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Health and Fitness

Apply skin products carefully to realize full potential

By Dr. Lawrence Samuels
The order in which you apply your skin care products and the way in which you apply them  is extremely important to realizing a product’s full potential.
An important first step is cleansing the skin. Cleansing removes dead skin cells, dirt, oil and bacteria from the skin and adjusts the skin’s pH, based on the specific cleanser.  The skin has a pH of about 4.5 making the use of a pH-adjusted, liquid cleanser with a pH close to that of the skin important.  Proper cleansing enhances the benefit of any skin care product.
The next product to be applied first after cleansing should be a restorative or rejuvenating product, such as a serum.  Serums are generally composed of small, molecular-size active ingredients that allow for greater penetration into the skin.  If other products are to be applied following the reparative or rejuvenating product, you should wait about 2-3 minutes before applying the next product.
Again, the use and sequence of products used in combination is important.  The next product to be used following a reparative or rejuvenating product would be antioxidant creams or lotions (rejuvenating-type products).  It is important to remember that all true antioxidant skin care products work best with night time application as they are oxidized by UV rays making them less effective if used during the day.  You should always wait 2-3 minutes after the application of the antioxidant before another product is applied.
A reparative cream or lotion can be used after the application of an antioxidant skin care product.  Again, wait 2-3 minutes after application if other products such as a peptide cream, moisturizer, sunscreen or makeup are to be applied.
Eye and facial creams with small peptides help to rebuild collagen and elastin in the skin. These products may be the only product applied in an area such as around the eye and  may be applied over the  serum product, after 2-3 minutes.  These types of rebuilding products should be used before the application of a broad-spectrum moisturizer and makeup.
The next product to be applied would be a moisturizer, keeping in mind that a protein moisturizer should be applied first if a protein moisturizer and an occlusive moisturizer are used together.  If a moisturizer is used in the morning, it should contain adequate sunscreen protection.  If there is no sunscreen protection in the moisturizer, wait 2-3 minutes after applying the moisturizer to apply sunscreen. As a general rule, the sunscreen protection in makeup is not adequate to protect against both UVA and UVB rays.
Your face is now ready for you to apply your makeup.
About Rx Systems PF
Rx Systems PF® was established in 1996 by Dr. Lawrence E. Samuels, a board-certified dermatologist who saw the need for skin and hair care products that were easy to use, affordable and effective. Rx Systems PF products are sold at selected retailers nationwide and online at www.rxsystemspf.com.