We all have few questions on the beauty products that throng our cabinet. At times, we are not sure, whether we are using it for the right purpose. Still, we don’t know whom to ask. My Health Guardian sorts all your confusions. Keep reading…1. Should I use toner or astringent?
Toners are hydrating agents and astringents dry your skin. Use should use toner to restore the skin to its natural pH state, whereas astringents control the sebum secretion on the skin. Toners are extremely useful in sultry weather like monsoon, when the skin begins to behave erratically and breaks out when you put night cream before retiring to the bed. Astringents are helpful to control the shine factor of the skin, particularly on the oily zone. You can use astringent before wearing makeup for the day during monsoon. One more thing to remember is that you use toner with finger tips and astringent with cotton ball on your face. Naturally, rose water is a good toner and tomato juice has astringent properties.
2. Is foundation suited for me or Calamine lotion?
Calmine lotion is probably India’s answer to tinted moisturiser but it has drying effects. It can be used during monsoon season, when your skin behaves strangely and the sebum glands become hyperactive. It does contain zinc oxide which provides a physical barrier against the sun, but it doesn’t offer any SPF protection. It’s good for oily skin and helps diminish scars and acne. However, you can’t substitute it for foundation, as it is available in only one shade, and if you use too much of it, your skin turns whitish. Foundation is a basic ingredient of makeup. But, it should match your skin tone. Indians have normally yellowish skin tone, and a foundation with pink hue, doesn’t gel well with the skin. Try foundation on the apple of your cheek in the broad daylight to check if it matches with your skin tone.
3. Should I use sunscreen or sun block?
Now that it’s proven that sun causes a great deal of damage on your and is responsible for signs of ageing, it makes sense to use sunblock and sunscreen. By the way these two products are different. Sunblock reflects the rays of the sun, thereby blocking it from reaching your face. Sunscreen absorbs rather than reflects ultraviolet (UV) radiation, explains a new edition of Skin Care and Repair , a Harvard Medical School report. A sunblock has zinc oxide and titanium oxide and it is highly effective in protecting against both UVA and UVB rays, the types of UV radiation that cause sunburn and skin cancer. Sunblocks often appear white on the skin. Sunscreens tend to be less visible on the skin. They usually contain benzophenones, which protect against UVA, and cinnamates and salicylates, which protect against UVB. A major drawback of these sunscreen ingredients is that they often break down after several hours of exposure to sunlight, which means you need to reapply them.
The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using sunscreen with an SPF rating of at least 15.
4. Are day creams different from night creams?
Day creams are light in texture, contain SPF and provide a perfect base for the makeup. On the other hand, night creams thicker and more consistent than the day creams. Due to the heavy structure they provide deep moisturizing effect. The ingredients used in the night cream are vitamin C, alpha hydroxy acid and retinol. When you use the night creams during the day time, your skin looks greasy and shiny, which you wouldn’t want at all. In fact, night creams overlap a lot with anti ageing creams that serve the purpose of erasing fine lines and first signs of wrinkles.
5. How body lotion differs from face moisturisers?
Body lotion has thicker consistency than face lotion. While it is true that both types of lotion are used to moisturize the skin, most people need a different level of moisturizing on the face than with the hands. This is because the facial area tends to contain sections that already exude a fair amount of natural oils. The thicker texture of hand lotion allows the product to more effectively treat the rough patches many people develop on knuckles and palms, since a residue will cling to the hands even after washing. By contrast, using this thicker lotion on the facial skin is likely to clog pores and create skin problems.