Skin Care Conservation

Hello all, hope everyone’s having a good week. I know I’m supposed to start on the Nickel skin care product reviews, but this week I want to write about something different that has been on my mind (and everyone else’s too). With the economy on a major downturn, everyone is conserving any way they can (Walmart is my new best friend and you gotta love the free samples at Sam’s Club) and that includes their grooming products. You may be tempted to save some money and switch (temporarily) to cheaper drugstore brands, but please don’t. I know that alot of products sold here are a bit pricier but they really are better for your skin in the short and long run. Also, you don’t need to use as much of the product so most will last 2-4 months. With the lower-end brands, you need to use more and therefore buy more frequently (which may end up costing you the same or really close). More importantly, these inferior products contain inferior ingredients such as alcohol, which can cause damage to your skin such as excessive dryness and breakouts.

Here’s a few tips to conserve the great products you already own. These tips should only be a temporary measure to your daily routine and will not affect you skin in any way.

1. Use your scrub once per week instead of the recommended 2-3 times.
2. Use your face wash at night only, your shaving cream or shave gel can cleanse your face adequately.
3. Use your moisturizer at night only (unless it’s a SPF moisturizer, then always use it during the day, no exceptions), your after shave can moisturize your face adequately.
4. Don’t use your anti-aging serum everyday, every other day or so is fine temporarily.

Let me point out again that these measures should only be temporary changes to your routine. You do need to use these products the recommended amount of time to reap the full benefit to your skin. Always read the directions and use the proper amount, which is usually very small (dime sized for most products). If a product doesn’t last as long as it claims to, then it’s usually because you have used too much each time.

You can compromise on many things, but your skin shouldn’t have to be one of them. There is no reason to subject your skin to the harsh ingredients found in lower-end brands. It will do your skin more harm then your wallet good.

Hope everyone has a good rest of week and an even better weekend. I’m off to vote early (you can in Nevada). Next week, back to Nickel.

PS-if anyone has any other tips, please post them