Technique: ​Preparing Your Canvas

You would never want to paint a masterpiece on an old cardboard box and if you did, the results would never be as good as the artist that started with a fresh, clean, smooth canvas. The most important part of creating that clean canvas is a good skincare regimen. The most important rule is to never go to bed without cleansing your skin, no matter what. The reason this is important is that your skin is the largest organ of your body and it lets your skin breathe and remove toxins from the body, but, it can also allow toxins and bacteria into the body.

During the day your skin is protected by a layer of natural oil called sebum as well as your make-up and moisturizer (true fact, good quality make-up is actually healthy for your skin). At night your skin goes into its rebuilding phase. It will literally “eat” anything that is left on your skin. If you are using the right kind of make-up, without fragrance and mineral oil, it may not necessarily be “bad” for your skin, but the protective layer of sebum or make-up has collected a variety of molecules of dirt, bacteria and other environmental toxins throughout the day and those things are definitely bad for your skin and your body. Allowing these materials into the skin can not only cause blemishes; it can also cause free radical damage which is known to lead to premature aging and maybe even skin cancer. Free radicals are unstable molecules that attack and destroy other healthy molecules. In other words, they eat away at healthy skin cells. Free radical damage can also be caused or perpetuated by a poor diet, lack of sleep, pollution and most notably sun exposure. Preventing free radical damage means eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, using cosmetics and skin care with a good SPF coverage and of course washing your face before going to bed in order to cleanse away dirt, oil, bacteria and other pollutants that have collected there throughout the day.