What To Look For In Your Skin Care Products

There are so many products and so much information out there, where do you even start?

Start right here!

My favourite skin care brand and the best natural skin care brand is Janesce Skin Solutions. Between all therapists at lovesoul, we’ve tried many brands in our time (both natural and not) - and nothing has compared to Janesce.

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While we are very passionate about Janesce, these tips can apply to almost any skin care brand.

A good skin regime and good quality products are vital for healthy skin. Using products suited to your skin will always give the best results; whereas using products not suited to your skin can give you all sorts of problems (sensitivity and irritation being the most common). At the other end, they they can also do absolutely nothing. Your skin should improve or true skin health maintained when you use skin care. So just because you don’t react, doesn’t mean it’s doing you any good!

Overall, I always say professional products are best, and definitely worth it. Your beauty therapist has been trained in skin and skin health, so they will put your skin first and give you a tailored skin care regime perfectly suited to your skin.

What I would say to avoid, is skin trends, social media and untrained professionals. That’s not to say what’s trending isn’t any good; but “my friend said it was great” or “I saw on instagram everyone is using it” is irrelevant to your personal skin conditions and skin goals.

CLEANSE

How to choose a facial cleanser

• A cream cleanser or lotion is my top choice. It is a gentle way of removing makeup and impurities.
• Foaming cleansers are very harsh on the skin. I avoid these. They can strip the skin of their natural oils making it over sensitive and irritated. Your skin will then work twice as hard to get back on track, and hydrated!
• If you have sensitive skin you can use an oil such as the Janesce Avocado & Sesame oil. These are also great at breaking down waterproof makeup.
• If the brand you are using comes with a toner, you should probably use them together! If there is no toner, like our Janesce Rose Cleanser, there is no need to buy another from another brand. They are often formulated alongside either to balance the pH of your skin.
• Cleanse at night only. It is not always necessary to use a cleanser in the morning. We want to disturb the acid mantle (main protection layer) as least as possible. Your Skin Soaking Ritual is enough of a cleanser for the morning.

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HYDRATE

Soak your skin, morning and night

• Hydrating the skin is a very important step. Soaking your skin is one of the most beneficial and most anti-ageing steps you can do for your skin. Use Janesce Soaking Drops, and add 3-4 drops of the herbal concentrate to warm water - use a cloth to soak your skin. This will both hydrate and treat your skin. They will increase the skins ability to absorb the active ingredients of your next products applied by up to 50%!
• When using the soaking drops, avoid too many drops or too concentrated solution of drops and water. This can have the opposite effect. If your soaking cloth is fizzing or bubbling, it isn’t diluted enough!
• Avoid stopping at this step. Avoid letting your face air dry after a shower without applying a moisturiser to lock in the water. This could cause further and faster dehydration of the skin.

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EXFOLIATE

Only exfoliate once a week, be gentle!

• When your skin is fully hydrated, it will function as it should. This includes the natural exfoliation process. When you feel like you need a really good scrub, it is often because your skin is dehydrated – causing a build up of skin.
• A gentle exfoliation once a week is usually enough, though this may not suit everyone.
• Avoid over-exfoliating!
• Avoid harsh and rough scrubs, these can scratch and strip your skin of the natural oils and make your skin weak & sensitive.
• If you are planning on doing chemical peels, please only ever have them done by a professional. They should be 100% sure that your skin is strong enough to handle them before they begin a course of treatments

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FLORAL MIST / TONER

Use throughout the day too!

• Janesce Floral Mists are plant-based hydrating infusions for natural skincare. They contain botanical extracts to treat the skin along with plant proteins to seal moisture in. This double action helps to create plump, soft, beautiful skin.
• Floral mists are applied immediately after skin-soaking, as they help to seal in moisture. They are followed by concentrates/serums and moisturiser.
• Misting is a simple, refreshing step in the Janesce Skin Soaking Ritual. Janesce Floral Mists provide botanically-enriched hydration and support healthy skin barrier function.
• After skin-soaking, hold the mist bottle 30 cms away from face and pump 2-3 sprays of mist directly to face and neck area.
• Alternatively, spray 2-3 pumps into the palm of one hand, press hands together, and gently press into face.
• These can be used throughout the day for a refresh or boost of hydration. Especially great when travelling or working in air conditioning. Note they are not plain water, and misting your face with plain water like this is even more dehydrating to the skin than if you were to use nothing.

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SERUMS

Powerful medicine for the skin

• When used correctly, the difference in your skin can be positively remarkable when using a serum. Be sure to buy a serum suited to your skin type, as prescribed by your beauty therapist. Ask your therapist or book a consultation.
• Serums can be in the form of liquids (drops), gels and creams. They will either add to or boost your moisturiser (or following products). One of our favourites is the Janesce Perfecting Gel - it is perfect for dehydrated, sun damaged or mature skin. It is heaven, and been appropriately nicknamed Liquid Gold!
• Unless you have been instructed to do so by a professional, don’t use more than one serum. This can cause reactions if the combined products don’t work together, or if they are too strong when combined. For Janesce, we will often prescribe one concentrate (like a plant tincture) and one serum (such as the perfecting gel we mentioned!). These are great to be used in conjunction together!
• Be careful when using serums with Vitamin A or other acids - and note that the ingredients in these products act like another form of exfoliation. They shouldn’t be used for every day long term use.
• A safe option for serums are “hydrating gels”. Some products marketed for oily skin, acne or teen skin (usually they used words like “purifying”) are usually more harm than good for the skin. Acne especially is an inflammatory skin condition, and using intense or stripping products like this will make it worse.
• For anti-ageing serums, I would again go with hydrating as the safer or better option unless you really know what you are looking for. If ageing gracefully is a concern of yours, get in touch with us and we can guide you in the right direction.
• Are serums optional? Yes and no. If you want your skin to be at its best, serums are highly recommended - they are around the strongest products in your skin tool kit! If you’re just starting out with skin care, you can get away without this for now. Come back to it when you are in a good habit with a new simple routine.

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MOISTURISE

An essential step for everyone!

• Professional skin care is generally higher in active ingredients giving you better results than drugstore products. For example: There is a range of Janesce skin care sold through pharmacies outside of NZ – these products can be up to 70% weaker than those bought from a professional skin therapist.
• A good moisturiser will protect and/or feed your skin, depending on what you need it for. With Janesce, this would be your Floral Mist and Moisturiser used together.
• You can look at both creams or lotions. Generally you would choose a thicker cream for drier skin, and a lighter lotion for oiler skin. However, you might need to first determine whether your oily skin is not in fact oily, but truly dehydrated? Is your dry skin lacking water or oil? Or both? Do you live somewhere cold or drying? Or somewhere warm and humid? This is why a skin consultation is important - using the wrong moisturiser can cause havoc on your skin. Or just as disappointing… it could do absolutely nothing!
• It doesn’t have to be a cream or lotion, it can also be a facial oil. With facial oils it’s especially important the skin is hydrated and soaked enough underneath so your facial oil can soak into the skin. When clients aren’t using our Janesce skin care, we recommend finding a facial oil - that way we know the hydration is more likely to be locked into the skin after soaking. Avoid artificial fragrances as they can irritate the skin. For a ‘no brand’ or ‘neutral’ facial oil, try Pure Jojoba Oil or our Avocado & Sesame Oil Blend.
• Lower quality moisturisers often contain higher contents of water. We know how important it is to keep your skin hydrated; but putting water on top of water does not lock it in. Sometimes these moisturisers also contain low amounts of active ingredients, and may not be doing much of anything for your skin despite saying “contains amazing ingredient”. We often think of them as diluted. They mean well - but for great skin care, it just doesn’t cut it!
• Yes it is hard to tell how much of each ingredient is used in each product, hence why it is a good idea to find both a skin care brand & professional you trust to help prescribe something specific to you and your skin.
• Janesce face moisturisers are very concentrated because they are designed to be used as part of the Janesce Skin Soaking Ritual. The moisturiser formulation contains very little water because they are applied to damp skin.
• Janesce face moisturisers also contain plant extracts to treat the skin and fine plant oils and waxes to seal hydration into the upper layers of skin. This helps to promote plump, luminous skin – also known as the trademark Janesce glow!
• Applying a Janesce face moisturiser is the final step in the Janesce Skin Soaking Ritual. This skin-saving ritual offers a multi-step hydrating process. Skin soaking is the first step, to fully hydrate the upper layer of the skin. Secondly, you apply a floral mist to provide botanical hydration and a fine layer of protective plant proteins. You then apply a Janesce concentrate and serum for some powerful plant therapy. Applying a Janesce moisturiser as the final step locks in all of that hydration and prevents evaporation.

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NIGHT CARE

Feed your skin while you sleep!

• The best time to feed your skin is at night. This is when your repair and rejuvenation takes place. Assuming you don’t sleep with air conditioning on (as this can suck the moisture out of your skin), you need less protection and more nutrients.
• This is where I like to use my facial oils. My favourite night time products are Janesce Soothing Mist & Lavender Facial Oil mixed together (also known as the hyper sensitive regime). My skin always feels great in the morning when I do this!
• Creams containing SPF are not needed at night time.
• It is also not always necessary to use an eye cream at night. Most are designed for use during the day – when used at night they can sometimes cause puffiness. This will depend on your chosen product.
• Another great time to use a serum if you have an appropriate one.
• Your night routine is just as important as the day night. At night is when you will cleanse your skin - removing any makeup, products, pollution or impurities from the day. You’ll follow with your soaking step (remember: your skin can only hold the moisture for 12 hours, so it’ll need a top up from this morning!) then lock it all in with a moisturiser or facial oil. Let it soak in before you actually hop in bed to avoid any greasy pillow!

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SUN CARE

Non-negotiable for anti-ageing!

• Sun care is important every single day of the year, not just in summer. There are still harmful UV rays in winter, especially in NZ where our ozone layer is weaker. Learn about taking care of your skin in the sun
• Reapply every two hours at least. There are many different formulas for calculating how often to apply – every two hours and you will be on the safe side. New regulations (2023) are saying sunscreen packaging should only claim 40minutes water resistant - so keep that in mind too!
• Janesce Sun Care lotion is an incredible product, but a little different to your usual SPF product. I use this every day regardless of whether I am ‘in the sun’ or not. If I am out and about, I will use an SPF on top as well. Learn more about the Janesce Sun Care Lotion and how it works
• Avoid being in the sun during the hottest hours of the day. Find shade and cover your skin where possible (hat, sarong etc). Stay hydrated and drink plenty of water.

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FACE MASKS

Weekly spa night anyone?

• Masks are known as the fun and luxury side of skin care, but they can boost your skin so well they should be a necessity.
• When you’re not sure which to choose, go for hydrating or one for sensitive skin. The “purifying” and clay masks could be too strong for you this time. Sometimes they draw too much moisture out of the skin.
• Patch test first. Follow instructions. After your mask comes off, soak your skin then apply your serums and moisturisers as normal.
• I use a mask once a week, then again if needed before a special occasion.
• Not all skin types or skin conditions need masks that dry and tighten the skin. In fact, most don’t! Masks that dry on the skin and hurt when you peel them off are a no-go from me too (I’m looking at you charcoal masks!).
• If a mask stings or burns, take it off. Yes some masks are supposed to be stimulating, but don’t self prescribe these treatments if you don’t know what you are doing. The stinging could be due to the product being too strong for your skin at this time. Strengthen your skin before trying again, or better yet - ask a professional!
• In 2023, Janesce released a new treatment mask and it’s been a game changer! The Ancient Earth Mineral Mask you can use 1-2x week, and the results are a lush, glowing skin! (especially when you’re starting with an already hydrated skin)

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OTHER

EYES

In terms of how well they work, I prefer eye creams over eye gels. Particularly where you have a dryier skin (eyelids are usually naturally oilier). Only a very small amount is needed, and is best applied during the day. Though some eye creams are made specifically for night use.

The Janesce Essential Eye Cream is for day use, and is a blend of very fine waxes and oils to hydrate and protect the delicate tissue around the eyes.

Apply your eye creams with the tip of the fourth finger - as it is usually the weakest. This will protect the delicate skin around the eyes from being pulled too much.

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NECK

Regenerating is a great keyword here. Always remember to bring all products applied down to your bust. Just like hands, your neck is a common place to show ageing. Look after this area!.

This Janesce neck cream is one of my favourite neck creams to use on clients. It aids in the hydration and elasticity of the neck and décolleté. The calendula and arnica it contains help treat the red dilated capillaries that often develop in this area from sun damage. This is a product clients get hooked on!

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We’ve covered the basic products in a skin care routine. If I’ve missed something, and you have questions please get in touch, we’re happy to help!

Not everybody likes to know “why”, but we do! We’ve put together some information on WHY it’s important to choose your skin care products carefully, and WHY it’s important to do each step of your skin care routine. See below to learn more.

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