skincare tips Archives - Page 2 of 2

Have you experienced winter skin?

I appreciate winter has passed, and everyone is looking towards the summer sun, particularly as Easter and the recent bank holiday has been so warm, but in this blog we really wanted to take a step back and discuss your winter skin. For some winter is a daunting time, and we think now would be a good time to discuss some of the issues many people experience over winter so those who do can prepare.

One of the biggest issues to our skin is the heating that we’re all quick to crank up when feeling cold. Now we’re not saying don’t, as heating is important to our wellbeing and survival, but realise that you may start to experience dryness, or your skin may be feeling a little more sensitive than normal. This is because the central heating makes the atmosphere super dry, and we get a higher level of trans epidermal water loss than normal. Team this with walking out of our front door into the cold temperatures plays absolute havoc with our skin and barrier.

As it’s unrealistic to tell you to turn off the heating during those cold winter months, we advise trying to keep it a low as possible, which will help. If you are like us and like to feel quite Mediterranean, investing in a humidifier for the room you’re in, which is great for helping with hydration levels within the skin.

Also look for products containing those barrier lipids to reinforce the protective barrier reducing the risk of trans epidermal water loss. So, look for ceramides, cholesterol, and omegas. The Byonik Seal product is amazing for this, full of ceramides it helps to lock in that hydration, and is suitable to reapply throughout the day, even over makeup!

If you skin is feeling more dry than normal it might also be worth dropping back on the actives such as retinol, vitamin C and AHA’s. These are what we call the spicy actives that can be very stimulating and skin that is experiencing dryness may not be as tolerant to these.

As always this is general advice and it’s always advised to get recommendations tailored to your skin, but these steps should help if you have experienced ‘winter skin’ and want to avoid it this Christmas.

At Re-Skin Clinic, we’re always here to support you on your skin journey. It’s never too early to ask questions and get prepared, and your skin care consultant will be there to get you on the right path.

Please reach out to us anything for support, guidance or to book a consultation.

Skin Cancer Awareness Month

This month is Skin Cancer Awareness month and as much as we may wear our sunscreen to prevent our skin ageing there is an even more important reason to slap it on every day, UV radiation from either the sun or sunbeds is the main cause of skin cancers, and it is the 5th most common cancer in the UK.

With 86% of melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK being preventable and the fact that this type of cancer is detectable with our own eyes should this really be the 5th most common cancer in the UK?

Skin cancer can occur when the skin cells DNA is damaged beyond repair, usually by UV exposure, this triggers mutations that leads to an out of control growth of these abnormal cells. The main types of skin cancer are Merkel cell carcinoma, Squamous cell carcinoma, and Melanoma.

The two main causes are Ultraviolet rays from either the sun or sunbeds, however there are other factors that can make us more susceptible to this type of cancer.

Sun Exposure

Too much sun exposure increases our chances of skin cancer, especially sunburn. In fact, having a blistering sunburn as a child can increase the risk of melanoma in adulthood by double!

All skins should take care in the sun, even darker skin types. If the following applies to you extra care should be taken:

Pale, white, light brown skin
Have freckles, red hair, or fair hair
Tendency to burn
Have many moles
Have a family history of skin cancer
Live in a hot country

This is not an exhaustive list, and every single person should take precautions to protect their skin daily.

Sunbeds

Not only accelerating skin ageing tenfold, sunbeds are artificial UV rays that directly damage your skin cells DNA. The earlier in your life you use sunbeds the greater the risk, and evidence shows people exposed to sunbeds before 25 are at a greater risk of developing skin cancer.

Age

Melanoma risk increases with age, in fact half of people diagnosed with skin cancer in the UK are age 65 and over. But please don’t have the attitude if you are under this that it may not develop as it is still the second most common cancer in adults under 50.

Skin Type

It may be obvious, but the group of people more at risk are people with fair skin, fair or red hair and those with freckles. These skin types burn very easily and therefore their skin’s DNA is easily damaged. However, if you are a darker skin type don’t be under any illusions that you don’t need to be cautious. Yes, darker skins are lower risk but that doesn’t mean that they won’t get it…look at Bob Marley.

Moles

People with lots of moles or moles that are large (5mm+ diameter) are also higher risk. It’s important to keep a close eye on these moles and if any changes are noticed to get them checked immediately.

Family history

There is a small number of melanomas that are caused by inherited genes. If someone in your close family has a history of melanoma, then your risk of developing it can be increased.

Reduced Immunity

A weakened immune system can increase your risk of developing melanoma. HIV, AIDS, or medication that suppresses the immune system can make you a higher risk as the skins immunity system may struggle to repair or fight the damaging forces.

As I said at the beginning of the blog, most skin cancers are preventable and early detection is the key. So protect your skin daily with a good broad spectrum sunscreen, do not use sunbeds, avoid sunburn, and check your moles or any other skin lesions that may appear.

If you need help with your sun protection or keeping your skin in the best of health get in touch for a skin health consultation.

Treating Acne with Nutrition – Video

Acne is a common skin condotion I see in clinic with around 50% of my clientelle suffering from some degree of acne, be it a long term issue, hormonal breakouts around the ‘time of the month,’ or the more recent ‘Maskne’. Its a condition that can really affect confidence, and leave people feeling really down or stressed about their skin.

A lot of my ladies will say “I’m an adult and I cant beleive I have acne, it’s something that happens to teenagers.” But in fact statitics show that around 80% of adults will suffer with acne at some point in their adult life.

So, yseterday I was lucky enough to be joined live on Instagram by Emilia Papadopoullos. Emilia is a nutritionist specialising in treating acne through nutrition.

Myself and Emilia recently worked together with a client to help her achieve clear skin.

By taking a holistic approach, treating the condition from the inside (Emilia) and from the outside (me) it can really accelerate results.

Press play below to watch the live replay of us discussing the subject.

Do You Have Realistic Skin Goals???

This month I’m talking all about skin goals. It’s one thing I try so hard to help my clients with, but I also have to give them realistic expectations on what can actually be achieved with their skin. Every skin is different so goals and expectations will be different with every client too.

We see so many filtered, unrealistic images these days, and as a skin specialist, I see so many people with misconstrued opinions of their own skin, normally exaggerated further by the use of the dreaded magnifying mirror…if you are reading this and you own one, please throw it in the bin!

The important thing to remember is our skin is an organ that is as individual as we are. Here are just some of its functions:

Protection
Sensation
Regulating temperature
Waterproof
Excretion
Reduces harmful effects of UV
Produces Vitamin D

So, taking all those functions that the skin constantly performs into account, do you really think getting it to look flawless like a filtered photo is really possible????

Now, don’t get me wrong results I see in the clinic can really blow me as well as my clients away, but it’s never an overnight success.

If you have suffered with a skin concern for many months or even years this is not something that can suddenly be reversed, making real changes in the skin take time and most importantly consistency.

It starts with a professional that knows the skin, takes time to understand your skin, and can support you on your journey to improve your skin’s health and work towards your goals, but also someone who will tell you if you are being realistic with what you want to achieve.

In my next blog, I will talk all about the skin journey and what you can expect.

If you’re ready to start your skin journey and work towards your skin goals, its starts with a consultation. Click here to book yours, I am accepting new clients from September. For any questions you may have please don’t hesitate to get in touch here.

What Does a Compromised Barrier Look Like?

When we have a compromised barrier function our skin becomes more vulnerable to external attacks from things such as pollution, pathogens, microorganisms, the weather etc. It also loses the ability to hold onto the natural hydration in the skin. This hydration is vital to keeping our skin healthy, inflammation down, and its ability to fight attacks from those external forces. Our overall cellular functioning throughout the skin also requires moisture, and I always find a more hydrated skin is more tolerant to most things especially active skincare.

So what are the symptoms of a compromised barrier function? I have listed these below, this list is by no means exhaustive but these are the most common signs.

Skin tightness (constant/after cleansing)
Flaking, dehydrated skin
Oiliness combined with flaking/tightness
Redness or sensitivity
Dullness
Breakouts
Under the skin bumps/spots
Premature ageing
Dermatitis

Desquamation

I thought it was important to mention this as this process in the skin can be dramatically reduced due to our barrier being disrupted. The process of desquamation is the natural shedding of those old skin cells on the surface of the skin to allow for the cycle of the epidermal cells to keep going. Our epidermal cells start off at the base layer of the epidermis and move up, as they do this they become hardened and more resilient to allow for the protective ability needed at that top layer. Once they have reached the top, a chemical process dissolves the bonds between these cells to allow them to shed off and become house dust. This chemical reaction requires moisture to happen, and if our barrier is impaired we lose that all-important moisture and the desquamation process is affected. This results in our skin looking dull, flaky, and our whole epidermal skin cycle slowing down.

What can impair your barrier function?

You might have read the list above and thought that your skin is experiencing some of the signs of an impaired barrier, but what might be causing it?

Below I have listed a few factors that can cause the skin to become compromised, again this is not an exhaustive list but if you feel you are currently suffering from the symptoms it is always a good idea to get professional advice.

Over-exfoliation
Incorrect cleansing products
Sun damage
Pollution
Cold weather/wind
Hormones
Stress
Smoking
Diet
Dry atmosphere
Medication
Diet

As you can see there are many elements that can affect the resilience of our skin, and we probably encounter more than one of these on a daily basis. Our skin is designed to cope with a lot and sometimes all that is needed is to maybe just stop using a certain product and leave your skin to repair and rebuild on its own, other times it may need help. I have included a few products below that are my go-to remedies for compromised skin. But remember this is a general recommendation and without a skin assessment you won’t get individual advice.

Dermaviduals DMS Cleansing Milk

I see so many compromised skins due to incorrect cleansing products used, so your cleanser is the foundation of your skincare regime and a big player in the integrity of your barrier. The Dermaviduals cleanser is gentle, effectively removes makeup and impurities without negatively affecting the skin. There is nothing in this cleanser that the skin doesn’t recognize or that can upset the protective element of the skin.

Skin Omegas

Our skins natural lipids are made up of these essential fatty acids, so adding these supplements into your diet will help keep those lipid levels high and your lipid bilayer making up the skins barrier function nice and strong.

Byonik Supreme Seal

This product is a must for repairing barrier disruption. Containing a high content of ceramides, fatty acids and cholesterol that make up our barrier lipids. It reduces that water loss and restructures the skin’s barrier. It’s also a great product for healing conditions such as eczema and dermatitis.

Byonik Concur Cream

Another product full of those essential lipids, the Byonik anti-pollution Concur cream Contains repairing, healing, and hydrating actives as well as the powerful anti-ageing peptide Matrixyl Synthe 6 promoting the production of collagen, elastin and the all important Hyaluronic acid for hydration.

These are just a few of my recommendations for compromised skin, but my advice is to always see a professional that can give you individual recommendations for your skin and investigate why your skin is behaving the way it is.

To make an appointment to see myself please click here, I offer virtual consultations during lockdown or for anyone that cannot get into clinic to see me. If you are interested in purchasing any of the recommendations above please email me here.

Thank you for reading

Rebecca x

Autumn Skincare Tips

As the weather is starting to change and the leaves falling from the trees, are you noticing changes within your skin too???

The temperature outside is becoming colder and our central heating is being switched on, this can have a big impact on our skin. The low humidity levels within our houses, the cooler temperatures outside and winds can really reduce our skins ability to hold on to the water levels within the skin.

A process called Trans Epidermal Water Loss will be accelerated, as our skins natural barrier function can become compromised under these conditions. The consequence of this is our skin feeling tight, maybe a little flakey and more sensitive. Sound familiar??

What you may not see initially on the outside is the skins inflammatory response being on higher alert with the skin in this condition. This further reduces the health of the skin and can even accelerate premature ageing and exacerbate conditions such as rosacea, pigmentation, problematic skin.

So autumn is upon us and I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was my favourite month (love a jumper 😂) however its certainly not our skins favourite month. When I am presented with a skin showing these issues I quickly turn to barrier repair before anything else. @Dermavidualsuk is my go-to brand for this, it allows me to completely customise your home care and it’s skin structure identical formulation makes it the perfect choice for strengthening that barrier. But there are also things you can do at home to support your skin.

Add Omega 3&6 supplements to your diet- Our skins natural lipids are made up of these essential fatty acids, so adding these supplements or increasing your intake of oily fish, avocados, walnuts etc will help keep those lipid levels high and your lipid bilayer making up the skins barrier function nice and strong. (My favourites, Advanced Nutrition Programme Skin Omegas and Moisture lock)
Use a hydrating toner- adding this step into your regime will add another dose of hydration to make up for what’s being lost. (My favourite, Dermaviduals Moisturising Toner)
Drink more water- I very rarely come across anyone who says they drink enough water, myself included. But increasing your water intake will do wonders for your skin at this time.
Invest in a humidifier- These are great to have on in your bedroom during the night when our central heating is blasting out and sucking every last bit of hydration out of your skin!! A humidifier will prevent the air from being so dry, add in a humectant serum at night, like hyaluronic acid and you will wake with skin full of hydration! (My favourite AlumierMD Ultimate Boost Serum)
Change up your moisturiser- going for a slightly thicker moisturiser will ease any feeling of dryness. I also recommend looking for products with ceramides to further increase and strengthen the barrier of the skin.

It is always recommended to review your skincare regime as the seasons change to ensure your products are giving your skin everything it needs at that time (yep its not just our clothes that change with the seasons) So please get in touch if you feel your Autumn skin issues need resolving, you need to change up your skincare, or if you are interested in any of the products mentioned. You can also book in to see me in clinic or for a virtual consultation here.