Skin care – how to properly care for your skin

Good skin care maintains and regenerates the natural protective mechanisms and functions of the skin while also improving general well-being.

Why skin care at all?

Our skin is much more than just an organ. It is the first thing others see of our body and therefore also a kind of advertisement for our lifestyle. To understand why skin care is important, it helps to take a look at the surface of the skinand how skincare products work.

The physiology of the skin

The human skin is covered at its outermost layer by a so-called hydro-lipid film. This natural protective layer of sweat components, sebum and water ensures a balanced skin microbiome. Keratin molecules and various proteins are also part of the hydro-lipid film. With a pH value between four and six, the film forms a natural barrier that protects the skin from harmful influences.

The exact composition of the hydro-lipid film depends on several factors, for example genetic predisposition, skin type, nutrition, environmental influences and the individual stress level. However, the most crucial factor is age. With increasing age, the body’s own production of sweat, sebum and collagen decreases. In addition, the skin releases less water to the hydro-lipid film and the skin becomes drier, thinner and more sensitive. The suppleness of the skin is lost, it often feels tight and occasionally itches. In the long term, small wrinkles form, which get bigger and bigger over time.

A healthy diet and balancing out stress can significantly alleviate this process. However, genetic or age-related changes in the outer protective layer of the skin require additional skin care in order to replace and regenerate damaged or lost parts of the protective layer. The same applies to environmental factors that cannot be controlled, such as cold air, which can quickly dry out normal skin.

This is how skincare products work

Depending on the desired function of the respective care product, it is applied to different effective areas of the skin. As a rule, externally applied creams, lotions and serums act on the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. The dense cell network of this skin layer forms a protective barrier against penetrating germs and other foreign particles, also against the ingredients of skin care products. This defense function of the skin is used by care products to additionally protect the skin against dehydration and UV radiation with certain ingredients. Certain ingredients start at the hydro-lipid film and try to support the natural function of the microbiome. With innovative technology, some ingredients can also reach the lower layers of the skin and positively influence the moisture content there and optimally counteract signs of aging such as wrinkles and dark circles under the eyes.

Cleansing is also a part of skin care

A prerequisite for effective skin care is careful and gentle cleansing at the beginning of every care routine, because our skin is exposed to a lot of pollution every day. In addition to make-up smallest particles of fine dust, dirt or pollen are deposited on the skin throughout the day. In addition, due to the constant regeneration of the epidermis, dead skin cells remain on the skin’s surface and the skin continuously secretes excess sebum and sweat.

As the first step in the skin care routine, these impurities should be removed before any skincare products are applied. It is particularly important to clean the face and hands, because both are unprotected by clothing and particularly affected by harmful environmental influences.

Cleansing products

There are countless products for cleansing the body and face, most of which promise pore-deep cleansing and radiant skin.

Curd soap is the classic for body cleansing. The sodium salt product typically has a fatty acid content of 72 to 75 percent. Its cleaning characteristics come from surfactants that reduce surface tension and thereby dissolve fats. With a pH value above 7, curd soap is alkaline and can cause skin irritation on the mucous membranes. It can also degrease the skin.

Similar to the well-tried soap, most cleansing products, such as washing syndets, facial tonics or special cleansing creams, are based on surfactants and sometimes with alcohol. When choosing cleaning products, you should also pay attention to the additional functions. Ideally, the cleansing should not dry out the skin but already care for it with rehydration and refatting, for example with panthenol, sorbitol or urea.

A particularly good example of really pore-deep cleansing that is skin-friendly and very well tolerated by all skin types is the CLEANSING TONER from AgeLine^®. The high-quality care product is free from parabens, perfume, silicone and other questionable ingredients. It deeply cleanses the skin and optimally prepares it for treatment with serums and creams.

How to properly care for your skin

Long-term effective skin care includes the right products on the one hand and regularity on the other. Especially those who shower daily or tend to have blemished skin should pamper their skin with daily care. Because hot water in combination with soap or shower gel can dry out the skin and attack the skin microbiome, only slightly warm water should be used for facial cleansing and gentle care and cleaning products without unnecessary perfumes.

Instead of coarse-grained peelings that put excessive strain on the skin, it is advisable to use milder products such as a cleansing milk, a mild cleansing gel or a gentle cleansing mask.

What to look out for when buying skincare products

Which ingredients are important for individual skin care depends primarily on what the care routine and the individual care products are supposed to do. In addition to protecting against UV radiation and improving moisture levels, anti-aging products should definitely contain ingredients that, as antioxidants, intercept and block the so-called free radicalsin the skin. The most important antioxidants include vitamins C and E and hyaluronic acid. The body’s own coenzyme Q10 and some complex organic amino acid compounds, the so-called peptides – are also highly effective in anti-aging skin care. The AgeLine® products are based on the latest research in medicine and cosmetics and combine the best cosmetic ingredients into an uncomplicated but highly effective care routine for every skin type and every age.

From these ingredients you should keep your distance

In most countries – including all EU countries and Switzerland – laws and regulations ensure that skincare products are generally safe for consumers and meet certain requirements for the ingredients used. This is to prevent damage to health as far as possible. However, this does not mean that all products on the market are equally effective or really recommendable from an expert point of view. For example, silicones, PEG and PEG derivatives, which are often used as surfactants, pollute the environment. The same applies to palm oil, because the rainforest is often cleared for its cultivation. Parabens, which used to be common in cosmetics, can have unwanted side effects. Fragrances are often added to skincare products to make them smell nice. But they can trigger allergic reactions and have no function in the actual care of the skin.

In order to avoid questionable ingredients, you don’t have to compromise on the effect of the care products and you don’t have to limit yourself to natural cosmetics. Because even some of the so-called high-tech brands such as AgeLine® select the ingredients for their highly effective recipes according to modern ‘clean beauty’ principles and largely avoid questionable substances. The skin compatibility of AgeLine® products was rated “very good” by an independent dermatological test.