Is keeping beautiful black skin flawless, your goal? Most of you were born with flawless, smooth, elastic, evenly toned, and dewy black skin . The big trick is to keep this look for as long as possible in spite of puberty, maturing hormonal changes, the ravages of sun, weather, and time. While no one can expect to look the same in middle age as in youth, it is possible to keep wrinkles at bay with a few precautions.
Start by looking at the parts of your skin that are seldom, if ever, exposed to the sun and wind. Can you detect a difference? You should be able to. Your protected skin should be smoother, creamier, and more elastic. The sun is your worst enemy and baking under its rays for an extended period of time, is your first class ticket to premature wrinkles and looking older than your years.
It is never too late to start improving your black skin and undoing the damage caused by too much sun and not enough care. You may not be able to regain the flawless black skin you were born with but you can still repair a lot of damage and halt further damage in its tracks.
Apart from avoiding too much sun and sunburn, yes Black Skin does get sunburned, the key to keeping a flawless complexion is a skin care regimen with daily moisturizing and weekly exfoliation. Whether it’s for facial skin or body skin, a moisturizer after bathing or showering can offer the best results. Select a product that will penetrate into your skin quickly and does not leave a greasy residue behind. At one time a moisturizer could be as simple as applying a thin film of petroleum jelly over damp skin.
Over the years we’ve learned that petroleum jelly is not the best choice when it comes to moisturizing your skin. Some of you preferred petroleum jelly to an elaborate and expensive cream or lotion with exotic ingredients. What ever you select just be sure to use it regularly, more often in winter.
The Skin Around Your Eyes Will Need Special Attention …
Pay special attention to the delicate skin around the eyes as this is where wrinkles are first to appear. The eye area can become dry and dark from too much sun, exposure to drying wind, or cold temperatures. When you apply a moisturizer to the eye area be careful not to get too close to your eyes. Some products can cause irritation and red eyes are hardly ever attractive. You may need a different, hypoallergenic, moisturizer for the eye area, depending on your own degree of sensitivity.
Bags, dark circles and puffiness in your eye area are also the concern of many of you. Keeping this area hydrated with an eye cream or serum is a very good idea.
Just because weekly professional facials might be out of the question for your wallet, there’s no reason why you still can’t have beautiful flawless skin. All it takes is an in-home-skin-care-regimen and a few minutes morning and evening daily. Add a little extra pampering over the weekend and you will have no trouble maintaining healthy, glowing, fresh-looking skin all by yourself.
You certainly don’t have to spend a fortune for products either. Nowadays it is possible to buy top-quality, rigorously tested, skin care products from businesses that cater to the care of dark skin complexions. Beautiful skin is no longer only for the wealthy. High price no longer means best quality and budget-conscious folks can look their best without spending hundreds of dollars per ounce for pretty packaging and a famous name.
The basics for an at-home-skin-care-regimen for flawless skin must include cleansing, moisturizing, exfoliation, and sunblock. You can add wrinkle-removing products if you need them.
Cleanse
How you clean your skin has everything to do with your skin type. If you have oily skin you can use a gel cleanser or mild soap and follow up with a light moisturizer and be done. For normal to dry skin more care must be taken. If your face feels taut or stretched after washing with soap and water, you will need a richer cleanser. Try some of the cleansing creams that leave a light coating of moisturizer behind and don’t strip out your natural oils with the dirt.
Use a circular motion with fingertips, washcloth or other cleansing aid and enough product to feel right. Pay special attention to the T-zone, across the nose and cheeks, if you have oily skin. Daily dirt can accumulate around your nostrils and settle into the pores. You want to remove this before it clogs your pores and causes blackheads.
Rinse carefully with warm water and pat dry. While your face is still damp apply the correct moisturizer for your skin type and for the time of day.
Moisturize
If all you do is clean and moisturize, you can keep your skin looking pretty good. But it is important to select the correct moisturizer for you and your skin type. Oily skin still needs a little something to lock in natural skin moisture but normal to dry skin needs more help. Select a product that is designed for your skin type and don’t be afraid to change products if you find it either too heavy or too light.
There are moisturizers designed for use during the day and others made for night use. The chief difference is that day moisturizers can contain sunblocks. There is no point is using these at night, although no harm is done.
Exfoliation
You actually do this every time you clean your face and body with a wash cloth or lather puff. However, at least once a week you should be using a special exfoliant product. This can be a body scrub or polish containing sugar, sea salt, finely ground coffee, or finely ground nut shells. Some exfoliants contain fruit acids and should be not used all the time.
Exfoliate your facial skin at least weekly, depending on your skin type. Dry skin needs special care to have a flawless appearance so if this is your skin type, use a mild exfoliant. Normal to oily skin can and probably needs a stronger product. Products with jojoba wax beads are good for facial exfoliants.
Some exfoliating products contain ground nut shells, sea salt, fine sand, or other abrasives which aid in removing dead skin cells, sloughing the top skin layer, exposing the flawless skin surface beneath. A few products are for use on the entire body but some of these are too harsh for facial skin.
Some chemical peels also do a fine job of stripping off the dead surface cells. These are generally made with fruit acids and come in a mask form. If you end up with red, blotchy skin, discontinue use of that product and never use a fruit acid exfoliant that is made from a fruit you are allergic to.
A good exfoliating product will leave your skin feeling new and smooth and leave a light coating of moisturizer behind. For Body use, these are best used in the shower and applied after cleansing the body. Start with a small amount of product and add more as you go over your entire body. Pay special attention to heels, knees, and elbows and any other rough spots. Rinse off all the granules and pat dry gently.
Sunscreens
If you regularly spend a lot of time in the sun, you could possibly end up with lots of fine lines and deep crevices. If you can’t stand the idea of not playing in the sun, then always use a sunscreen on all your exposed skin. Select one that is compatible with your skin type and level of activity and reapply often.
Those with very fair skin should choose high SPF sunscreen and also cover up and wear a wide brimmed hat. We need the sun to be healthy but too much can cause serious damage, premature wrinkling, and skin cancer.
Anti-Wrinkling Products
The good news is that lots of these really work! They contain Retinol which is available over the counter in many fine products at a reasonable price and it will help remove fine lines around your mouth and eyes. When looking for an anti-wrinkle product for your home skin care regimen, look for this ingredient. You do not need a lot of Retinol, as it will thin your skin. Make sure it’s an ingredient listed towards the middle or bottom of the list. Any higher and the formulation could be too much for your skin. Use this product at night, so that it will work while you and your skin rest.
Give It Time to Work!
Remember, like hair and nails, your skin has a set rate of growth. Don’t expect to look dramatically different after just a week of your at home skin care regimen. It takes two months to see major results. But you will gradually notice that you are looking fresher and your skin will feel a bit better every week. Once you get to your optimum, just keep up the regimen, cultivate a good habit and keep it up for the rest of your life.
Nutrition for your beautiful black flawless skin has never been easier to obtain. Let’s take a look at three popular ways of eating when it comes to healthy flawless black skin, The Mediterranean Diet, Eating Raw, and Becoming Vegan.
The Mediterranean Diet borrows its eating philosophy from Italy, Greece and France. Fresh Fish, fruits and vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, olive oil and olives are staples of the diet. Feta cheese is often part of this way of eating so if dairy is a problem, skip the feta. You can even have a little wine.
The foods found in this diet are easy to find even when you’re eating out but the allowance of dairy and wine, if not done in moderation can run the risk of weight gain.
How does the Mediterranean diet affect your beautiful black skin? Well now …
• It’s rich in olive oil which is great for your skin,
• You’ll get your Omega 3,6 & 9 fatty acids and because of this,
• Your skin will stay hydrated and plump.
That makes it a big Yes!
Eating Raw is more of a life style than a traditional diet. It consist of raw foods, unprocessed and uncooked. While your fiber intake will have you on a natural detox eating raw foods all the time, could possibly take some getting use to.
How does it affect your skin?
• The eating raw is high in essential nutrients that directly affect your skin.
• You consume vitamins, minerals and nutrients in their entirety, without any change to their molecular structure.
• This increases your blood circulation and leaves your skin with a healthy glow.
• Raw foods have high levels of antioxidants.
A word of caution: for some if you do not take in enough protein you could possibly experience dryness in your skin. Not all protein has to come from meats. So do your homework for this one.
Becoming Vegan does not allow you to consume meat, fish, poultry or any animal by -products like eggs, dairy and even honey. Becoming Vegan consist mostly of fruits, vegetables, whole grain, seeds, nuts and beans which provide you with great antioxidants.
Your skin breathes because you are not having to digest heavy foods. For some of you, this way of eating can possibly leave you with low calcium, iodine, omega 3 fatty acids and vitamins B12 and D.
What we’ve given you are choices when it comes to your eating habits. Choose wisely for who you are. What works for one person may not work for you. Always consult with your physician and a nutritionist before you drastically change the way you eat.
Is There Work In Keeping Your Beautiful Black Skin Flawless?
Absolutely! It’s rare that you’ll maintain the soft, supple beauty of the skin you were born with. Most are lucky, some have to have care from day one.
The bottom line, give yourself and your skin the best internal and external care you can afford and your skin will reward you with the beauty of a flawless complexion.
That’s it for this week. As always …
Dedicated To Your Beauty,
Juliette Samuel
Esthetician/Author/Publisher
Nyraju Skin Care