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Avoiding the Hype.
Unfortunately, the skin care industry is based on selling hope through deceptive marketing techniques to gullible uninformed consumers. Most skin care regimes are not only unrealistic, but complicated and full of hype.
Spending a lot of money in the hope of removing wrinkles and achieving a perfect complexion is perhaps one of the biggest deceptions in the cosmetic industry. It is time that you take the responsibility of becoming informed about skin care in the same way you are informed about surgical techniques. You will thus be able to eliminate the hype and focus on products that work and be rewarded with healthier, better looking skin.
Propagating the myth about skin care is one of the things the cosmetic industry does best. There is no single ingredient, let alone, combinations of ingredients that do not have the potential to irritate the skin. Your only recourse is to use simple formulations preferably single ingredients to find what works best for you.
After eliminating the hype, what are the facts?
1. You can only clean the surface of the skin. Use water, a mild soap, Salicylic Acid or Glycolic Acid.
2. More expensive products are not necessarily better.
3. Sun exposure causes wrinkles. Daily use of a non irritating sunscreen is the most effective way to prevent wrinkling.
4. Cosmetics frequently cause skin problems, such as irritation, dryness, blemishes and break outs. Moisturizers can clog pores. Allergic reactions occur in response to numerous ingredients in skin care products. Chemicals and certain plant extracts can be irritating, too drying or cause excessive oiliness.
5. Moisturizers do not reduce wrinkles. Oily skin may look less wrinkled as it has a smoother appearance. Wrinkles are caused by sun damage, smoking, genetic factors and illness, not lack of moisture. Moisturizers can only temporarily, make the skin look smoother.
6. Exfoliation removes superficial dead cells, smooths the skin and improves it’s appearance.
7. The fewer products used on the skin, the better.
8. Skin type is a hype. Skin is in a constant state of change. Furthermore, your “skin type”, can actually be as a result of the products that you are using on your skin. Soaps can cause dry skin, Creams and chemicals can clog pores and cause blemishes. Alcohol can irritate thc skin and cause combination skin. The only way to know your skin type is to stop all cosmetics and creams for a period of time and reassess your skin. Apply natural oil to the dry areas and start using mild AHA exfoliators. Apply an oil free gel (e.g., Hyaluronic Acid) to the oily areas. Remember certain areas of the face are morc oily than others. Your skin does not lit into only one type; it changes from day to day depending on many factors—stress, hormones .and the weather. Your skin care program should change as your skin does. That doesn’t mean you need new products; it just means you need to understand how your skin care products work and use them appropriately, depending upon the condition of your skin.
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