The 4 Rules Of All Skin Care and Anti-Aging

Balance:

This should take place during your daily cleansing routine, morning and night. To balance the skin means to cleanse without stripping natural and much needed oils and adjust pH levels.
 By doing this, oil gland production is normalized, natural hydration is maintain and the skin is ready to better accept ingredients from any skin care to follow.

I always recommend milky/cream textured cleansers, even for those with oily skin (like myself!) or those with acne. Foaming cleansers tend to remove too much natural moisture and can stimulate more oil production as a result.

As far as toners go, you have to be careful that you're not actually using an astringent that's hiding behind a label that says "toner".
Astringents are full of alcohol and/or ingredients like tea tree oil or peroxides which suck hydration form the skin leaving it feel tight and parched.

A true toner has a pH of 4.5-5.5 and should contain ingredients that give back to your skin, instead of taking away from it.

My two top picks are Environs Mild Cleansing Lotion and Moisturizing Toner.



Nourish:

A lot of people think the skin gets all the nourishment it needs from the foods we eat.
Unfortunately, while the skin is the largest organ of the body, it's also the last to receive all the nourishment it needs to look, feel and function it's best. The skin is our barrier from water, sunlight, pollution, wind, temperature extremes and so on.
So therefor it really tends to take a beating like nothing else!

Over time the skin naturally loses vitamin A levels and along with sun exposure and other factors, that depletion is sped up. Vitamin A is so important for a number of reasons but to list just a few...it regulates healthy cell function, speeds up cell production and repairs DNA damage.

Of course your skin needs a lot more than just vitamin A. Things like vitamin B, C, E, peptides and antioxidants should not be over looked as they aid in repair, healthy collagen production, normal pigment production, hydration, increasing cell turnover and much more.

This is exactly why I swear by Environs C-Quence Serum. It's a perfect cocktail of everything your skin needs and comes in different concentrations (level 1 to 4) to build the skins tolerance over time.
To me, the serum is sort of like the skins main course and anything else you use could be thought of as an appetizer or desert to really target specific concerns and speed up results.



Protect:

Sunscreen. Need I say more?
To not commit to wearing a high quality SPF every day is doing your skin a major injustice.
UV rays will breakdown collagen (that beautiful protein fiber that keeps the skin plump, firm, youthful and strong) faster than anything else.

It increases inflammation, causes unhealthy pigment production, creates DNA damage which leads to abnormal cell function and even skin cancer and can even denature vitamins in any skin care you have on before your skin can process and make use of it.

So, to not only protect your skin but also your investment into your skin care...daily sunscreen goes a long, long way.



 Stimulate:

As we get older, like all cells in our body our skin becomes "lazy" and doesn't produce cells as quickly as it used to. This can lead to a build up of old, dead cells on the surface and can make the skin look dry, dull, textured and grey-ish.

It also means the skin isn't as quick to produce collagen in fact, after our 20's the skin stops producing it all together! The only way to keep a healthy skin cell and collagen production going is to stimulate the skin to do so.

Acids are a fantastic way to do this at home. They stimulate a higher cell turn over, so the more often you use them, the more often you'll have new skin. Literally! They dissolve dead, excess cells on the surface and refine texture to give you a bright, healthy and dewy glow.
They also work to lighten pigmentation caused by sun damage, dissolve excess oil, kill bacteria and certain acids like Lactic can aid in hydration.

Peptides on the other hand are best for stimulating the collagen producing cells called fibroblasts, but one of the most effective ways to stimulate collagen production is with in-clinic treatments like laser or radio frequency. While there are seemingly endless options when it comes to treatments, they basically all work the same way...by stimulating a healing response from the skin.

The skin heals by producing collagen. Wow! How convenient!

Treatments don't have to be invasive or involve downtime to achieve this effect however.
Lots of treatments like radio frequency for example work by heating the skin deeply to induce neocollagenesis...which is just a big fancy word that means new collagen production.

By heating the skin to about 40 degrees the radio frequency actually causes collagen to breakdown which stimulates the natural repair or healing response of the skin to make brand new collagen!

A nice bonus of most radio frequency technology is it also causes collagen and elastin to shrink under that kind of heat (kind of like a hamburger on the grill).
This means an immediate tightening/lifting of the skin that can often be seen right away!

In-clinic treatments can really be the fastest way to see significant results but if you don't have your home care routine structured and in-check you won't be getting the best results possible.

That's why my rule of thumb is to always address the products one is using at home first. To start  there is laying a much better foundation for great results from anything that can be done in-clinic.