Since becoming a skincare professional, the top of mind question for me is “How to achieve healthy balanced skin for my clients”. And of course for myself.
Lets start with understanding the skin structure and how we can help to ensure the skin barrier remains healthy and strong.
Skin is made up of 3 main layers ~ epidermis, dermis and hypodermis.
Epidermis is the outer most layer, forming a protective layer over the body’s outer layer. Keratinocytes form 95% of the cells and the remaining is made of Melanocytes (responsible for the color the skin) and Langerhans (immunity).
Dermis, beneath the epidermis layer consists of connective tissue including collagen and elastin, embedded in hyaluronic acid and protein. It also contains nerve endings, blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, hair follicles, sweat glands and sebaceous glands.
Hypodermis, also known as subcutaneous skin helps to attach the skin to muscles and bones. It consists of connective tissue and fats which provides cushion and insulation.
Having understood the skin structure above, and observed many customers’ lifestyle and skincare routine, we have made a few observations.
- If you have oily skin, you are likely to be dehydrated too
- If you have dehydrated skin, you are likely to have freckles and fine lines
- If your skin lacks firmness, you are likely to be lack of oil
The phenomena above is due to imbalance of water and oil.
For morning routine, universally, we suggest all skintype clients to use a hydrating series of skincare including hydrating toner, hydrating serum and hydrating moisturizer. Follow through with SPF50 sun protection skincare (tinted or non tinted).
However, for skin which is easily blemished, it is advisable to use a mattifying cream for oil control.
Here are some of our suggestions for hydrating and mattifying series.
For evening routine, depending on skintype, it is good to use the specific serum, essence or ampoule as skincare tonic to smooth the lines on the forehead, laughter line and crowsfeet, serum for anti-pigmentation and serum for the best anti-aging eye skincare (firming eyelid, dark eye circles and puffy eyes). As for moisturizer, it is good to use a firming moisturizer for mature skin. It is often a dilemma if we should try botox or use anti-aging skincare and often wonder what is natural beauty.
Here are some of our suggestions for anti-aging series.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this article as part of Skincare Singapore.
