What Products Should You Use In Your Skin Care Routine?
Recently we reached out to our clients and asked them to tell us what they wanted to know about skin care and how we could better serve them. It seems that most everyone had questions centered around what products to use at home to help support and maintain the changes and improvements we are able to accomplish in the treatment room. Finding what’s right for you can be overwhelming. Whether it be online, over the counter, or at the spa, there are many, many options out there and they are all presented to us as the Best! Well the truth is, there are quite a few very good products out there, and most of them are the best… for the person who uses them and sees results they are happy with.
Here’s our 2 cents worth on this subject. A good esthetician will do a lot of research and then make a choice as to which product lines they will use and sell in their practice. For instance, we have chosen to use Rhonda Allison as our primary line and Image and PCA products as secondary lines. Why? Because we feel these product lines are pretty darn awesome and we see real results with them. That is not to say they are the best and will work for everyone. I encourage my clients to give these products a chance and if they provide the results they want, then stick with them. Sure, they can spend lots of time and money trying the next best thing or the latest and greatest, and they may see good results with those products too. Because as I said, there are a lot of good ones out there. I believe it’s an individual choice. Everyone is different with a variety of issues to address, so some time has to be spent finding what is right for your individual needs.
How Do You Find What’s Right For You?
Your esthetician can help you with that initial search and in the long run, save you lots of time and money. We are trained to identify your specific skin type, issues and needs. We know what ingredients address those issues and needs. We can tell you how and where find them, and how to use them. Finally, we are able to provide you access to potent, active ingredient rich products that you can’t buy online or over the counter. What’s the difference? Over the counter products have to appeal to the masses and are regulated so as not cause too much of a reaction on a wide variety of skin types. As a result, the level of ingredient potency is low and will have little or no effect on skin, or they take much longer to provide results. Once we find the products that work for you, we encourage you to stick with it. That is of course, until it’s time to switch it up.
When is it Time to Switch Your Skin Care Routine?
It’s a common concern as season’s transition, the skin experiences changes or no longer responds to certain ingredients.
To maintain optimum skin health and remain on a path of rejuvenation, it may be time to have a conversation with your esthetician about how to refresh your regimen by changing them up throughout the year.
A Season for Change
An ideal time to change a daily skin care routine is when the season shifts. During the Summer months, the skin may be more sensitive due to the heat and sun, and may require less active topicals and more antioxidants. Winter, on the other hand may generally mean more moisture hydration and stimulation to keep skin well exfoliated, allowing hydrating and nutrient-rich ingredients to penetrate
the skin. Potent hydrators do well for the winter months. Spring will focus on shedding dull winter skin and rebuilding the skin with antioxidants and peptides.
During the Fall, the focus will shift to replenishing dry summer skin. Enzymes along with L-lactic acid work well to keep skin healthy and glowing.
Waking Up Tired Skin
Skin does become tired and lazy! This is because it acclimates to a topical and over time may not respond as well, so it is a good idea to keep it on its toes, and even a bit confused. This can often be circumvented, or you can awaken the skin, by introducing another topical that has a different active or effect on the skin.
The other side to this is that some skin types may like a certain topical so much that it will continue to prove valuable for many years. Eventually, however, simply due to the biological aging, changes in environments or hormones, and even shifts in a person’s lifestyle, the skin will eventually require some adjusting and changes.
There is never a one-size-fits-all for any individual client – the skin is constantly going through changes. Particularly as issues that were a concern in the 20’s, such as hormonal breakouts and excess oil, shifts in the 30′s to dehydration pockets, and in the 40’s to the formation of fine lines or even furrows at the forehead, and finally in the later years when pigmentation may begin to show up. All of those skin changes will require a shift in daily skin care routines. Just as the treatments we perform on a client may shift as they age or the skin changes, so too must their home care regimens.
Changing a regimen all depends on what the skin is saying to you. As esthetic professionals it is our job to continually watch and re-examine a client’s skin, paying close attention to those details. We are typically working with a client in three phases: change/correction, maintenance, and prevention. This is why we chose such an expansive line – because skin, like a fingerprint, is unique to every individual.
