All Things Tanning – For Tan Fans! Find YOUR Perfect Tan
SKIN CARE
Article by Julia Boots from The Powder Room By Julia | Facebook Business Page
Helpful Or Harmful? 5 Common Skin Care Myths Busted
Myth #1 – “Using an Acne skin care range will stop my occasional breakouts”
Unless you are a teenager with more oil than Texas, you are probably doing more harm than good!
A skin care line geared toward Acne is designed to fight bacteria and dry out breakouts. For someone (like a teenager) whose skin is covered in severe acne, blackheads, enlarged pores and is an obviously oily skin, this is appropriate. But for most people who get the occasional breakout (but not on the majority of their face like a teen might get), acne products can make the situation much worse!
How is this worsening the issue? These products are designed to be extremely drying, which is fine as a spot treatment for that one hormonal pimple that came up last month, but not so great for the rest of your unblemished visage. This will result in over-drying, which leads to dead skin cell build-up which can then lead the skin to start producing even more oil to help emolliate the dry surface. The cell build-up will then act as a barrier which will then in turn trap oil under the skin, causing more clogged pores and breakouts.
So, what should you do? Use a non drying cleanser and exfoliant suited to your skin type and condition. Exfoliation will help to remove dry skin cells and unclog pores and also help fade those red, post-breakout marks. If you want to give your skin a deeper cleanse, use a deep cleansing clay mask once a fortnight but once again stick to one that is for YOUR skin type, not the 14 year old next door neighbour’s! And most importantly HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE! Perhaps you can incorporate a hydration mask into your skin care routine once a week? And make sure your day and night time moisturisers are suited for your skin type, condition and age! Throw anything with the names Clearasil, Proactive, Clean and Clear or anything supermarket based aimed at a teenager straight in the garbage bin!
Myth #2 – “Using a cleansing sponge, wash cloth or exfoliating mitts to cleanse your face will do a more thorough job”
While you may think that you are scrubbing deeper into your pores and sloughing away all your dead skin cells, wash cloths and loofahs harbor bacteria and cause you more skin problems in the end!
Unless you have a few on the go and are using a new one everyday, this habit has to go as it could be the cause of your breakouts and/or irritated, sensitised skin. Think of all the soap scum and mould that develops in your shower, and that’s just the tiles that dry very quickly. Imagine the damp sponge that sits in your shower in between uses as a perfect environment for bacteria to grow! And your want to smush those nasties into your face?
Instead, you should use a gentle milk or foaming cleanser and exfoliant suited to your skin and wash it off thoroughly with warm water. Use this to cleanse your face from your hairline to your collarbone and save the loofah for everything underneath that area, and be sure to wash and replace it regularly!
Myth #3 – “Skipping night time treatments to let your skin “Breathe”
One of the most common misconceptions is people avoiding using skin care products at night in order to give their skin a break – a.k.a. let it “breathe.”
Skin cells are like fish – they need water to live. Without it, your cells dehydrate and the health of the skin is compromised. A dry skin will feel tightness and subsequent sensitivity and a combination to oily skin will see increased oil production and breakouts. At night, you should be focused on healing – your skin is in its reparative state, is at rest, and is not being assaulted by environmental stressors, making the PM. the most perfect time to treat your skin. Performing your nighttime-specific routine with the use of serums and moisturiser can really help repair your skin and help to control how your skin ages and how quickly any blemishes or skin conditions can heal.
At bedtime after cleansing and toning, apply a moisturiser designed for your skin type, 365 nights a year.
Myth #4 – “I dont need a serum, my moisturiser is for (insert skin concern here)”
eg: dry skin / oily skin / dehydrated skin / sensitive skin / anti aging etc
People are often confused about the differences between a moisturiser and a facial serum, and may be unsure if they should use one or both products. Serums are far more active in treating any skin concerns than a general moisturiser and while facial serums can also give you added moisture, the main reason you’d want to use a facial serum is to get the active ingredients like vitamins, antioxidants and added nutrients into the deeper layers of your skin that a regular moisturiser is not able to reach.
Due to their large molecules, moisturisers can only penetrate the first layer of the skin, allowing them to hydrate and seal in moisture. A facial serum is formulated with smaller molecules and is able to penetrate into all three layers of the skins.
The serums ability to go deeper into the skin is what allows it to help combat many common beauty complaints and help correct any skin conditions such as redness, dehydration or lack of firmness, wrinkles, dark spots or to brighten the skin.
Myth #5 – “My skin is dry and dehydrated! I should drink more water”
Whilst drinking plenty of water is great for your overall health, I’m sorry to say the more you drink is going to have minimal effect on your skin’s hydration and dryness levels and will not necessarily make your dry skin look or feel any better.
When water is ingested and absorbed into the body there are many vital internal organs that need this water to function healthily and by the time it has worked its way from the inside out, the poor skin on the outer most part of the body is the very last organ to see any benefit from this.
The best way to prevent a dry/dehydrated skin, along with a healthy diet and lifestyle is to keep the natural moisture in the skin by layering a protective barrier (moisturiser) that not only adds moisture from the outside in but helps to protect the skin from any outside aggressors, such as sun damage, air conditioning, pollutants, and smoking.
As for drinking lots of water each day, keep it up. Drinking a minimum of 8 glasses a day spread out throughout the day (not all consumed within 5 minutes then forgotten for the rest of the day) is great for your overall health in so many ways but if all it took to get rid of dry skin was to drink more water, then no one would have dry skin and moisturisers would stop being sold. Keeping your liquid intake up is fine, but if you take in more water than your body needs, all you will be doing is running to the bathroom. The causes of and treatments for dry skin are far more complicated than water consumption, so make sure you are applying both face and body moisturisers every day.
Perfect Skin = Perfect Tan!
THE POWDER ROOM BY JULIA
Engadine, NSW, Australia
Phone: 0410 546 628
Email: thepowderroombyjulia@hotmail.com
