Women's Beauty Secrets

Chapter 15: Taking Care of Your Beautiful Face

Face Shapes and Skin Types

Two of the most important factors in your appearance are the shape of your face and what type of skin you have. Your whole facial routine and approach to make-up will hinge on these factors – for instance you may need to compensate for an over-greasy skin, or want to play down a wide jaw.

Beauty comes in all shapes and forms, and there are no hard and fast rules about the proportions necessary for an attractive face, but you will certainly find it useful to make a frank assessment of your good and bad points. Then you will be able to make the most of your assets and minimize your weaker features.

Measuring Your Face

Your face will be so familiar that you may not know if it is broad, long, or average. Tie or pin your hair back and then do some measuring.

·         Measure the length of your face from your hairline to the tip of your chin.

·         Now measure the widest part of your face, which will usually be across the top of your cheekbones. The classic oval face has a length equal to one and a half times its width; considerable variation from this implies that your face is extra long or extra broad.

Check your profile by placing the rule against your nose and chin. If your mouth touches the rule, you have a receding or weak chin.

Know Your Face Shapes

Checking the proportions of your face will help you identify your basic face shape.

·         Heart-shaped Face  – This shape has a wide forehead and a long pointed jaw line; use make-up to add extra width at the cheeks and jaw.

Square Face  – A square shape is characterized by a broad forehead and jaw line. Soften the squareness with shading and a flowing hairstyle.

Round Face  – This shape is broad and short with rounded contours. Shade and highlight to bring out the bone structure and play down fullness.

Long Face  – The frame of this face is narrow and long; style hair to add width, and use blusher on the cheekbones.

Oval Face  – This face is often classically beautiful, with no feature out of proportion.

Diamond Face  – This shape is wide at the cheeks with a narrow forehead and jaw. Use make-up to minimize width at the cheekbones.

Skin Types

Skin type is determined by the level of activity of the sebaceous glands under the skin of the face.

Whatever your skin color, your skin will be one of four basic types. Take careful notice of your skin's characteristic, as you will need to choose your make-up and skin-care products accordingly. Nowadays, there's a lot more beauty products to choose from in the market. Choose which one that suits your skin and lifestyle. If you are not sure of your skin type, wash and cleanse your face and then leave it for a few hours without cosmetics; look for dry and oily patches after that time.

Oily Skin

Oily or greasy skin has an overall shine. The skin is coarse and often sallow, with large open pores, spots, blackheads, and acne are likely, as the sebaceous glands are over-productive, but oily skin stays looking young longer than any other types. Skin tends to be oiliest in a panel down the center of the face.

Dry Skin

Dry skin looks dull and matt, feels taut, and is sometimes flaky. Because of its lack of sebum it is very vulnerable to extremes of temperature. Wrinkles may appear early, but spots and acne are not very common. Dry skin is usually most troublesome in the eye and lower cheek areas.

Combination Skin

This is the most common skin type, with a central T-shaped panel of oily skin on the forehead, nose, and chin. The cheeks, throat, and skin around the eyes are dry. Black skins especially tend to have greater extremes of oiliness and dryness.

Balanced Skin

This is the ideal skin all women are aiming for, but only a few achieve! The skin is fine in texture, smooth, and well-colored. It rarely breaks out in spots, and looks youthful well into the thirties.

Cleansing is the single most important aspect of skin care.

Make-up should always be removed with a cream or lotion make-up cleanser.

Avoid using very hot or very cold water on dry and sensitive skins as extremes of temperature can burst blood vessels and cause a red-veined look.

The best way of washing your face is to use your fingers, a well-rinsed sponge or a soft complexion brush. Back skins shed their outer layers slightly more quickly than white ones, and they particularly benefit from a gentle but thorough scrub with a soft complexion brush.

While soap and water make the skin look and feel clean, only cleansing creams and lotions are efficient enough to remove make-up properly. Unless the skin is thoroughly cleaned every night, it will look dull and lifeless, and will be more prone to spots and blackheads from clogged pores. Dirty skin looks drab and ages more quickly.

Toners

Toners complete the cleansing process, removing the last traces of dead cells and grime from the skin. They often have a healing effect on a spotty skin and prepare all skins for the application of moisturizer, making it feel cool and refreshed.

Moisturizers

The effects of a moisturizer can be summarized as follows:

·         It forms a film to prevent moisture loss and external damage.

          It adds some moisture to the skin, according to formulation.

        The inclusion of active ingredients, such as vitamins, may have beneficial effects on their own account.

         It speeds up the skin renewal process.