My mother was never big on makeup or skincare. Her skin care regimen consisted of cleansing her face with Dove soap and applying a thin layer of Vaseline, and she always had a soft, radiant completion and perfectly creamy skin tone. Although she owned plenty of makeup, her makeup routine consisted of lip balm. That's it.
Because of the simplicity of my mother's skincare and makeup routine, we never spoke much about good skincare or makeup. Anything I learned about either of these things, I did by doing my own research and doing lots of reading.
Now that I have a daughter, I have made it a point to talk to her about skincare and yes, makeup. Although she just turned ten this past week, I think it's never too early to teach her a good skincare and makeup regimen.
I have put together this list of the 9 most important tips that, in my opinion, every mother should teach their daughter(s) about skin care;
1. Have a bedtime routine.
"Wash your face with face wash and moisturize every night before bed. It's important to remove all the dirt and oil that collects on your face throughout the day."
Julissa was only 7, when we started a bedtime routine. I searched everywhere for a good product for young girls, that wasn't full of chemicals. I was starting to loose hope when I came upon this set. I can't say enough good things about this product. In Julissa's words; "I love the tingly sensation I get after washing my face!" ... she just loves it! And I love that it is made with all natural ingredients. Don't let the size fool you—I bought the travel size kit and a little goes a long way. Ours lasted almost three months using it twice a day!
My daughter washes and moisturizes her face in the mornings as well, but if I had to choose between morning and night, I say that the night routine is the most important.
2. Use moisturizer.
"Moisturize your face to keep a healthy moisture balance on your skin."
It's important for her to learn the benefits of regular moisturizing. Moisturizing regularly keeps her skin from getting dry and scaly. It also helps keeping her skin soft and glowy and her completion looking healthy. This is especially important if you live in a cold climate for part or most of the year.
4. Use lip balm.
"Lip-gloss looks pretty and shinny, but you also need a good lip balm to keep your lips from looking dry and scaly."
Just like your face and body, a good lip balm will keep her lips moist, soft and healthy looking. Lip gloss will not look as good if their lips are dry or cracked.
5. Use sunblock.
"Protect your skin, but especially your face, from the harmful rays of the sun."
Sunblock is important to protect your skin against skin cancer and sun damage. Even a moisturizer with sunblock in it, is better than no sunblock at all.
3. Use organic or homemade products, when possible.
"Whenever possible, make your own beauty products, or buy organic." Homemade sugar scrubs are so much better than store bought ones!
They are made with items that you probably already have in your kitchen, are organic, easy to make and cheap. Same goes for face masks.
6. Quality versus quantity.
We learned this one the hard way; my daughter was in a school play, where they used cheap, dollar store makeup on the girls. At the end of the play I noticed that her eyes were almost shut closed and her face was extremely red. She had gotten a reaction to the cheap makeup that was applied to her eyes and face. Makeup that is cheaply made also requires more of it to make it look descent, due to lack of pigmentation. It is best to own few good quality products that will last a long time, than many cheap products. Like my mother used to say...'cheap is expensive in the long run'.
7. Less is More
"When it comes to makeup less is always more. Accentuate your attributes without going overboard. The natural beauty of a woman is always best."
I can attest to this, especially when girls are young and inexperienced with makeup. My Mother didn't allow me to wear makeup, even though I was 13, about to start high school and most of my friends were allowed to wear makeup. So I would do what some teenagers would do—do it behind her back. But because I knew nothing about makeup, I would use the reddest lipstick and the blackest eye shadow possible *oh boy*...until my mother caught me, took a picture of me and showed me that I looked like a bad clown painting gone wrong lol! She let me wear makeup after that and I took it down a notch...or two! Sometimes a little mascara and lip-gloss makes a big statement.
8. Go natural.
"Let your face breathe and your natural beauty shine through."
I love playing with makeup and doing different looks (hello, smokey eye!), and Julissa seems to have the same love for it. Although, she's not allowed to wear it outside the house yet. But it's also good to teach our daughters to let their faces breathe and spend a makeup free day.
9. You only get one face. Take good care of it.
Yes.
After getting her birthday money, Julissa asked to go shopping for lip-gloss and earrings—she's such a girl :)!—and while at the store, she chose a glossy, glittery lip-gloss..."because it's a good brand, not too dark, and it's pretty", she said.
I guess she's been listening to me all along.
~ Yamilka ~
