Five of the Best Ingredients for Youthful Skin

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Photo by Karolina Grabowska

Here at Pure Beauty, we’re well aware of how confusing skincare can feel. There’s a different product for every different skin issue and a wealth of ingredients which vary from things found in your pantry to things found in the deepest oceans or rainforests! Looking at ingredient lists often feels like trying to decipher an unknown language, but there are some key things that you can look for if you’re in the market for anti-ageing products. Here are five of the best ingredients for maintaining a youthful complexion:

Retinol 

Retinol is a form of vitamin A that’s suitable for the skin. It belongs to a group of vitamin A derivatives, known as retinoids. Retinol has multiple uses and can be used to combat conditions like acne and can target areas of pigmentation. It can also reduce signs of ageing and sun damage. Retinoids don’t work equally well on everyone. If you suffer from rosacea, eczema, or psoriasis, it’s probably best to avoid retinol since it can be too powerful on skin that needs a gentle touch – it can increase inflammation, dryness and sensitivity in already delicate complexions.

Try Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Serum

Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic Acid is a humectant — a substance that retains moisture — and it is capable of binding over one thousand times its weight in water. This substance is naturally found in many areas of the human body, including the skin and eyes. Hyaluronic acid helps skin stretch and flex and reduces skin wrinkles and lines. Hyaluronic acid is also proven to help wounds heal faster and can reduce scarring. Allergic reactions to hyaluronic acid are rare, so that means whether you have oily skin, sensitive, dry skin, or combination skin, you have the green light to use hyaluronic acid products.

Try SkinCeuticals H.A. (Hyaluronic Acid) Intensifier Serum 

Vitamin C

Vitamin C can help keep skin looking plump and firm. This is because it’s highly acidic when applied topically and can help to promote collagen production and reduce the appearance of ageing skin. It also contains a property that inhibits the skin’s melanin production levels, two of the culprits that can lead to dark spots and hyperpigmentation, making it an absolute hero at giving you a glowing, healthy complexion. It’s usually found in oil-based products, so may not be ideal for acne and blemish prone skin, but it’s great for pretty much all other skin types. 

Try REN Clean Skincare Glow Daily Vitamin C Gel Cream

Bakuchiol

If you’re looking for an alternative to retinol that can be used on more sensitive skin, bakuchiol is a good place to start. Bakuchiol is found in the seeds and leaves of the Indian Babchi plant and has been used in traditional Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for centuries. It also has calming anti-inflammatory and healing antibacterial properties and is even safe for use when pregnant and breastfeeding. It’s a potent-yet-kind ingredient which the British Journal of Dermatology found was just as effective as retinol and significantly less irritating, which is great news for anyone looking for an alternative.

Try Medik8 The CSA Bakuchiol Edition Kit

Ceramides

Ceramides are fats or lipids that are found in skin cells and make up 30% to 40% of your outer skin layer, or epidermis. Ceramides are important for retaining your skin’s moisture and preventing the entry of germs into your body. If your skin’s ceramide content decreases, which often happens with age, it can become dehydrated. Skincare products with ceramides will help reinforce your skin’s barrier and increase hydration, giving you plumper, smoother, firmer-feeling skin with fewer visible lines and wrinkles, as well as fewer signs of sensitivity.

Try Advanced Nutrition Programme Skin Moisture IQ

Dermaplaning – A Beginner’s Guide

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Photo by Antonika Chanel on UnsplashDermaplaning – A Beginner’s Guide

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 6 months, there’s a good chance that you will have seen the videos doing the rounds where it looks like people are using a knife to scrape their skin off. What you’re actually witnessing are videos of dermaplaning, something that is considered the next big thing in the beauty world. We thought it was time that we took a look at what dermaplaning is and give all of the details you need to know before taking the plunge. Read on for more information:

What is it?

Dermaplaning is an exfoliating treatment which should only be done by a doctor or licensed practitioner and involves gently scraping the surface of your skin off with a surgical scalpel to remove dead cells and the fuzzy hair that most of us have on our faces.

What does it do?

Dermaplaning is said to have many benefits; as well as making your skin feel baby soft, it helps foundation to apply smoothly and is also said to be useful for acne, rosacea and people with hyperpigmentation.

Who is it good for?

The answer to this is basically anybody who feels that their skin needs a boost. If you have dull skin, dry skin, sun damage, fine lines, keratosis pilaris, sensitive skin, rosacea, acne or any other skin condition which causes you you bother dermaplaning is probably worth a go.

Is there anything I need to bear in mind?

Dermaplaning is considered safe for all skin types, however, if you do have highly sensitive skin it’s worth bearing in mind that dermaplaning might cause you added irritation. As we mentioned above, dermaplaning should only be carried out by a professional so we definitely do not recommend going out and buying scalpels and trying this yourself. Scalpels and faces really do not mix!

Which products should I use before and after?

If you have sensitive skin, it’s worth bearing in mind that dermaplaning can cause a little irritation. We’d recommend adding Dermalogica UltraCalming Serum Concentrate to your daily skin routine in the run up to your appointment as this will help to keep irritation and inflammation to a minimum.

Lots of people also opt for a chemical peeling treatment immediately after dermaplaning as the newly revealed skin is more receptive to strong treatments. If you want to do this yourself, we recommend Decleor Thyme Gentle Peeling Cream, a gentle cream exfoliator that removes dead skin cells for a clear and radiant complexion.

Finally, you’ll need to protect your skin from the sun for a few weeks after treatment, so make sure you start using Decleor Ultra Protective Anti-Wrinkle Cream SPF50 Face on a daily basis, too.

How to Handle Combination Skin

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We all know how difficult it can be to deal with skin issues such as dry skin, oily skin or aging skin. However, dealing with combination skin often means that you’re dealing with two or more of these problems at once, which can make skin care all the more difficult. Combination skin requires targeted products and sometimes more than one product in different areas of your face so that you can adequately deal with all of the issues at once. With that in mind, we’ve curated a list of products which are perfect for combination skin and should help you to bring all your issues into line.

Elemis Balancing Lime Blossom Cleanser

Cleansing combination skin can be particularly difficult because you have areas of dryness where flaky skin is an issue, as well as oily areas which need something a bit more potent to help control sebum overproduction. This cleanser from Elemis balances the skin by deep cleansing it, removing the build up of daily pollutants and getting rid of makeup. It contains extracts of lime blossom and vitamin A which will soothe your skin and helps to rid you of excess surface oil.

Decleor Ylang Ylang Purifying Night Balm

Often combination skin mains that your skin has an all over dryness problem, but will over-produce sebum in some areas to overcompensate, while other areas remain dry. This night balm from decleor is made from 100% natural ingredients and has a melt-in texture which will care for combination and oily skin. It’s a balancing product which will reduce inflammation, cure underlying dryness and prevent the skin from producing too much oil. You’ll wake-up with cleaner healthier and more radiant skin.

Elemis Hydra Balance Day Cream – Normal/Combination

Combination skin usually benefits from all-day moisturisation, which is why you need a product like this cream from Elemis. It’s an ultralight cream which provides hydration all day long and works with the skin’s natural moisturising factor to help maintain a balanced moisture level. It improves the texture of the skin, balances dryness, oiliness and soothes irritation.

Jan Marini Bioglycolic Bioclear Cream

This cream from Jan Marini combines glycolic acid, salicylic acid and azelaic acid to provide a dramatically smoother, clearer, more luminous complexion. It’s perfect for combination and dry skin and will help to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, while also dealing with redness, acne scarring, large pores and uneven texture. It’s also great for skin which suffers from acne, hyperpigmentation and rosacea and gives the skin a deep wash of moisture, which will balance dryness and redness.

Elemis Biotec Skin Energising Day Cream – Combination

This highly-scientific formula from Elemis harnesses patent-pending Bioenergy Complex, which is made up of encapsulated zinc and copper. It contains a trio of acids which help support combination skin for optimum skin function. It contains ingredients such as cold pressed desert date oil, which will balance the skin, control excess sebum while smoothing and hydrating the complexion, leaving it fresh and shine free. It can be used every morning and should be applied to cleansed skin.

How to Cope with Rosacea

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Rosacea is a difficult condition to live with. It often takes a long time to find a combination of medications and skincare that help and covering it with make up can actually make thing worse. Rosacea usually goes hand in hand with dryness and sensitivity and many cosmetics dry the skin out even more, making covering the redness tricky as well. There are ways to tackle it though, and we’ve got some tips to help:

Keep Clean

Cleansing sensitive skin can be difficult – you want to make sure your skin is clean but using harsh cleansers can strip away natural oils and leave sensitive skin more vulnerable than ever. Jan Marini Age Intervention Gentle Cleanser is gentle enough to use after chemical peels, making it perfectly gentle enough for rosacea-prone skin.

Tone Up

You may think that toning is too harsh for sensitive skin, but there are specially formulated toners out there to deal with such issues. Dermalogica Redness Relief Essence is a lightweight advanced treatment toner that helps calm and balance sensitive skin. It works to relieve, restore and hydrate sensitive skin against redness, discomfort and dehydration.

Gentle Moisture

After toning, you’ll want to do is prep your skin with a very good, but very gentle, moisturiser. Dermalogica UltraCalming Barrier Repair is a unique anhydrous moisturiser that melts gently into sensitised skin to soothe and help repair damage from environmental aggression whilst creating a shield against environmental assault, soothing redness and reducing inflammation.

Protect Yourself

The sun can play havoc with rosacea, exacerbating the redness and irritation and drying the skin out further. However, many sunscreens are too heavy for delicate rosacea-prone skin. Dermalogica Super Sensitive Shield SPF30 is designed for the most sensitive complexions and will give you broad-spectrum protection against the suns harmful rays.

Conceal with Colour

Before you apply your foundation, you can give your redness a helping hand by using a green-tinted base coat. Green concealers combat redness and act like a neutralising base underneath your normal foundation. This also allows you to use a lighter covering of foundation as the colour is being corrected. Try to find an oil-based product to avoid drying out your skin.

Getting to grips with hyperpigmentation

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Hyperpigmentation occurs when there is the overproduction of melanin and results in patches of light to dark skin that and vary in size and shape.

Sun exposure, genetics, age, hormones, pregnancy and skin injuries or inflammation can all be contributing factors and while hyperpigmentation isn’t usually a concern, it can make people feel self-conscious.

While there is no cure, at Pure Beauty we stock a number of products that can help deal with hyperpigmentation but we do suggest that if you have any concerns about your skin, you check in with your GP.

Elemis White Brightening Even Tone Cleanser is great for uneven skin tone. It gently removes impurities and reduces excess oil so that skin is left brighter, softer, smoother and naturally illuminated. A complex of Daisy, Vitamin C, Sophora and Kiwi Extract have been blended to help deal with the appearance of hyperpigmentation and brightens the skin the natural way.

We also like the Elemis White Brightening Even Tone Serum. Daisy and Pea Extracts have been mixed with Vitamin C to helps to reduce the appearance of imperfections, and thanks to added Rice Silk, skin feels silky soft feel from the very first application. Clinically proven to reduce the appearance of pigmentation in just 28 days, if you have a big event coming up and want to look and feel great, this could be a winner for you.

For a more intensive approach, we like the Jan Marini Age Intervention Retinol Plus Mask. Used once or twice a week, retinol, peptides, antioxidants and soothing agents give skin a fresh polished look and helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, sun damage and hyperpigmentation. This can be used in conjunction with the Jan Marini Bioglycolic Bioclear Lotion, a multi-functional resurfacing solution containing three acids that help reduce the appearance of skin concerns including acne, hyperpigmentation, rosacea, fine lines and wrinkles.

We have said it before and we will say it again, but we love the Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Serum. Microencapsulated Vitamins A, C and E have been blended with Sunflower butter which all sink into your skin and help decrease fine lines and hyperpigmentation. Elasticity levels are boosted and the overall effect, when applied before moisturiser, is smoother, happier, clearer skin.

The Dermalogica PowerBright TRx range has been designed to brighten skin and even tone and is excellent for anyone dealing with hyperpigmentation. The Dermalogica PowerBright TRx Treatment Kit contains travel-sizes of all three products and can be a good starting point for anyone new to this brand. After cleansing apply the Dermalogica C-12 Pure Bright Serum and wait for a minute or two for the ingredients to absorb into the skin. In the morning, follow with the Dermalogica Pure Light SPF50 and use the Dermalogica Pure Night before going to bed.

For more information get in touch today and we would love to help.

Team Pure Beauty