The skin is the largest organ of the body and is influenced by our internal health as well as our external environment. Keeping skin healthy can be challenging when you have fluctuating hormones, erratic weather, a less than healthy diet and daily stress. But, your skin often gives clues to what’s happening by manifesting as conditions such as breakouts or sensitivity in certain areas of the face. The key is to pay attention to these skin changes and adapt your at-home regimen to suit.
We chatted to Victoria Schofield, Education Executive at Dermalogica to find out more about how to read your skin and get some great tips for managing fluctuating skin challenges.
As a professional skin therapist, there’s nothing I love more than to help someone achieve healthy skin. It’s so rewarding to help someone understand why their skin behaves in a certain way, share tips on what they can do to improve its condition and assist them in making educated choices on products to try.
With skin being influenced by everything around us and our internal health, simply selecting products indicated for your skin type may not be enough to give you the skin results you’re looking for.
At Dermalogica we take the time to get to know you and your skin. We use Face Mapping to professionally analyse its condition and will create a bespoke Skin Fitness Plan that includes general advice as well as product recommendations and professional treatment suggestions. This 3600 approach gives the best opportunity for maximum skin results. If you can’t get to your local skin therapist, try our digital Face Mapping service. In just a few minutes, our sophisticated diagnostic tool will analyse your selfie and tell you what your skin needs to look and feel its best!
One of the things that I find most fascinating about Face Mapping and skin analysis is how conditions manifesting on the face can be a reflection of an internal imbalance. The art of Chinese face diagnosis can be used to delve a little deeper into your health and wellness, this allows us to advise on aspects outside of product use that can make a big impact on your skin health.
Mouth and jawline. Congestion and breakouts are really common around the chin and jawline, especially in adult women. This is a very hormonally influenced area of the skin. You may experience a pre-menstrual breakout each month at the sides of the mouth or stress related breakouts along the jawline and neck. This is where regimens need to be adaptable and targeted treatment products introduced to manage these fluctuations. Keep Breakout Control to hand to apply as soon as you feel that spot emerging, using for a few days can greatly reduce the size and appearance of a breakout. If high stress levels are unavoidable for you, get regular treatments such as massage or schedule daily meditation to keep stress levels balanced.
Forehead. Under-surface congestion, breakouts and dehydration are common here. Consider how thorough your cleansing is, do you get right into the hair line and brows? Are you double cleansing daily? What pore clogging make-up or haircare products are you using in that area? If all these aspects are in check, you may want to assess your diet. Poor digestion and insufficient water intake can manifest issues in this area. Introduce step zero with PreCleanse or PreCleanse Balm for your cleanest skin yet!
Cheeks. Redness, breakouts and milia (hard white bumps) are common on the cheeks. Those with more sensitive skin, allergies like hay fever and sinus issues may show sensitivity here. But also look at comedogenic (poor clogging) make-up, particularly bronzer, blush and highlighters. Ensure good daily cleansing and exfoliation to help clear congestion. The cheeks also reflect respiratory health. Exposure to high pollution levels, smoking and common colds can all reflect in cheek sensitivity. Check out levels of pollution where you live or work at www.skinpollution.com to find out your risk for skin damage.
Eyes. Milia are common around the eyes so check your eye make-up remover for skin clogging oils that can lead to blockages. Dark circles, puffiness and sensitivity are also common and if we burn the candle at both ends, our eyes will give us away! Ensure you get as much sleep as possible and manage stress levels. If all else fails, reach for an eye treatment to combat and hide these symptoms, my go to remedy is Stress Positive Eye Lift.
We recommend seeing a skin expert for Face Mapping every couple of months to review your skins progress and adapt your Skin Fitness Plan to suit your ever changing needs. To find your nearest Dermalogica expert, click the Store Locator at www.dermalogca.co.uk
