The S.M.A.R.T. Way to Care For Your Skin

[Jennifer Adams]

I'll admit it; I'm terrible when it comes to caring for my skin. Sure I wash it daily and I've always been good at limiting the amount of makeup I put on, but I've never been able to go the extra mile. Exfoliation is like a foreign word to me. Naturally, I've tried it several times and even seen reasonable results, but I've never been able to make it a regular habit.

Recently, I made the decision to take better care of my skin. Having said similar things to myself before, I knew I would have to be firm with myself in order to see this through. Ever since I was younger I have always used the S.M.A.R.T. method for setting goals and so I began to plan this one out.

If you're not familiar with the term, S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.

Specific: This is probably the most important one for me. I'm terrible for making vague goals so I always need to write down on paper exactly what this goal consists of. Does it involve weekly exfoliation? Am I going to start using a new product such as a day cream on a daily basis? What is my goal with all of this? The more specific the better as this makes the second part a lot easier.

Measurable: In order for me to be able to measure my progress and decide on whether I had been successful with this challenge the goal needs to be measurable. I decided that the best way to measure the goal would be whether I had stuck to my routine (as opposed to my skin getting healthier). This seemed to be the most measurable way of doing things.

Attainable: Is my goal attainable? For example, I travel regularly so any beauty products I will need will be limited to what I can fit in my suitcase. Thankfully I only use a few products such as my Elemis Pro-Collagen Body Serum and a few moisturizers. Any exfoliation products can be used when I am at home.

Realistic: Similar to attainable, is this something I can realistically fit into my lifestyle. Am I making the goal to difficult for myself? If I start to think I might not be able to keep this up regularly, I will look at making this easier (or more realistic) for myself.

Timely: Basically this just means that the goal should have a timeframe. It's similar to the specific aspect as it involves you nailing down the details as to what this goal requires. "I want to take better care of my skin" is a bit vague. "I'm going to wash my face twice daily and moisture once in the evening for the next two weeks is a lot more specific.

Using the S.M.A.R.T. acronym I've been able to really work hard at achieving this goal. I'm only a little bit into it but I'm confident that it will be very successful.