How do we know if we are buying the right products for our skin?

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Before we purchase skin care products for our face, we probably have lots of questions in our head and we would likely wonder:

  • Does this product work for my skin?
  • There are so many products out there, where do I begin?
  • How do I choose the right skin care for myself?

As early as when puberty starts, we start to take notice in the changes of especially our facial skin. There are many different types of skin combinations and sometimes choosing the right product can be quite a hassle.

There are products out there where you find so many different series or combinations of use of products which tends to confuse us on the amount of steps to take just to find and appreciate something suitable for the skin. Our skin also changes with time, and the same product that we once loved, we may sometimes find ourselves having to change the product because we find it no longer effective for our skin.

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After awhile, we just tired of using skin care, and choose the safer approach. Something that is not too costly, and still does its basic function right.

But, is there a way then, to really invest in ourselves and improve the condition of our skin? Are there non-invasive options to really firm up the face and making it glow from the inside out?

Below are some questions that we ask about the products out there and we can re-think if there are alternatives in improving our current skin conditions, to help us be more confident and beautiful from inside out.

What is my skin type?

Understanding our skin type is crucial before making a purchase decision, because using the wrong products may result adverse effects, which may cause discomfort and inconveniences. A general guide of skin types can be found in the article The Best Care for Your Skin Type

Dry skin. “Dry skin can be flaky and easily irritated. It’s more sensitive,” says Linda Franks, MD, director of Gramercy Park Dermatology and clinical assistant professor in the department of dermatology at New York University School of Medicine in New York. She says if your skin has these qualities and also tends to react to some (or all) of the skin products you have tried, you have dry skin. The extreme version of dry skin is sensitive skin.

Oily skin. The primary test for determining if you have oily skin is when you start to feel some oil on your face. Most people can feel a little oil by late afternoon, but if you feel oil around midday, you have oily skin. Oily skin rarely reacts negatively to skin products like dry, sensitive skin types do. It has slightly better natural sun protection, but is also prone to acne.

Combination skin. If the description of dry skin matches your cheeks, but the description of oily skin matches your “T-zone” (nose and brow area primarily), you have combination skin.

– as extracted from the article.

Other than knowing your skin type, you would also have to understand if your skin is thick or thin. Thicker facial skin has more dead cells and may require more focus on exfoliation & cleansing, whereas thinner skins need to be treated with more care as it may turn out to be more sensitive when using new products.

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Which products should I choose? There are just too many out there!

First and foremost, what are the categories of Skin Care products and how to pick one for yourself? Before selecting the right product for your skin, we can start by understanding some facts about our skin to help us to make a better decision.

Firstly, Can our skin really absorb products?

Understanding this can make or break the choice of products for you. Because

The Impermeable Facts of Skin Penetration and Absorption suggests that:

“The design of cosmetic and skin care formulas is to benefit the outer layer of skin— absorption into the body would waste the effects of these products.” 


Then we ask ourselves, can skin care products out there really improve our skin condition? Does it heal or activate the regeneration of our skin cells to enable us to look and feel our skin being firmer and healthier to look and to touch?

The article What Do Enzymes Do For Your Skin? suggests that:

Enzymes have a lot of potential in personal care products and advances are constantly being made in enzyme technology…”

 

So then you’d ask, what are enzymes and how would do they work?

“Enzymes are biological molecules (typically proteins) that significantly speed up the rate of virtually all of the chemical reactions that take place within cells.

They are vital for life and serve a wide range of important functions in the body, such as aiding in digestion and metabolism.

 

Some enzymes help break large molecules into smaller pieces that are more easily absorbed by the body. Other enzymes help bind two molecules together to produce a new molecule. Enzymes are highly selective catalysts, meaning that each enzyme only speeds up a specific reaction.”   as quoted from the article “How do enzymes work?

What other ingredients should I look out for in Skin Care products for it to be effective for my skin?

Topical treatments have also become more focused on tackling adult acne. Added Dr Lum: “Having a good and effective skincare regimen is the most important step in any treatment plan. I’d recommend patients who are battling acne problems to use Vitamin C and products containing probiotics. Topical skincare ingredients that have also been proven to help calm inflammation, unclog pores and repair acne scars include retinol, salicylic acid, glycolic acid, probiotics and colloidal silver.

Dr Lum Yang Xi, medical doctor at IDS Clinic mentions on: Adult acne on the rise from stress, a lack of sleep and hormonal changes

The bottom line is, understanding our own skin type and the available products out there with a combination of the right topical ingredients and product technology, there are still options out there that can activate our normal skin cells to be able to repair and heal itself as if we were 18. But we need to understand how these products work for our skin, and if they are truly effective and beneficial for us.

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