Facial routines are more fashionable than ever. There are millions of videos in which women of all ages – and also men, although much less – publish on their social networks the treatments they use daily to improve the appearance of their face. Double cleansing, moisturizing, serum, barrier function, alpha hydroxy acids, retinol, niacinamide, sun protection… However, the famous ‘skin care’ tutorials are almost always limited to face care and very rarely refer to the skin. of the rest of the body, the great forgotten part of all dermatological routines.
– Market studies confirm that we spend more and more time and money on facial care, but we barely find five minutes to ‘care’ for the rest of the body. Because?
– The frenetic pace of life does not leave us time to take care of our body’s skin as we should and we skip that step. It is a less widespread cosmetic, but little by little it is becoming relevant. Areas such as the hands, which reveal signs of aging, the neck or décolleté are arousing interest when choosing cosmetic products. A moisturizing body milk is no longer enough, now we want a product that, in addition to improving the skin’s barrier function (protection against external agents), has anti-aging action, explains pharmacist Gema Herrerías, a leader in dermopharmacy and with a own cosmetic line.
Tricks to overcome laziness
That laziness – “and also ignorance” – that often causes us to not dedicate enough time to parts of our body such as elbows, knees, legs, abdomen, arms or neckline can be overcome with a “simple, but complete routine” designed basically to maintain and reinforce the skin’s barrier function, the natural hydration factor and the balance of the dermobiota, which are the bacteria that live on our skin, the largest organ in the body. As Gema Herrerías explains, a basic cosmetic routine consists of three steps and is the same for both men and women: «Choosing a daily hygiene product in accordance with the particular needs of the body’s skin, the use of a cosmetic that, In addition to moisturizing, improve the skin’s barrier function, but also wrinkles and sagging. We must also protect the areas most exposed to the sun, such as our hands.
People who do not usually take care of their body routine or who start from scratch can start “with a single product that improves hydration, prevents the loss of barrier function and provides a plus to the skin. However, in more advanced routines you can also add specific cosmetics such as multi-use balms for drier areas. To treat the neck and décolleté, for example, you can use the same products used for the face or cosmetics formulated specifically for those areas. However, skin with xerosis, peeling or erythema must be treated differently, with routines adapted to the needs of each case,” warns the expert, co-author of the book ‘X-ray of a cosmetic’.
Although, at the moment, the thermometers show temperatures more typical of summer, “the first thing we will begin to notice on the skin as soon as the mercury drops is a lot of dryness and itching, especially in the arms and legs. The mantra to follow is hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Hydration is to winter what sunscreen is to summer,” summarizes dermatologist Ana Molina. A trick: if we apply cold when our skin itches, the itching will stop. And if that cold that we apply is a thick and cool moisturizing cream, we will do good magic,” adds the specialist.
DAILY ROUTINE FOR HEALTHY SKIN
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Hygiene
«Face and body hygiene should be carried out with a gentle product that maintains the balance of the skin’s microbiota, the dermobiota. The texture of the product will depend on the skin needs and user preferences. At night, it is advisable to do a double cleansing on the face,” says dermopharmacy expert Gema Herrerías. -
Hydration
«After cleansing the skin, we will perform double hydration, which consists of applying a moisturizing lotion to the face and entire body to restore the natural hydration factor and, on top of that, an anti-aging barrier function cream. “It is recommended to combine facial hydration with antioxidant serum or even oral food supplements for a global antioxidant action throughout the body.” The routine proposed by Herrerías is the same for women as for men. -
Exfoliation
It is advisable to do this step twice a week. «On Wednesdays and Sundays the skin should be exfoliated to optimize the effect and penetration of cosmetic products. On the body, mechanical granule exfoliants are the most widespread system: they are applied to damp skin and massaged using friction. On the face, however, the choice is enzymatic and chemical peels of alpha hydroxy acids such as glycolic acid. Gluconolactone is recommended for sensitive skin. On Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays we will apply retinoids to the face and on Tuesdays and Fridays, a product in transition according to the needs in each case: imperfections, spots or wrinkles and firmness. -
Solar protection
It is an essential step in the daily facial routine that is also recommended to be applied to areas exposed to the sun in urban environments such as the hands, neck and décolleté to avoid the appearance of spots and premature aging of the skin.
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