Ask An Esthetician Question & Answer Series: Part 1

What Is An Esthetician?

Consider those within this profession a skincare aficionado. They are licensed professionals that work to help you achieve a skincare regime best for you!  They have first hand knowledge of all things skincare; prevention, maintenance and treatment of the complexion of skin.  They are trained to provide facials, laser therapy, chemical peels and etc.

In this Q& A I had the opportunity to sit down one on one with a licensed esthetician, who also happens to be a nurse practitioner as well to gather her best practices for anti-aging prevention (her specialty) This is part 1 of an ongoing series that will be updated on SkinFlash!

Question: What are the Top 3 things people should do daily?

People should always, always wash their face twice a day, regardless of skin type. You would be surprised by the amount of oil that accumulates overnight, so that is why its important to wash first thing in the morning. At night its important to wash because of makeup that's been sitting on your face all day and junk from the environment.

When it comes to cleansing, its important to use the cleanser formulated for your skin type. Using the wrong cleanser won't generate the same results for all skin types. So if you know your type, then look for that when you shop around.

It is the most important to wear a sunscreen everyday, even if you're just going outside to run errands. Even if you're staying indoors, exposure from windows and florescent lights can still cause wrinkles.

Moisturize constantly!

Question: What are the best anti-aging habits to adopt?

Start using a serum every night to target wrinkles because it is more gentle on your skin and easily absorbed. Look for serums with hyaluronic acid or Vitamin C, if you can find one with both, even better!

Start using sunscreen at an early age to prevent wrinkles that will show up in the future. You won't see the effects now, but; you'll regret it later for sure.

Question: What's the difference between a serum and facial oils?

Well even though the texture is similar, serums are not oils. Serums contain much smaller molecules that can penetrate skin much better than oil.  These molecules go under skin and rebuild from the deepest layers, that will you can see a real difference. Facial oils are good as moisturizers but you're better off using a serum for wrinkles.

Question: When should someone start anti-aging prevention?

The earlier the better, even when you're a kid. It all starts with something as simple as wearing sunscreen everyday. When you start using products like eye creams and products designed for anti-aging, 18 is the perfect age to begin. Of course, up until that point you should be washing your skin regularly; but, that's the time to throw in an eye cream.

Question: What should a nighttime skin regime consist of?

Well it really depends on the skin type; but, generally you want to start with cleansing, exfoliation (limit this to just once a day) toner, moisturizer and then your eye creams/serums. It is important to do this every night to really see results over time, you won't do your face any favors doing this whenever you remember to.

Question: What should I look for in a sunscreen, is chemical or physical better?

Physical sunscreen is always best; but, if that's not an option for you, try looking for a hybrid of some sort. It is better to use a chemical one rather than going without one period.  As far as SPF goes, higher amounts don't give any more coverage than what you need. Your skin can only absorb so much. Keep your SPF at 30 and you'll be more than fine. Also look to see what oils are added, if any to the product. You don't want oil from sunscreen and makeup to cause irritation to skin.

Question: What are the worst habits that age skin?

Sleeping with makeup is the quickest way to age skin, of all the things you can do, falling asleep is the worse thing you can do. The makeup will set there and set in your lines and “eat” away at skin as you sleep. When you sleep, your body is working to restore and repair; but, makeup prevents it from doing it effectively.

Second bad habit would be not wearing sunscreen everyday. It's not enough to wear it; but, you need to reapply it throughout the day. They make powders to dust on your face if you don't want to ruin your makeup.

Third worse habit would be not washing every night, even if you don't wear makeup, oils from your skin and junk from the environment will affect your skin. It's important to wash that off every day, especially men because they think that they don't have to have any sort of skin care regime.

Always wear sunscreen

Question: How does someone achieve a “normal” PH?

Normal skin is the biggest myth out there, there's no such thing as normal skin. Only babies have normal skin. Have you ever noticed how soft their skin is? For the rest of us, we all either have dry, oily or combination skin, everyone falls somewhere within those categories.

This is part 1 of an ongoing series, future topics will cover concerns across all ages and skin types