Look to 2017 to awaken every skin cell with Customized Skin Care, the new breakthrough Facial Trend. What happens in the treatment room used to be a mystery between you and your esthetician. Today with so many advanced treatments and products, it’s important that you understand your skin and your body. And everyone is different. Gone are the days of one facial for every face. Or one brand of skincare for every face. Or the traditional “European Facial”.  The rise of customized skincare has made “off the shelf” completely out of style.

For starters, your largest organ has become the “teller of tales”. If you went out partying for New Year’s Eve and then looked in the mirror on Sunday, you had “hangover face”. A hangover facial would include intense exfoliation, hydration and vitamin penetration. The skin can actually age overnight from too much sugar and dehydration. You see, the crystal ball tells all.

Customized skincare is the ongoing care of the skin that is designed just for you. How does this work? Let’s walk through this new 2017 facial trend.

• Facial Analysis -When you look and feel the skin, you are determining what is going on in the body. Additionally, as a client, you will want to share your skin concerns with your esthetician. You might not realize that your skin is dry or dehydrated, as you may only be looking at the pigmentation. This is where the esthetician and the client make a joint goal to determine treatments, conditions and final goals. Albeit, the goals must be realistic. This is only the beginning of a treatment plan and this is where most estheticians stop. The next steps are probably the most important. What happens in the body and from your environment can play big in the treatment of the skin.
• Dietary and Nutrition – From years of nutrition classes and courses, we have learned that what you eat has an enormous effect on the skin. When working with acne clients or preventative aging clients, the diet is of utmost importance. For example, we know that dairy, yeast, sugar, and gluten play a huge role in the skin’s “happiness factor”. Not only from acne but also from a sugar glycation effect on the skin. Sugar ages the skin as it breaks down the cells in a process that causes premature cell death (sounds just awful). So what you eat matters. What you drink matters. If you want glowing, gorgeous skin that radiates beauty, it has to come partially from within.
• Environment – Okay, this is not an out, but it is an out. If you live in a dry arid climate or a northern climate, the climate is going to age you faster than someone who lives in a humid climate. When you think the world is out to get you, it possibly could be as you are affected by pollution, climate and even your job! Your whole environment can affect your skin’s protective barrier. You see your skin’s one MAJOR role in life is to protect you. When this protective barrier is weakened, the cells’ energy declines as well as communication with other cells.  The cells are put into such a state of survival that just holding on becomes a “normal” state. This type of skin usually feels super dry, flaky, itchy and sensitive. It has become immune to any type of treatment and needs both internal and external treatment.
• Lifestyle – Yes, January is the time that everyone evaluates their life. Goals become a big priority and lifestyle is front and center. A customized skincare program must account for lifestyle. If you burn the candle at both ends so to speak, your skin will show it. Maybe not immediately, but in ten for fifteen years, your skin will be the beneficiary of a crazy lifestyle. Same with a lifestyle of too much sun, or too much partying. Too much of anything will rob the skin of vital nutrients. For example, I had a client that was a vegan exercise fanatic. She failed to eat enough protein in her lifestyle and with her active exercising lifestyle, her body was using her own muscle protein to exist. The skin cells revolted because nutrition was being sent elsewhere and on the outside (although skinny), her skin appeared lackluster and dull.
• Cosmetic & Skin Care -What you use on the skin matters. What chemicals, sulfates and the pH level of the cleanser all matter. Last year, I watched the craze for contouring happening. I also watched as young adults bought contour kits with acne-causing ingredients. You could see that the kits were causing acne on the face. Where they contoured, there was acne. What you use on the skin, what’s in your makeup, it matters. And it’s not only for acne. There are clients out there over-drying their skin with soaps and expecting the skin to feel soft and supple. That’s not happening to alligator skin unless there is a buildup of fatty acids and lipids on the skin’s outer layers. Research has shown the effects of fatty acids and lipids on the skin in helping make the skin soft and radiant.

Customized Skin Care for You!

Where should you start?  Customized skin care is a combination of facial treatments, skin care, nutrition, lifestyle and the right products. If you would like us to provide an analysis, feel free to email us!

• After you fill out the questionnaire, sit down with a 10X mirror. It’s super scary at first, but it gives you an up-close view of your skin. What do you see? Do you see pigmentation, redness or bumps?
• If you see bumps, are they white and hard? Or are they soft? Are the bumps underground or do they have a head? All of these questions help us to determine the customized skin care treatments for you. Exactly which facial and what skin care will work best for you? (This cannot be done at a drug store, department store or even some of those beauty stores)
• An esthetician that understands what the bumps mean will be able to discover the cause of the bumps. (That’s the answer) Discover the CAUSE. Discover the Root. Then you can correct the skin and the overall health of the body.
• As you are staring at this 10X mirror, roll the skin between your fingers. How does it feel? Dry, itchy, scaly? This tests for dehydration.
• Pick up the skin and let it go back to it’s original position? Did the skin move slowly or was it really fast? Repeat this test on the hand. This tests for elasticity.

All of these little tests help the esthetician choose which treatment and products will work the best. Then it can be a trial and error of getting just the perfect combination. For example, when working with an acne client, the original treatment will be to remove the clogged pores and pustules, while later on, the goal is preventing the breakouts. This calls for different treatments and different skin care.

This is very different than most estheticians as we work towards discovering the underlying cause of the problem. First the problem, then the cause, and finally the solution.This is true customized skin care. It can only work if the client and the esthetician work in sync. Below are two case studies of clients.

Customized Skin Care Case Study Acne Caused By Nutrition

Female client had been off and on again for almost 3 years. In her mid twenties, she was now getting ready for her marriage. This required serious client negotiations as she had previously followed a course of treatment for a little while, then would go back and eat whatever she wanted. She had also tried the dermatologist route with drugs and creams, without any success.

Despite my warnings that she could be having problems with dairy, sugar and gluten, she didn’t truly believe.

Working on acne skin is tedious, time consuming and you must have a true passion. And the client must be as much of a partner in making the skin better.

This time, she was angelic about her nutrition. She went from wine to vodka, ditched the gluten, dairy and sugar. Combined with twice a week treatments, she started to see marked improvement after month 1. We had four months to her wedding and by that time, her skin was completely flawless. We also had time to work on the scarring and pigmentation which made her skin simply radiant and gorgeous for her wedding day.

Customized Skin Care Case Study Dehydrated Skin Caused By Lack Lipids and Water

This high profile female client is in her late fifties and although she was faithful with having facials, her skin was starting to lose elasticity. While she drank a lot of water, she was very active athletically and was not keeping up with the demands on her body. She upped her water intake, added more oils to her diet and added a ceramide serum to her skin care regimen. (She was already using Environ C-Quence, Skin Script and Dr. Grandel Ampoules. She also was amazing with her nutrition, but was scared of “good oils” like coconut and nuts.

Her goal was to non-surgically give her skin radiance. In this case, the esthetician opted for a rotation treatment with 3 different options. Week #1: She first worked on the muscles and sped up the skin cells with the Microcurrent Facial Lifting. (The client had done a 6 week series the prior 6 months, so her muscles were in great shape, they just needed a little reminder). #Week 3: Micro-Needling was performed to get the collagen and the elasticity back in shape. #Week 4: A Dermaplaning session removed excess dead skin and infused lipid serums into the skin.

Client repeated this for 3 months and then alternated treatments for the 3 months after. Unfortunately, pictures are not available, but all of her friends think that she opted for surgery somewhere. Only we know her secret!

Customized skin care is the key to having fabulous skin. For a consultation and appointment, call 561-404-7670.