Beautiful, Simple Skin – It All Starts With The Basics

Your skin is not only your largest organ, but it’s also the most exposed organ and works constantly to protect our bodies from harsh environmental factors. Just like you would follow a dedicated exercise regime to take care of other organs in your body to ensure that they work optimally, you need to commit to a set skincare routine to ensure that your skin is functioning at its best.

And just as you wouldn’t expect to build muscle tone and improve your levels of fitness with just an occasional visit to the gym, you can’t expect huge payoffs in terms of the appearance of your skin with a half-hearted and haphazard approach to skincare. A healthy, radiant, and youthful complexion requires commitment and a consistent skincare routine that makes use of quality products that may require a bit of a financial investment at the outset.

What is healthy skin?

According to Dr Zein Obagi, a board-certified practicing dermatologist and world-renowned skincare expert, a healthy skin is smooth, even-toned, and well hydrated, among other things. It boasts a strong barrier function and proper cell function, and it’s free from any apparent skin diseases, such as acne and Rosacea.

Although most of us start off with a healthy, functional skin, environmental and hereditary factors often impact the health of our skin, as does normal skin ageing. This results in skin that is dull or dry, along with wrinkling, thinning, jowling, and laxity. You may also notice that your skin bruises much easier as you age.

Reclaiming a healthy, youthful complexion

Fortunately it is possible to reverse the signs of skin ageing and to restore your skin to its natural, youthful state. There are many effective resurfacing procedures available, which include treatments like microneedling (also known as Dermapen), chemical peels, Dermaplaning, and skin boosters. Cosmetic surgery has also seen many great advances over the past few years, and these can assist in achieving a healthy skin by undoing the effects of gravity, recreating chiselled, contoured lines, removing excess skin, or adding volume to areas that have experienced volume loss. With that said, the importance of a good home skin care routine should not be underestimated.

Over the years, I have noticed that working on patients that have taken care of their skin makes a dramatic difference to the outcome of facial cosmetic surgery, regardless of their age. As a result, I always encourage my patients to commit to healthy skin practices from as early as possible. However, it’s important to note that it’s never too late to intervene and to invest in quality skincare products and treatments to help undo some of the damage.

Irrespective of the treatments or products that you choose to incorporate into your skincare routine, the goal should be to improve the overall health of your skin as opposed to merely alleviating the symptoms of poor skin health, which include acne, rosacea, pigmentation, or fine lines and wrinkles. The majority of over-the-counter skincare products won’t address these concerns at a cellular level, which is why it is so important to invest in highly-researched, medical-grade cosmeceutical skincare products that are results-driven. These products are often more expensive than the typical moisturiser you’d buy off the shelf at your nearest supermarket, but they also tend to last much longer and they really deliver on their promises. Commit to using them consistently and in the correct way, as prescribed by your dermatologist or aesthetician, and you’ll start to notice a dramatic improvement in the overall condition of your skin.

It’s vital that you protect your skin against the sun’s damaging UV rays by wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen on a daily basis, come rain or shine. It’s also advisable to incorporate antioxidant-rich skincare products into your routine to help neutralise the damaging effects of free radicals from environments factors such as the sun, pollution, or stress.

Where possible, I recommend that patients invest in regular advanced skin procedures at a reputable Aesthetic Clinic, and that they go for regular follow ups with their aesthetician to monitor their results. You can also review your progress by having your skin analysed via Visia Skin Analysis every three to six months. With the correct products and a bit of commitment, it’s guaranteed that you’ll notice visible results within just a few, short months.