We all want to have healthy youthful skin and in order to achieve this it's important to have the right skin care regime and products that will provide you the benefits you desire.  In today's blog I’m sharing with you some of the common skin care mistakes people make to help provide some guidance on how you can avoid these and make better choices. Top Common Skin Care Mistakes: 1. You pick your skin care line based on media hype. Did you select the line you are using based on how popular it is in the media? This is a common mistake. Remember the quality of a skin care line and it's benefits is not a reflection of how many TV ad's or magazines it has been featured in. TIP: Pick a product based on it's authentic ingredients and track record of working to offer benefits to the skin vs how many times you have seen the advertisement on TV. 2. You are skipping key steps in your skin care regime: i. Cleansing. Soap is a big no no!  If you want to care for your skin naturally, you should opt for using a proper skin care cleanser. The cleanser you use should be free of sulfates and other synthetic detergents, mineral oil, fragrance, alcohol, and ingredients derived from petrochemicals. These are all very drying to the skin and can cause irritation as well as loss of moisture. As we transition from one season to another (example; summer to fall/winter) it's important to consider changing your cleanser. For example if you tend to get dry and irritated skin during the colder months opt for a cleanser to use during this time that contains natural oil such as olive, apricot kernel, or jojoba. A natural creamy based cleanser that is free of synthetic detergents is a good choice. If your skin is oily/acne prone try to avoid a cleanser that contains sulfates and alcohol as these will cause areas of dryness on the skin. ii. You Don't Exfoliate. The surface of the skin accumulates dry, dead skin cells and impurities. Not removing these can lead to a dull complexion, dehydration of the skin, skin irritations and uneven skin tone/texture. Exfoliation should be done an average 2 to 3 times per week depending on skin type. For the body exfoliation especially for those with dry skin is an important step to incorporate at least twice a week. For body care steer aware from sugar and salt scrubs that are very course as these can cause skin irritations. For facial care choose exfoliation products created with gentle natural grains such as apricot seed powder(vs ground shells), mineral clays, fruit enzymes, jojoba beads. These will gently remove the accumulated cells without aggravating the skin. For those with sensitive or acne prone skin that cannot use any scrub on their skin, choosing a product that contains a natural fruit enzyme (pineapple or papaya for example) will gently dissolve dry/dead skin cells that have accumulated without you having to use a product containing exfoliation grains 3. You chose a product just because it's Organic. The word organic is used quite often as a marketing gimmick and in some cases doesn’t really have much to do with benefits to the skin. In some cases it's not as important if a ingredient used in the skin care product is organic or not vs how the ingredient is processed. Make your product selections based on proven benefits. Trying it for 1 to 2 weeks should give you a clear idea if the product actually works for you. 4. For those with acne prone skin - You chose products that get rid of the acne by drying it out vs healing it which is a common mistake. Many products made for acne prone skin contain ingredients such as Salicylic acid and Benzoyl peroxide. While these can help to reduce acne they also create areas of dryness as well. It's best for those with acne prone skin to select products that are free of these ingredients as well as alcohol. Opt for products needed daily that heal the skin by acting as a natural anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory. Ingredients such as; vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, floral waters, fresh seaweed, witch hazel, toning plant extracts such as green tea, and gentle mineral clays are some examples of ingredients that can gently heal the acne without drying the skin. 5.   Moisturizing Myths - It's important to moisturizer daily but many people pick moisturizers that contain ingredients which can actually be drying to the skin. Ingredients such as beeswax, mineral oil, propylene glycol, fragrance, and many others are commonly used in moisturizer which should be avoided. If you have dry skin, select a moisturizer that has been created with natural cold pressed oils such as; olive, jojoba, sweet almond. To target signs of age a moisturizer contain quality anti-oxidants in the right forms such as vitamin c(l-ascorbic acid, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate) , vitamin e(d-alpha tocopherol), green tea, acai, retinol to name a few. 6.  Professional Facials:  Another common skin care mistake is to avoid getting a professional facial. Everyone is watching their spending these days so getting a spa facial may not be a top priority depending on your budget. It is recommended that you try and incorporate a professional spa facial at least once at the beginning on a new season.  If possible try to get a professional facial once every 2 to 3months. For those with dry and mature skin types a professional facial can help to remove additional accumulated dry/dead skin cells and use products/technique which allows certain ingredients in the products to penetrate further into the skin where repair and renewal can take place. For this skin type including a procedure called microdermabrasion into the spa facial is recommended. For those with oily or acne prone skin that contain large pores, blackheads and frequent breakouts a professional facial is important to remove the blockages and black or white heads and to provide healing for the acne. Another benefit in having a spa facial is the person conducting the facial would be a qualified and certified esthetician(make sure of this before you book the treatment). Someone with this background can provide you guidance on what type of products would be best suited for your skin type. 7.  Body Care - A big mistake people make when caring for their skin is to address just the skin on the face and not treat the skin on the body. The skin on the body is prone to signs of age, uneven texture, cellulite, dryness, and other skin concerns. It's important to properly cleanse, exfoliate and moisturize the body daily using the tips above. Another great step to add to your weekly body care regime is dry brushing as this helps to stimulate circulation and improve skin's tone/texture. I should add that one of the top common mistakes many make is to not wear sunscreen and to also not using the right SPF. Remember that even during the colder months when it's sunny out sunscreen should still be worn. There are more natural sunscreen's available often at your local health food/vitamin stores. Well I could go on and on but I will leave you with these above tips and do hope that you have found them helpful. Remember if you have any questions, comments please feel free to post them here and I will respond. Thank you. Sherina.