Ideally your face should be professionally cleaned twice a year – a good spring clean after winter and again in autumn after excessive exposure to the sun during the summer months. This should be a thorough cleansing experience.
To find a good qualified practitioner in your area, contact
BABTEC - British Association of Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology. When you speak to the practitioner in your area for the first time, ask the following three questions because a facial cleanse is a personal experience.
• Do you treat men?
• Do you remove blockages from pores?
• Do I receive my treatment in a private consulting room?
To book an appointment the answers to all three questions must be yes. After the treatment your face may well be a slightly red and even a little blotchy. Never mind – a little patience works wonders and within a few days, or a week at the outside, your skin will be at its clearest ever which means that you will be looking younger too. If you have simply can’t bear the thought or don’t have the answer to “what happened to you?” buy a cover up stick from Clairens or skin tinted Clearasil.
Now you need to implement a good basic skin care regime to keep the skin in tip top condition until your next spring clean. Here a few simple tips to keep your face happy.
• Each morning kick start the skin’s circulation by washing with a clean flannel soaked in hot water followed by dousing the face in cold water with or without the flannel. If you are shaving, then shave after the hot water treatment. The hot water flannel exfoliates and relaxes the skin. The cold water flannel activates the skin’s internal cleansing mechanisms and closes the pores.
• Use moisturiser every day to support the skin’s natural barrier function and reduce any tightness after washing
• Steer clear of moisturizers at night, this is a time for the skin to breathe and rebuild. Also, keep your pillowcase clean! A week’s worth of dead skin and hair is not face friendly.
• Take some days off drinking alcohol. Make every other day booze free – it’s easy, good for you and quite simply makes your chosen tipple or pint taste better the next day!
Going skiing?
Winter holidays – we love them! Your week or two on the slope or the beach promises to be fun, invigorating and energising. It is a real boost in the depths of the winter darkness.
In addition to your regular shaving kit, pack a few medical extras that could save you from a lot of discomfort and embarrassment. In fact, consider a second ditty bag so everything is easily accessible. There are several good ones that hang on the back of a door from
Catch22.
Medically speaking we just recommend a few vital over the counter remedies from www.boots.co.uk, namely Immodium tablets, cold and flue remedies, and a tube of savlon anti-septic for any bites or scratches. Whether on the slopes or on the beach sun protection is vital what ever the time of year, especially for those of us who spend most of our lives in the northern climes. For example, in our opinion,
Boots Soltan skin toned five star UV facial SPF 15 or 30 sun crème is the best. If you going extreme it is worth investing in a total bloc and a lip salve, try the
Aloe Zinc Total Sun Block from Snow and Rock which is a 2-in-1 total bloc and lip salve.
A good grooming hand crafted leather wash bag is available directly from
Molton Brown that was developed for British Airways long distance travelers. It is simple, stylish and contains 8 travel sized bottles that hold all of good grooming essentials that you will need during your travels.
Why pack your razor, shave brush and shave crème you may ask. Simple, because a cheap disposable razor and a mini can of aerosol shave crème can’t keep your skin looking and feeling the way it does after the full Monty. Further, at the end of a day outdoors, lathering up your face, and don’t forget your forehead, will clear all the sun screen residue and dead skin more effectively than any face wash we know. Trust me.
Snow reflects around 80% of UV sunlight, and exposure
to these harmful rays increasing the higher up the mountain
you go. Using
ChapStick Sun Protection 35 regularly will
protect your lips all day long, allowing you to enjoy the sun,
snow and slopes.
Blistex also makes an excellent lip balm but it is only SPF30. You can also buy both at all leading Pharmacies.
Always try and shave at night when on holiday. This allows the skin to heal and the whiskers to grow which helps to protect the skin from the elements the following day. Besides, a little daytime stubble is still fashionable. Freshly shaved skin will be more sensitive to the sun and winds on the slopes. What’s more, a before dinner shave is much better for whiling away the evening dancing cheek to cheek.
SEASONAL ARTICLES 
