Product Use In
Cleansing

Sometimes we estheticians don’t take the time to sufficiently instruct people on how to use certain products to achieve the best result. I guess after having spoken the same thing for so many years and seeing the results of beautiful skin in our longer term clients, is the proof that when products are used properly they work.

Cleansers are the best place to start and especially now since sun protection is used by so many. With waterproof or water resistant sunscreens it is very important you cleanse the skin well. So let’s start at the beginning with your morning cleansing. What do you think you are cleansing? You’re right! Toxins!

Toxins that the body has eliminated into the skin throughout the night while you slept. Since the skin is a cleansing organ like the kidney, it is considered an organ of elimination for those toxins that do not leave the body in the more common fashions that we know.

At night while you sleep, the body regenerates new cells in your organs, so it has to get rid of these dead cells and the toxins within them. This is proven with your first urination of the day, which is always odorous, murky and slightly yellow but clears up throughout the day. This is proof that the body rids itself of toxins and skin in one of those garbage disposal systems. Hence, cleansing the skin is very important in the morning for washing away those unwanted uppermost layers of skin.

Now the process of washing or cleansing the skin has benefits multi-fold. Pressure of the fingers over the skin stimulates the blood flow, allowing slower moving fluids to flush out while allowing newer blood containing nutrients and oxygen to feed the tissues. Also, we stimulate collagen and elastin by simple touch as well as manipulate the muscles. Unlike muscles elsewhere in the body that can be stimulated by working out, walking, cycling, etc., the facial muscles can become flaccid with neglect.

So why wouldn’t we want to do a thorough washing every morning to get our face ready for the day? (Unfortunately, when something is visible on our face, such as acne or another skin issue, we generally spend more time and care than when there are no issues to ponder.) So it seems, when there are no issues, we may take the apparent good skin for granted. Many of our men have never been schooled as to the benefits of using good facial products, or for that matter know anything about skin care. This article was requested by several of our clients who expressed dismay in not knowing how or why cleansing in the morning is so important.

Another very important reason for cleansing the skin in the morning is to soften the uppermost layer of skin to increase its permeability of whatever your next facial product might be. We’ve all seen very dry earth either outside on the ground, or even perhaps in a pot. Upon watering this earth, have you noticed that the dry surface does not initially allow the water to permeate?

This application of water doesn’t penetrate the top layer of earth but will if there are cracks in the earth allowing the water to dribble down below its surface and alas the top is still a barrier allowing the water to sit on top. Skin does exactly the same thing if not softened by the aid of your cleanser.

Cleansers come in lotions, gels, oils and creams and are to be used differently, depending on the skin type and what you want them to do for you. For instance, the heavier cleansers such as in oil bases are used to breakdown makeup (if oil based), so would be used at the end of your day. And surprisingly other types of oils can be found in cleansers for oily skins. The basic reason being that oils break down oils and water breaks down water.

In the kitchen this concept is used daily. How do you wash a greasy pan? With soap and water or just water? Dish soaps have oils in them, which attach to the oils and pull them away from the pan just like skin cleansers.

So since there are different weights of oil, how does one know which type of cleanser one requires? Usually there are clues on the front, telling you for dry, oily or normal skin type and the ingredient list tells it all. Mineral oils are the largest molecules, so even though they break down makeup they have a good chance of clogging pores. The FDA has a list of ingredients of comedogenic ingredients that will induce acne and mineral oils are at the top. So you can see that cleansing products are quite complex and the days of simple cleansing are gone.

Your cleanser should be doing much more for anti-aging. For drier or aging skins, zeolite removes heavy metals from environmental pollutants, d-alpha tocopherol protects against lipid (oil) peroxidation and is an anti-inflammatory, and d-glucuronic is nature’s detoxifier. Whereas, for oilier skin types, l-lactic acid loosens dead skin cells while restoring epidermal regularity.

Ingredients such as sodium lauryl sulfate are becoming less used and the parabens or stabilizers must also be watched since they are expected to be the cause of so much sensitized skin. 70% of those who come to our door complain about skin sensitivity and discoloration and funnily enough think that they have a “special” condition when in fact they are part of the majority.

One must remember that this didn’t happen overnight. The build up of these ingredients along with hormonal changes and the accumulation of toxins in the body brings sensitivity to the skin later in life. De-sensitizing or normalizing the skin actually starts with the cleansing process and may take a couple of months of using the correct cleanser. After this period most confessed a brighter, firmer, less flaccid and generally glowing skin.

With escalating costs of just about everything, including skin care, we know that we’re not going to stop looking for the best for our face and body. We will still purchase both facial and body products but are we sure we’re getting the most out of them. To ensure improvement in your skin and its care, take a look at your cleansing routine and product ingredients, and all those specialty products you own which may be firming products anti-aging and sun protection. Toxic free and permeability of your skin is crucial for product absorption and noticeably healthy skin. The daily use of sun protection is imperative for healthy skin at any age.

Please pass on these articles to others whom you care for in hopes that they may overcome some skin care pitfalls.

By Brenda Romanow