A Natural Nurturing Approach to Skincare

Experts suggest the industry is shifting toward a more natural approach, with eco conscious formulations that promote healthy skin and environmental sustainability, with popular ingredients like retinol and vitamin C being derived from natural sources instead of being created in a lab.

Protect the Skin Barrier

You’ll hear us skincare specialists talking about ‘Skin Barrier Function’, but what does that actually mean and whats all the fuss about? 

Here’s a wee bit of science….

Skin is the largest organ of the human body, typically 1 square centimetre of skin has approximately 6 million cells, 3 blood vessels, 10 hairs, 12 nerves and 15 sebaceous (oil) glands.
Primarily the skin acts as a protective cover, but has many additional functions including: Protection from cold, heat and radiation(think sun exposure), water loss, pressure, blows, abrasions, pressure, blows abrasions and invasion by micro-organisms, pathogens and harmful substances
Absorption of certain substances, Secretion of sebum (our body’s natural oils), Excretion of waste (sweating).

The skin is constantly subjected to internal and external aggressors; UV damage, allergens, environmental pollution, stress, they all take a toll on the skin and therefore susceptible to damage, this results in the skin continually repairing and healing itself.
With so many functions its important ensure we keep our skin as healthy as possible but you may be doing harm to your skin with skincare products and routines.
Not knowing how to properly use a product or tool, using ingredients that aren’t suited to our own skin needs and types, or incorrect skin care routines can irritate, worsen the condition or even damage the skin further.

Bad Habits

There are some things we can do to improve the appearance of our skin. Recognising some of our bads skin care habits and taking steps to correct these will go a long way to improving your skins appearance.

1. Waking up in the morning and you’re still wearing your makeup – That’s just a big NO! Not only is this harmful to your pores: clogging up with old makeup, but also to the sensitive skin around your eyes, especially if you went hard and heavy with the mascara and eyeliner.
Not to mention all the makeup rubbing off on your pillow case – the one you will probably use the next night and rub your face over the old make up deposits!

Remove makeup and thoroughly cleanse, tone and hydrate your skin each night.
You may be tired, even a little hung over, but your skin will thank you for it in years to come.

2. Don’t over-exfoliate! Its great to have smooth skin and it’s a boost to your confidence but in this case ‘Less is definitely more’
Exfoliating too often can cause over production of sebum (skin’s oil) causing breakouts making up for the loss of moisture. And it can cause the skin to become irritated.
Only exfoliate once a week, more if it is recommended by a skin specialist.

3. You don’t need to use all of your skincare products at once.
While some brands have created products which can be layered, and this may be useful and recommended, you need to be aware of when your overusing products, or worse using products which counteract each other!
It’s always best to have a skincare consultation to receive best possible advice of which products are suitable AND when to use them.

4. Picking that zit! Been there, done that, had the scars!
While I didn’t suffer with acne in my teens, I did have it in my late 30’s, it was not a lot, but it was painful. Too much squeezing and I ended up with scarring.

Picking pimples can lea to scarring and if prolonged or harsh it can bring on the appearance of dark spots. Plus squeezing one spot and then another on a different part of your face is only going to transfer the infection. Wrong technique or too much pressure can cause rupture below the skin surface, leading to more breakouts.

So, leave the picking for the experts, have a treatment and have the pimples/blackheads extracted correctly.

5. Dirty Makeup Brushes!
Not only will you wind up with muddled colours on your brushes, not washing your brushes has shown to caused clogged pores and various types of bacterial infections.
Every week wash your brushes in warm water using gentle shampoo, rinse and allow them to dry overnight.
And DO NOT share your make up and brushes with anyone else, this is a sure way to transfer bacteria!

6. Get enough sleep. What’s that got to do with my skin care habits?
We sleep so that our body can heal, repair and restore. Not enough (good) sleep can lover the skins PH, which affects the skins moisture-retention abilities and dulls your skins natural glow.
Plus, it makes your cranky!

Signs of Pre-mature Ageing

We are all aware of our skin aging, but how much notice do we really take, and what do we do about it.
By my late teens my mother was encouraging me to have a full skincare routine. She would say ‘ skin starts to showing ageing at 25’. And really its very true, just look at the changes happening to your skin from mid-20’s onwards.

The changes a subtle at first, and these sneaky indicators may reveal your skin ageing faster than you’d like. When you first see these changes, it’s the time to start caring for your skin if you haven’t already.
Think of when you hurt a muscle that doesn’t heal as fast as it used to, you compensate by posture or even altering your exercise regime, and as we get older we make further adjustments to accommodate.

The same applies to your skin and skin care plan.
1. The skin on your chest (décolleté) is quite thin resulting in your skin being more vulnerable to damage, both internally and externally. Fine lines usually appear and can have a dull, rough appearance caused from UV damage, weather and other environmental aggressors. And many people forget to extend their skin care down their chest and around their neck.

2. Did you know your lips thin and dehydrate for the same reasons that our skin sag, losing suppleness. Its caused due to the reduction of ceramide, collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid in the body, resulting in our skin being more susceptible to moisture loss. For example, collagen loss happens as early as you 20’s (my mum was always right!) and continues at about 1% loss every following year. Using a moisturising lip balm can help maintain moisture levels.

3. The Eyes have it!
It’s one of the most susceptible areas of the body to experience the subtle changes due to ageing.
This is because the skin under the eyes is the thinnest on the face and therefore doesn’t have many layers to help reduce the ageing signs. This is why wrinkles under the eye (microcracks) are likely to show first. Don’t confuse these with crows’ feet on the outer edges of the eyes.

There is Hope!

So, what do we do to slow the skins ageing?
Be proactive with a holistic approach to your daily skincare

Skin Types vs Skin Conditions

This is where a lot of people choosing the wrong products.
So, what is skin type versus skin condition?

Skin Type is determined by genetics, although it will also be affected by other factors and can change with time. Based on these characteristics, there are five types of healthy skin: normal, dry, oily, combination (both oily and dry skin) and sensitive.
Note: Not to be confused with The Fitzpatrick skin type scale which is a numerical classification for human skin colour

A skin condition is and medical condition affecting the skin
Allergies, irritants, genetic makeup, certain diseases, and immune system problems can cause skin conditions. I.e. Dermatitis, acne

Using Correct Skincare

Look for skincare brands that are focused less on aggressive, fast-acting results and more on nurturing a healthy skin barrier function.
Maintaining the right amount of moisture, or the Natural Moisturising Factor as it's referred to by dermatologists, is key to helping the skin function properly.

Avoid harsh soaps, instead use gentle wash and cleansers specific to your skin type and condition.
Take short, lukewarm showers, avoid over exfoliation or aggressive exfoliation scrubs, loofahs, or brushes. There are plenty of gentle, yet effective exfoliants on the market today.

Hydrate!   Hydrate!   Hydrate!

Use gentle hydrating and moisturising products specific to your skin’s requirements.

Your Daily Skincare Routine

If your new to skincare then I recommend a gentle, uncomplicated skincare routine containing lipid-rich ingredients as the most effective way of protecting and nurturing your skin.

1. Each morning rinse your face with a gentle wash, apply toner and then moisturise.
These are the 3 fundamental steps required each morning.
We all sweat to some extent at night to rid our body of toxins, washing your face not only refreshers you but it removes any toxins sitting on your skin.
Toners are to regulate the pH of your skin and close the pores.
Moisturising helps maintain the moisture levels in your skin.
And remember, no matter the season, you should always wear a broad spectrum Spf factor moisturiser during the day. UV exposure happens even in winter and on cloudy days as UV rays will penetrate the clouds, and can reflect off snow.

This simple routine can take less than 3 minutes, think of it as part of your morning routine just like brushing your hair and cleaning your teeth.

2. In the evenings you may need to remove makeup, but even if you don’t wear makeup, you do need to remove the environmental grime that has accumulated on your skin throughout the day, including sweat, motor exhaust fumes, general grime in the atmosphere.

Wash your skin, this may involve a pre-cleanser to dissolve any makeup residue before cleansing - because just cleansing the skin once after wearing makeup is not enough, you need to remove the makeup BEFORE you can cleanse the skin.
You may wish to exfoliate, though remember, this is not necessary every night.
Now you may want to give your skin a boost, this could be by way of applying a mask, usually 1-2 times per week depending on the skin type and condition.
You may wish to add a serum, there are many serums available and as mentioned earlier, its all dependent on what you want to treat, i.e. fine lines and wrinkles, hyper-pigmentation, over production of sebum (oil), firming or moisturising the skin etc.
Tone and then moisturise.
There are many forms of moisturises, lotions which tend to be lightweight, creams for intensive hydration or oil based which themselves treatment various skin conditions.

This may all appear to be overwhelming, but setting out a skincare regime and using the correct products will result in slowing down the ageing process while improving the appearance of your skin.