My First Post: Skincare 101

I am going to use my first post to bust a few skincare myths, whilst at the same time revealing a bit about my skincare philosophy. I frequently encounter customers who have been using the same old unsuitable products for years and years, to the massive detriment of their skin. This is usually based on confusion and a few stubborn beauty myths

1. Facial skin fits neatly into one of three, four or more neatly defined types and may be treated as such.

This is clearly not true, as anyone with dry skin with spots or dehydrated, oily and congested skin knows. The way I choose to think of it, and explain it to my customers, is with this simplified framework.

Your skin type dictates, to a large extent, the oil level and pore size. The types range from oily to combination (oily plus normal) to normal to combination (normal plus dry) to dry to extremely dry. On oily skin the texture is rough, the pores tend to be large, the texture may be rough (due to the large pore size) and oil may collect on the skin, causing shine throughout the day. Normal skin has none of these problems and looks glowing and vibrant in its healthy state. The pores are visible but extremely small. On dry and extremely dry skin the pores tend towards invisibility and the skin may suffer dullness or greyness from  lack of oil. Combination skin types feature a combination of the above characteristics of two types on different parts of the face. The different types do not mix on the same scrap of skin.

Dehydration, sensitivity, congestion and acne (both mild and severe) and rosacea are, in my opinion, conditions, not skin types. Each of them can occur in combination with any skin type, even on the same scrap of skin, and with each other. Ageing of the skin is inevitable to an extent, however the speed at which this process occurs can vary wildly. Although skin tends to get drier (produce less oil) and more dehydrated (holds less water) with age, 'mature' is not a skin type, or in my opinion a skin condition. Ageing of the skin may be revealed in a number of ways, all of which may be slowed down by paying attention to internal processes and environmental conditions. There are almost as many ways for skin to age as there are women, so to suggest that all women over a certain age will benefit from the same rich cream labelled 'mature' is nonsense.

Skin damage may include pore dilation, high pigmentation, broken capillaries, acne scars and thinning or thickening of the skin. These problems can be treated and improved but tend to be quite difficult to reverse completely.

2. Dehydration is simply lack of oil in the skin. My skin can't be dehydrated because I only use rosehip oil.

This is not true but I hear it all the time, and the confusion is understandable given the way in which products are packaged and marketed. Skin needs both oil and water in order to stay healthy. Your skin produces its own oils but we wash it off with cleansers and drier skin doesn't produce enough. Dehydration is a lack of water in the skin and it has many causes. It can be deep (internal causes) or superficial (environmental causes). This includes your skincare regime, which can definitely dehydrate the skin.

3. A face-lift can give you younger looking skin

Although a face-lift may lift the contours of the face, it will do nothing to affect the appearance of the skin itself. Facial contours are a very important aspect of facial ageing, however other aspects are equally if not more important and a combination of approaches is usually required in order to treat all of them. More importantly, the key issues must be identified in each individual person, and then treated. There is no magic bullet in skincare.

4. Dermatologists can do anything if you have enough money, you can pretty much buy new skin.

Sadly, this is not true. Although resurfacing treatments such as microdermabrasion, hydrodermabrasion and peels, as well as resurfacing, can do a lot, it is not true that they can give you new skin. IPL can aslo do a lot but it has not been as successful at treating skin texture as was originally promised. Radiofrequency works for some people but the results can be hit and miss. Although dermatology has come on leaps and bounds even in just the last ten years, we are a long way off from anybody being able to grant us perfect, new looking skin (without an actual skin graft!) and even the best dermatologists would agree that a holistic approach incorporating good skincare, stress reduction and nutrition as well as regular treatments is advisable in order to get the best out of your skin and maintain it.

5. For non-invasive injectable skin treatments, such as botox and fillers, it is best to go to a doctor. If the person doing the treating is a doctor, I am guaranteed good results. Likewise, if I go to the most expensive clinic, I will be guaranteed a good result.

This is just not true. You are never guaranteed a good result, no matter how much you pay. The best you can strive for is to find a person whom you can entrust with your skin for the duration of the treatment. What matters is the experience and expertise of the person doing the injecting, not in doing breast augments or cardiac operations, but in the actual treatment that you are undergoing. It is also important that they are focused and motivated to ensure a good result for you. The best, most experienced person may or may not be a doctor, it is best to see their previous work, do plenty of research and ask a lot of questions until you find out for sure. Clear communication is also key, your therapist may be excellent, but their definition of 'subtle' may be skewed by the composition of their client base so may be very different from yours.

6. The most expensive/famous/expensively endorsed products are the best.

This is perhaps one of the biggest myths of all. While there is sometimes some truth to this, the opposite can also be true. Just look at the organic and natural end of the beauty market, where ingredients cost up to 20 times as much as the conventional ones but prices start from the very bottom and rarely exceed that of the most expensive 'drugstore' (ie Boots the chemist) items. Glossy packaging, international advertising campaigns  and celebrity endorsements all cost money, all do nothing for your skin. Ingredients, reviews and your own experience are the best guide.

7. Pizza, chocolate etc won't give me spots. It's been proven and I read it on the NHS website.

We all know someone who can eat whatever they like and stay as lean as a whippet, whilst doing no exercise. With skin it is exactly the same. Some people are just lucky and genetically they have a very resilient skin type that seems able to withstand almost anything without any problems. But if you were overweight and wanted to lose it you wouldn't keep eating any old thing just because your friend could would you? Every body is different and your acne may be cause by a very real hormonal or digestive imbalance that needs treating. A part of this treatment should be diet.

8. But my skin can't be dehydrated, I drink loads of water.

I must hear this one about three times a day. Even if you drink a lot of water, your skin can still show signs of superficial and even deep dehydration. Where deep dehydration can be seen, it may be a sign that the rest of your body isn't hydrated, either. Your body (and skin) need lots of things in order to stay hydrated, because your cells need the integrity to be able to hold on to the water that you drink.

9. There is nothing I can do about my bad skin, I've tried everything. My next step is to saw my head off/get laser resurfacing/a facelift/roaccutane.

You may have done lots of things to try and improve your skin, and they may have been ineffective or even made your skin worse, but there is so much bad information out there and so many bad products, that I would be surprised if you cannot still improve or even cure your skin condition with more gentle methods. If you really are at your wits end, and my blog doesn't answer your questions, feel free to send me an email and I will be happy to make suggestions.

10. Getting good skin is a constant a battle.

You are a whole organism, and without getting too hippy about it, mind, body, spirit and soul. Anything you choose to do to your face, however drastic, should be done with love and kindness. Likewise, if you are unhappy with your life, it will always show on your face, no matter who your dermatologist is, what you eat or which products you use. So please try to be happy and treat yourself with kindness, it will do you and your face so much good.