mySKiN&CO

Yesterday I was reading an article about night creams and all ‘their benefits’. The article was arguing that because the skin repairs itself at night, then it is also the ideal time to treat the skin at the same time – and you would do this by applying a specific treatment cream, now appropriately marketed as a ‘night cream’. It also went on to say, that recently there has been a lot of the big brands launching their night cream, and are expecting a surge of people actually buying night creams. It is interesting to note that currently only 10% of Canadians (the article was from a Canadian newspaper) buy a night cream.

So, my goal here is to see whether we do really need 2 different creams, …

Is my skin different in the morning and at night?

Let’s first talk about the functions of the skin…
 Protection – the skin serves as a barrier to protect the inner parts of the body, and to prevent transport of harmful materials as well as water loss.
 Temperature Regulation – the skin helps to regulate the body temperature by warming and cooling the body.
 Healing – the skin has the ability to self-heal, repair tears and injuries.
 Immunity – the skin contains numerous immune cells that help identify, control, and eradicate germs from affecting the skin and entering the body.
 Sensory – the skin contains many nerves that detect cold, pain, pressure and heat.

It is good to note that the skin does all of the above all the time – that is day and night. The only difference that one can argue, between day and night, is that, if your body is resting during sleep, then your skin is mainly focusing on repairing the damages that the skin has gone through throughout the day – so that by morning it would be ‘recharged’ and ready to face the day, fighting pollution and germs. Hence, night cream marketers, take advantage of this and say that, there is no better time to apply a ‘high-tech cream’ than at night, so that the skin would have the cream’s hi-tech ingredients to absorb, when it is in its repairing-and-treating-mode – hence achieving better results, while getting more out of your cream.

This reasoning might hold some truth, however, one has to understand that there is more to it, than just applying a night cream, to achieve your desired skin results. It is useless, neglecting the skin by the day, reasoning, that your miracle night cream will reverse all the damage that the skin went through, during the day.

In addition, one has to note that the skin, although a highly-complex organ on its own, it is still part of a whole body system of different organs and systems. Hence, having your skin in top condition, is dependent on all systems working together harmoniously.

Some myths addressed

 Skin can be greasy at night – no one will see. A product doesn’t have to be rich and heavy for it to work. A greasy skin doesn’t mean that the product is better. Nowadays, products have moved away from the thick greasy texture of earlier days.
 A day cream and a night cream have different roles. It is true that in a way, your day cream has to protect the skin from the pollution, while your night cream has to have ingredients which will ‘treat’ the skin. However, the same product can do both for you, meaning that it is ideal both for the morning protection and the night treatment. In addition, there is no reason why your skin can’t have some hi-tech ingredients during the day (after all your skin is still repairing during the day), and no reason why your skin can’t have any protection at night (after all, is there less harmful environment pollutants in your bedroom than there is in your office?).
 A night cream is the answer to my problem. Night creams are not miracle products. Your lifestyle is more your answer to your problem. Aging of the skin is caused mainly through inflammation. The sun’s rays are very harmful, as well as alcohol and smoking, lack of sleep, bad nutrition, lack of exercise and stress. Your night cream, doesn’t reverse all this damage.

Do I Really Need A Night Cream?

So, my advice to you is that you are better off focusing on:
 making sure that you are applying the correct moisturizer for your skin’s needs,
 making sure to apply your moisturizer during the day and night (can be the same product),
 learning how to de-stress,
 protecting your skin from the sun’s rays, and
 ensuring that you are getting enough sleep.
All this will give you better skin results, than the urge to purchase expensive night creams.

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Popularity: 13% [?]

With the scary statistics of skin cancer and everyone’s anti-aging concern, it is no wonder that people are shying away from the harmful UV rays (of the sun and tanning beds), and are looking for better alternatives.

In this article I will be discussing the safe way of getting a healthy tan from the comfort of your home, with the help of a self-tanning cream.

Choosing Your Self-Tanning Lotion

There are a variety of options for you. You might want to check the reviews of the products, and see what other people are saying. However, my advice is that to make the right choice for your skin, you might need to test a few out. We all have different skin undertones – some of us have a golden undertone, while others have a pinkish undertone. What will look good on one won’t be ideal for the other. So, test a few on your arm, let the colour develop and then go to buy the one which suits your colouring more.

In addition, like this you would also be testing if you have any reactions to the ingredients in the self-tanning lotion or maybe you notice that you can’t stand the smell of the lotion. Unfortunately, the smell is an issue with many self-tanning lotions, as it is the main ingredient which is necessary to get the tan; although, formulas have been improved upon and some of them are much better than others.

How to Apply Your Self-Tan At Home

 First exfoliate to remove the dead skin. This will ensure a smooth, even colour.
 Shower to make sure that you don’t have any deodorant or body lotion that might react with the colour in the self-tan.
 Apply nail polish on toe nails and finger nails (even one coat of clear will do), so as not to stain the nails.
 You might want to wear gloves so as not to have a build up of colour on your hands, although with the home self-tan lotions it doesn’t really happen as the colour becomes intense the more you apply, and after finishing you would be washing your hands immediately.
 Apply the self-tanning lotion. It would be the same like you are applying your body lotion, but be more careful so to evenly cover all areas.
 You would need someone to do your back for you.
 Here is a trick to have a tanned-look that looks as close to the real thing as possible. Unfortunately, you can tell that a tan is fake from the buildup of tan on the elbows, knuckles, hands, knees, ankles and feet, or the lack of a tan on the ears and the hairline.
So, first apply the tan all over your body, but avoid the above mentioned areas or go over very lightly. Then, blend one part self-tan and one part body lotion (just make sure that the body lotion is as neutral as possible, so it won’t react with the colour), and apply to these areas, so that the colour will look as natural as possible. Don’t forget the ears, behind the ears, nape, hairline and around the eyes – again use the diluted self-tan for these areas, and blend in.
 When you finish, wash your hands, then get someone to apply a little bit of diluted self-tan (dilute with body lotion not water) onto your hands.
 With the home self-tan, you don’t need to worry about showering after a certain amount of time. Although I would advise leaving it on for at least 4 hours before showering.
 With the home self-tan you would need to repeat the application every day until you are satisfied with the colour.

Some Important Insights

 I find that the best time to do the self-tan is at night – so as not to be wearing any tight fitting clothing, footwear or jewellery, which might affect the result.
 When blending in the hairline, don’t apply the self-tanning lotion to your hair, especially if you have any high-lights.
 Note that perspiration might mark any clothes – so be especially careful when wearing white clothes, or with your bed sheets.
 Any hair removal should be done at least 24 hours before applying the self-tanning lotion.
 Be aware of swimming in pools – as the chemicals in swimming pools can bleach the tan.
 The last advice is that if you have a special occasion, make sure to have a trial run 4 – 6 weeks before the ‘big’ day, in case of any allergies or unexpected results.

How to Maintain Your Tan

 Use a Body Polisher (scrub or exfoliant) every 2 to 3 days as tan fades – to have an even tan fade. Even if you are applying self-tan every day, you need to exfoliate to remove the dead skin cells, so that the tan will look healthy and glowing as opposed to a dull-looking tan.
 Use a Body Moisturizer to prolong the life of the tan. You just have to make sure that the Body Moisturizer is not perfumed, as it might react with the tan.

Enjoy, and remember that practise makes perfect. Plus you will be happy knowing that you have a safe tan, without any risks of skin cancer or sun damage (photo aging) to your skin.

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Popularity: 3% [?]

We all associate a tanned skin with a healthy glow. Some people opt to bake themselves in the sun, others visit an indoor tanning salon, while others prefer to fake it. So who is right, and how can we actually have a healthy tan?

Let’s review what is actually harmful to the skin. UVA rays mainly cause skin aging due to the sun damage, while UVB rays cause skin cancer. It is worth noting that there also exist UVC rays, but these are lost in the atmosphere without coming in contact with our bodies.

Tanning Beds

A study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the World Health Organization, has shed light on the real harm done through ultra-violet emitting tanning beds. The research, which is published in the July 2009 edition of The Lancet Oncology medical journal, found that using tanning beds could increase the risk of developing cancer by 75%, particularly if used by children and young adults.

“The risk of skin melanoma is increased by 75 percent when use of tanning devices starts before 30 years of age,” said the report.

However, one can conclude that the use of beds at any age boosts the risk of melanoma, which is the deadliest form of skin cancer (15%). So now tanning beds, which lately are being made to produce higher levels of UVB to mimic the sun and speed up the tanning process, are being classified in the same top-risk cancer group as cigarettes, asbestos and arsenic. Tanning beds contain light sources which emit both UVA and UVB rays. The UVA rays emitted are 2 to 3 times more powerful than the UVA rays which occur naturally from the sun.

Sun Rays

The sun can be as damaging as the tanning beds in the long run, especially if it is taken advantage of. Sun damage of the skin, also known as photo damage, can lead to either a cosmetic change in the skin’s appearance (mainly premature aging, wrinkles, pigmentation and a thick leathery skin) or can lead to more health concerns (such as skin cancers).

Any tan is damage to your skin. A tan is a reaction of the skin to sun exposure. The skin produces more melanin (brown pigment) to defend itself. Our skin type can fall in 6 different categories, according to the Fitzpatrick Scale. Skin Type 1 are those people who always burn but never tan, while Skin Type 6 is black skin. Skin Type 1 are more at risk of severe skin damage because their skin is not protecting itself against the harmful sun rays – and in fact, they tend to turn red, burn, blister and remain ‘untanned’. In fact skin cancer is more common in people who don’t tan easily, who always burn and never tan, who are fair skinned, who have red hair, blonde or light brown hair, and who have blue, green or grey eyes.

Cosmetic sun damage causes premature aging. This appears as freckles, hyper-pigmentation (brown patches), hypo-pigmentation (white spots), excessive wrinkles (especially in non-expression areas, where expression areas are usually the eyes and mouth – so it would usually be areas such as sides of face, neck and décolleté), and thick leathery skin. This is understood when one compares a baby’s skin, a 15 year old’s skin and an adult’s skin. The baby’s skin is usually flawless, the 15 year old might have a few freckles, while an adult would have more sun damage depending on the amount sun exposure in one’s life. Also in an adult, one would see a difference when comparing the skin which was repeatedly exposed to the sun, to areas where it was not or sun exposure was limited to a few months a year.

At times we don’t realize that we might be getting too much sun exposure. It’s not just going to the beach in the summer months, but most of the sun exposure we accumulate through our lives is the effect of multiple, short periods of time outside. So, even driving to and from work, hanging clothes on the roof, gardening, golfing, skiing (sun rays are reflected off the snow), sailing, playing tennis, walking to the grocery store, and people working in construction sites. Even a cloudy day can contribute to a tan – as it is the sun’s rays which are harmful, and the rays can still penetrate through the clouds.

Although, sunshine is essential for health and wellbeing, and is a vital source of Vitamin D, one has to weigh the pros and cons. It is worth noting that you can achieve your body’s Vitamin D requirements through just a 10 minute walk three times a week or a diet that includes salmon, tuna, eggs and fortified cereal.

Prevention – the best cure

To prevent the damage caused by the UV rays, one has to avoid tanning beds, avoid the sun between 11am and 3pm, wear protective clothing (including wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses) and apply sunscreen. It is important to note that for sunscreen to be effective, it has to be a broadspectrum sunscreen (meaning that it filters both UVA and UVB rays), it has to be an SPF 15 or higher, it has to be applied generously and it has to be reapplied every 2 hours (even more often if you are swimming or sweating).

If you would like to have a tan all year round, then try a bronzing lotion or self-tanning cream.

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Popularity: 2% [?]