It is easy to be overwhelmed when you go Shopping for skin care and see the huge array of products that are available on the market today. Millions of dollars are spent every year in advertising skin care products that claim to have the magic ingredient to create beautiful, youthful skin. The truth is our skin is inherited from our parents genetics, and we cannot change that. What we can do though, is to ensure we are caring properly for our skin. Since skin is our largest bodily organ it is essential that we take good care it. Clean and Clear skin is essential to your well-being, and when choosing skin care products it is important to determine what your skin type is, in order to buy the best skin care products for your skin.

Dry skin simply means you are lacking moisture and oil in the cells of your skin. Our skin naturally produces moisture in order to stay radiant and healthy. SK-II Facial Treatment Essence, Biotherm Homme Aquapower for Dry Skin and Dermalogica Intensive Moisture Balance are excellent products for restoring moisture to the skin. You don't have to spend a lot of money to get a adequate moisturiser -Palmers Cocoa Butter Cream Tube 100G, Galderma Nutra Plus Cream 10% 100G and Chem Care Aloe Vera Pure Gel Chem Care Aloe Vera Pure Gel are all available on MyShopping.com.au for under $10.00.

If you have dry skin it is important to exfoliate to remove dead skin cells before selecting a moisturising cream. Moisturisers are specifically designed to maintain skin moisture balance and rehydrate tired skin.

Before moisturising, exfoliate dry skin with products such as Biotherm Biosource Softening Exfoliating Cream, Academie AcadeSpa Tonic Dry Body Friction Scrub, or Clarins Smoothing Body Scrub For a New Skin. For a more intensive resurfacing of dry skin try La Prairie Cellular Microdermabrasion Cream.

If you have severely dry skin, apply an oil based product onto your wet skin after showering, such as Neutrogena Body Oil, Biotherm Intensive Body Treatment with Apricot Oil or Alpha-Keri Oil, then apply a moisturising cream.

Oily skin is usually a problem in the T-zone area of the face (nose and forehead) due to increased activity of the sebaceous glands. The key to maintaining oily skin is to gently cleanse away the oil without stripping away moisture. There are many excellent products that have been specifically formulated to care for oily skin. Dermalogica Sebum Control Serum, Christian Dior Magique Rinse-Off Cleansing Gel, Gatineau Mateliance Purifying Clarifing Emulsion and Dermalogica Dermal Clay Cleanser have all been developed to control excess sebum.

Moisturising for oily skin after cleansing with products such as Lancome Day Care Pure Focus Shine Control Moisturising Fluid, Shiseido Pureness Matifying Moisturizer Oil-free, and Chanel Precision T-Mat mattes out shine, evens out T-zone areas and delivers oil-free hydration immediately.

If you have a balanced or normal skin type then you can use a light-weight moisturiser to nourish and hydrate the skin such as Skin Ceuticals Daily Moisture, Clarins Cleansing Milk, Lancome Hydra Zen Fluid or if you are shopping on a budget try Olay Complete Cream.

Combination skin means you have a mix of skin types. There are many skin care products that have been designed to care for combination skin -- ensuring oil control and hydration of the skin. Start your skin care routine with a cleanser such as Peter Thomas Roth Combination Skin Cleansing Gel, Biotherm Biosource Clarifying Exfoliating Gel, or Murad Refreshing Cleanser. Then follow this with a toner such as Skin Ceuticals Equalizing Toner Pore Refining Toner, or Clarins Toning Lotion. The final stepin combination skin care is ensure you use a combination skin moisturiser such as Biotherm Multi Recharge Daily Protective Energetic Moisturiser, L' Oreal HappyDerm Moisturiser or J & J Clean & Clear Skin Balance Moisturiser.

Anti aging skin care is one of the biggest selling ranges in skin care today. Many people are often confused as to which products are actually proven to rejuvenate the skin and help to reverse the signs of aging in order to have youthful skin. Rather than having the unrealistic expectation of stopping the aging process, it is more important to have an excellent daily skin care regime that cares for your skin and helps it to be the healthiest it can be -- no matter what your age is. Based on scientific research into why our skin ages, anti aging skin care products now contain antioxidants and vitamins to help enrich the skin, and combat free radicals that occur from stress in our environment and lifestyles.

Stressed and Tired Skin leads to premature aging. Cellex-C have an excellent skin care range developed specifically for anti-aging, including antioxidant rich ingredients and vitamin E skin care. La Prairie Cellular Time Release Moisture Intensive Cream, Helena Rubinstein Force C Premium Super Energizing Cream, Biotherm Homme Age Fitness Active Anti-Aging Care, and Elizabeth Arden First Defense Advanced Anti-Oxidant Lotion are all excellent products containing powerful antioxidant skin protection.

One of the most powerful anti-aging products you can use -- is a sun protection skin care product. Research suggests that more than 80% of skin aging is due to skin damage from the sun -- causing premature aging.

Skin Cancer is responsible for the death of over 1600 Australian people each year. Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, according to The Cancer Council NSW. Almost 1 in 2 Australians will develop some form of skin cancer. Wearing a SPF Sunscreen is essential to healthy, protected skin.

The Cancer Council recommends these 5 steps to protect against damage from skin cancer:

wear sun-protective clothing that covers as much skin as possible,

apply broad spectrum, water resistant SPF30+ sunscreen 20 minutes before sun exposure and every two hours afterwards,

wear a hat that protects your face, head, neck and ears,

seek shade whenever possible, and

wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from glare.

In response to the recent media attention sun damage related deaths from skin cancer has had in Australia, iconic Australian model Megan Gale has released an anti aging sun protection cream. You can buy Megan Gale Invisible Zinc Anti-Ageing Facial Moisturising Sunscreen SPF 30+ for under $25.00. Lancome, shiseido, clinique and Olay have also released a large range of their skin care products with added sunscreen. Many skin care companies have now also released sun protection hand creams, such as Sisley Sisleya Global Anti-Age Hand Care and Clarins Age Control Hand Lotion.

To protect your face this summer try Megan Gale Invisible Zinc Face & Body Sunscreen SPF 30+, Nivea Sun 30+ Face Sunscreen Lotion, Shiseido Anessa Perfect Smooth Sunscreen SPF 50, or Clinique UV-Response Face Cream Spf 30 .

For face and body sun protection check out the Cancer Council sunscreens and large range of sun protection skin care. Don't forget to protect your lips when you are out in the sun -- try Megan Gale Tinted Lip & Cheek Balm SPF30 or Blistex Lip Balm Ultra SPF 30+.

Self tanning is the only safe way to tan. Acting NSW Assistant Minister for Health, Kristina Keneally stated recently "There is no such thing as a safe sun tan".

In order to educate people on the danger of skin cancer from tanning, the Cancer Institute of NSW is running an advertisement campaign called "The Dark Side of Tanning" - worth $2.16 million this summer with the message "tanning is skin cells in trauma, trying to protect themselves from cancer".

With the recent death of a young Australian from skin cancer, the Australian Medical Association / (AMA) has also published a media release urging all Australians to stop all forms of sun or UV exposure for the purposes of tanning. President of the AMA, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, issued a statement saying "'The tragic story of Clare Oliver, who died earlier this year from melanoma, clearly shows young people are as much at risk as anyone else.'

With the message that the only safe tan is a fake tan, the self tanning product industry is booming. Professional and easy to use spray tans are now being widely used - not only in the media and modelling industries - but by all consumers to whom they are now available. Professional products such as Tanline Body Tan Spray and Liquid Sun Vani-T have been voted the best professional self tan products on the market by industry professionals and magazines such as cosmoplitan. Former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins is reported to use the Vani-T Liquid Sun spray tan before all her modelling shoots.

Fake Bake also have an excellent range of products, and has been voted 'best self-tanner in the United Kingdom' by Women's Cosmetic Guide.

In order to produce an even, streak-free tan it is important to follow 3 simple steps:

1. Exfoliate

This is an important part of pre-tanning as it removes all dead skin cells. If you are tanning your legs shave them when you exfoliate in the shower. Use a good exfoliator such as Sally Hansen Airbrush Sun Pre-Tan Exfoliator , Neutrogena Pre-Sunless Scrub or Ego Sunsense Self Tanning System Pre-Tan Scrub -- these are all excellent and well priced pre-tan scrubs.

2. Moisture Free Preparation

Towel dry your skin and ensure you have no moisture from water or perspiration on your body. This is essential because the moisture will interfere with your tanning product and create uneven patches. At this stage you can apply a moisturiser if you have dry skin to prevent the tan from becoming darker in dry skin spots.

3. Application

Use all tanning sprays at least 20-30 cm away from the body. Some tanning products have an instant colour in them so you can see immediately if you have missed any spots and ensure an even application. If you are applying a tanning lotion or cream, apply sparingly to elbows, hands, feet and knees. Once you have applied your tanning product do not dress until you are dry. Wash your hands immediately after application to prevent your palms being coloured.

Acne Skin Care

Acne is a problem for millions of people across the globe. There is no magic cure product to prevent acne as it is mostly a hormonal and diet related condition, but there are several steps you can follow to help reduce the number and severity of your pimple and blackhead breakouts. Clean Skin is the key to helping reduce the number of impurities forming on the skin, and keeping the pores from being clogged. Using oil-based products such makeup, suntan oil, hair gels and sprays, can also cause acne -- particularly if you have naturally oily skin. Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Daily Face Wash For Acne 250ml and Peter Thomas Roth Medicated BPO 5% Acne Wash are both excellent acne washes to kill bacteria on contact and remove excess oil.

There are a number of good and inexpensive acne and pimple treatments available such as Clearasil Pimple Treatment Cream Vanishing and Phisohex Face Wash. Johnson & Johnson have a popular acne skin care range called Clean and Clear which removes pimple causing bacteria, removes pimple causing oil, deep cleanses the pores and soothes and comforts acne prone skin.

If you want a more advanced acne skin care system try Neutrogena Advanced Solutions Complete Acne Therapy System or Avene Cleanance 3 Step Program For Oily & Acne Prone Skin.

Apart from good skin care, a healthy diet with plenty of fresh water and wholesome food will also do wonders for your skin and acne control.