Skincare: Truths and Myths
Skincare: Truths and Myths
By, Andrea Sims
There are many treatments we subject our skin to on a daily or weekly basis. Some of which we learned from our mothers back in the 70’s, some we are trying due to the most recent technology available. Do you remember being told to steam your face with very hot water to open the pores, and then after washing, immediately dip your face in ice water to close them? What about using alcohol to cleanse your face then apply Vaseline to preserve the skin? If this is your skin care regimen, then it’s time to learn more about the truths of how to treat your skin and what your skin really needs to remain looking young and healthy.
There’s a lot of confusion out there. We are all bombarded with contradicting skincare information and a cluttered marketplace. I’m sure we all have a drawer full of our unused, unwanted, latest and greatest products that didn’t work. Our Product Graveyard! While aging is inevitable, your daily behaviors and choices greatly influence how you look at each birthday. If you are looking to retain that fountain of youth, or give “Father Time” a time out, now is the time to start.
Here are a few healthy skin habits from Write Your Skin A Prescription For Change, by Katie Rodan, M.D. and Kathy Fields, M.D.
Five Healthy Skin Habits1. Protect your skin from the sun
Your skin is a terrific historian. It carries with it souvenirs of past vacations at the beach, pregnancies, picked pimples, and many more. Many of the lasting undesirable changes that occur have a common ingredient in the mix: the sun.
It’s easy to see what the sun has done to your skin over time. Compare the skin on the inside of your arm with that on the outside of your arm and on the back of your hands. If you’re like most people, the skin on the inside is smooth, clear, firm and unmarked, while the skin on the outside is “dry roasted”: freckled, dry, finely lined, not as firm, and possibly dotted with brown spots. And if you spend much time driving ( in the U.S.) your left are is probably worse than your right. Skin is simply closer to perfection “where the sun don’t shine.”
Yes, we all have a desire to look tan, years of advertising has taught us that. But let’s be honest, there is no such thing as a healthy tan. Sun exposure damages skin, and the pigment you see as a tan is the body’s reaction to this injury. There’s nothing healthy or pretty about damaged skin. What can you do? Slather your skin with a broad spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreen and apply it often. It’s the ultimate wrinkle cream.
2. Don’t Smoke – Ever!
Smoking literally affects the structure of the skin. Into the body by way of the bloodstream, smoking delivers thousands of toxins including carbon monoxide, nicotine, formaldehyde, lead, mercury, and tar. It causes skin’s blood vessels to constrict, impairing circulation and the delivery of oxygen to skin tissue. It reduces skin’s ability to form collagen and causes elastin to thicken and break apart. Smoking generates a tremendous number of free radicals while simultaneously interfering with the skin’s ability to protect itself from free radicals. Smoking has also been shown to reduce the production of estrogen in women. The result: dryness, cracking, wrinkles and sagging skin.
Did you know? Female smokers are at a greater risk for developing wrinkles than male smokers.
Smoking delays wound healing and smokers are two to three times as likely to develop psoriasis as nonsmokers. A study of 25 pairs of identical twins where one was a lifelong smoker and the other had never smoked resulted in the smoker being more wrinkled, but the skin on the inside of the smoker’s arms was up to 40% thinner than that of the nonsmoking sibling.
3. Get Your Beauty Sleep – on your back
We’re all too familiar with the look. Dark circles show up under your eyes, your complexion looks dull and gray. When your body is tired, skin pales, so the bluish blood vessels near the surface become more pronounced. Additionally, blood ma seep from the tiny capillaries around the eyes, resulting in permanent dark shadows. Skin “rests” at night. When you sleep, cells undergo repair and turn over slightly faster, helping your face look bright and refreshed.
Are you mistaking “Sleep creases” for wrinkles? “Sleep creases” – the facial lines often mistaken for wrinkles that appear when you get up in the morning and deepen and persist over time. (Dr.Samuel J. Stegman, 1987) If you sleep face down on a pillow or primarily on one side, the weight of your body and compression from the bedding will cause the creases. You might see them as diagonal lines across the forehead, from the lower eyelid to the bottom of the nose and through the lip and chin.
Here’s a piece of advice you can put into effect tonight and immediately share with others, train yourself to get off your side and sleep on your back. For lifelong side or facedown sleepers this may feel uncomfortable at first, but you will get used to it. You will notice the changes in just one week. If you find it difficult, try the Therapeutica Sleeping Pillow.
4. Don’t Stress Out
When our bodies are responding to stress, blood, nutrients, and oxygen are directed to the vital areas such as our legs and away from nonvital organs such as the skin. The signs are obvious: an ashen or sallow appearance, flushed cheeks, dark under-eye circles, dull and limp hair, and more pronounced lines and wrinkles. Studies have shown that stress-induced cortisol inhibits the body’s repair processes, decreases the rate of wound healing, increases the risk of infection and increases the triggers for acne, hives, eczema, and rosacea. Recent research has shown that stress can cause telomeres to shorten and cells to die faster, effectively speeding up the aging process.
Stress can make the skin on your face drop – seemingly overnight. How to reduce stress? Meditate, exercise, soak in a hot tub, get a massage, take a vacation, and get a full night’s sleep!
5. Eat Right
Contrary to popular belief, eating chocolate and French fries won’t give you acne, but eating a well-balanced, healthy diet will help your skin look its best. Recent research suggests that certain foods such as fresh fruits and vegetable, meats, and fish slow the aging process. Others, in particular refined carbohydrates such as flour, sugar, and milk, accelerate it.
Your skin is a reflection of what’s going on inside your body, so eat a balanced healthy diet. Avoid processed foods and when possible, choose fresh, organic products. In general, any diet deemed good for your overall health is going to be good for your skin.
Get enough fatty acids – omega-3 and omega 6 – these boost the skins barrier and keep moisture in and irritants out. Incorporate foods rich in Vitamin A (dark green and dark orange vegetables) and Vitamin E (almonds and sunflower oil).
My next article will cover an additional 5 Healthy Habits.
Here’s to healthy and beautiful skin!
Andrea Sims a wife, a mother of two, and a successful entrepreneur, moved to the Park Hill neighborhood in 2002 after enjoying the prior 8 years as a Denver resident. She and her husband fell in love with the Park Hill neighborhood and their home 10 years ago with a vision of what their nearly 100 year old home could be like with a little facelift here and there. Now 10 years later, the renovations are complete and she enjoys raising her two children, who attend Blessed Sacrament, a community school and their perish. She is a WI native but has lived in Denver for the last 18 years and calls this home. After over 12 years as a successful corporate trainer working for a number of fortune 500 companies, she now enjoys the flexibility and freedom to build her rapidly growing business throughout the U.S. around her families schedule rather than fitting her family in around her profession. She has partnered with the creators of Proactiv® Solutions, to launch a new line focusing on the $3 billion anti-age skin care industry. What they did for acne, they are now doing for aging skin. She works from home, coaching, mentoring, and training others to build successful businesses for themselves in very part time hours.