You’ve probably heard of the skin’s natural protective barrier. This barrier sits on the outermost layer of the skin and blocks external substances from penetrating the skin’s deeper layers. While this is usually a good thing, it can be a hindrance when it comes to your skincare routine. It goes without saying that you want your skin to be able to absorb the majority of what you apply to it, meaning that, in some cases, you’ll need to circumnavigate that natural barrier.
How can you do this? Read on as Introstem shares some game-changing skincare tips for applying your products in a way that maximizes absorption and efficacy.
Always Start by Cleansing
The skincare products that you apply will already need to try to make it through your skin’s natural protective barrier. Applying them to skin that hasn’t been cleansed first will only make this task harder by first putting them up against the layer of dirt, oil, and other impurities that will be covering your skin’s surface. Cleansing does away with this layer, providing a much easier path for your skincare products to sink into your skin.
With that said, you don’t want to go overboard with a super-aggressive cleanser either. Aggravating your skin in any way will only inhibit absorption and increase sensitivities. Instead, go with a cleanser that gets the job done efficiently but with the use of gentle ingredients, just like the Introstem VitisCell Fresh Cleansing Mousse. It produces a beautifully mousse-y lather that cleans the skin without irritating it in any way. In fact, thanks to a blend of different plant oils, it will leave your skin feeling better balanced and more receptive to any other products that you apply.
Layer Your Skincare Products Correctly
While there’s nothing wrong with keeping your skincare routine simple, it can also sometimes be beneficial to add in a few extra products, especially if your skin genuinely needs them. However, if you want those products to work to their full potential, you need to make sure that you’re layering them correctly. This is one of the most commonly cited skincare tips out there, mainly because it’s such an effective one!
The general rule of thumb is that the thinnest and lightest of your skincare products, such as toners, essences, and serums, should be applied first. Then, work your way up in order of thickness, finishing with the richest and heaviest product in your skincare routine, which is where your moisturizer comes in. The purpose of this is to prevent any thicker products from blocking the lighter formulas from absorbing, which is exactly what would happen if they were applied first.
What happens if you’re using two products with a similar consistency, such as two serums? In this case, the first serum that you apply should be the one containing the most influential active ingredients and antioxidants. This way, those ingredients will be ‘closer’ to your skin cells, improving absorption.
Apply Your Products to Damp Skin
Studies show that skin permeability increases when the skin is wet. This essentially means that skincare products applied to damp skin will be absorbed more effectively than those applied to dry skin. If you’re trying to maximize absorption, this is one of the best skincare tips you could follow!
How do you implement this in your skincare routine? By perfecting your timing in between each step of your skincare routine. Ideally, each product should be applied while your skin is still slightly damp from the previous product. However, don’t go in with your next product too soon. You want to give the previous one some time to absorb before anything is applied over the top.
What should you do if you wait too long and your skin completely dries out in between skincare steps? This is where a good toner can be helpful. Pick one with a short ingredient list – contents that are geared toward hydrating and soothing the complexion, just like the Introstem VitisCell Hydra Fresh Toner. Then, if you ever need to dampen your skin, simply swipe some of your toner onto your face before continuing on with your routine.
Exfoliating Can Boost Absorption Too
While cleansing is a must if you want your skincare products to have any hope whatsoever of reaching your skin cells, exfoliating can help to boost absorption even further. This not only ensures that there’s nothing blocking the way on your skin’s surface, but it also clears out any impurities from within your pores. This makes it easier than ever for your skincare products to quickly dive into your skin. It’s one of the best skincare tips to follow if you’re hoping for an immediate improvement in absorption.
However, just like when cleansing, you don’t want to exfoliate your skin to the point of irritation. The best exfoliators contain ingredients that thoroughly yet gently exfoliate the skin, without causing any harm to the skin barrier.
This is where the Introstem VitisCell Fresh Revive Peeling shines. It makes use of gentle exfoliants, including mandelic acid, bamboo powder, and walnut shell powder. It will dislodge and remove clogs from your pores so that your skincare products have an easier time sinking in. Better yet, thanks to its infusion of vitamins and antioxidants, it will leave your skin cells feeling ready to take on the rest of the products in your routine.
Use Heat to Dilate Your Pores
Facial steaming is a popular treatment at many spas. This is largely down to how it dilates the pores. This then boosts absorption, making your entire skincare routine more effective. As an added bonus, steam also encourages the skin to eliminate toxins while giving circulation a boost to promote a rosy glow.
Performing a facial steam at home can easily be done – there are a number of methods and steaming skincare tips that you could try. However, if you’d prefer a more fuss-free way to enjoy the benefits provided by a facial steam, you could also opt for a thermal face mask. These masks heat up as they’re applied to the skin, releasing a gentle heat. It has a similar effect on the pores – leaving them feeling relaxed and super-receptive.
The Introstem ThermoStem Mask is one such product. It’s a great tool to have in your arsenal if you’re trying to boost absorption, particularly since it will improve your complexion in other ways too. Thanks to a combination of vitamins A, C, and E, plus grape stem cells, coffee seed extract, and lemon fruit extract, it’s jam-packed with antioxidants that will leave your skin looking revitalized.
Use the Right Amount of Product
It’s easy to believe that the more of a product you use, the more of it your skin will absorb. As a result, so many people end up slathering their skin with various products in the hopes of really ramping up absorption. Unfortunately, this often has the opposite effect instead…
Your skin can only absorb a certain amount of each product. It will take in what it needs and, after this, the rest will end up sitting on your skin’s surface. This will only contribute to congestion, acne, and other problems. Applying too much of one product may also cause it to dilute the previous product that you apply. Not only will your over-generous use of product affect the product that you’re currently using, but it could also inhibit the absorption of your entire routine.
How do you know how much product to use? Take a look at the usage directions printed on product packaging. Each product is unique, making it important to follow the provided recommendations.
Save Your Active Ingredients for Nighttime Use
We’ve already talked about how your skin is more permeable when it’s wet/damp. However, did you know that it’s also more permeable at nighttime? As the sun goes down, skin barrier function declines. This then makes it easier for any products that you apply to absorb into the skin.
So, if you have any potent skincare products that you’re only going to be using once a day, save those for the evening. While there’s nothing wrong with applying them in the mornings instead, they’ll be able to meet their full potential much better when used at night.
Try Tapping and Massaging Your Products Into Your Skin
You’ve probably seen various influencers on social media sharing their skincare tips for maximizing absorption, with many including recommendations to either tap or massage your products into your skin.
Do these methods work? Well, there’s no science to back them up. However, so long as you’re gentle with your skin, they won’t do any harm! In fact, both tapping and massaging your skin while you’re applying skincare can help to boost circulation. This could potentially help with absorption. Even if it doesn’t, improved circulation will still help to bring about a natural glow to your complexion!
Add a Facial Tool to Your Skincare Routine
Just like tapping and massaging your skin, there are a number of facial skincare tools out there that are designed to improve circulation. Many also claim to help with absorption too.
Facial rollers are one. These are usually made from jade and essentially give the skin a gentle massage. Gua sha tools have a similar effect. Both are manual tools that are relatively inexpensive, making them worth trying.
LED light therapy is also a popular way to maximize absorption. Unlike manual skincare tools, there’s plenty of science out there that backs up how effective LED light therapy can be. Thanks to the number of at-home LED light therapy devices that are now out there, such as the IntroLite Jade Eye Device, it’s easier than ever to benefit from the many properties offered by this technology.
Skincare Tips From Introstem
As you can see, there is so much that you can do to maximize the absorbency of your skincare products and make the most of your skincare routine. The skincare tips above will go a long way in helping with this. Give them a try and they’ll make each product in your routine suddenly seem so much more effective!
Click here to boost your skincare routine with more bestselling products from Introstem.
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