DIY vs. Professional Skin Care Alternatives


DIY skin care alternatives are quickly becoming the go-to solution for people looking for tricks and hacks that can serve them at the comfort of their homes. These home remedies are certainly proving to be cost-effective and convenient. However, there are questions to be asked about whether they are as effective as professional alternatives. In this article, we look at both alternatives in detail to help you settle on a skin care solution that will serve you effectively for the long haul. 

DIY Skin Care Features 

Awareness of Ingredients 
If you make your own DIY skin care products, you are aware of the ingredients that you include in them. This awareness is not available in professional skin care products because you do not get to decide the ingredients that are included in them. You can therefore go for DIY over professional skin care if you want to keep your skin from interacting with chemicals like preservatives, perfumes, and dyes which are not natural. 

Customization 
You can customize the quality and amount of your DIY skin care products to fit your personal needs at any given time. Such customization is not available in professional skin care where both the quality and quantity is determined by the companies. You also get to choose when to use your DIY treatments and therefore do not have to be limited by spa appointments that must be scheduled beforehand. 

Cost-Effectiveness 
Taking care of your skin by yourself is definitely cheaper than consulting a professional dermatologist and buying the recommended products. Purchasing the ingredients that you need in bulk and making the amount that you need per time will also reduce wastage and save you some money. 

Professional Skin Care Features 

Competence 
Hiring a skin care professional guarantees you a level of proficiency which you cannot get by engaging DIY alternatives. You can take advantage of the knowledge, experience, and wide range of solutions that professionals have to offer by simply paying a premium and leaving the rest to the experts. Professional competence will also come in handy if you are dealing with skin care conditions that only a licensed expert is allowed to address. Such conditions include extraction and chemical peeling. 

Comprehensive 
Getting a professional to care for your skin is certainly more comprehensive than doing it yourself. Professionals will offer you services like steaming and deep cleansing which you cannot do at home. These services cater for the overall health of your skin. If you care for your skin by yourself, you may also need to purchase a variety of ingredients that can be compressed into one professional product. 

Maintenance 
Professional skin care is an integral part of maintaining healthy skin. Even as a DIY skin care practitioner, you still need professional advice on what products to go for when the needs of your skin change. Such needs may change as a result of climate, hormones, nutrition, and medication. 

DIY Skin Care Tricks to Avoid 
You can find a lot of information on the internet about different DIY skin care tricks that worked for different people. However, you should not use such tricks unless they have been clinically proven to work. You can visit the Rudolph Care Shop for comprehensive and clinically proven skin care products. Some of the tricks that you need to avoid include: 

Citric Acid 
Just because citric acid is a naturally occurring chemical in lemons and oranges does not mean it is good for your skin. When not used in prescribed portions, citric acid can make your skin excessively irritable. It can also cause blemishes to start appearing on your skin each time you are directly exposed to the sun. 

Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) 
You should not apply baking soda to your skin because of its alkaline nature. This nature can cause excessive stress on your skin by dehydrating it and causing it to crack as a result of dryness. 

Garlic 
Garlic is widely considered to be medicinal in nature. However, applying raw garlic directly to your skin can result in inflammation. Eczema and blistering. 

Sugar 
Most people try to use sugar as an exfoliant when scrubbing off dead skin cells from their faces. However, sugar is too rough for your skin and can cause it to be easily irritable id directly applied to your skin. 

Picking 
It may be tempting to pinch or pick out skin irritations like acne, scabs, blackheads, and sebaceous filaments. However, picking at these skin problems may aggravate them even further. This aggravation is likely to result in open wounds and hyperpigmentation. 

DIY vs. Professional Skin Care Combinations 
You can combine DIY and professional skin care solutions when dealing with common skin problems such as: 

Acne 
Whether you are suffering from mild or deep acne, creating a general skin care routine should be your first course of action. General skin care includes activities such as face cleansing, moisturizing, serum application and sunscreen application. For mild acne, you can complement your general skin routine with non-prescription medication including salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, alpha hydroxyl acids, adapalene, and tea tree oil. You can also use acne stickers to reduce the inflammation of your acne pimples. If your acne does not subside after using these solutions, please visit the dermatologist. You may be suffering from severe acne that can only be remedied by professional medical solutions including antibiotics, retinoids, and extraction. 

Hyperpigmentation 
Hyperpigmentation is usually a result of over-exposing blemishes and scars to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Treating any hyperpigmentation on your skin will therefore involve applying sunscreen and makeup to prevent further UV damage. You can also remedy hyperpigmentation with a variety of ingredients including silicone, honey, vitamin C, Niacin amide, and Retinoic acid. Make sure you visit the dermatologist if your hyperpigmentation persists for him to give you the proper medication that you need. 

Conclusion 
DIY and professional skin care routines are both useful in equal measure. You should therefore supplement both methods to achieve a skin care routine that is both cost-effective and expert-guided.