Skin Conditions

Skin conditions are usually prompted by external factors – perhaps illness, or indeed medication, stress, diet, or excessive sun exposure. Using the wrong skincare products – or the right ones, wrongly – can also be a trigger.

Skincare therapists can help you achieve enormous improvement in most of these cases.

Annoyingly, it is not unusual to experience more than one skin condition at a time.

A few skin conditions are explained here.

Skin Conditions – and their characteristics

Dehydrated

Dehydrated skin lacks moisture or water (whereas dry skin lacks oil) and can produce conflicting indicators : possibly being flaky and oily in different parts of the face at the same time. Very fine lines can show and the skin can feel tight, either all over or just in specific areas.

Diet, environment, medications or use of overly harsh cleansing products can cause dehydration. The first step should be checking out how much water you drink. Beer, coffee and fizzy drinks don’t count. Winter is often the worst; the weather is colder, we drink less water and we spend a lot of time in a heated environment. So no wonder skin dries out.

If water intake alone isn’t the answer, then look at what products you are using at home. If they are not right for your skin type or condition, they could be doing harm. ( visit Caring For Your Skin )

Workplace air conditioning / heating are big causes of dehydration, so a protective moisturiser and even using a toner ( visit Home Use Products – Toners & Scrubs ) throughout the day will help.

Breakouts / Congestion etc

We are talking about blocked pores, blackheads, whiteheads, lumpy/bumpy skin here. Any or all of these ‘symptoms’ can often team up with oiliness to really make you feel lousy about how your skin performs.

Some of it is nature at its most cruel – those bouncing hormones, particularly during the teens-to-twenties period. Just when you want to look at your best.

At this time of life, we are usually buying any products we can get our hands on, to help us look after our skin and, just as usually, we’re getting the wrong ones for our skin type or skin condition. So do yourself a favour and see somebody who knows skincare. Confusingly, you can experience more than one skin condition at the same time. For example, some unlucky soul with an oily skin type works in highly-air-conditioned office and experiences dehydrated skin. Not bothering to cleanse at night, the poor soul often finds breakouts cropping up. One unhappy soul, three issues, all fix-able with one skincare regime.

Smoking and drugs can really make things worse, as can your diet ( but you knew we’d say that ).

Thirties-and-onwards: you don’t necessarily escape these issues when you are out of your teens/twenties. Some of us retain an acne-prone skin into later life, so get it cared for. Now.

Occasional Oily Skin

Are you drinking enough water ? When there is not enough moisture in your skin, maybe because of lack of water in the diet, your body can produce more oil to keep the skin supple.

Hormonal changes in the body, themselves perhaps prompted by medication, can set off occasional oiliness, too. For some of us, the problem crops up when hot weather provokes both sweat and oil in significant quantities at the same time.

Incorrect products and usage can cause oiliness. If you are stripping you skin of its natural oil ( with soap, perhaps ), your skin will produce extra oil to compensate what you are taking away : clever isn’t it ?

Some relief can be had by getting on to the basics : cleansing at least twice a day, using an alcohol-free toner and a lighter moisturiser. Most importantly, use the correct products for your skin. ( visit Home Use Products )

Sensitised

Skin can be come sensitised due to stress, sun, pollution, medication or incorrect use of skincare products. Often, backing off these ‘triggers’ can quickly produce a significant improvement.

Sensitised skin shows up as redness, inflammation, hot-feeling skin, sensitivity to heat and maybe even hot-spots. The skin texture can be irregular.

Sensitised skin calls for the mildest of cleansers, toners and moisturisers and – once you have identified the ‘triggers’ – a serious reduction in your exposure to them.

Uneven Pigmentation

Unevenly pigmented ( coloured ) skin mostly shows up on the cheeks and forehead. Both dark and light skins can show traces of lighter or darker patches.

These patches can be caused by medications, sun damage, other physical trauma, hormonal changes or stress.

It is always worthwhile consulting your medical professional in case any physical cause can be overcome. Subsequently, a good concealer is the answer.

One of the best moves towards preventing uneven pigmentation is the use a sunscreen, summer and winter, as sun exposure can make this condition more pronounced.

Ageing / Prematurely Ageing

Whether it is caused by the march of time or life on the world’s driest continent, ageing skin makes itself known to us as wrinkles, loose or ‘tired’ looking skin. It becomes dryer and takes longer to heal.

Sometimes, uneven pigmentation crops up, kindly referred to as ‘sun spots’ or ‘age spots’.

Ageing won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. Premature aging does not happen by itself and is caused by external factors. Smoking, of course, is a prominent cause, but you already knew that.

The biggest cause of premature ageing is the sun, so the best anti-aging product you can use is a sunscreen, every day

Some products that specifically target skin that’s beginning to show the effects of years of faithful service are available. Sometimes called boosters ( visit Home Use Products- Specifics ) they are added to your regular routine of cleansing, toning and moisturising. And don’t forget the weekly scrub ( it’s called exfoliation ) to get rid of the layer of dead skin cells and let the ‘younger’ you shine through.