My Latest Top 5 Skin Sins Heard in the Studio.
Let me start by saying I don't ever make anyone feel bad about their skin care regime or tricks they have tried from Pinterest. I get it. I remember applying toothpaste to my pimples before bed hoping to wake up with them gone. Here is a quick list of the latest top five skin sins and a helpful tid bit for better skin advice.
1) Using a Clarisonic brush every day for cleansing. The Clarisonic brush is in my own bathroom, but I only use it once a week for exfoliating. I am a fan of this machine but it is touted to be used twice daily for cleansing. Let's not use it every day for cleansing. The brush, and I don't care if you have the gentle or the deep pore cleansing one is not meant to be used to cleanse. This is for exfoliating. Exfoliating should be done twice a week. Every day use of the Clarisonic will erode your skins lipid barrier. Our acid mantle is an essential part of protecting our skin from free radicals and other environmental damage. Over exfoliation causes irritation, acne, and more production of oil.
2) Tanning is still okay. With the data collected even within the last ten years which isn't long, tanning is an absolute one way ticket to skin cancer. I know this. I've had two moles removed. One was cancerous, one was benign. I am now on the radar for yearly check ups. If you have met me, I am one pale skinned woman. Being of Finnish and Swedish decent, the sun does not like me. I chose to go tanning in the 90's for prom or a school dance. Many times over I burned. I didn't care as I had always longed for a tan, and it felt so good growing up in Seattle where we only get 2 weeks of an actual summer. The tan, not the burn. UVA/UVB rays have become our environmental enemy. Protecting yourself with a daily spf of 30 and above is imperative. Even the mini 30 second walk to the mail box adds up every day.
3) "I bought a medical grade chemical peel from Amazon". To be blunt...No, you did not. You most likely purchased a counterfeit item filled with acetone and rubbing alcohol. Was it sealed? No. Was the deck of ingredients on the box or bottle? No. Were there misspelled words on the product? oh, I'm not sure. Did you buy it from a third party? Yes. Okay folks. Let me tell you how easy it is for someone to pop on line and sell anything to the general public by way of counterfeit, expired, stolen, or repackaged hair conditioner. I've seen it and have had guests come in with serious skin issues after buying what they thought was a harmless bottle of vitamin c oil. I have sent them directly to the doctor and or dermatologist. Always always BUYER BEWARE.
4) "My new dermal facial roller with needles isn't working. I purchased it off of QVC". Oh dear. Let's leave the dermal rolling or micro needling pens to the licensed estheticians. First and foremost the steps for prepping the skin and post care are best left to us. Especially when it comes to proper state regulation sanitizing and sterilizing. I cannot stress this enough. If you are penetrating your skin with any tool you are opening yourself up to infection waiting to happen.
5) Taking care of your make up brushes and sponges. This one probably should be in the number one spot. It is an easily forgotten task but an important one. Even I forget. You don't need an expensive cleanser. Hair shampoo works just fine. A once a week quick cleansing just may stop your breakouts. Air dry and watch where you store them. Are you throwing the sponge back in to a make up bag? Is it time to toss the bag and buy a new one?
xo Ashley