5 skin myths BUSTED!
The amount of BS i see spread across the internet is enough to make me have nightmares ha!
Its time to put these horror stories to bed once and for all.
Lets kick things off with one that i still hear nearly everyday......
I don't have to wear SPF everyday
"Im not wearing pants so i wont put on any undies" that's just not right, right!?
There is nothing sexy about the science behind SPF but it is actually important that we understand how this works. Every day we are exposed to UV rays that will damage our skin - this is more than vanity and ageing its also about keeping ourselves protected against skin cancers.
Any time you see daylight - sun up to sun down we are exposed to UVA rays - A for ageing, these rays will penetrate deeper into the skin and attack our precious collagen and elastin fibres that keep our skin tight and firm as well as cause an internal stress storm, not ideal! Rain, hail and shine we are being exsposed to UVA rays, hence why you need to wear SPF everyday! Now for those who say they don't go outside, what about the school drop off and pick up, trip to the washing line or the windows your sitting in front of while your working, these are all times you are being exsposed to damaging rays. UVB are our burning rays, these are what we feel warming our skin on a sunny day, these will penetrate the upper layers of our skin and create a sunburn, if we have an overcast day and you can see the sun, there is no risk of UVB damage.
It is also really important to be aware of the SPF number we are using and the different types of SPF available but that's a whole blog post on its own, for another day.
Dermaplaning is a great anti ageing treatment
If i had to describe that title with an emoji it would be the one with the brain exploding 🤯🤯🤯
Whoever talked you into this
treatment, to put it basically, sold you glorified shaving. This treatment involves taking to your face with a razor sharp enough to skin a slug, to which the therapist will proceed to shave the hair and three layers of your skin's barrier defense system away with any chance of your skin coming away intact. Your skin works hard, day and night to build a beautiful barrier to keep all the cells and systems underneath happy and able to do their thang! Our skin cells are really important part of this, removing them before they are ready will only expose immature skin cells and leave your skin wide open for penetration from harmful bacteria and allergens from the environment and products to name a few. I have often seen "this treatment will help penetrate your skincare" girl if you have to shave my face to have the ingredients of your skincare delivered into my skin, im good without them! Temporarily your skin will feel smooth and glowy, that's the absence of hair and skin cells and flush of blood while your skins immune system is having and civil defense meeting. I will put money on it, that in a few weeks time post dermaplaning your skin will be having a freak out! Im talking breakouts, dryness, flaking, dullness and just generally looking a bit sad (and to be honest i dont blame it) If your looking for a treatment to have you glowing and gorgeous, this ain't it!
Acne skin is dirty
Having acne isn't because the client has poor hygiene, in fact its often quite the opposite, the person is over cleansing the skin which can be making the issues worse.
We dont need to be worried about the quantity of oil the skin produces its the quality that counts. Oil flow is actually a really vital part of skin health, we need it to flow through the pore as a thin, free flowing oil to help create the skins barrier. What often trips acne suffers up is the oil their skin is producing is thick, gluggy and congesting, it gets stuck in the follicle creating a plug and now we have the perfect environment for acne bacteria to throw the party of the year and invite all their mates, cue blackheads, whiteheads and if your really unlucky, blind pimples and cystic breakouts.
Making sure we are correctly cleansing, changing our pillow case and all of those things are really important but what really needs to happen is to address why you are producing this type of oil, and that comes from the inside out approach. No skin care product or quick fix treatment is going to solve that issue. But never fear, with the right guidance healing your acne for the long term is achievable.
Using professional skincare is going to be too expensive
Drinking more water will hydrate my skin
True but also untrue. Our skin only utilises around 13% of the water we drink - from that water we need to be able to actually hold it in the skin. No good having the fire burning and the door wide open right! If we dont have an intact barrier and most importantly a lovely lipid layer coating our skin, all that juicy water is escaping out of our skin. We need that water for the basic functions of our skin, such as enzyme activity, some of these are responsible for shedding redundant skin cells at the end of their life cycle, when there isnt enough water this activity is switched off and we get dry, tight, irritated and congested skin. So yes, you can drink more water but is your skin producing enough lipids to hold that water there? If not, we need to be looking at supporting the skin with these lipids through our diet, supplementation and topically. Winter is notoriously bad for skin to be feeling depleted of lipids and water, so if your suffering with some of the mentioned symptoms maybe its time to reassess if your meeting your skins needs topically and internally.
If you have read some of these and feel like your needing some guidance I’d love to help you on your journey to healthy skin.
Feel free to reach out, I’d love to know you’ve found this blog helpful ❤️