The Basics: Prepping The Face + Make Up Primer

*I am not paid to mention any products in this post.  These are all my thoughts and opinions*
Before you put any type of make up on, you need to clean your face right.

The essentials:

1. Cleanser-washes away dirt and bacteria
2. Toner -drys the excess oil and clears out pores (what the cleanser didn't pick up); reduces redness
3. moisturizer- toners can dry out the skin, this helps from flaking and actually keeps your face from getting oily.

IMPORTANT: Always always always wash your make up off before going to bed.  At night, you pores tend to produce more oil than during the day.  With makeup in your pores and icky oil you are for sure going to get some major breakouts!

Tips:

• Wash your face ever day, twice a day.
• If you have acne prone skin try this technique: instead of washing your face twice a day, do it 3 times a day. You may think that's a bit obsessive, but it really does reduce the oil build up.  I recommend washing your face in the shower.  The hot water opens your pores, making it easier to get all the icky stuff out of your skin.  WARNING: this practice will dry your skin out.  Make sure you moisturize!
• Exfoliate once a week.  (if you have some pimples, don't exfoliate that week.)
• Do NOT pop your pimples.  I know it's really hard not to, but trust me you'll have less scarring! Let the pimple run its course.
• Severe acne? Time to see a dermatologist.  You'll probably have to go on prescription.
• Avoid touching your face. All the bacteria on your hands gets applied to your face when you touch it. xP
• Wash your make up brushes! Either everyday or every other day! These brushes also hold a lot of bacteria if left untreated.
• Don't know how to correctly clean your brushes? Click here!
• Eat healthy.  Junk food has a lot of grease.  This grease makes your body produce more oils, these oils are usually excreted...through your face.  Yuck!
• See a pimple starting? Put some acne cream on it after washing your face.  It should make it go away in the next 24 hours.
• Alternate cleansers.  Sometimes, your skin can get use to a product and so it won't react to it anymore.  Find one of your old cleansers and use that for a night or two, then go back to your usually cleanser.  Your skin will thank you.
• Don't use the same wash clothes.  Everyday you need to switch to a new one.  Using the same wash cloth means your reapplying the dirt and grim you removed from your face earlier. Again, you'd be allowing yourself to get more breakouts...

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Primer

Ahh, primer. The foundation for the foundation. But some of you might be asking, "What is primer?"
Primer is usually a serum or gel that you put on your face before you apply concealer or foundation. It's suppose to even out your skin by filling in enlarged pores and smooth out fine lines.
Now the next question, "Do I need it?"
Depends on your skin type. Anyone with combination or just oily skin, don't use primers. Why? Take a look at this diagram.

Primer can essentially clog your oily pores and cause you to get breakouts! Yikes! The reason that dry skinned people can use primer is that they don't tend to have oil backup in their pores, hence the dry skin.
People who are acne prone, also, should not use primers. (Ha, well isn't that obvious?!)
Need an alternative?
Always use moisturizer. Yes, that is what I call primers. It doesn't matter if you have oily skin or not--I know that lotions can make you more oily or breakout more but hear me out. For acne prone skin try using Olay's Combination/Oily lotion. It's light and won't clog pores. Though there is still the risk of getting a breakout, you may want to look into finding a moisturizer that is for acne prone skin.
For people with dry skin, I'd just look for a normal face moisturizer.

Have any more questions? You can contact me via formspring, email, or right here in the comments below!
 
GOOD LUCK!
 
~Ally-Cat