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. |