Step away from the magnifying mirror and let yourself off the hook. Rest assured that is not how the rest of the world sees you. That is unless you carry around your own hideous fluorescent lighting and invite all and sundry to check out your pores with your handy handbag size magnifying glass! One teeny weeny spot does not mean you have acne. One fine little expression line does not mean you need to be prodded with a syringe full of botox. Be kind to yourself and be honest, it really is liberating! I have seen far too many facial clients who have overreacted to a simple stress breakout, gone out and purchased mega watt acne treatments and created red, irritated and very, very, very spotty skin for themselves. Deep down we are all truly sensitive souls and that includes our skin. Would you wash a baby's delicate skin with harsh products loaded with chemicals, follow on with a drench of alcohol rich toner then follow immediately with either a thick and uber cloying cream or a moisturizer chock full of acids that will "reveal your skins natural radiance". Hmm, didn't think so! Your skin already has the ability to reveal its radiance naturally, its your job to treat it as gently as possible and support its own inbuilt protection and rejuvenating ability. It certainly doesn't need any harsh chemicals it just needs you to treat it kindly and protect it from the harmful rays of the sun.
Before we delve into the fabulous world of skin type lets take a short detour and learn some basic (I promise you I won't ramble on!) physiology. Just knowing the physical make up of your skin will make it so much easier for you to cut through all the nonsense of those so called "miracle" products and enable you to make the best possible choice for your skin. Your skin isn't just a gorgeous layer of loveliness; it does some very important work. It provides protection from the elements, maintains your body temperature, eliminates toxins, protects you from all sorts of bacterial nasties and best of all is home to all those gorgeous nerve endings which give you your glorious sense of touch! Epidermis The epidermis is constantly being renewed. It takes around 28 days for the skin cells to travel from the base of the epidermis to the top, unfortunately this process slows as we age. This is why many skincare companies produce quite harsh skin treatments to irritate the skin...