What is the difference between dry and dehydrated skin?
Dry skin lacks oil, dehydrated skin lacks water. Dehydrated skin is not a skin type, it is a skin condition caused by external factors.
How do you fix dehydrated skin?
A good hydrator can be part of your solution. Hydrators are different than many moisturizers or creams. Creams are a water-in-oil solution, whereas a hydrator has more water than oil. The best example of a hydrator is hyaluronic acid.
Some people say that they do not use moisturizer because it causes them to break out. While it is true that some moisturizers can cause breakouts, these are usually oil-based. In an effort to avoid breakouts, you deprive your skin of necessary hydration. All skin types benefit from hydration
Dehydrated skin can also be soothed with a cleanser containing lactic acid.
NOTE: A cleanser with lactic acid will sting when you first start using it due to the minor cracks in the skin caused by the dryness. However, once that heals it’s great for long term use.
Will drinking water fix dehydrated skin?
Drinking water helps support everything else you are doing on a topical level.
Did you know that hyaluronic acid and drinking water join forces for hydration? Hyaluronic acid acts like a magnet to the water you drink. They are attracted to each other and keep the skin hydrated.
Drinking water according to your body weight and your metabolism will help you get the water to all the cells.
Why is my face dry even after I moisturize?
Most likely because you have an excessive build up of dead skin cells at the surface that are blocking any product or cleanser from actually getting to the fresh cells that need that nourishment.
You can remove this dead surface layer with proper exfoliation. Keep in mind that dry skin should not be using an exfoliant scrub. Instead, this skin type should use an enzyme exfoliant.
The belief that skin products stop working is a common misconception. Unless you have been storing your products in an inappropriate place, they should be effective until their expiry date. However, there are a few things that may have happened that led your skin type to change thereby explaining why your products don’t seem to work anymore.
For example, daily aging, climate change, and internal/external factors such as medications or changes in your environment, are things that will render your products less effective for the simple fact that they are no longer for you.
Does skin get used to products over time rendering them less effective?
Skin products do not stop working, but there is a plateau once we get accustomed to the skin that we have been able to achieve with products. This is because products can only reach a certain layer of the skin. Once they’ve done all their work on all the layers that they can reach, thats all they can do. Keep in mind that even though they have done their maximum, they will continue to carry those results for you.
“Skin doesn’t become immune to products.”
Skin becomes tolerant and learns how to work with products. For example, retinols. It is not uncommon to see peeling after the first application . However, applications after that may not yield the same extreme results because the product has done its job.
Careful not to overuse.
We recommend certain products such as retinol for short-term use only. Retinol helps your skin look fresh all the time, but it becomes very thinned out over long-term use.
Using strong products all the time leaves no room for improvement. Plus, when you overuse certain products, your skin becomes lazy! When the skin is not allowed to perform its natural functions by itself, it becomes dependent on products to carry out its daily functions. As a result, the moment you remove one of those products from your routine, your skin experiences problems.
Tips for optimal product use
Store your beauty products in a cool, dry place, and avoid direct sunlight.
Try storing eye creams and moisturizers in the butter compartment of your fridge. This will keep products cool, stable, and refreshing when applied!
When possible, choose products that come in pumps or tubes, they hold longer as they are not in contact with open air or skin.
If you’re using a potted product use a small spatula or cotton swab to remove products from the jar. The natural oils and bacteria found on our skin can alter or spoil products.
What treatments does dérmica offer to remove dark spots?
Located in Edmonton, Alberta, Dérmica offers a variety of treatments to remove dark spots on the face. Base level intervention would start with products. Professional products target pigment removal at a superficial level. Our favourite product to remove hyperpigmentation is the Retinol Resurfacing Serum. It helps even out the skin tone. If generalized uneven skin tone is your concern, look out for products containing lactic acid.
Facial coupled with AHA boost
All of our facials have reserved time for pore extraction. The extraction process clears away oil and debris for better absorption of Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA). Our AHA boost contains those good brightening acids, for example glycolic and lactic acid. Boosts are mild peels.
Peels
Other treatments to remove dark spots on the face include chemical peels. Glycolic acid is used to remove sun spots, acne scars, and other dark spots on the face. It penetrates the deepest into the skin because it has the smallest molecules.
Picture your skin as a bunch of scales held together by glue. Glycolic acid can reach deep levels to dissolve the glue thereby separating the layers. Over the next few days following your treatment, loose layers will start to crunch up and dry up. You may start to see flaking in some areas. As a result, your body makes new cells thereby pushing pigment up to the surface. Follow up peels are required to push the pigmentation all the way out. All things considered they are a great choice for all skin types.
Photofacials
Lastly, photofacials are our maximum treatment to remove dark spots from the face. They are considered “maximum level” treatments because they target hyperpigmentation with laser precision.
IPL Phototherapy is able to isolate specific ranges of light. Each range of light within the spectrum penetrates to a different level in the skin.
More control
Our ACLARA photofacial targets melanin cells with no effect on the superficial tissues. This results in maximum effect with very little downtime.
The meaning of the SPF number in sunscreen has caused much confusion. SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. The number afterwards comes from a formula. The formula is used to calculate the number of minutes your skin be safely exposed to the sun before it starts to have negative effects.
Think of it as a stop watch that starts when you step out into the sun. The higher the number, the more minutes it buys you.
Protection increases slightly as the SPF number goes higher by allowing less percentage of rays to hit your skin.
Do SPF 15 and 50 have the same ingredients?
SPF 50s will have more zinc. The higher the zinc the more protection, but also the whiter the cast that it leaves. In fact, you can buy a zinc stick, which is like a chapstick for areas where you’re highly exposed.
Keep in mind that sunscreens do not always protect you from burning. It will definitely extend the amount of time you can safely be in the sun before it starts causing damage. However, for some skin types will burn anyway with or without sunscreen.
Physical vs Chemical?
Physical sunscreens are made of minerals and act like sunglasses for your skin. zinc is a mineral is a finely ground rock that has been finely crushed that sits on the skin. When you apply it, it binds to your skin at the surface and provides a “shade” over your skin.
Physical sunscreen is the best type of sunscreen to use over your face or for sensitive skin types. On the other hand, they tend to be a little greasier because they do not absorb into the skin. Also, they can leave a white cast depending on how high your SPF is.
Chemical sunscreens absorb into the skin right away, they are not greasy and do not leave a white cast. however, they are actually going into your skin and interacting on a cellular level, coating each cell. While they have benefits, the fact that they are going into your cells leaves room for adverse reactions.
New day sunscreens
Some product lines have become more sophisticated with their formulations and are able to dilute the white cast without losing efficacy or adding ingredients.
Now that you know the meaning of the SPF number in sunscreen, which SPF is right for you?
Retinol does pretty much everything. Firstly, retinol helps accelerate the cell turnover rate. The cell turnover rate is how quickly your cells are coming up with a new one, bringing it up to the surface, and purging it. Young skin is constantly regenerating; retinol has that affect on skin in general.
Retinol is meant for temporary use. When you are using it, it forces your skin to exfoliate. This exfoliation process will give you textural repair, as well as remove scarring and hyperpigmentation and acne. In addition, due to its regenerating capacity, it is also used in anti-aging products.
Can you use retinol if you have sensitive skin?
The negative side effects outweigh the benefits of retinol for someone that has sensitive skin. Keep in mind there are different types of sensitive skin. Sensitive skin types include rosacea and can range to a dryer, more mature/sensitive skin.
Using retinol when you have sensitive skin may cause irritation. For instance, rosacea can look like an abundance of skin, which leads clients to exfoliate more often than they should.
However, the reality is that inflammation is causing the skin to get thick and the pores to get big. As a result, the type of exfoliation provided by retinol will make the problem worse. Instead, we recommend using salicylic acid. Salicylic acid will exfoliate the damaged skin and also take down inflammation. Additionally, salicylic acid helps to strengthen the fibres of the skin which greatly helps rosacea.
Rosacea pimples
Sometimes rosacea acne gets confused for regular acne, however, rosacea pimples will never burst. Salicylic acid is the only way to get rid of those pimples.
In conclusion, using retinol when you have sensitive skin is not the best option. Try using products with salicylic acid.
In a city like Edmonton in Alberta, the seasons change drastically and we get to experience many diverse climate conditions! Whether the seasons are changing or you’re moving to a different part of the world, your skin will react to its surroundings. This is why it is important to acclimate your skin to the climate conditions of your environment. Adding or exchanging certain products in your routine can help avoid breakouts during seasonal skin changes.
Environmental influences
We all have our skin type to work with, however, seasonal skin changes are due to environmental influences. For instance, the summer tends to be hotter with higher humidity levels resulting in much higher water loss. In addition, the longer days often mean we receive more sun exposure. As a result, your skin is more likely to become damaged and dehydrated. You will collect excess buildup from sweat, makeup, and dirt which can clog your pores.
We recommend using products that cleanse away that build up. Also, exfoliation becomes more important in the summer because it helps to remove the surface layers of the skin.
Can skin types change with the season?
Normal combination skin types that border on dry skin can experience full-on dryness in the wintertime. This is due to changes in the environment, for example, cold exposure. The cold can be harsh on the skin as well as cause wind rash. We recommend physically covering you skin with a scarf during the winter months. Just remember to keep the scarf clean!
In addition, in the winter you get double sun exposure coming directly from the sun, and the reflective exposure that bounces off the snow. For this reason if you find yourself on a mountain, or going skiing or doing anything outdoors, make sure you wear sunscreen! Plus you’re more likely to get a chapped sunburn/windburn so make sure to protect your skin.
On the other hand, normal combination skin types that border on oily skin can become full-on oily in the summertime and are more prone to breaking out due to heat exposure or high humidity. They should switch to a lighter, oil-free moisturizer in the summer.
Treating seasonal damage
In the fall, skin starts to dry up a little. Summer damage should be lifted with skin treatments such as photofacials or chemical peels. Ideally, these treatments should take place at the end of summer or the beginning of fall.
The goal of the treatments is to remove the cap of dead summer skin and rejuvenate your skin. This will help the ingredients in your products actually make it to the cells that need the extra hydration and nutrients.
