Skincare Clinic

Thought it might be interesting to start a thread to dispel some common skin myths: Myth #1 SAUNAS AND PERSPIRATION THROUGH EXERCISE CLEAN THE SKIN - Dirt, impurities and clogged pores occur in the hair follicle. They are the result of a mixture produced by the oil and cells present in the hair follicle. Cleansing the skin means eliminating impurities from these pores. Perspiration is not a cleanser. At best, it may help clean the tiny opening of the SWEAT pores, but perspiration will not cleanse the pore made by the hair follicle, the pores through which oil is secreted.

A question that certainly begs a diagram

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/skin/ - scroll down a bit on that page.

Skin pores are actually openings in the top of the skin that hook onto just two structures inside the skin, sweat glands and sebaceous (oil) glands. THEY NEVER GO ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE SKIN, as some people believe. They are merely little pipes that let things out of the skin, not into the skin. (Though some materials applied to the skin may travel along the sides of these pipes down to the glands, air is not one of these materials.)

We are also born with a pore size which is determined by genetics. If the pores become enlarged, they cannot be reduced to a size w/c is any smaller than the diameter of the genetic pore.

Certain pores are the openings for hair follicles, each of which has a muscle attached to it, an erector pilli muscle. It is the contraction of this muscle that gives us goosebumps! In relation to shaving, massaging in the cream or shaving soap plumps up the erector pilli muscle, which serves to push the facial hairs up for the cut.

Your skin is the first barrier against immunological aggressors, thanks to the Langerhans cells. These cells are formed in your bone marrow and migrate to the skin. As the major immune cell of the skin, their job is to engulf foreign bodies, carrying them to the lymphatic system for process and elimination. They are extemely important in maintaining the body's integrity and may also play a role in locating and eliminating abnormal growths.

Unfortunately, they are ultraviolet radiation (UVR) sensitive, and are easily harmed by UVR. So next time you're thinking about applying sunscreen to either avoid a sunburn or for antiaging purposes (the sun is responsible for about 70%), think about protecting your immunity, as the Langerhans cells are the key sentinel on your skin.

UVA rays are long wave rays that penetrate deeper into the skin. They cause damage associated with aging and tanning. They penetrate glass (dermatologists see more aging on the left side of a person who drives for example b/c the rays are coming through the glass.) UVA rays are also primarily responsible for causing Melanoma.

UVB rays are short wave rays (w/c are filtered by window glass) that are responsible for most of the redness and sunburn. Both UVA and UVB have peak intensities at midday (10-3), significant UVA intensity extends into the other hours of the day as well. UVB rays are stronger at high altitudes and near the equator while UVA is relatively unaffected by altitude and atmospheric conditions. About 72% of the yearly UVB dose is recd during the summer, while about only 48% of the yearly UVA dose is recd during the summer.

The SPF that you see marked on a traditional sunscreen is an indication of the protection only from the specific UVB wavelength. Sunscreens that offer partial protection against UVA rays are sometimes referred to as "Broad Spectrum" while products that protect against all UVA rays are called "Full Spectrum."

Generally active sunscreen ingredients are either "organic" (containing organic chemical compounds w/c absorb ultraviolet light) or "inorganic" (generally ingredients like zinc oxide or titanium oxide) w/c reflect sunlight. Although "organic" may sound appealing from a marketing perspective, a number of the organic chemical compounds such as octyl methoxycinnamate, oxybenzone, etc. have been found to accumulate in the body and to influence the hormonal system as well as cause cellular toxicity.

Put your hand over your mouth and your nose and see how long you can do this. We breathe air into our lungs w/c is then circulated about the body by the blood stream. The skin does respire - it uses some oxygen from the blood stream and does create some carbon dioxide, but only on the inside! The skin in fact uses very little oxygen compared to the other organs and prefers to do its metabolic thing w/o the help of oxygen (anaerobic metabolism.)

Many clients have expressed their hesitancy about using a nite cream (if they tend to be dry for example,) because their skin has to breathe. Now that we have debunked this idea, go ahead and apply as the skin loses more moisture at nite. The supposed means of getting air into the skin is through the pores which is simply not true.
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Very Cute, Mr. Toad!

Aging can be broken down into two primary causes: genetic aging and environmental aging. Genetic aging occurs when our skin's cells begin to degenerate, and the time it takes for these cells to begin to wear out is determined by our DNA. Unfortunately, we can do little to change our inheritance; the good news is that it only accounts for about 30% of our skin's aging. Environmental aging factors are sun, wind, airborn pollutants, medications, smoking, alcohol, poor diet choices and more. Environmental aging accounts for nearly 70% of the aging process and the good news is that this is where we have the most control. So, here's the best ways to fight back in a top 10 countdown, David Letterman-style:

10: Don't skip your home care. You have 60 opportunities a month to nourish, hydrate and protect your skin against environmental damage. Make use of it.

9: Get regular facials. Don't miss out on the more intensive therapy of professional treatments. A deep facial massage every 6 weeks will not only help release deeply embedded toxins, it will also flood skin tissues with fresh, re-oxygenated blood that will bring a metabolic boost to the skin's cell renewal. The treatment is also a great way to decompress and is an opportunity for early detection of skin abnormalities and skin cancer.

8: Manage and reduce stress. The skin acts as a virtual mirror of our inner turmoil, thus accelerating the aging process. Regarding the facial above, facial masage that incorporates digital acupressure is especially impt b/c it affects our body's parasympathetic nervous system, w/c goes "out of whack" when we are overly stressed.

7: Stop overexfoliating. We love it a bit too much. The skin sheds when an irritating acid or chemical is applied and because of this, there is a certain amount of irritation that comes with exfoliation. More is not better. You must allow for "rest periods" between treatments.

6: Counteract inflammation. When the skin is injured in any way, be it through sunburns, the assault of constant exfoliation or any of a long list of other things, the inflammation cascade weakens our skin, breaks down it's defense mechanisms, accelerates aging and free-radical damage and impairs the skin from being able to repair and regenerate itself. The answer to this problem is to minimize exposure to inflammation. The biggest inflammatory aggressors against skin are UV exposure, free radicals and the overuse of harsh acidic and irritating products.

5: Minimize glycation. Glycation is a process that occurs throughout our bodies and increases with age. A sugar molecule bonds with a protein molecule and the protein becomes a "glycated protein," and it becomes weak, brittle or even fractured, making it extremely vulnerable to a free-radical attack. If your diet is high in sugar, it increases the level of glycation throughtout the body and skin. Proteins in our skin, mainly collegen (the skin's foundation,) becomes glycated and very vulnerable to the attack of aging free radicals.

4: Consume vitamins and antioxidants daily. Topically and internally. The skin is nourished to a certain extent by the circulatory system but it's not enough. Internal organs get "first dibs" on ingested vitamins. Make sure that your skincare has nutrients like vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

3:Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Much of our skin's aging process is simply caused by our cells losing moisture. W/o moisture, cellular metabolism cannot occur. Unfortunately, as we age, more and more water evaporates from the skin and because of the slowdown of cell renewal as we age, we produce less and less natural moisture.

2: Become a sunscreen zealot. There is no such thing as a safe suntan. If you think a taning bed is safe, it's actually worse than hitting the beach unprotected. Ever think about why your derriere has no wrinkles?

1: Accept the fact that prevention is easier and cheaper than correction later on.

1) They are not physiologically compatible since the ph is too low for normal skin. They alter skin enzymes and denature other skin proteins.

2) They cause an inflammatory reaction in the skin by inducing damage to skin cells. It is the repair process induced by this damage that provides some apparent benefit to the skin, but continued use exhausts this process in many individuals.

3) While the skin must normally exfoliate (shed dead cells,) any excess exfoliation will induce an immature population of cells on the skin surface, cells which are not prepared to defend the skin against environmental dangers.

4) There are so many safer and more effective methods to exfoliate, such as natural enzymes, gentle washcloth, seaweed, etc. that IMO the use of AHAs are not justified.

Check to see if you are using too many products with actives like cleansers and moisturizers containing glycolic acid. I have even heard of cases where people are requesting glycolic peels before a microdermabrasion treatment at the spa - a recipe for disaster including the potential for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (spots.)

Diabetes can affect every organ of the body, especially the body's largest one-the skin. As far as facials are concerned, diabetics generally benefit from facials designed for sensitive skin. Any facial treatment that improves the circulation, texture, hydrates and incorporates lymphatic drainage will encourage cellular turnover and repair.

Try to drink plenty of water and avoid extreme temperatures when bathing the body and washing the face. Use caution if waxing any areas of the body since bruising is a common side effect in diabetics, who heal slowly due in part to the thinness of the skin. Since there is a lack of proper circulation and blood flow, there is generally an accumulation of dead or hardened skin cells. Insulin resistance affects the hair follicles as well, so diabetic's skin sporadically may be hairless. Gentle enzyme peels often help to remove excess dead skin cells (just make sure if using on the body to keep away from the injection site to avoid irritation) and I would caution the use of acid products due to the diabetic's photosensitivity and reactive and sensitive skin. Sunscreen should be used daily.

To improve circulation, diabetic skin will benefit from stimulating ingredients like algae extracts, menthol and eucalyptus which increase blood flow by dilating the blood vessels just under the skin. Algae will also help to moisturize the skin in order to maintain the lipid barrier. This is extremely impt for diabetics since they are prone to skin infections due to severely dry and often cracked skin. Healing agents such as chamomile extract are good to use as well.

Obviously, diet, exercise and medication are important. However, in order to prevent skin complications, it is crucial to maintain the skin's natural moisture barrier and healing function. This can be accomplished with dedicated care, using products containing a higher percentage of key ingredients to be effective for this specific skin condition.