Basic Skincare Routine: Guest post with Skin by Jonathan

(Links are AFFILIATE links and i do make a small commission if used at no additional cost to you)

I love skincare and I know some basics, but as I mentioned in a recent post it’s not my area of expertise. With that being said, I asked my friend Jonathan Wolfenbarger who is a licensed esthetician to do a guest post on basic skincare. He explains more about skin types and how to figure out which one you are if you aren’t sure. He also shares some products you need to start a good skincare routine. He mentions high end products as well as more affordable options. I will link his instagram here for y’all to check out. He has more tips on his story highlights labeled tips. Without further ado, here is Jonathan’s information.

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The first step to caring for your skin is to determine your skin type: Dry, Normal, Combination, and Oily are the main skin types, and each need different maintenance. Dry skin is characterized by tightness, dullness, and lack of elasticity. Normal skin is supple, few to no visible pores, and is seemingly radiant with low level maintenance. Combination skin types can be a combination of: dry/oily, normal/dry, or normal/oily. Combination types tend to have larger pores focused in just the t-zone, often with blackheads. Oily skin can be recognized by having large pores, thick complexion, and are prone to blemishes. Humidity, stress, and puberty are a few non-hereditary causes of oily skin. 

If you’re still uncertain, that’s okay! Here is a basic routine you can do that is good for helping regulate all skin types. 

•Resting Cleanser (day & night)

•Active Cleanser (every other day/night) 

•Moisturize (day & night)

•SPF (day)

Resting cleansers are cleansers that are pH balanced but do not contain exfoliating properties such as acids or enzymes. Two of my favorite resting cleansers are the Sanitas Lemon Cream Cleanser (high end) and the CeraVe Foaming Cleanser (more affordable). The Lemon Cream Cleanser contains an antioxidant blend that helps detoxify and promote skin renewal. Both are great for all skin types. 

Active cleansers are cleansers that contain acids (glycolic, salicylic, lactic, etc.) or enzymes. These should be used only every other day/night to help exfoliate and renew skin and decongest pores. My favorite active cleanser is the Sanitas Glycolic Citrus Cleanser. It encourages cell rejuvenation, exfoliates dead skin, and removes impurities. It works well with all skin types. 

Moisturizing is a key point in treating your skin and maintaining a good complexion. People who have oily/combo tendencies tend to stray from moisturizer; however, it’s crucial to training your skin and regulating oil production. For the past two years, I’ve been using the Vita Rich Serum. This hydrating, reparative serum retextures skin and accelerates skin renewal. It contains only vitamins and essential fatty acids to strengthen and repair. It works great as a stand-alone moisturizer, and should be paired with SPF! 

Your choice of SPF is important. You should always make sure your sunscreen contains only Zinc Oxide and/or Titanium Dioxide. These are the safest natural protection for the skin. I recommend the Solar Block from Sanitas or the CeraVe Sunscreen. The Sanitas Solar Block contains an antioxidant blend (protects DNA from UV damage and environmental exposure). Both contain Zinc Oxide to provide UV protection.

 This is a simple start to working on your complexion at home. Once you regulate your skin using this routine, you can further assess your skin type and see if there are any changes.

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I hope y’all enjoyed reading Jonathan’s great advice! I will also link his website here if y’all want to check out all the services he offers. He is in Knoxville so if y’all are local you should definitely stop by! He sells Sanitas products where he works, so if you want to purchase any of the products he mentioned you can stop by and if he doesn’t have what you were looking for he can order it for you. If you want to read more about Sanitas I will link their website here and if you aren’t local to Knoxville I will link a website where you can buy Santias online here. CeraVe is sold at Ulta and most drugstores such as Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart, Target, CVS, etc. If you have any other skincare concerns or questions you can message me or you can reach out to Jonathan on Instagram. Let me know if y’all want Jonathan to do another skincare post in the comments!

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First Thoughts: Sanitas Skincare

I recently bought a skincare kit from Sanitas and on Instagram I asked if y’all wanted to see a post now or wait until I have been using it a while. It was pretty close, so I just decided to do both. For this post I wanted to tell y’all more about Sanitas Skincare, what products were in the kit, and what they do. After I have used all of everything in the kit I will do another post telling y’all my final thoughts on the products and if I can tell a difference in my skin.

I first heard about Sanitas Skincare from a YouTuber/Business Owner Brianna Stanko. She runs Premire Look (UPDATE: new company is called Your Skin Truth), which is a website that sells medical grade skincare. She always has great things to say about this line, but I just never got around to buying anything because I didn’t know where to start. One of my friends is an esthetician and about a week ago I went to get a facial by him. He has personally been using Sanitas for a while and recently started using it for his facials as well. I bought my kit from him because he is now selling it, and his skin is always flawless, so I thought I would give it a try. I haven’t really found a good consistent skincare routine yet, so I’m hoping this kit gets me started.

Sanitas Skincare began with one product, their Topical C daily moisturizer. It is still their number one selling product. Sanitas created this product to treat a critically burned patient using biogenic technology to mimic the very mechanisms that trigger the skin to heal itself. Through this they discovered that biogenic topical skin nutrition, also helps reverse the signs of aging and improves overall skin health! They still use this to formulate their products. Sanitas is cruelty free and their products are formulated without parabens, phthalates, dyes, harsh preservatives, and gluten. Any product that stays on the skin, meaning you don’t wash it off, are also completely fragrance free. The only essential oils they use are ones with medicinal purposes.

While reading more about Sanitas Skincare I also learned that they formulate and manufacture all of their products here in the United States, Boulder, Colorado to be exact. I love that because they can control the quality and the whole process from start to finish. I also read that they give their employees paid time off to volunteer with a cause of their choice and each year they select several causes to volunteer for as a team. I think that is so amazing when companies do that! They also never do business with countries or companies that engage in the violation of human rights. All of their suppliers go through a lengthy process to make sure they don’t engage in child labor, forced labor, or human trafficking. Whenever possible they source ingredients from fair trade companies and always do business with ethical companies as well.

Reading all this when researching for this post made me love this company even more. When they care about their employees and the world that makes me respect them more and make me want to give my money to more companies like that. They also care about the environment. They take many steps to be eco-friendly and if you want to read all the different ways you can click here.

So far I have been loving everything. They say to give skincare at least a month to notice a difference, so I’m going to wait to give my feedback on the products, but so far so good. My favorite as of right now has been the moisturizer because it makes my skin glow, and y’all know I am all about that glow. I will put pictures of everything individually down below with the description of the product and what it does. You can also click on the picture to go to the product on their website.

Let me know if y’all have any questions about the line or the products I've been using!

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UPDATE: This post is several years old, but I wanted to keep it up so yall could read my beginning with Sanitas. I have been using Sanitas ever since and it is now my favorite skincare brand. I actually reached out to them several months ago to try and work with them and they gave me a discount code for yall! You can now use code: Alicia15 for a discount on Sanitas website. I do receive a small commission from this code, but it is at no additional charge to you!

Removes surface debris without stripping or dehydrating the skin. A citrus infused blend of antioxidants helps detoxify, promote skin renewal and maintain skin balance. Complexion is left smoother, brighter and softer.

I use this as my cleanser every other morning and night. It removes impurities and exfoliates spent skin cells to encourage skin renewal. An active formulation of glycolic acid and hyaluronic acid helps reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and age spots while boosting moisture retention. Skin appears smoother, softer and more radiant.

You spray this right after cleansing before you apply any serums or moisturizer. It enhances the absorption and spreadability of serums and moisturizers. A collagen cofactor complex, combined with biogenic humectants, helps soften and smooth dehydrated skin. Perfect for setting mineral makeup or as a light skin refresher throughout the day.

This is a toner that you use after you have cleansed your skin. I use this every other day with the Glycolic Citras Cleanser. It removes spent skin cells and helps stimulate skin renewal. An amino acid complex, blended with glycolic acid, helps smooth the appearance of wrinkles, boost moisture retention and brighten dark spots.

I use this every morning after cleansing. I good rule to remember for skincare, thinnest consistency to thickest. This serum helps accelerate skin renewal, retexturize and prevent the visible signs of aging. Leaves skin firmer, smoother and brighter.

Replenishes skin's moisture reserve and targets environmental aggressors that can contribute to skin aging. Deeply nourishes to help minimize fine lines and wrinkles and leaves skin plumper, firmer and brighter.