I get a lot of questions about Skin-Care. It’s a multi-faceted answer but in short, it STARTS with The 3 Basics: Healthy Lifestyle + SPF + At-home Skin-Care routine.
One of the most frequently asked questions I get, second to diet and exercise is about skin care!
I love, love, love all things skin-care. Creams, serums, lasers, peels, V-Beam, LED masks, skin-tightening, MicroNeedling – I love it all! Yup. Just keepin’ it real people. Oliver (the hubs) jokingly calls me the Brooklyn Bridge…..just when you think you’re done painting the darn thing, it’s time to start all over again. He jests. I think.
Great skin starts with 3 BASICS. It’s like building a house – gotta have a solid foundation. Sorry to say – but there is NOT one single product or procedure that magically transforms skin to gorgeousness. Nope. It is truly like a pizza – multiple pieces are needed in order make up the whole. BASICS are a combo of Lifestyle + Skin Protection & At-Home Care.
Anyway, having tried a mind-bending number of skin-care products at least once, I’ve weeded out the ones that I thought were a complete waste of money – but kept all of the little gems that have really made a big difference in my skin – and are super helpful in maintaining the results. And now – I share some of them with you! Let’s talk BASICS….
THE 3 BASICS for Great Skin:
1. Create a Healthy Lifestyle
2 . SPF It Up
3. Basic At-Home Skin Care
If you do nothing else – incorporating these 3 Basics into your life will make a huge difference in the quality of your skin. Bonus – they’re close to free (yay!) and you’ll actually feel healthier and more amazing on the inside too!
1. CREATE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE
A Healthy Lifestyle is the #1 basic for building beautiful skin. Lifestyle, the way we choose to live our daily lives, is a huge factor in skin quality. Diet, exercise, stress, alcohol, smoking, sun-exposure – it all affects the way we look and the way we feel! A Healthy Lifestyle includes…….
+ A Healthy Diet
Good foods nourish you from the inside out. Fresh vegetables, leafy greens, whole fruits, good fats and oils, lean proteins, 100% whole wheat grains, are amazing for your insides and for your skin! Can’t you just tell when someone has a super healthy diet? Their skin just glows!
+ Limit Alcohol
It dehydrates your skin, robs it of vitamins & nutrients, gives that puffy bloated look and it ages you! I know! I know! I’m seriously not trying to be a buzzkill. I mean let’s be honest – who does not love a cocktail or pink champagne every so often? Put your hand down.
Here’s the deal. The key is moderation. If you don’t drink – you’re way ahead of the game. If you do, just be mindful of the effects that over-doing it can have on your body over time. Have you ever looked at someone and thought, “I’ll bet he/she’s a big drinker.” It’s usually broken capillaries, unhealthy bloatiness, puffiness and dullness of the skin.
By all means, enjoy your life but just be mindful of over-doing it, especially if you’re in the “party stages” of your life. Seriously. I worked with a woman who used to be the biggest partier evahhh when we were like, 25. A few cocktails after work without fail. Weekends drinking until 4am, the whole thing. By age 33, this beautiful woman looked like she’d been ridden hard and put away wet. Just sayin’. It takes a toll….. Peace out on this one.
+ Don’t Smoke
Can you tell when someone is a smoker, just by looking at their skin? Smoking is just a flat out sucky thing to do to yourself, and it ruins your skin. Why? Because nicotine causes the blood vessels on the outermost layer of the skin to narrow – which affects blood flow & oxygen to the skin. That means fewer important nutrients, resulting in premature sagging and wrinkling of skin. Old lady emoji.
+ Always Exercise
Sweating is like cleaning your skin from the inside out. Aside from the obvious benefits, like that amazing high, plus feeling lean and mean – consistently sweating is ahhh-mazing for your skin. It purges the impurities from your body.
+ Sleep 7-8 Hours Each Night
Beauty sleep isn’t a myth – it’s so true! Sleep is so important to a healthy body and beautiful skin – it can’t be overstated. Sleeping allows our bodies and skin to recharge & eliminate toxins. During the first 3 hours, our bodies produce the human growth hormone from the pituitary gland – which as we get older, is imperative to keeping our skin youthful and radiant!
2. SPF IT UP
Use an SPF 30 all day, every day and liberally! Protecting your skin from too much SUN exposure is one of the single, most important things you can do to keep your skin beautiful.
I feel so lucky to have grown up in Seattle, where we don’t tan – we rust. Otherwise, I know I would have been basking in head-to-toe Baby Oil on the beach in San Diego, which is where I’ve lived since college.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that sun damage is the fastest way to age your skin. I have friends who’ve spent thousands of dollars on every procedure under the sun (pun intended), trying to reverse the effects of sun damage from their teens and twenties.
Shelli’s daily SPF routine:
+ PRE-GYM: COOLA Tinted Mineral BB Cream, SPF 30.
I slather it on before the gym. It’s slightly tinted for a healthy glow, so I can still look cute without being overdone. Yes – I’m just going to the gym, but sun damage is cumulative. It takes 5 seconds, so why not do it?
+ POST WORKOUT: COOLA Sport SPF 30.
I keep a tube of it in my gym bag and slather it on my face, neck, chest and hands before leaving the gym. It smells amazing! Sort of like orange flowers? Blossoms.
+ AFTER SHOWER: SkinCeuticals UV Defense SPF 50, tinted sunscreen.
To get ready for the day, I slather this on my face and neck, Coola Sport on my chest and hands so it doesn’t rub off on my clothes. First, I love a lot of SkinCeutical products in general. Second, I like that it’s tinted. They call it “skin enhancing”….which ok – but why not just say it’s TINTED? I had to figure that one out the hard way, when I put it on my chest and it rubbed off on my brand new cute white top!!
+ THROUGH THE DAY: COOLA Make-up Setting Spray, SPF 30.
You know how dermatologists insist on re-applying sunscreen through the day, and you’re thinking – uhhh – how does THAT work without completely f-ing up your make-up? I found the solution! I LOVE the It’s a very fine mist that WON’T screw up your make-up and is the answer to staying sun-protected throughout the day. I spray face, neck, chest a couple times throughout the day. It does have a bit of a strong scent, so I spray (close your eyes!), then wave my hand around my face for a few seconds. Oliver walked in on me doing this, and was like….”What the heck are you doing?”
3. BASIC AT-HOME SKIN CARE
An at-home-skin-care routine doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. The only thing it needs to be is….consistent. It should be as natural as brushing your teeth!
As you can imagine, there are lots of great at-home products – you could literally fill an entire medicine cabinet with all of the options. Let’s keep it super simple for now! Below, are all of the products that I personally use and love….
NOTE: You’ll see that I use a LOT of the LIFELINE Stem Cell Skin Care brand. I discovered this line when Oliver and I were at the Four Seasons Maui, 10-years ago. Per the usual, I had scheduled a facial in their spa. The esthetician used LIFELINE products on my skin, and I loved them so much – I bought everything she used. I have been using the majority of the line ever since, and love how it’s kept my skin looking soft and healthy!
LIFELINE products are based in a powerful non-embryonic human stem cell extract, that scientists found improved the look of aging skin. They use an advanced absorption technology to deliver specialized ingredients throughout the entire skin care line. It is a little pricey, but honestly – it’s that good.
DAILY – You’ll want these 4 basics:
+ Cleanser
+ An SPF 30 Moisturizer for daytime
+ Night Cream
WEEKLY – You’ll want these 2:
+ Exfoliator – to sluff off dead skin cells
+ Hydrating mask – to calm and hydrate your skin
Here’s what you need to know:
+ Cleanse & moisturize in the morning and before bed – always!
+ Always give neck, chest and hands the same treatment as the face
+ Never sleep in your makeup…seriously. Among other things, it clogs your pores. Ick!
Sticking to the basics will make a big difference in your skin. If you want a little more than just the basics, check out a couple of my Skin Game-Changers – Halo + Ultherapy, two of the most effective MedSpa and Dr.’s office procedures that I’ve found.
Questions, Comments, Feedback? Share below or ASK Shelli
