A really clean skin should have uniform colour and translucency, and be free of debris to allow the upper layer to admit and reflect light. Every skin should be cleansed in the morning to remove the dead skin and oils discharge during the night, then again at bedtime to cleanse the day's dirt, and also each time fresh make-up is applied. Frequency depends on the skin type; oily skin, four or five cleansing a day. Wherever the water is hard avoid soap and water cleansing, use a cleansing lotion instead, it is preferable to avoid soaps altogether and use a face-wash instead, taking care to choose one that suits your skin type.

Normal skin

The skin is smooth, fine-textured and is neither too dry nor too greasy. It requires minimum care and no medication. A daily skin-care routine will help to keep this type blemish-free and glowing.

Dry skin

This skin may be of two types, one that lacks moisture, and the other that lacks oil or sebum. In moisture-dry skin, the is rough and flaky, looks and feels dirty, and make-up dose not adhere well in oil-dry skin, the skin appears and feels dry, thin and wrinkled, and lacks elasticity. There may be tiny expression lines on it. The factors which affect dry skin are harsh soaps, exposure to the sun, air-conditioners, cold weather, sauna, steaming, a poor diet and illnesses. Dry skin needs great care and attention, and skin-care products which supply oil and moisture and help to give the outer skin a soft, moist look.

Tone or freshen your skin after you have cleansed it, this is an extension of cleansing. Choose an astringent lotion, skin fresher or toner-all help to refresher remove traces of make-up or oil from your skin. Most freshners tighten up the pores temporarily and stimulate circulation. Rose water and cucumber juice also serve the purpose of natural toners.

Oily/greasy skin

In this type of skin, the oil glands are over-active and produce excessive oil, which gives the skin a greasy shine. The pores are open and enlarged, like an orange-peel, giving the skin a coarse look. This skin is prone to acne, blemishes and blackheads but has the advantage of not wrinkling early. The factors which affect oily skin are excessive sebum secretion, hormonal imbalance, a hot climate and oily, spicy foods. Oily skin needs special cleansing to keep the pores unclogged, as well as a proper diet. The indicated homoeopathic remedies for oily skin are; natrum-mur, pulsatilla, psorinum, merc-sol.

All skin types need a moisturiser tohelp retard the evaporation of natural moisture. Don't confuse the loss of moisture with the loss of oil-they are two different processes. oily skins can lose moisture as well as oil and there are light-weight moisturisers for them. For oil-starved skins, which often need lubrication as well as moisture, there are heavier moisturisers. Moisture is an important part of any beauty routine since, summer or winter, your face is constantly exposed to elements which dry out the skin-the sun, wind and cold weather. Central heating and air-conditioning create a very dry atmosphere which can really upset the natural moister levels in the skin.

Combination skin

This is the most common type of skin, and comprises of patches of dry skin while the rest is greasy. usually, the T-zone [the forehead, nose and chin] may be greasy while the rest is dry. The oily portion of the skin may be prone to whiteheads, black-heads, Acne and enlarged pores. The indicated homoeopathic remedies are; graphites, nitric acid, bryonia, naturum-mur.