Our patients ask us “how do we get our skin to be the best version it can be”? The truth of the matter is that like anything worth achieving in life, it takes a little effort. The good news is that you can and will achieve improvements no matter what stage your skin is at! We are here to help you achieve your skin goals. Let’s break it down for you.
We believe that your skin routine should incorporate these three important elements – Cleanse, Moisturize and Protect. Let’s start with cleansing.
Cleansing our skin is the important first step in maximizing our skin health. It will help wash away dirt, makeup, oils and flakey skin cells that can block pores. This will prevent acne breakouts and maintain good skin health.
The details: It’s important to keep in mind that everyone’s skin is different and needs a different approach. Your cleanser needs to work for your skin type. In our Skinstitute at Pacific Plastic Surgery office, our ZO® Cleansers have become a staff and client favourite.
Sensitive Skin
Sensitive skin works best with the ZO® Gentle Cleanser. As a side note, many of our male clients are using the gentle cleanser prior to shaving as a shaving cream. They are loving how it cleanses and soothes.
Dry Skin
Dry skin needs the ZO® Hydrating Cleanser. The dual action cleanser combines allantoin and glycerin to soothe skin while clearing the skin of any impurities. If you have oily skin you can try an exfoliating cleanser. But please don’t use any harsh drugstore cleansers. We don’t want you to strip your gorgeous skin of all its protection and potentially abrade your face!
Oily Skin
Our first choice for those blessed with oily skin is usually the ZO® Exfoliating Cleanser. The proprietary micro-beads exfoliate to unclog pores with the added Vitamin E’s antioxidant powers packing a powerful two punch cleansing power.
Wash your skin twice a day. The nighttime wash is the most crucial in properly cleansing your skin.
Here’s what we recommend: Aim to use lukewarm water and a cleanser appropriate for your skin type focusing on your T-Zone. Your fingers can apply the cleanser, use a circular motion, build up some lather, rinse with more lukewarm water and then gently dry with a clean towel. When your skin is freshly clean, it’s the perfect time to immediately add your moisturizer. Your freshly washed skin is primed to better absorb serums and moisturizers. This will help keep your skin moisturized.
A Couple of Tips
The morning wash can be more gentle than the nighttime wash. Some of our clients with dry or delicate skin find that water alone is sufficient to start their morning routine with. If your skin is recuperating from a skin treatment or a chemical irritation (anyone who has used too high a concentration of retinol can understand what this means), we definitely recommend using the ZO® Gentle Cleanser or ZO® Hydrating Cleanser.
How much do you use?
Medical grade cleansers are highly concentrated meaning you don’t need to use as much as lower grade cleansers. Using a small pea sized amount on your index finger is enough to thoroughly cleanse your skin. A small tube of cleanser should last you many months.
We are hearing lots of talk about “Double cleansing” and here is our take. Double cleansing has its place but only if your skin can tolerate it and needs it. The idea is that the first cleanser takes away makeup and sunscreens and the second cleanser gets rid of anything else. Our worry is it can lead to over cleansing skin and strips out natural oils. So the bottomline is you need to listen to your skin. If your skin starts to become irritated or overly dry then reevaluate your process.
Our next post will focus on part two of cleansing in our skin care routine using exfoliating and toning. If you have any comments or questions please leave them below and we will do our best to answer them as quickly as possible to help you on your beauty journey.