When I carry out my skin consultations at Ultimate Bodyworks in St. Neots, Bedfordshire, clients are really appreciative of the value I give them. We talk about medical issues, medication, nutrition, exercise and stress, all of which play a factor in our skin health. I think it might be to do with the fact that I used to be a teacher, and that I place such value on educating my clients! My mantra is “when we know better, we do better” so I try to give as much information to help them as possible.
When it comes to actual treatments, the core foundation of good skin is our at-home, skincare routine. Clinic treatments are amazing and transformative, but how we take care of our skin, day in and day out is the most important part of any treatment plan.
Medical grade, cosmeceutical skin care is essential. Over the counter/online skin care products cannot penetrate the skin and affect change. (See my blog on medical skin care for more info on this) I did a LOT of research and decided to offer AlumierMD in my clinic, and I haven’t regretted my decision once. Everyone that has started using AlumierMD has been over the moon with how it has improved their skin.
When it comes to key ingredients in skincare, there are three that we should all be using regularly.
Firstly, the most important one is SPF.
UV rays do a tremendous amount of hidden damage to our skin, including premature ageing and pigmentation. This topic needs a whole separate blog which is coming imminently! SPF should be mineral rather than chemical and should be factor 40 minimum. We need to protect our skin from UV damage every single day of the year, no matter what the weather and no matter whether we are inside or outside. UVA rays penetrate windows, and these are the harmful rays that break down our collagen matrix and prematurely age us.
Secondly, we need retinol in our skin care routine.
Retinol is our Vitamin A, and it helps to speed up our skin cell turnover. This means that dead skin on our stratum corneum, the upper layer of the epidermis, is shed more quickly and so our skin doesn’t look dull and lacklustre. Having those dead skin cells lying around longer than they need to also makes any fine lines and wrinkles appear deeper, so our retinol will address this.
Thirdly, an anti-oxidant is a must.
Vitamin C absorption taken orally is limited, so it is better to have a topical Vitamin C product for the skin. With ageing, Vitamin C in the skin naturally declines. Then take into account factors such as smoking, pollution and UV rays, all of which decline it further. An antioxidant (Vitamin C) slows down and prevents damage done to cells. It also stimulates collagen production, and we ALL need this!!! So it is an essential ingredient for our skin. Period.
Of course, there may be other ingredients we need depending on what skin concerns we want to address, be it breakouts, dry skin, rosacea etc., but as a rule of thumb, the ingredients outlined above are the foundations of great skin. Please don’t be fooled by the clever marketing and advertising of companies that use these buzzwords to entice you to buy their products! If you haven’t been asked about your allergies, these ingredients will never penetrate your skin and reach the layer of the epidermis they need to in order to affect the change we want to see in your skin. Only medical grade/cosmeceutical skin care products will do this. These products will not be available for you to buy online or at any shops as they are prescribed by trained skin therapists like myself, who carry out thorough consultations and prescribe the right ingredients for your skin concern.
