dry-and-dehydrated-skin/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:25:53 +0000 Admin http://www.bestskincarecream.com/skin-care-cream-for-dry-and-dehydrated-skin/ When choosing a skin care cream it is important to choose the right cream for your skin type. Many people turn to face creams when they feel they are suffering from dry or dehydrated skin. Understanding what causes your skin to feel dry and how best to treat it is the first step in getting the right skin care cream for your needs.

Dry skin and dehydrated skin are actually two very different things. Dry skin results from external factors such as sun exposure, pollution or wind chaffing. Dehydrated skin is a result of an internal factor, and that is dehydration. It is so important to make sure you are consuming enough fluids throughout the day, not only to keep your body functioning well, but also to make sure your skin stays soft, supple and youthful looking. No amount of cream will be able to remedy skin that is actually being dehydrated from the outside, it will simply improve the surface appearance of your skin for a while as it is unable to give your skin cells the water they so desperately need on the inside.

Dry skin however, can really benefit from a lovely rich moisturiser, preferably one that will soothe your skin as it moisturises. Depending on just how dry your skin is there are varying levels of cream that will be able to help bring your skin back to it’s full glory. If you are experiencing dry skin as a result in the change of seasons, when summer ends and central heating comes on, leaving your skin feeling dry and sore, then you want to start using a slightly richer moisturiser on a daily basis in order to restore your skins moisture and protect it from the elements. It is best not to switch straight from a summer moisturiser to a winter one as it may well be too heavy for your skin and block pore, resulting in spots which isn’t the idea! Instead opt for a mid-level moisturiser, if in doubt opt for something that states it is suitable for normal to dry skin, so you can give your skin an extra boost without overloading it.

Another great skin care cream to help you get dry skin re-moisturised is night cream. Night creams are traditionally much heavier than day creams as they are designed to be applied after cleansing and left on overnight, when no make-up need to be applied over them. Night creams are very rich, but can work wonders on dry skin, giving you noticeably softer skin the first morning after use.

If you feel your skin needs more than just a moisturiser, then there are some wonderful blended skin oils designed for facial skincare. Many people believe that oils are far too rich to be used on their faces, but in fact there are many oils that are perfect to rehydrate and condition tired, dry facial skin without causing oily looking skin or blocked pores. You may have to use a little bit of trial and error when finding the right skin care cream for your winter skin care regime, but remember that it can take around 4-6 weeks for your skin to adjust to a new product so don’t be too quick to dismiss something you feel isn’t working.

Hand cream has become something that many women can’t do without, it is almost a ritual to apply hand cream after every visit to the bathroom, or after doing washing up. It’s also a great excuse to take a break from whatever you are doing to rub some hand cream on, and it’s quite therapeutic to just stop and massage your hands for a few seconds.

There are some wonderful skin care creams for hands available, some of them sound almost good enough to eat!  Like face creams, they come in different levels of intensity so you can choose which one suits you best. There is nothing worse than having slimy, greasy feeling hands after applying hand cream, and finding you are leaving greasy fingerprints on everything you touch. While hands do need a good quality cream to help keep them moisturised, they don’t need to be slathered in overly-rich cream all the time, there is just no point. You just need to keep the balance of the skin on your hands right, so they don’t feel tight and dry and like the skin is going to crack if you clench your fist. You might find you need a stronger moisturiser in the winter when hands get cold and skin tends to dry out quicker.

A little bonus of using hand cream is that your nails get nourished at the same time, some creams are marketed as hand and nail creams, as they contain some extra nutrients to help keep your nails strong and healthy, after all nails suffer just as much as skin when it comes to detergents. While hand cream isn’t to everyone’s taste, giving a little thought to the condition of your hands can’t go amiss, even if you only apply cream once or twice a day, the skin on your hands will be grateful for it and you will see the benefits.

There are other factors that can add to us having a less than rosy complexion, such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, dehydration and lack of sleep.  All these things attack our skin not just from the outside but the inside too. Dehydrated skin is going to look thin and dull, and this can’t be cured with any kind of miracle cream, drinking water is essential to the health of our skin.

If you are making sure you have a good diet and are drinking plenty of water then your skin is going to be in good condition on the inside, you can then focus on helping your skin look it’s best by giving it some extra care on the outside. Many creams contain vitamins and anti-oxidants that can help smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and can boost the appearance of your complexion, or if you feel your skin needs a little more help there are some brilliant skin oils that can give dry skin a much needed boost.

It is important to understand there is a difference between dehydrated skin and dry skin. Dehydrated skin cannot be made better with any kind of cream or oil as it needs moisture from the inside, it it the actual cells that form the structure of your skin that are in need of moisture which can only come from inside i.e. drink water. Dry skin is skin that has suffered at the hands of the elements and pollution and can be helped with skin care creams as it is the outside of the skin that needs help.
Using a good skin care cream that matches your skins needs is a great step towards helping slow the aging process, making sure you look and feel great about your skin and how it is representing you – after all your face is one of the first things people see when they interact with you.

If you are just looking for a simple moisturiser then it is worth looking for something that is either very low or completely free of chemicals. Using blended oils can be wonderful for your skin, for instance sweet almond oil with tea tree oil for skin prone to spots. You could also use a specialist oil such as Bio-Oil which is designed to hydrate and nourish skin while improving the appearance of blemishes, mixing this with a little tea tree oil for problem skin or a little lavender oil for sensitive skin will give you a lovely natural moisturiser. It is important not to use neat aromatherapy oils on your skin as they can be too harsh, so always blend them with a carrier oil, even olive oil can be used.

It is also worth considering making your own face scrubs and masks, these can easily be rustled up using some basic ingredients from your kitchen such as honey & milk for a moisturising mask, or mixing some ground almonds with a little milk and honey for a gentle face scrub. The possibilities are endless, and using such natural products gives your skin a break from artificial cleansers and moisturisers. It is also a really good way to save some money!

Many companies are cottoning on to the fact that people are shying away from chemically loaded products and more and more products are appearing on the shelves that are advertising the fact they are free from things such as parabens, and use organic ingredients as far as is possible. It is always worth looking at baby care ranges for products that contain minimal amounts of chemicals as they are designed for much more sensitive skin, there are some wonderful creams that are made things such as olive oil, lavender oil and chamomile, designed for soothing babies bottoms that also work wonders on faces!

]]> http://www.bestskincarecream.com/natural-skin-care-creams/feed/ 0 http://www.bestskincarecream.com/anti-aging-skin-care-cream/ http://www.bestskincarecream.com/anti-aging-skin-care-cream/#comments Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:07:51 +0000 Admin http://www.bestskincarecream.com/?p=6 Some of the most popular skin care creams on the market are anti-aging. With promises of turning back the clock by reducing fine lines and wrinkles and improving skin tone and complexion it is no wonder so many people buy them. The question is do they really work and if so how well?

Our skin is subjected to a daily torrent of pollution, sun, wind, rain and chemicals all of which contribute to the aging process. Add to that alcohol and smoking and our skin is beginning to fight a losing battle. Now prevention is of course better than cure, so establishing a good skincare regime in your late teens early twenties is much more important than most of us appreciate. Of course by the time you realise that you should be taking more care of your skin it is too late, as it will no doubt be the appearance of fine lines or perhaps a dull complexion that alerts you to the fact your skin needs help!

Most anti-aging creams will contain “active ingredients” such as retinol, Q-10 or anti-oxidants and it is not uncommon to find creams containing all of these and more. There are mixed opinions on whether these creams actually live up to their claims, and while most of them do produce some improvement in fine lines and wrinkles when used consistently over a period of time this effect is not always long lasting and can wear off when use of the skin care cream is discontinued. The only way to have a really noticeable effect on skin condition is to undergo a slightly more radical procedures such as a chemical peel which can be done using Alpha Hydroxy Acids or AHA’s for short. AHA’s can be found in many skin care creams and while they can provide a boost to your complexion when used in a cream they produce their best results in their concentrated form as a face peel as they literally take a layer of skin off leaving the new, fresh skin underneath exposed while stimulating the skins circulation and regeneration at the same time.

An important thing to look out for in all skin care creams, not just anti-aging creams is the sun protection factor. Ideally you should aim for a cream with a factor 15 or higher in order to get the full benefits of it, especially if you are using an anti-aging or anti-wrinkle cream as there is no point using a cream to help fight the effects of aging, of which the sun is a big cause, if you are not going to start taking preventative action at the same time.  There is only so much a face cream can do for you, the rest is up to you to take care of. Make sure you are eating enough fresh fruit and vegetable and most importantly of all drinking lots of water – dehydration is your skins worst enemy leaving it looking dull and tired, properly hydrated skin will feel plump and healthy whereas dehydrated skin will feel thin and papery. No amount of skin care cream can make you look good if you are dehydrated as skin moisture has to start from the inside.

The first thing to decide is why you are buying a new face cream. Has your old one run out or are you just looking for something new? Perhaps you have seen an advert that has caught your eye and you would like to try it. So many of us are guilty of having pots of half-used cream on our dresser, most of which will go off before we get round to finishing them off.  Try to stick to one cream at a time (two if you like to use night cream) so that you will get the full benefit of it, and of course won’t waste half of it!  It takes your skin a while to adapt to new face creams, roughly speaking our skin regenerates every 6 weeks, so until you have used a cream for a minimum of 6 weeks you won’t see the full benefit of it.

If you definitely do need a new cream, then what do you want from it? Are you going for anti-aging, wrinkle reducing, complexion improving or just simple moisturising – there are many creams that offer more than one benefit, so have a shop round and see what can give you all you want and maybe more. The one thing that you should always make sure you skin care cream contains is a sunscreen, unless of course it’s night cream!  Ideally you should opt for factor 15 as a minimum, even on cloudy days your skin is getting hit with UV rays that will only speed up the aging process.

If money is no object then the range of creams available to you will be endless, so once you know what you want from your cream you are ready to go and spend! For those that have a budget it may actually be easier to find the product you want as you will have limitations on the range you are looking at. It is worth remembering that a high price doesn’t necessarily equate to a good quality cream, many budget brands actually contain the same ingredients as their more expensive competitors but are just in less fancy packaging, so don’t dismiss them out of hand before you begin.

It is also worth having a look online for reviews of skin care creams, it is always good to read other peoples opinions of creams, especially the more pricey ones before you jump in yourself, it may be that you can save yourself some money by doing a bit of research first.