Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The Basics of Beautiful Skin

In BeautiControl, I have met many types of women:

•Those who want beautiful skin, yet they are not willing to take the steps or make the time necessary to get it

•Those who say they want beautiful skin, but want to use the products that they want to use, rather than what they NEED to be using (whether they are the right ones or not)

•Those who say they want beautiful skin but are always looking for the next best brand or always reading reports on the dangers of skin care or looking for "all natural" products...basically looking for a reason not to use products

•And then, I have had the privelege of working with women who will do whatever it takes to have beautiful skin for a lifetime.

Regardless of who you are and what your skin condition is, BeautiControl has a solution for you. It may take time to find the right fit, but I have yet to meet a face that we can't help. The question is, "How badly do you want Beautiful Skin".I can tell you with complete confidence, you don't have to be either a celebrity or wealthy to use the best products on the market. You won't find products of higher quality or higher efficacy anywhere else. Magic? Not really. The only magic that we have is that no one understands the process of aging and how to reverse that process better than we do. You could go to a dermatologist, but they are really only going to offer you products that treat a particular skin disorder. You could go to a plastic surgeon, but they are going to want to do a little nip here, and a little tuck there. You could go to your local med-Spa and pay for lasers or a series of treatments that cost a fortune. OR...you could do the less expensive, less invasive and far more logical thing and look to BeautiControl...your anti-aging experts.

This blog is going to outline the things the skin needs to stay young, healthy and beautiful. I have touched on these topics before; however, these are topics we can't cover enough.

What Does the Skin Need to be Healthy? That's easy. The skin needs 3 basic components:

•Maintenance: keeping the skin cleansed and hydrated
•Repair: using chemical and physical exfoliation to accellerate the rate that skin cells are turned over as well as ingredients that stimulate collagen and elastin production and speed the rate of cellular renewal.
•Prevention: protecting the skin from both UV and oxidative damage.
If you incorporate products into your daily skin care regimen that address these 3 basic needs, you off to a great start.

Before you Begin: Have you taken your Skin s.p.a. quiz ONLINE to receive your customized skin care prescription? Not the paper quiz...the ONLINE quiz? If not, then chances are strong that you are not using the correct products. Step #1...find your correct skin care prescription. If you haven't made the switch to BC Spa Facial...I really urge you to make the jump; however, read this blog so you understand what to expect when you begin using a skin care line that is designed to give you more advanced clinical strength results.

Maintenance: Basically speaking, the skin needs to be cleansed and hydrated twice a day, every day, regardless of your age, gender or skin type.

Cleanse: Cleansing is one of the most fundamental skin care needs. If you wear a water based or powder based foundation, then a cleanser alone is likely enough for you to completely remove your makeup. If you wear a heavier cream foundation, you may find that you need an oil based cleanser (such as the Skinlogics Platinum Plus Cleansing Cream) used prior to your cleanser to break down and remove your foundation. If there is any oil in foundation at all, only an oil based cream cleanser will break it down and completely remove it, followed by either the BC Spa Cleansing Gel or Cleansing Lotion. The thing that I love about these cleansers is that they are free of harsh artificial sulphates (ingredients that creates a lather) so they won't strip the skin. Both the gel and the lotion are appropriate for all skin conditions; however, your Skin s.p.a. diagnostic tool will recommend the lotion to you if you have drier, more sensitive skin conditions.

Hydrate: As we age, the skin loses the ability to produce and maintain adequate moisture reserves. Not only does the skin not get the external hydration that it needs, the skin stops producing key essential moisturizers in the skin the way we did when we were young. One of the skin's key nutrients that is lost as we age is hyaluronic acid. Think of hyaluronic acid as a moisture magnet. Not only will each hyaluronic acid molecule hold 1,000 times its own molecular weight in pure water, it is known as the most powerful natural moisturizing ingredient known to science. The use of Hyaluronic acid to both provide and attract moisture to the skin, as well as provide an effective delivery system and natural skin plumping benefits is one of the key functions of many of our most advanced repair products. When combined with effective film formers, each of the products not only attract and hold water in the skin, but also create a barrier to prevent water loss.

Repair: Repair products are the ones that are working to repair past damage by increasing cellular renewal, increasing the rate that new cells are produced and stimulating the production of collagen and elastin, forcing the skin to act the way it did when you were young.

Exfoliation: This is the MOST IMPORTANT process in your skin care regimen, and it is the thing that is most often skipped in a person's regimen. If you are not getting the results you are looking for in your skin repair regimen, this would be the first place for you to look.

The process of repair requires exfoliation…both chemical and physical exfoliation! One, without the other is not as effective.

The skin’s turnover slows as we age. The ONLY way to help make the skin act as it did when we were younger is through the process of exfoliation…both chemical and physical exfoliation. Only when we get rid of surface cells will the body force the production of new skin cells.

Think of it this way…have you ever removed wallpaper from a wall? If you have, you know that it is no easy chore, but, if you are going to do anything to the wall underneath, you have to remove that paper first. You could use sandpaper, but it really just smoothes the surface, it really doesn’t get below the surface of the wallpaper. You could use a scraper, but you will only get the loose, flakey bits and pieces of the wallpaper removed and it takes FOREVER! Luckily, they have this really great stuff that you can spray on top of the wallpaper that kind of melts the paper and causes it to bubble up. After it has done its work, then you can take your scraper and quickly and easily remove that layer of wallpaper to reveal a pristine surface underneath. Are you with me?

Ok, think of your skin the same way. Think of your surface skin cells as a layer of wallpaper. You can use a scraper (Microdermabrasion), but you are only removing what is loose and flaky. Now when you use your chemical exfoliant (either AHAs or PHAs), they loosen the skin’s dead surface and allow you to exfoliate more deeply that you could have without it. Your daily skin care scrub (polyethylene beads) is like the “sandpaper” we talked about above. It smoothes the surface and makes it feel baby smooth, but to really get in there and remove the surface, you need to use something more aggressive such as Microdermabrasion which is designed to shave the skin’s surface for maximum benefits.

Retinol

Retinol is the whole vitamin A molecule, which can be broken down into thousands of smaller components, including “retinoic acid” (also called tretinoin, the active ingredient in Renova and Retin-A). Essentially retinol is just a fancy name for vitamin A; however, it is perhaps the most important vitamin for the appearance of the skin. It is one of the few substances with a small enough molecular structure to penetrate the outer layers of the skin and work to repair the lower layers where collagen and elastin reside. Retinol is vitamin A in its purest and most active form. It penetrates deep into the skin, where it becomes fully operative. Wrinkles and lines are gradually smoothed, moisture and elasticity increase, the complexion glows and the appearance of damage is diminished.

The skin cells have a receptor site that is very accepting of retinoic acid. This relationship between retinoic acid and skin cells allows a type of communication in which the cell is encouraged to function normally and continue regular cell renewal— as opposed to the often misshapen and altered cells associated with the natural aging process.

It now seems clears that retinol is a beneficial cell-communicating ingredient, as well as an antioxidant. In other words, it assists in creating stronger, healthier skin cells and increases the amount of skin-support substances. Retinol has also been shown to help stimulate new collagen production, which is critical in the battle against aging. Thus it has become clear that retinol is a vital component of high quality skincare products, providing visible, long-lasting results.

Peptides

Peptides are bioengineered molecules formed by linking chains of amino acids, the body’s building blocks. These ingredients are readily recognized by the skin and have the ability to be manipulated to penetrate to multiple layers of the skin, and be designed to serve a variety of purposes. Some peptides are engineered to reduce the depth of wrinkles on the face caused by the contraction of muscles of facial expression, especially in the forehead and around the eyes (muscle relaxing). Some are designed to help expedite the production of collagen and elastin in the skin. Some peptides are engineered to help repair the cohesion of the dermis to the epidermis, helping with sagging skin by increasing skin firmness.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: I am going to be very diliberate with this statement, so please pay attention. The repair ingredients, as well as the products that they are included in are clinically active and highly aggressive products. It is not only possible, but highly likely that you will experience some mild to moderate side effects when you begin using them. This is a clear indication that the products are working. This is NOT an indication that you are having a reaction or an allergy to the products. When using products such as the BC Spa Facial Tonics, BC Spa Resurface Resurfacing Peel or Regeneration Overnight, it is very likely that you will experience some tingling, redness and perhapes even flaking or peeling after a few days of use. This is not only normal, but should be the desired result as these products are working to rid the surface of the skin of damaged cells. If any of these side effects become uncomfortable, simply reduce the frequency of use and allow the skin to adjust to the clinical strength nature of of these products. \

Prevention: There are 2 primary causes of skin damage...UV Damage and Oxidative Damage. Effective prevention of these causes will help the skin from recover from enviornmental assaults and prevent skin damage and abnormal cell development/mutations.

Sunscreen

It is estimated that 85 – 90% of the signs of aging are caused by sun damage, so it makes sense that sunscreen would be at the top of the list of things you need to stave off the aging process. While we all love the glow of a summer tan, the sun can cause some pretty extreme damage to our skin’s DNA that can result in both reversible and irreversible damage. There are 2 types of UV rays that are emitted by the sun:

•UVB rays – these are the ones that cause the skin to burn
•UVA rays – these are the ones that cause the skin to age
The UVB rays cause our skin to burn or tan. They penetrate just under the skin’s surface and the damage can be seen pretty easily. UVA rays, on the other hand, penetrate all the way through the skin and their damage is not obvious to the naked eye. UVA rays are the ones that are responsible for the long-term damage that will manifest itself down the road in the form of sagging skin, lines and wrinkles and age spots.

It is crucial that your sunscreen contain both UVA and UVB protection. Simply keeping the skin from burning does not ensure healthy skin.

Antioxidants

Damage to the skin that is not the result of the sun is caused by oxidation. To put it in very simple terms, think of it like this. Each skin cell is like an apple. The outer coating of the skin cell is pretty durable and will help maintain cellular moisturization and normal cell growth. UV rays act like a knife, jabbing into the apple’s skin. What happens to an apple when the skin is broken? It turns brown! This is the result of oxidation. The same thing happens to your skin. When the UV rays break the outer protection of each skin cell, it causes the skin cell to oxidize and become defective. Antioxidants prevent the process of oxidation and allow the skin cells to “heal” as well as ensure that the damage caused by the sun does not affect the skin’s DNA, resulting in long-term skin damage.

While vitamin C is the most recognizable antioxidant ingredient, it is far from the most effective. It is crucial that your products contain a comprehensive blend of anti-oxidants to ensure that your skin is protected…preventing oxidation AND helping the skin recover from UV exposure.

So...if I were putting together a regimen for every person who is serious about using the best skin care available, it would be:


You can look for imitations, but you won't find another brand on the market that offers the concentration of ingredients, the quality of formulation and the delivery to the skin that these age defying solutions offer. With BeautiControl, your face is in good hands!

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