Skin Health vs Beauty Regimen

I was able to go to the International Dermal Institute last month and learn a massive of amount about skin health, Dermalogica products (applications and active ingredients) electrical modalities, and most of all, what I can do as your therapist to help you achieve healthy skin.

For too long, Americans have viewed skin care as a beauty regimen instead of a necessity. I probably don't have to tell you, but instead let me remind you that our skin is the largest organ of our bodies. It is not vain to want healthy skin. It is important for us to want to look and feel healthy, and the way to start that process is with the first thing that we see in the mirror. Too many of us are time crunched, hurried, overworked, and too tired to properly take care of our skin, trust me, I am guilty. However, if we don't take the time to take care of our skin now, then we have no one else to blame but ourselves when we look 10, 20 even 30 years older than we actually are! When this happens, it is much harder to get back what you lost! The old saying goes: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I think that the biggest problem we have is no one has really taught us all the steps we need to take to care for our skin properly. I was taught how to brush my hair and teeth, but not how to properly cleanse my face!

So here goes some of the important basics that I can share with you, and I will boil it down to the essentials.

It is important to cleanse your face, neck and decolete (upper chest area) 2 times a day. Yes, TWICE a day. Why? Before bed, many of us are wearing make-up. Make-up tends to attract pollutants and dirt. Do you really want that all over your pillow case? Whether you shower before bed, or in the morning, that other cleanse can take place in your shower/bath time. If you are not cleansing properly or often enough, you will not receive maximum results from those expensive treatments, eye creams, and moisturizers. These products have a hard time penetrating through build up of dirt, skin, and pollutants. Notice I said cleanse and not wash. By saying cleanse, I am referring to a facial cleanser, and not a soap!

Secondly, after cleansing, you should be using a toner. Do not skip this step. A toner does just that, it tones and brings the pH of the skin back to an acidic level. If your toner has alcohol and leaves you dry, try a Dermalogica toner, you will love it. Cleansers tend to leave our skin more alkaline and our skin is happiest being around 4.5 on the pH scale, acidic. Tightness does not mean less wrinkles in this case.

Third, we need a moisturizer. For those of you with oily skin, you too need moisturizers! As the name suggests, moisture, not necessarily oil. If your moisturizer is too oily, then you need to find one that is more appropriate for your skin type. During the day, we all need SPF. Under ideal circumstances, we should be re-applying SPF every 2 hours; however that is pushing the limit to what I am willing to do. So, in the very least, apply it before you leave the house, and many moisturizers contain SPF built into them, one less step for you in the morning. Sun damage is the number one extrinsic factor to pre-mature aging. Why moisturize? Remember, we live in the desert, and chances are you are dehydrated. Fully hydrated skin, has a nice healthy glow; however for NM, it is elusive, because not only do you need to moisturize properly, you need to drink lots of water, and not take blazing hot showers.

Hope this is the beginning to a healthy start for your skin health. I hope that I didn't overwhelm you, and if you need any clarification or have questions, please let me know!

Thanks for reading, and I will see you next month!
-Kym