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Skin Health with Dermalogica

Skin Health with Dermalogica
Team LF
Writer and expert6 years ago
View Team LF's profile

On your quest for healthy glowing skin, you may need to advance your everyday regimen a little, especially if you suffer with adult acne, signs of ageing or pigmentation.

We caught up with Victoria Schofield, Education Executive at Dermalogica to talk about these more challenging skin conditions and how best to treat them.

Why do we get spots as an adult; isn’t acne more of a teenage problem?

Acne is a genetic skin disorder that for some will affect us for most of our life from puberty into adulthood, flaring up at key phases in life. For others, we may only experience acne in adulthood, this is especially common in women. The key factor in adult acne in women is stress, closely followed by other hormonal fluctuations such as the monthly menstruation cycle, pregnancy and menopause.

Our skin is very sensitive to hormonal imbalances, for example most women will have experienced the pre-menstrual breakout that crops up at the sides of the mouth each month. A key indicator that stress is a factor in your breakout activity is its appearance along the jawline and, or neck. Stress and reproductive hormones influence sebaceous activity, increasing the oil content and even its consistency which contributes to congestion in the pores. These hormones also drive skin cell proliferation which exacerbates the problem.

To calm and clear adult acne breakouts we need acne fighting formulas that not only target bacteria and excess oil but that also help to control inflammation and support wound healing. Dermalogica’s line for targeting adult acne is MediBac Clearing®,, an around-the-clock breakout clearing and prevention system. Combining antibacterial ingredients such as Tea Tree and skin soothing Colloidal Silver with pore clearing Salicylic Acid. To manage sporadic breakouts keep Breakout Control or Overnight Clearing Gel to hand, applying twice a day to affected areas to clear and soothe. For those with full face acne, get started with the MediBac Clearing® skin kit for a more comprehensive regimen.

What are the essential anti-ageing skin must haves?

Lines, wrinkles and uneven skin tone are symptoms of the ageing process that will inevitably happen to us all. At Dermalogica we embrace this, however we want our skin to look really good for its age. Everyone can achieve healthy, glowing skin that keeps us looking fresh and more youthful. We recommend exfoliation as part of your  essential regimen to keep skin ticking over and regenerating effectively, this becomes crucial post age 30 when our natural skin renewal process starts to slow. Your best defence against premature ageing is daily application of SPF as UV rays are the number 1 factor in ageing skin.

You’ll find the first places to age are the eyes and mouth area due to the naturally thinner and drier skin in these areas, so introduce targeted products to support such as MultiVitamin Power Firm for eyes and Nightly Lip Treatment for lips and perioral area. The hero ingredients when it comes to tackling lines and wrinkles have to be Retinol, Peptides and Hyaluronic Acid. Retinol is clinically proven to reverse both chronological and extrinsic skin ageing, Peptides mimic the skins natural cell communications resulting in increased collagen production and Hyaluronic Acid is a skin plumping, hydrating substance found naturally in the skin. You’ll find these ingredients plus many more in the Dermalogica AGE Smart® system. Designed to defend skin from reactive oxygen species that break down our skins structure along with inhibiting enzymatic and sugar reactions that lead to collagen breakdown and irritation, the AGE Smart® system tackles skin ageing at the source. Looking to introduce some ageing defending products into your regimen? Try the AGE Smart® skin kit to get started.

Can I do anything about dark patches and uneven skin tone?

Yes! It’s important to try and establish the cause of your pigmentation which is often hormonally influenced such as with pregnancy or a medical disorder. Some skin discoloration can be caused by inflammation in the skin such as the scarring left post breakout but the main cause and trigger is exposure to UV light. If your trigger is underlying, you will be limited to the results you can achieve but avoiding the sun, wearing a high SPF daily and using pigment balancing products around the clock will certainly improve its appearance.

The Dermalogica PowerBright Trx skin brightening trio is super easy to slot into your everyday regimen to even out skin tone and brighten the complexion. The C-12 Pure Bright Serum contains melanin controlling peptides to brighten and improve clarity. Use twice a day under AM and PM moisturiser either all over the face or just on darker patches.

What’s the best way to treat sensitive skin; should I avoid ‘active’ products?

Whilst less is definitely more when it comes to treating sensitive skins, at Dermalogica we choose to actively treat inflammation in the skin and reinforce the skins barrier defences rather than pacify the symptoms with relatively bland formulas. Top tips would be to avoid heat, use tepid water to bathe and shower and avoid steam rooms etc. Avoid friction, treat skin with a gentle touch avoiding scrubs, flannels and anything abrasive. Keep your regimen simple with a sulphate free cleanser, a super gentle (non-abrasive) micro-exfoliator just a few times a week, a calming mist and light hydrating moisturiser. SPF is important as it is for all skins, however you may find a physical sunscreen that shields UV rays rather than a chemical one that increases heat energy suits your sensitive skin better.

The Dermalogica UltraCalming® system is designed to actively reduce inflammation triggered by both the immune and nervous system. Using sophisticated peptide technology, the must have ‘skin emergency’ product is UltraCalming Serum Concentrate, a light fluid to calm irritation and when used over time will increase skin’s tolerance to its environment. Try the UltraCalming® skin kit for lasting relief from sensitivity flare-ups.

Remember that skin is ever changing, reacting and responding to our internal and external world. It’s a good idea to review your skin’s behaviour regularly with a professional skin therapist who can advise you on how to tweak your regimen to keep your skin as healthy as possible.

Team LF
Writer and expert
View Team LF's profile
Our team of beauty experts cover everything from makeup to skincare, picking out the most effective products from the best brands and latest trends. Stay up to date on everything beauty with the LOOKFANTASTIC blog, and find all your essentials in one place.
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