This Is The Most Underrated Skincare Routine Step
It’s Not Because It’s Difficult
Did you know, beauty was not associated with cosmetics until the 1930s when a French magazine known as Votre Beauté began to propagate this idea.
Certainly, you don’t need to rely on cosmetics entirely either, whether it be for beauty or for pure self-care.
Skincare is a vital form of self-care for all of us but it seems a bit daunting, even repelling to have to resort to purchasing large amounts of face washes, face creams and serums just to uphold it.
Let’s start from the basics and build our way up. Would you be surprised if I told you that you don’t need to buy anything to begin skincare?
Hi! I’m a chemistry enthusiast and I’m here to take you on a journey through the amazing land of chemistry.
Importance of Skincare
Let’s first look at why you should take care of your skin. Skincare is important for 2 major reasons:
- Health
- Confidence
Health
Our skin is the largest organ of our body as it encompasses its entirety. Everything that’s within it, functions properly only when it’s properly protected. Cuts, scratches and wounds all expose the internal organs to the outside environment causing infections to occur as bacteria make their way inside.
That’s why it’s crucial to take care of your skin because as long as the skin is healthy, your inner body doesn’t have to worry about unwanted guests.
And even when there isn’t an opening, we all know how profound skin cancer has become. The UV rays from the sun can have intensely adverse effects on our skin, specifically our face and hands, leading to skin cells mutating. By taking care of your skin, you also make it more resistant to such attacks and cater to your overall well being.
Confidence
It’s the morning and you look at yourself in the mirror. You could A) ignore that precious face and those beautiful hands or B) Start your day off by taking care of them.
A) sounds like such a miserable start to your day whereas B) can have incredibly positive effects.
When you take time out especially right at the start of your day, you’re essentially telling yourself that you care about you and you’ll do what it takes to keep yourself healthy. It gives you a sense of value and you indulge in self-love which is greatly important in a pessimistic society.
By nurturing your body’s vital organ on a regular basis, you also show your commitment to yourself. If you can do this task daily, why not finish off your assignments as well? If it’s possible to maintain a skincare routine, why not also maintain a jogging schedule?
Right at the beginning, you can set off a wave of optimism within your brain and drastically boost your confidence.
The Under-appreciated Technique
Okay, now that you’re ready for maintaining a skincare routine, I’ll tell you how you should start: Hydration
Yes, it indeed is as simple as that.
For your first few days, just focus on how you can ensure that your skin is properly moisturised at the beginning of your day and that it remains hydrated for a prolonged time.
Chemistry Behind Hydration
- Hyaluronic Acid: Certain compounds exist within your body known as glycosaminoglycans. Long name isn’t it? One specific type of glycosaminoglycan is hyaluronic acid which is naturally present in your skin (structure shown below). Hyaluronic acid has a great feature: it can bind to water molecules up to 1000 times its weight!
- This is because hyaluronic acid contains a myriad of hydroxyl groups (-OH). As I’ve explained in these 2 articles about cotton fabrics and haircare, hydroxyl groups of interact quite favourably with each other and give rise to hydrogen bonds. These hydrogen bonds are quite strong and so the hyaluronic acid is easily able to attract and hold onto a multitude of water molecules.
- Glycerin: Glycerin is a natural humectant present within the skin. It is able to extract water from the lower layers of the skin and the surrounding air, and bring it up to the upper layer.
- Glycerin is a relatively small molecule as compared to hyaluronic acid however it too contains hydroxyl groups and a large amount of glycerin molecules present in the skin enable it to help greatly in moisture retention.
Benefits of Hydration
- Sufficient moisture on the skin makes it more flexible and elastic. This helps in reducing the appearance of wrinkles on the skin at an early age.
- The water molecules also act as a protective barrier against the UV rays from the sun. When the skin is properly hydrated, these molecules can reflect off the rays and decrease the possibility of skin cancer.
- When water is present on the skin, excessive oil production is hampered as the moisture content does not leave any space for the oil to stay on the skin. This ensures that whiteheads, blackheads and any other form of acne do not occur in large amounts.
Practical Tips
- Use of Humectants: Once you’ve started your routine with washing your face and hands daily, you can look for humectants that contain hyaluronic acid / glycerin. This will ensure that if your skin is lacking the compounds in appropriate amount, they can artificially be replenished for moisture regulation.
- Hydrating Serums: While humectants aid in faster moisture absorption, hydrating serums contain sufficient water content themselves. This is particularly useful for dry regions where there isn’t much water in the environment for the compounds to draw from.
- Drinking Water Regularly: And of course, the most vital part of your routine, keeping your body hydrated.
Final Words
I hope you enjoyed reading through the article. Clap loads if you found something useful or interesting. Share your thoughts about your own skincare routine and how you started it — I’d love to hear all about it!
Thank you so much for reading! Leave any suggestions that you have for me — all support is appreciated. Check out these articles while you’re at it as well and explore the world of chemistry even further!
- The Journey Of A South American Tree: https://medium.com/mr-plan-publication/the-tree-that-cured-malaria-bdf1ce5852cf
- Chemistry And Its Relaxing Perks: https://medium.com/@smaskari125/are-you-finding-it-hard-to-relax-2978cd64efdd
X Account: @K_Inferno1
