1. Take it off every night

Hate waking up to raccoon eyes and yesterday’s makeup? From now on, make your number one skincare priority cleansing the face every day before bed — no matter how tired you are.

Removing makeup:

• Start with a gentle, non-irritating eye makeup remover, such as Pevonia Eye Make-Up Remover.
• Soak a cotton pad with a small amount of remover.
• Then, hold it gently over the closed eyelid and lashes to loosen eye shadow and mascara.
• To completely remove mascara, soak one end of a cotton swab in the product and gently rub the lash line to eliminate any leftover pigment.

Cleansing:

Next, wash the face with a cleanser specifically tailored to your skin type.

• Oily and acne-prone skin: Look for a cleanser that exfoliates and clarifies the skin and controls sebum production. Try cleansers with salicylic acid or glycolic acid, such as SkinCeuticals Clarifying Cleanser.
• Sensitive skin: Use a gentle cleanser with non-irritating ingredients, such as Kinerase Gentle Daily Cleanser.
• Normal/combination skin: Dr. Michelle Copeland Daily Cleanser is a non-foaming product that effectively cleanses the skin without clogging pores or drying it out.

To apply cleanser:

• Massage a small amount of cleanser between wet hands until foamy.
• Then rub carefully onto skin, avoiding the eye area.
• Rinse well with warm water and gently pat dry with a soft, clean towel.
2. Combat daily hair damage

   From ponytail elastics and over-zealous brushing to hats, headbands and barrettes, hair takes a lot of abuse. The result?

   Dry, dull locks that are frazzled, snapped and broken. To keep hair healthy, make time for deep treatments, whether your strands are curly, straight, over-processed, dry or coarse.

   In only a few minutes, you can restore shine, strength and flexibility to your tresses, while protecting against environmental and UV damage.

   • Strengthen the hair and defeat frizz with Oscar Blandi Trattamento di Jasmine Smoothing Hair Treatment.
   • Another great choice, Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Hair Masque, uses caviar extracts and antioxidants to revitalize over-processed or dry hair.
   • For severe damage, apply Tricomin Deep Conditioning Treatment by ProCyte.

3. Be diligent with sun protection

   Protect your skin from premature aging, sun damage and skin cancer by making sun care a daily habit.

   • Every day apply sunscreen with broad-spectrum protection. Make sure it contains SPF 15 or higher. Try MD Skincare Powerful Sun Protection SPF 30 Sunscreen Lotion or Neutrogena Sensitive Skin Sunblock Lotion SPF 30. If you prefer a spray formula, try Dr. Michelle Copeland SPF 40 Lotion Mist Sun Block.
   • Remember that although some sunscreens promise all-day protection, you still need to reapply every two hours — more often if you’re swimming or sweating and outdoors during peak hours (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
   • Be sure to apply sunscreen to all exposed skin, including your lips, nose, chest, tops of the ears and back of the neck and hands.

   Importantly, you also need to practice sun safety after having intense in-office treatments, such as chemical peels, or when using at-home products like Retin-A. These make skin extra-sensitive to sunlight, leading to sunburn, scars or hyperpigmentation. And although the most effective protection might be to stay indoors, that’s not always an option.

   • Apply sunscreen to all exposed areas, and wear a hat and protective clothing.
   • Even indirect exposure from sitting next to a window or driving in the car can be too much.
   • For full protection, apply sunscreen with SPF 30, such as DDF Moisturizing Photo-Age Sunscreen SPF 30.
   • Don’t forget to check the expiration dates on all your sun protection products. Notice a change in smell or consistency? Throw it out.

4. Focus on eyes

   Don’t forget to protect the eyes from sun damage and environmental aging by using eye cream with SPF. Shielding the eyes is important, because this area is thinner and more delicate than the rest of the face.

   • For a lightweight formula with UV protection and vitamin C, keep Murad Essential-C Eye Cream, SPF 15 on hand all year long. Each morning, pat a pea-sized amount gently around your entire eye area (avoiding the lid) and up over the brow bone. This ensures skin stays hydrated and protected.
   • Got dry skin that needs more moisture? Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Plump Perfect Eye Moisture Cream SPF 15 is a perfect choice. With ceramides to hydrate, Argireline to plump and smooth fine lines and encapsulated SPF 15 to defend against sun damage, this eye cream is ideal for even delicate, sensitive eyes.

5. Attack acne like a grown-up

The products you used as a teen to banish blemishes might be too harsh for your skin today. For instance, many spot treatment products contain 10 percent benzoyl peroxide (BP), which is ideal for teens but too abrasive and drying on adult skin.

Instead, attack acne with these tips:

• Use a spot treatment with a lower concentration of BP, such as Neutrogena On the Spot Acne Treatment. Never apply a spot treatment to your entire face.
• If you have sensitive skin, use acne products with salicylic acid.
• Adopt an age-appropriate anti-acne routine that includes a gentle cleansing product. But pass on gel or foaming cleansers and acne-fighting washes with high concentrations of active ingredients. Finish up with a lightweight, noncomedogenic moisturizer.
6. Nurture your neck and chest

   Your décolleté is one of the first areas to show cumulative effects of aging, so don’t limit skincare to just the face.

   • Apply anti-aging treatments, moisturizer and most importantly, sunscreen to your neck and chest daily. This will protect the décolleté from further environmental damage, such as the sun.

   • For super-smooth skin, slough off dead skin cells from the neck and décolleté areas with BABOR Intelli-zyme Biological Exfoliation.
   • Follow with an antioxidant rich hydrator, like Dr. Brandt V-Zone Neck Cream.
7. Say no to straw-sipping

   As with smoking, habitually drinking beverages through a straw can cause permanent lines in your upper lip. The culprit is the repetitive movement of upper lip muscles. In addition, collagen and elastin levels in these areas diminish with age, leading to sagging skin and making wrinkles even more pronounced.

   So, skip straws and begin using lip products to moisturize and plump up your pucker.

   • Check out MD Skincare Serious Lip Treatment to combat lip lines, wrinkles and loss of firmness.
   • Want to add hydration and keep chapped, rough lips at bay? Grab Perricone MD Moist Lip Treatment, with aloe and vitamin E.

8. Change skincare with the seasons

   As the leaves fall, ice melts and temperatures soar, our skin also changes, requiring different products for different seasons. For instance, when winter arrives, your once normal to oily complexion can become dry. In summer, however, skin may become shiny and greasy. You don’t need to alter your entire routine, but you might need to change out a few items.

   Winter:

   • To hydrate dry skin, use an oil-based moisturizer, suggests the American Academy of Dermatology.
   • Try a rich cream, like Decleor Nutri-Delice Meltingly Soft Nourishing Cream.

   Summer:

   • Follow your soap-free cleanser with an alcohol-free toner, suggests O, The Oprah Magazine. It feels refreshing and removes any residue from your cleanser.
   • For a lightweight lotion, check out DDF Ultra Light Oil Free Moisturizing Dew.
   • Don’t use thick creams in the summer, because these can mix with sweat or oil and clog pores.

9. Keep makeup minimal

   Heavy foundation or self-tanner isn’t the answer to skincare woes. Wearing heavy makeup only highlights fine lines, wrinkles and other imperfections, making you look years older. Instead, use tinted moisturizer, such as MD Skin Care All-In-One Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15, for a naturally radiant, even-toned complexion.

See also:

A Good Night’s Sleep for Great Skin

How to Find a Great Dermatologist: 7 Tips and More!

Develop an Eye for Eye Cream