By Kathy Fang

Skin Care for Busy Moms – I like to call this selfcare. After you find the right products for your skin, your skin care routine should take less than 5 minutes every morning and night. That’s easy enough to accomplish every day, even for the busiest moms.

3 Rules of Skin Care

Before you build your skin care routine, remember the 3 rules below.

Do Your Research!

The market is super saturated with skin care products and it’s easy to get sucked into the marketing and fancy labels, ads and plugs. Take time out of your busy day one night and read up on the benefits of various products, find what fits your needs and skin type. Dermreview.com is a great resource as it isn’t about just rating skin care products. It goes into depth about every type of product there is for skin and delves into the purpose of these products and how it affects skin. It’s one of the more comprehensive sites on skincare products.

Don’t Skimp

Your skin takes a big beating, between lack of sleep, sun damage, makeup, and just overall wear and tear, it’s no wonder everything shows in your face when you have a rough night, day or year. Open up your purse bag on products you love and splurge a little on facials and treatments. This is a worthwhile investment for yourself. You want to invest a little time and money into your skin. Preventative work is far easier to tackle than corrective work.

Create Routine

Skin care products are not miracle workers. A lot of products are used to help prevent further degeneration of skin/aging. Some are there to help improve skin elasticity, texture and firmness, but all of these only take into effect after a long period of time. You have to continually use these products for it to make any difference…Find the things you struggle with or want to achieve, find the right products for it and create the right routine for yourself, every morning and night.

Do it every day, no matter how tired you are or where you are. It will pay off in the end.

Below is a simple skin care game plan that moms can follow.

Morning Game Plan

1. Toner —  clarify, tone and brighten your skin
2. Serum – brightens, tones, lifts, improves elasticity and reduces fine lines
3. Vitamin C – firms skin, reduces wrinkles and fine lines
4. Day Cream/Emulsion – hydrates and moisturizes
5. Sunscreen – Protect the skin with sun damage

Evening Game Plan

• Facial Cleanser and Makeup Remover -Find one that suits your skin type
• Toner – clarify, tone and brighten your skin
• Retinol – reduce fine lines, wrinkles, improves elasticity, improves texture and tightens skin
• Serum – brightens, tones, lifts, and reduces fine lines
• Night Cream/Emulsion – hydrates and moisturizes

Weekly Game Plan

Skin can look dull if we don’t remove the dead layer of skin that builds up. The below products help remove dead skin and unclog pores so the more youthful layer beneath is revealed. It also helps with the evening and morning game plan. Products can be absorbed better when the top layer of dead skin is removed. I like to call this weekly maintenance or deep cleaning.

1. Hydrating, tightening and brightening masks
2. Peels/Scrubs
3. Salicylic Acid/ BHA / Exfoliants

If all this is done religiously every single day, you will feel and look energized and youthful. You won’t feel the need to pile on the makeup to hide anything. That feeling is so liberating as a mom. To not feel bad about how you look and feel when you look at yourself in the mirror. To be happy about your skin and feel comfortable enough to throw on a little makeup is not only bold but also powerful.

Makeup Tips for Busy Moms:

We don’t always wakeup fully rested and looking fresh.

Below are great tips to get us looking effortlessly chic and rested.

1. Light Foundation or Concealer – While this isn’t something I recommend doing on a daily basis, it is a great fast way to touch up your skin. Skin is something most people notice first, so a little foundation and concealer to cover up redness, blemishes , and dark eye circles is a must.
2. Water Proof Liner or Mascara – For those who are blessed with long lashes, simply curling the lashes and running a mascara wand through it will make your eyes pop. A busy mom’s lack of sleep can be seen in her eyes, so a little pick me up is necessary. Since I don’t have long lashes, I rely on liner. Draw along the lash line and finish with a little winged tip to give your eyes a little flirty awake look. Since we are pressed for time normally, I like to go with one or the other and not both. The goal is to look put together, youthful, awake and fresh. Waterproof because moms who are busy are always on the go, between working, commuting, attending sports games, etc. I like to know that my mascara or liner isn’t running halfway through the day, resulting in racoon eyes.
3. Shadow – Go with neutrals or warm tones, something with a little shimmer is nice too. We want to keep the lid light and not heavy. Try to simplify your choices in the morning because chances are you are doing makeup while multi-tasking other things.
4. Tinted Moisturizing Gloss or Balm – I don’t reach for lipstick unless I’m dolling up for a date night or going out with friends. It’s just not practical for busy moms as you have to reapply constantly to make it look good and it rubs off on things and can stain clothes. Gloss or balm on the other hand not only keeps your lips looking full and plump but also keeps your lips moisturized. Find something with a tint to give your lips some color and life. You can also reapply without looking or needing a mirror which is always a bonus.
5. Blush – Blush is a quick way to add color to your skin and bring brightness to your face. Busy moms don’t always get enough sleep and it can show in our faces. A little blush can instantly wake up your face and add a healthy flushed glow that many younger teens have naturally.
6. Brow Gel Pot – Brows define your face shape and draw attention to your eyes. If done right, it can make you look awake or tired. Find the right shape for your face, get it groomed regularly and fill them in. It’s a crucial step you can’t miss in the morning.

Each of these don’t require a ton of time to do in the morning, 30 seconds each. Which means you’re looking at makeup in under 5 minutes. If this isn’t right for busy moms then I don’t know what is. I know we can all muster 5 minutes in front of a mirror. Also remember less is more.

Go with something light and effortless. Obviously if you find the time to get ready for date night or dinner with friends, go to town. Spend that extra 30 minutes to doll up and do your hair.

But for those hectic mornings, do yourself a favor and give yourself a little self love (5 minutes of skin care and 5 minutes of makeup) You’ll be much happier throughout the day because of itJ

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