The purpose of this cosmetic skin care guide is to provide essential skin care tips to help you understand your skin and help it to look its best by making sure you know what affects it well and badly, what kind of skin care products to choose, what to avoid.

Everyday exposure to the elements (sun, wind, rain, extreme heat or cold) and, recently, the popularity of intensive sunbathing, sports like snow and water skiing, the accumulation of pollution in the air around us all have damaging effects on the skin and need body skin care.

For anti aging skin care good diet, exercise, sleep, fresh air and plenty of water are necessary if your skin is to look its best. On the other hand, it will react badly to emotional stress and tension and it will suffer from sun and wind if not protected. Deodorant antiperspirants should be used sparingly or glands will cease to function properly; also avoid excessive washing and beware of unqualified 'beauticians' in fields like massage and hair removal.

All skins needs a freshener for body skin care . After cleansing, a certain amount of debris and oil will inevitably remain and must be removed. Fresheners, toners and astringents are all of the same family, containing more or less alcohol. They all aim to stimulate circulation and restore the acid mantle which may have become unbalanced in the cleansing process. All skins need moisturizing. Natural moisture evaporates and needs containing in even the oiliest skin. Moisturizers form a film over the skin's surface, holding in the natural moisture and providing a smooth base for make up or a protective barrier between the skin and the environment. There are lightweight, medium and heavier types of moisturizer the richer ones being needed as the skin grows older, or if they are going to be used without the added protection of foundation.

Whatever your race, skin is usually divided into four types: oily, dry, a combination of the two and balanced, with two subsidiary categories, sensitive and blemished.

All skin needs cleansing to get rid of surface dirt and stale make up and to loosen clogged pores. You may be a soap and water addict, and there is nothing better than this, provided the soap is mild, designed for your skin type and thoroughly rinsed off afterwards. Or there are cleansers which also need to be rinsed off with water.