SKINIPEDIA - Skin Encyclopedia: Top 10 Skin Commandments

Top 10 Skin Commandments by Michelle Macomber

1. Thou will not go out without sunscreen - You must wear your SPF when you are outdoors. 90% of wrinkles are caused by the sun, and guess what guys? Damage is cumulative. Do not allow free radicals to ravage your body and destroy your collagen. Apply sunscreen every day, and reapply after 2 hours in the sun or 1 hour in the water. Use an SPF 15 or 30 people! These block over 94% of harmful UV rays and don't contain chemical blockers that can cause breakouts or irritate your skin. Trust me, SPF 100 is too good to be true... Say it with me, "Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide are my friends!"

2. Thou will never wash thy face without immediately applying moisturizer - Never make this heinous skin care error! If you strip your skin of its natural oils (along with all the makeup and gunk on your face), you need to immediately apply moisturizer so your skin doesn't freak out. With no moisturizer, your skin will overproduce oil and blackheads will form. We hate those blackheads! Your skin breaks out with moisturizer? Try a different one... Trust me, your skin breaks out worse without moisturizer.

3. Thou will not use products with artificial dye or fragrance - Everyone is allergic to these! Even the people that claim that they are not. You do not need to spend a lot of money to get dye/fragrance free products. Look at product ingredients, on every product all the time. If you don't know what it is, look it up or ask your professional. People are so concerned today what they put in their bodies. Be equally concerned with what you put on your skin!

 

4. Thou will love thy Clarisonic brush - OK, I know it is expensive, but come on people, 6x more makeup removal than manual cleansing. 61% greater absorption of vitamin C. It really works! Those blackheads on your nose fear it...

5. Thou will wash thy makeup brushes at least once a week - Ugh! Makeup brush bacteria will clog pores big time... Take them in the shower with you and wash them with your shampoo. It is easy, and will keep your pores from getting clogged. Bacteria that collects on your brushes is a blemish waiting to happen. Do it, tonight!

6. Thou will exfoliate - As you age your skin cell turnover cycle slows down. You know how babies have such soft skin? That is because it is NEW skin. You can have new skin too, as soon as you remove the old stuff. Your products will actually soak in and start working for you. As for scrubs, ugh, sandpaper! Use a gentle Alpha Hydroxy Acid or enzyme serum. Even better, go to your doctor and ask about a prescription. Gentle and effective is the key here.

7. Thou will get a professional facial treatment at least once per month - We brush our teeth twice a day, right? Well that is no substitute for visiting the dentist. Same goes for skin care. An educated, rock star, esthetics professional can do amazing things for your skin THAT ARE NOT FDA APPROVED FOR HOME! A facial is not a composite of skin care products layered upon the skin. A facial should be a completely customized skin care treatment that includes components that MUST be done by a professional. Sadly, many facials have gotten away from this simple, effective philosophy. Your skin should look better after a facial, not worse. Plus, there are so many things that I can use in the treatment room, that (quite frankly) you can't use at home. Let me do it... Pretty please?

8. Thou will not pick - I pick, not you... I don't cause scars when I pick. I don't pick when it is not ready, I will treat your pimples differently. Have you see a picture of Tommy Lee Jones lately? A picker... Don't run the risk of damaging your collagen, causing pigment on your skin, or putting fresh bacteria into an open wound. Let me pick for you, it will turn out much better- I swear!

9. Thou will not overspend on skin care - Remember, the FDA regulates the amount of active ingredients that can be included in skin care products. What that means is that everything that is “over-the-counter” has the exact same percentage of active ingredients. Here is the FDA tier system:

* Over the Counter - anything you can buy from your skin from a general store (i.e.: bought in a drug store, department store, health food store, or online- God Forbid!) Percentages of active ingredients stay the same across the board.

* Professional Products - Anything that you buy from a professional esthetician. These products are diagnosed, regulated, and prescribed to treat specific conditions. You can get them on EBay, but trust me, they are often expired or stolen products. No vendors allow professional estheticians to sell on EBay. It is not worth a few dollars discount to get bad products that are expired…

* Prescription Products - These come from your doctor and are always a good thing! Now here is the distinction, this is not the PROFESSIONAL line your doctor carries, that is the same as an esthetic professionals line. This is the actual prescription he/she writes for you (i.e.: Tretinoin .05%, etc.).

10. Thou will clean thy cabinet of old and expired products - Here’s the general deal: It can stay on your shelf 2 years unopened and, it can be open for 6 months tops. So get going, clean out your cabinets! If you didn’t use it up within 6 months, guess what? You didn’t like it. Product people like gets used. You can’t just like the idea of it. Expired product can separate and go bad. That means it can cause more harm to your skin than good. You don’t eat expired food, right? Throw out the old.

Until next time, follow the commandments. Your skin will love you for it!

This article brought to you by Michelle Macomber, a San Diego based Aesthetician Par Excellence and the owner of the best facials in San Diego, Surface Esthetics.