dry skin Archives - Reskin Clinic

Skin Diagnostics – A Balanced Perspective

In the ever evolving world of skincare, staying ahead with innovative solutions is crucial. Boots, a leading pharmacy chain, has recently launched a skin condition diagnostic app that promises to revolutionise how we approach skin health. Although this app offers some advantages in terms of ease and accessibility, it also comes with some drawbacks.

Our founder Rebecca explores both sides to give a balanced perspective on whether this is right for you and your skin concerns.

Benefits

Quick and convenient. This first thing that does stand out about the app is its efficiency. Users can quickly assess their skin condition with convenience, great for those with busy schedules.

User-Friendly. Deigned with simplicity in mind, it is user friendly and easy to navigate.

Affordable. Cost can very often be a barrier to seeking professional advice. This is a cheap alternative to traditional dermatological consultations making it accessible to everyone.

Professional collaboration. A strong point is its partnership with medical professionals. This ensures the advice and guidance is based on medical knowledge and protocols.

Discreet and private. For many discussing their skin conditions can be an uncomfortable experience. The app offers a discreet way to seek advice, which can be beneficial for those that feel embarrassed about their skin issues.

The Drawbacks

A lack of comprehensive questioning. While the app provides quick assessments, it falls short of gathering detailed information about the users family history, diet, and lifestyle factors. These elements are all crucial in understanding and diagnosing skin conditions accurately, and this omission can lead to incomplete assessments that can be the key to treating a condition successfully.

A focus on medication. Another significant limitation is the app’s apparent focus on prescriptive medication as the primary treatment option. While medication can be effective, it’ not suitable for everyone and for all conditions. Not all individuals want to go down the medical route, by not offering a broader range of treatment suggestions the app may alienate users would would rather seek alternatives.

Conclusion

Here at re/skin our consultations last around 1 hour, this allows a comprehensive approach, taking into account all factors that can impact the skin. By spending this time with our clients at the beginning allows us to not only get to know our clients and how they feel about their skin, but to build a trusting relationship that really is the foundation of getting great results.

In the world of skincare, no single solution works for everyone, it’s not a one size fits all. We need the time to navigate the whole picture when it comes to skin health, this can’t be done with just a photo and a few generalised questions.

It’s about finding the right tools and resources that suit your individual needs, and yes, this app will be right for some people that are seeking a quick, convenient and affordable way to get professional advice. However, it is important to be aware of its limitations and seek other professional services when necessary, especially as the evidence for a holistic approach to skin health becomes more and more apparent in this fast paced industry.

As always, re/skin is here to support you in navigating these options to achieving the healthiest skin possible. If you would like to explore our options or book your skin health consultation then please either give the clinic a call on 0114 236 2393 or book online here.

What Is Blue Light and How Can It Affect Your Skin?

Blue light is part of the visible light spectrum, meaning you can see it. It has a short wavelength, which means it has lots of energy and can create oxidative stress.

IN THIS HIGH-TECH WORLD WE NOW LIVE IN, THE SUBJECT OF BLUE LIGHT IS TALKED ABOUT MORE AND MORE. BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT OUR DEVICES ARE NOT THE ONLY SOURCE OF BLUE LIGHT? WE ALSO GET IT FROM THE SUN. IN FACT, UP TO 30% of the rays from the sun are actually blue light.

So team this with sitting at your laptop or scrolling your phone for hours, and we would get a pretty continuous dose of blue light all day long.

The Effects Of Blue Light

Although it is visible to the human eye, it can have negative effects on our overall health and well-being.

The effects of accumulative blue light on the skin can cause:

free radicals
inflammation
skin cell damage
damage to the important lipid bilayer that gives our skin its strong barrier
increased redness
pigmentation
dryness
loss of elasticity and collagen
increase in inflammatory conditions
premature ageing

What Can We Do To Prevent This?

So what do we need to do to protect our precious skin cells from this damaging light?

First and foremost, a sunscreen, but opt for one with a blue light filter too. This is sometimes referred to as an HEV filter, and many of the innovative sun care brands will include this now.

We need antioxidants and lots of them. So, look at including them in your diet as well as skincare so we are feeding them in from all angles.

And be conscious of the time spent in front of your screens. If it’s unnecessary, put them down, slap on the sunscreen, and go for a walk.

We have also had a recent new product launch at re skin in Sheffield. This is a brand new supplement from the Advanced nutrition program and has been designed to not only protect from the effects of blue light but also repair the damage caused.

Contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, helps to inhibit pigmentation and also reduces the breakdown of collagen.

The research results showed that this new supplement gave a 60% increase in protection from this light. As well as a; 19% decrease in redness, a 17% improvement in hydration and a 15% increase in skin smoothness. This was just by taking 1 of these tablets per day for 8 weeks.

Conclusion

If you are concerned with any of the skin conditions mentioned or spend a lot of time outside or in front of a device, this is definitely a must to introduce to your skin regime.

Get in touch with us today if you have any more questions on skin care, or take a look at our products and start your journey to perfect skin.

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.

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.