All About Simple Cleansing

Hello beautiful people, and welcome to my brand new blog! Before we go into our topic, first, a little introduction. I am by no means a medical doctor or a professional aesthetician, but am simply a skincare and makeup junkie. I do it for the love of it, and do NOT claim to be an expert. Much of what I will share here is from my own personal experience, and what works for me.

For reference, I have skin that is on the dry side which turns into combination (oily in some areas) once in a while. My skin is also sensitive, and my major area of concern is hyperpigmentation caused by sun exposure, bad genes, and most recently, pregnancy! I rarely have breakouts and acne unless I have been stressing or not sleeping well, or it's that time of the month. So let's get started!

PS: The blog will be bilingual (Mizo and English) for now as far as possible so that I can reach out to more readers who might be more comfortable in either language. Let's see how it goes.

So, I thought the first post should be on cleansing routines. Now, most of us might already be aware of this, but to put it simply, our skin needs to be thoroughly cleaned before anything else. No matter how many wonderful products you use, you need to cleanse first for the products to work effectively. Makeup also looks much better on a clean and refreshed canvas, which is your face. Again, makeup by itself does not often cause skin problems (unless you are allergic to some ingredients, which we will talk about in later posts), but makeup that is left on the skin due to improper cleaning is often the culprit. Cleansing does not only refer to cleaning off the surface dirt or makeup, but actually cleaning deep into the skin so that your pores are not clogged. Clogged pores, of course, cause acne, dullness, and myriad other problems, not to mention the fact that minute amounts of makeup and dirt trapped in your pores cause them to enlarge in the long run, thus causing large and unsightly open pores which, experts sadly say cannot be minimized once they are enlarged.


I don't want the post to be too long, so let's jump right into our basic skin cleansing routine, which may comprise of:
1. Taking off makeup with a makeup remover. (For example: Neutrogena Eye makeup remover, available in India)
2. Washing the face with a facewash or cleansing foam suited to your skin type, using lukewarm water.
3. Toning: This is an important step because washing your face does not remove all impurities, and some toners also help to close the pores that have opened up whilst washing. Alcohol-free toners are usually recommended since they are more gentle on the skin. Toners may be applied with a cotton pad (to wipe off leftover dirt) or with your open palms, patting the product in gently.

Cleansing must be done at least two times a day, once in the morning and once at night.

Additionally, you might want to deep cleanse your face once or twice a week, using facemasks that have ingredients like clay, charcoal, mud, etc.

Again, for the more committed person, exfoliation is an important part of the cleansing routine, which you might want to incorporate. There are chemical and physical exfoliants, but in India physical ones (such as scrubs) are more easily available. Exfoliation gets rid of dead skin and encourage fast cell turnover (read 'new skin') so must be done at least once or twice a week. Try to find gentle scrubs with smaller granules, so that you do not damage your sensitive facial skin!

Have special face towels reserved ONLY for your face since using the same towel for your hair, body, and face may cause breakouts. For instance, hair product residues such as shampoo and conditioner may be left on the towel, and if you dry your face with this, those residues could be bad for your skin. Try to have at least two or three face towels so that you can wash them after every two days or so. It is important to PAT your face dry rather than rubbing the skin vigorously.

This is applicable to all you handsome men too, not just the ladies! :)

Lastly, it is important to know your skin type and skin concerns so that you can use products specifically geared towards your needs. There are so many products in the market for dry, oily, normal, combination, acne, sensitive, etc skin types.

[Mizo]
Vun hrim hrim leh hmai tihfai tluka vun enkawlnaah hian step pawimawh hmasa a awm lo awm e. Eng anga product tha pawh i hmai ah hnawih la, i hnawihna vun a fai that loh chuan a thawh tur ang ka thawk tha thei tak tak dawn lo a ni. Hmai tihfai tih hian a pawnlang bal leh makeup lang thei phih fai ringawt hi a tawk lo a, mit in a a hmuh theih si loh kan vun kua (pores) a tang tam tak a awm thei a. Hei hian pores lian te, hmaibawl te, hmai thim leh nung lo te leh thildang harsatna tamtak a siam thei a ni. Tin, makeup hnawih dawn pawhin lemziaktu in a lehkhapuan fai leh var sar a thiam taka a ziak ang hian, i hmai kha fai taka i lo dah kha a pawimawh a, chuan makeup hnawih pawh a mawi duh bik bawk a ni.

Hmai tihfai dan awlsam thei ang ber chu a chunga step 3 ang khi a ni a. Hetiang hian ni khatah zing leh zan mut hma in tih hram hram a tha.

Duh chuan facemask hmai tifai tura siam bik (a tlangpuiin mud, charcoal, clay tihvel a siam) hi kar khatah vawi 2 emaw tih tel a tha.

Vun thi leh a chung langa vun hlui tawh tih tlak hi a pawimawh a vangin exfoliate peih tan chuan kar khatah vawi hnih khat tal tih a tha. Chemical leh physical a awm a, physical hi kan hre lar zawk maithei a, scrub kan tih ang chi ho hi an ni a, vun hlui tih tlak nan leh vun thar insiam nan a pawimawh a ni. Hmai i scrub reng reng in a scrub a mu awm kha a hraw leh thap lutuk hman loh a tha, chulo chu i hmai vun kha i ti chhe zawk ve thei a ni. Na taka scrub tawk tawk loh tur a ni bawk.

Towel hi hmai hrukna hran neih hram hram tur, duhthusam chuan pahnih- pathum tal neih a, suk zung zung a tha. Sam leh taksa hrukna nen a hmanpawlh loh a him. Sam hrukna phei chu towel ah khan shampoo leh conditioner bang nawi  a lo kai chuan vun hi a bawl duh lutuk. Tin hmai hi dep (deh) hul tur a ni, hruk hul tawk tawk loh tur.

A tawp berah chuan i vun in a mamawh product i thlan fuh a ngai a, vun mawm, ro, bawl, sensitive, normal leh a dang tamtak tana siam hman tur a to ber atang a tlawm ber te pawh a awm a, miin a tha an tih ang lei ngawt lova i vun nen a inmil i hman hram hram khan i ngeih bik dawn a ni.

There is so much more to say, about cleansing routines, but let's stop here for now. Next post: Korean skincare routine! Until then, stay beautiful :)

Below are some recommendations for cleansing:
some products available in India