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Session Tips

Skin Care Tips

Perfect skin helps the photographer, but it’s not necessary for your photoshoot. We photoshop all the photos free of skin blemishes, discolorations, etc. But if you want the confidence that goes with great skin on a daily basis, here are some tips.

Your getting ready for your photo shoot. You want to make sure everything is perfect. Skin can be covered up with makeup and with Photoshop made to look just about any way you want. But, for great looking skin no matter where or what you’re doing, there are a few basic steps. Good skin provides several benefits to your shoot and gives you a certain glow that can’t be done with just makeup or Photoshop. We shoot with a lot of models and have worked with Skin care professionals to understand just what it takes to create flawless model skin. Diet and genetics plays a big role, but four basic steps used consistently can create dramatic changes in anyone’s skin. Start now, the longer you adhere to these simple steps prior to your shoot, the better the results. Your skin type, oily, normal, combination, dry, sensitive or sun-damaged can change how you care for your skin. Above all, especially in Colorado, stay hydrated, drink lots of water, keeping your body hydrated is the key to great, elastic, young-looking skin.

1. Cleansing
Keep it simple. You don’t have to go for the fancy cleaners, just a good basic cleaner works great. Don’t use a bar soap, they tend to dry out your skin on your face. Check out The best cleansers for your skin type. You’ll want to take off your makeup with a proper makeup remover first. If you do this at night, in the morning, you cna get away with just some lukewarm water in the morning for removing excess oil. Always use warm water, not hot or cold water.

2. Exfoliate
This should be part of your weekly routine and can make a huge difference in your skin. There are three primary ways to exfoliate skin: Chemical peels, retinoids and Microdermabrasion. Scrubs simply remove the top layer of dead skin cells that tend to dull your complexion. Use a tiny grain, gentle scrub. Cheaper scrubs can damage the skin. Check out Lancome’s Resurface-C. It’s a bit on the pricey side, but the next best thing to a professional monthly peel. Retinoid such as Retin-A work by removing the dead skin and help generate collagen in the skin. Most skin care experts consider Retinoids a skin saver.

3. Moisturize
Don’t moisturize if you have acne. Moisturizers help with tight/dry skin. Be careful not to over moisturize as it may clog pores. Your skin will tell you if you need moisturizer. You can also use moisturizer instead of eye creams.

4. Sunscreen
The single most important step to save your skin, not only for today, but for years to come. If you moisturize, use a non-SPF at night and use a SPF one in the morning before you go out. Mexoryl-based is the best in our experience and can be found in the Neutrogena product lines among others.

Web resources
Nothing replaces talking to a skin care professional or a dermatologist for problem skin. Everyone’s skin is different and sometimes minor modifications to your routine will make work far better for your particular skin type. We’ll post a set of links to web resources for additional skin care information.