Aloha, Lovecat!

Some readers have commented or mentioned that I have really good skin (I think it ain’t great, as I mentioned in my Bareface Confessions video), but I’ve been asked on several occasions for skin care tips or for me to reveal my skin care regimen. So here we go.

{My Current Night Time Skin Care Routine: An Anti-Aging Skin Care Routine for Early 30 Somethings to Prevent Wrinkles}

Products listed in order of use:

1. Home made organic olive oil, grapeseed oil and aloe juice makeup remover in water bottle… I will post a video tutorial on how to make this makeup remover
2. Sanitas Lemon Cream Cleanser
3. Home made tea tree oil toner – I will also make a video tutorial on how to make this toner at home…
4. Osmosis Clear Facial Conditioner spray
5. Obagi Elastiderm Eye Complete Complex Serum
6. Osmosis Correct Aging/Normal Skin Serum
7. Homemade anti-aging oil cocktail serum (contains the following oils: olive, grapeseed, argan, evening primrose, camellia seed, vitamin e and rosehip) for anti-aging, skin renewal and anti-inflammation. – Again, another one I have to make a video for.
8. Mario Badescu cellufirm drops booster
9. The Face Shop Pore Minimizer Controlling Emulsion moisturizer
10. Kellett Skin Care Intensive Radiance Eye Treatment eye cream

Age: Early Thirties
Skin type: Normal to combination skin with oily T-zone and slight sensitivity

Concerns:

• fine lines forming
• hyperpigmentation (melasma) on forehead, cheeks and chin (my T-zone is darker than the rest of my face)
• dark under eye circles
• collagen and loss of firmness around eyes from lack of sleep and sleeping on face
• some pimples here and there
• aging and wrinkles on décolletage, backs of hands and tops of feet

My skin care philosophy:
I firmly believe that a preventative approach to anti-aging is a better, more pro-active approach than trying to repair and restore later–an approach that could cost you thousands upon thousands of dollars if you wait too long. Thereby, the preventative approach is also more cost-effective in the long run. You can prevent, but curing later is HARD.

I also firmly believe that you need to invest in quality products that are well-researched and vetted when you can afford to. Investing in your skin is important for your overall health (skin is your largest organ). If you don’t believe in reincarnation, you only get one skin in this lifetime, so you should take as good care of it as possible.

Go natural when you can. Research your companies and make sure they take a more holistic approach to skin care and the science behind their product formulations and technology. The fewer chemicals you put on your skin, the less those toxins absorb into your bloodstream, muscle tissues and organs.

I also do not believe in over exfoliation. Beauty norms say microdermabrasion, harsh chemical peels and strong at-home scrubs and at-home peel kits blast away dead skin and top layers of skin, revealing new skin and making skin look more luminous and youthful, as well as encouraging collagen production for renewal.

Well, after meeting skin scientist Dr. Ben Johnson, founder of Osmosis Pur Medical Skin Care, my mentality changed. Studies actually show that over exfoliation through scrubbing, harsh aesthetic and dermatological treatments like microdermabrasion, Fraxel, Thermage and chemical peels, can be harmful to the skin. These treatments create damage to the top layers of skin, the stratum corneum, in response skin tissues accelerate collagen production to repair the damage. However, the collagen renewal resulting from damage by removing the top layers of skin (essentially, the protecting layer to your dermis–the deeper layers of skin) only replaces 90% of the collagen lost during the damage process. Why strip your skin only to create a deficit of collagen? Once you remove the protective top layers of your skin, the new youthful skin revealed is actually quite sensitive and super vulnerable to even more damage and aging. That just doesn’t make sense to me. The science is in direct contradiction to the beauty norms and creeds going around.

Remove the dead skin cells that block pores with light exfoliation, but don’t strip your protective layer. It’s like going skiing without proper winter gear on. You get wind burned and wind lashed, sun burned, cut up and seriously injured.

Seriously, pick up Dr. Johnson’s book. It’ll change your perspective on skin care and health. Well-renowned Dermatologist Dr. Perricone’s skin care philosophy is pretty parallel to Dr. Johnson’s regarding repairing from within and avoiding doing too much damage to the skin that the skin can’t recover from.

Very importantly, the best anti-aging product is proper sun protection, not a bunch of serums and night creams. Protect your skin during the day with a good broad spectrum sunscreen of at least SPF 30+, reapplied every 2 hours to the exposed skin (don’t forget your hands and tops of feet), wear a good wide-brimmed sun protection hat, a jacket when in the car, and avoiding peak UV hours in the middle of the day. UVA and UVB rays not only increase your risk of cancer, but also damage elastin and collagen in your skin, resulting in saggy skin, hyper-pigmentation (brown spots) and fine lines and wrinkles. And remember, UV rays shine 365 days a year. As long as there is natural light, UV rays are coming through, and UVA rays are every bit as strong during cloudy days as sunny days. So, regardless of climate, temperature and weather, sun protect every single day to reduce risk of skin cancer and slow your aging process.

Lastly, the most important thing you can do for your skin is lead a healthy lifestyle. What you put ON your skin is not as important as what you put IN your body (as someone pointed out). Eating clean, whole foods, lots of veggies and fruits and less processed ingredients will contribute better to the quality of your skin than any beauty product. Drink lots of water, get lots of sleep and exercise. A healthful lifestyle will do wonders for your skin and slow own the aging process.

{ What are some of YOUR favorite products to use in your skincare routine? Is preventive better? Do you have some beauty tips? }

Rock on, Lover!
Me ke aloha ~ With love + aloha,
Mae Xx

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