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You need not buy so many beauty products to have and maintain beautiful, flawless skin—especially if you’re on a tight budget. Just know the essentials and invest in the best possible products you can afford.

According to Dr. Jennifer Linder, PCA Skin chief scientist who was recently in the country to talk about the line’s skincare products, the two skin care products you must invest in are facial wash and sunscreen.

I tried PCA Skin’s version of these essentials: their facial wash for oily/problem skin and their Protective Hydrator with SPF 25. I also invested in their acne gel when I had a breakout emergency recently.

What’s the verdict on these products? Click on the jump to find out.

We all want the same things from our facial wash—it must cleanse our face well and remove oil without drying it. PCA Skin’s Facial Wash Oily/Problem certainly meets these requirements. Just a small amount of the clear gel cleanser (a pea-size drop) is enough to build up a gentle lather that easily rinses off. Massage it on your face for a few minutes then wash off with water and pat dry. The result is soft skin that feels like it has been thoroughly cleansed yet without the dry, rough or flaky feeling that some facial washes and scrubs give you when they literally strip your face of oil along with all necessary moisture. I wash my face with it twice daily and my skin’s moisture and texture has improved considerably.

We have the same excuses for not wanting to wear moisturizer and sunscreen: we don’t want our face to look oily and feel greasy or sticky. And busy women like us do not have the time to apply both moisturizer and sunscreen when we are rushing to work in the morning. But did you know that 80 to 90 per cent of skin damage is caused by sun exposure? And that skin begins to age when you’re in your mid-20s—and would do so faster if you do not moisturize? It’s high time you start applying sunscreen, which must have PA++ (which protects against UVA rays) and SPF 15 to 30 (protection from UVB). According to Dr. Linder, anything less than this is not as effective, and anything more would not feel good on your skin (these are often the greasy products that you encounter).

PCA Skin’s Protecting Hydrator SPF 25 eliminates all our excuses for not using moisturizer and sunscreen. It rolls these two essentials into one. It contains antioxidants and Vitamins A, C, and E, and is made especially for humid weather. The product’s selling point for me is its matte finish, which feels nice on the skin. I apply it every morning, 20 minutes before sun exposure, and my face looks smooth and soft afterwards, without the oil and greasy feeling we usually associate with moisturizers and sunscreen. This is one of the best ways to get into the habit of applying sunscreen on your face. If you haven’t started yet, it is about time you do.

But what do you do when you still breakout once in a while, despite using skin care essentials? Find out on the next page (along with details of these products).

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under Beauty and Personal Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.