The Skin Issue 2

In my last post I wrote about skin pigmentation and the problems it poses for people. in this post my focus will be on a more general topic of skin but a super important one- Exfoliation and Hydration. Over the years I have worked in many different areas of the beauty industry specialising in care of the skin, it has also been my pleasure to work with some awesome dermatologists and aesthetic doctors. One of the most important things I had learned from them is the importance of skin conditioning (or exfoliation) for the overall health and visible improvement of skin. Up until I learned the importance of this I guess, like everyone, I believed that cleaning and moisturising the skin were the most important things you could do for skin maintenance. It wasn’t until I truly saw the difference that regular conditioning made that I realised how skin appearance can be transformed.

How does it work?! You can exfoliate the skin in a variety of ways and using lots of different techniques and ingredients. The action and science behind exfoliation is fascinating! And once you understand you will be hooked. Exfoliation is a method of sloughing off dead skin cells and debris from the surface of the skin using a variety of methods and products. The benefits to the skin of doing this are:

Deep cleaning- removing stubborn particles of make up and pollutants

Stimulating- increasing the blood flow and therefore speeding up activity in the skin namely the cellular turnover (which makes the skin glow!)

Oxygenating- with the increase of blood flow there is an increase in oxygen exchange in the cells, making the skin glow with health.

Scrubs of all types

For the average person with no clinical skin conditions present active exfoliating or ‘mechanical’ exfoliating is an easy option. You can buy exfoliators over the counter or from you skin care advisor to use at home and if you are dedicated you can use exfoliating tools such a Clarisonic device. This method of exfoliation is great for the younger skin types as well- teen to 30 ideally.

For the more advanced mechanical scrub you could opt for Microdermabrasion or Hydrodermabrasion in the salon instead. These are professional treatments suited to non sensitive skins and can also be used to actively irritate the skin into increasing cellular reproduction. Again, very suited to the younger skins.

Moving on to Acids and Enzymes

Back in the day, the 80’s and 90’s Alpha Hydroxy Acids or Fruit Acids were the watch word for every range. Extracted from ingredients such as swiss apple, papaya, pineapple and honey, we knew they sounded great but what did the do?!

These were the first ingredients – in ultra low doses- that started us on the journey to acid peels…same theory but different base ingredients. If you know me the chances are that you will have heard me refer to Cleopatra and her famous beauty routine, honey and asses milk. These are basically beta hydroxy acids and Lactic acid, which is why her skin was alleged to be so translucent and smooth…..

Today, we have been propelled into the science of these ingredients and now can safely use a multitude of acids to release the dead skin cells, or dissolve actual layers of skin (with the more specialised peels) to reveal the true beauty of fresh cells underneath. These are referred to as ‘Chemical Peels’.

This term is slightly deceiving though, each original ingredient used to produce an acid is, of course, natural. The ‘chemical’ is the way of extraction.

Glycolic Acid is hugely popular in anti aging ingredients, it is extracted from sugar beat.

Mandelic Acid is used to reduce or fade pigment and is extracted from sweet almonds

Lactic Acid is the mildest of the acid family and is found in milk protein.

Salycilic Acid is used for dispersing oil and dead cells on the skin and deep cleaning, this is from Willow Bark.

Chemical peels can be buffered or non -buffered and they will be offered in different strengths for different purposes. They can be very mild and VERY effective, they are also suitable for sensitive skins, especially touch sensitive skins. Most dermatologists work extensively with acids to manage specific skin conditions effectively.

Similar to acids there are also enzymes and peptides that can be used for exfoliation. These work slightly differently. These are ingredients such as raspberry, mango, Oligo peptides, cocoa. Often these ingredients are more active and can ‘eat away’ at the dead cells on the surface of the skin. They are not strong enough to go deeper, however they can be much more active on the surface of the skin and will create oxygenation very quickly. Perfect for more resilient skin types in need of a nudge….sometimes our skin looks like it has gone to sleep and we need to wake it up!

Acids and enzymes can be used in small amounts in at home products or can be administered in the salon professionally- or both! We offer the Enzyme facials by Circadia which are a gorgeous treat to liven up a dull complexion.

We are masters of mixology as well and can mix you up a prescriptive facial of your own combining peptides, enzymes and even layering an acid for that extra va voom!!

At Skinfit Face and Body clinic we have used all of our experience and knowledge of working with skin to formulate the best combination of techniques for transformation and management in our facials. …We pride ourselves on progressing with every new piece of research and concentrating on being totally in tune with your skin needs to get the very best results. We can offer you a little bit or a lot of WOW

……and we work on ourselves and each other ALL the time to make sure we really are on point. Here is my lock down post brightening peel pic! (NB please don’t try this at home t’s and c’s apply..:)))