Your Best Skin: 4 Basic Steps.

Welcome to 2011.  My, how the time flies!

With the new year, one of my main focuses will be that of better skin. When it comes down to beauty, it all begins with proper skin care.  Over the next few months, I plan to do a big highlight on many different skin care products. I have been testing so many - eye creams, neck creams, body creams, serums, moisturizers, masks, along with some of the newest beauty tools. In my exploring, I hope to make it easier for you to find you next favorite skin care item (or items) to make your skin the best it can be.

Let's start with the basics, without talking specific products right now.  There are 4 steps to basic skin care.

1. CLEANSING - Your skin has to be clean to be healthy, so cleansing is key. You need to find a good cleanser that works for your skin type, and you need to cleanse your skin once or twice a day, depending on its condition.
2. EXFOLIATION - In order to keep skin glowing, you need to continually help remove the top layer of dead skin cells that dull your complexion. A once a week exfoliation will do the trick, whether it be through the use of a scrub, mask or peel.
3. MOISTURIZING - No matter what your skin type, you need to lock moisture in to make it look and feel its best. Finding the right type of moisturizer can be tricky, depending on it's needs. Not enoough moisture, your skin will fell tight, while too much can lead to clogged pores and oily looking skin.
4. PROTECTING - I cannot express this enough: sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen. The UV light we get from the sun causes more aging to our skin than anything else. IN order to protect and prevent this damage, a sunscreen of at least an SPF of 15, each and every day will help more than you know.

I will be featuring products for these basics and beyond. I hope you join in and tell me about your experiences with the products I feature and even let me know about your favorites too.