Healthy Living: Skincare Tips
If you’re investing a lot in your skincare or if you’re confused by all the ads and articles about how to best take care of your skin, then listen up. Tonight’s Healthy Living will give you some useful tips that can save you money as well.
Marleni Cuellar, Reporting
If you follow beauty blogs or health articles, it’s hard to miss the plethora of information about skincare products. You don’t even have to seek this information actively, as it has also flooded your social media feed and promoted by celebrities. But how much of these miracle products do you actually need and how many of them actually work? According to a dermatologist, Dr. Jorge Lopez, he’s noticed that people have been buying into the hype, and many are only just wasting time and money.
Jorge Lopez
Dr. Jorge Lopez, Dermatologist, BMA
“There’s a lot of ads that claim you will get this skin without blemishes and stuff and this product and that product. So it’s important to remember that we are not believe everything the ads tell us. In terms of skincare, there’s a golden principle or golden rule for us, and as to the face specifically, less is more or less is better.”
This means the multiple stage skincare routine you’ve been practicing can be stripped down to the basics. Doctor Lopez recommends three simple steps: cleanse, moisturize and wear sunscreen.
Dr. Jorge Lopez
“Preferable one for the face, but if you’re using something for your body like a foam that moisturizes, that’s perfectly fine. A moisturizer if you have sensitive or dry skin or sensitive skin; it doesn’t make sense to use it if you have oily skin. And then, of course, sunscreen. This is the single most important cost-effective measure that you have if you want to keep your skin healthy and looking young. It’s been said that out of ten wrinkles that one has on the face, eight are due to sun damage and only two due to your age, chronological age. If you were to ask any dermatologist for one skincare product that he or she would take with them, it is sunscreen for sure. You might want to search a little bit. As a rule of thumb, whatever sunscreen you’re buying or using, when you apply it, it should not sting, it should not burn; it should feel like you’re using a moisturizer. The moment it stings or burns, especially if you have sensitive skin, that could lead to the pigment; that can lead to dark spots. The other thing with a sunscreen is you want an SPF of thirty or higher. There is no SPF hundred that protects you hundred percent from UV rays and hence skin damage from sunlight. After fifty, it’s been said that the added benefit—it’s not even one percent. So it is a lot of marketing, again.”
Marleni Cuellar
“So you’re okay anywhere between thirty and fifty?”
Dr. Jorge Lopez
“Yes.”
Some ingredients like Vitamin C and Retinol are good for your skin. But Doctor Lopez stresses for users to do their research and ensure you’re using them properly.
Dr. Jorge Lopez
“Vitamin C. It is very unstable. So if you’re buying a product that the pharmaceutical company or whoever is manufacturing it is not really a serious company, this vitamin C serum, the moment you open the bottle or the moment air touches it, then it won’t work. It turns like water. You want to go with the products that have a renowned name, and then you could also tell by the package. If you’re buying a vitamin C serum and it’s not well protected from light—it’s like a clear glass or something—then you know you’re going to apply water. Vitamin C is a big antioxidant; it does help when you have problems of pigmentation, people that have blemishes and stuff that could help. If you’re using retinol and you’re not using sunscreen, it really doesn’t make sense. One because it’s like trying to repair and revert to one extent the damage that sunlight has given you, but then the next morning you’re adding more sun damage cause you’re not using sunscreen. And secondly, with some of the products like Retin ‘A,’ they make you skin more sensitive to sunlight. So you’re actually making things worse.”
He added that despite common belief, drinking lots of water is not enough to hydrate your skin.
Dr. Jorge Lopez
“Drinking water is excellent for your overall health, but with the skin, it demands direct feeding. Direct nourishing, so a moisturizer it’s very, very important.”
For some, just these three steps may seem like a lot. But don’t forget your skin is your largest organ, and it plays a critical role as a barrier to external threats. Dry skin is not just a vanity issue; it can also lead to cracks and weakening of that barrier. Meanwhile, excessive exposure to UV rays is proven as a cause of skin cancer.
