SKIN! LET’S TALK ABOUT
Skincare has become trendy in the past few years from popular YouTube and social media accounts dedicated to skincare education and brands dedicated to making quality skincare accessible and affordable. With countless numbers of products and brands available to consumers, finding the right products can become overwhelming. In order to ease and better understand proper and effective skincare, I spoke with licensed aesthetician Nicole Martin. by Katherine Tinsley
Q:What is the primary concern for clients when they come in for an appointment? N: Anti-aging, either for reversing or preventing aging. The next concern would be people wanting to even out their skin tone or texture. They may not have the wrinkles or what people generally consider aging skin, but they might have a blemish, or a dark spot, or just some imperfections that they’re not happy with. Q:What is the process of “anti-aging”? N: It really is dependent on each individual case. But I have worked with Dr. Tinsley (Plastic surgeon and Black skin expert and researcher) for about 13 years and I tell everyone to drink their water. Water is the cheapest and quickest way to get your skin healthy. Drink at least 64 ounces a day, and if you’re drinking coffee, coke, or tea, the caffeine in it can dehydrate your skin so you need to drink even more water. Q: How does dehydrated skin look? N: Your skin doesn’t have as much elasticity. If you pull on it, it doesn’t snap back as quickly. If you push up from the bottom you will see wrinkles. The skin can also look really dull. Q: What would you recommend for a skincare routine? N: I would recommend whatever people are going to be committed to.You can have a fifteen step regimen but if you’re not going to commit to it then who cares? It is just a wasted product.You have to start with the basics. With cleansing if you’re only going to cleanse once a day then let it be at night before you go to bed. Your skin rejuvenates itself at night while you’re sleeping. For the majority of Americans, their face is the only part of their body that is exposed to the elements all day long. Imagine walking around barefoot all day long and then going to bed with those dirty feet. That’s why I tell people to wash their face at night so those cells can renew themselves. Second to that is moisturizing. You want to have a good moisturizer or hydrator. Not everybody needs all the oils, but you definitely need some type of hydration to the skin. That can come in the form of a true moisturizer or a serum, it just depends on the skin type. Q:What are your tips for someone struggling with acne? N: Definitely the cleansing at night. The thing that I always say is don’t overtreat the skin. A lot of the time, with the multiple acne products that are out there, people end up stripping their skin and causing a lot of harm to it. The way your skin responds is by pumping out more oil so you have to back off. Drink water and maintain bowel movements (pooping) because the condition of your colon has a lot to do with the condition of your skin. As professionals, we have to know how many bowel movements you have. If they’re telling me one per day or on an average seven a week then my first thing is to increase their water intake. I will accept 14 (bowel movements) but 21 (bowel movements) a week is the end goal. Most people don’t even realize they’re constipated. Once you start to get people’s colon clean, their skin usually clears up. So water, the colon, and then I start looking at what kind of products they’re
using. Again, we don’t want to do anything that is harsh. For acne prone skin, a lot of the time you have to think of it as sensitive skin. The alpha hydroxy and beta hydroxy acids (AHA and BHA) can work but you don’t want to overuse those because you get into that vicious cycle of stripping the skin. A lot of the time I will treat clients as a sensitive skin client and their skin will clear up. Acne actually comes from an acne bacteria we all have in our skin and some people have more of it, and that bacteria likes to thrive in an environment without oxygen. So, if you’re too aggressive on acne skin your skin will swell, those pores will close, and that bacteria is so happy that it can now flourish. You have to really think about keeping the skin cleansed, keeping it moisturized, keeping it happy, and keeping it hydrated. You have to drink your water and keep your colon cleansed. I often tell people to come to me with what you’re using and look at the ingredients and go over what has worked and what hasn’t worked. That covers homecare, but professional care involves getting the deep pore facials at a minimum of once a quarter, but can be done as frequently once a month. Depending on the type of acne, we could do microdermabrasion or a chemical peel. There are also laser treatments that can help with scarring from acne. But, before you start getting too crazy with a regimen at home, I would much rather you seek out help from a professional and then we can create a program for you that works. It doesn’t always have to be a program with professional skin care, we can find over-the-counter products. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to get your skin clear. Q: It sounds like diet plays a large role. Does it? N: It can be. I try to steer away from that because I don’t want people to think “I can’t have chocolate or fried foods because my face is gonna break out.” But, it is also about what you have with those foods. It’s not necessarily bad for you to eat fried chicken, but if you eat it all the time and aren’t hydrating your skin, then yeah, it can make you break out. After talking to Nicole it is clear that healthy skin begins with a hydrated body. In Nicole’s own words, water is the cheapest secret to clear and healthy skin. When looking to begin a skincare journey and seeking professional help, begin with focusing on water intake before testing out products and keep your routine basic and consistent.