Skin Care

So yesterday a very lovely friend of mine suggested I do some blogs about Skin Care and taking care of your skin before and after makeup. As someone who has struggled with horrible skin for many years I thought it a wonderful idea and decided I would share the knowledge I have gained over the years. I'm going to start with Face Wash (don't want to load you down with too much information) and then go on to toners, moisturisers, eye creams, spot treatments, primers and makeup removers over the next few days. So Face Wash! There are so many on the market aren't there? I mean you have all the ones you can buy at Tesco or Boots or the local pharmacy and then you have higher end department store brands and then you have ones you can only find in fancy salons. Where is one to even start? Well for me I have tried nearly everything. I've used most brands from Simple, to Neutrogena (which hates my face) to OxyClean, to Clean and Clear, to Clearasil, to Benefit, to Clinique, to even Proactive (biggest waste of money.) If you had gone through my bathroom you'd be amazed at the products sitting there discarded because they just didn't work. I thought maybe I should just give up as nothing would ever work but then I stumbled across something amazing. While doing some research about hair care and the side effects of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate I found that it can be extremely irritating to the skin and can exasperate acne. Well this got me thinking...what if this was my trouble? And after careful examination I noticed all the face washes I had been using over the years listed this as it's number 2 ingredient. Hmm, more research was clearly needed. Now I can hear you wondering what is SLS and why should I care about it? Well SLS is a chemical compound that is added to soap to make it lather. Most houses around the world have hard water supplies and include minerals such as calcium and magnesium. A regular bar of soap when put in contact with these minerals can not generate a rich lather and yet we have been led to believe (by pesky ad men) that we need this for a proper clean. So cheap chemical SLS has been added to shampoo, face wash, toothpaste, laundry detergent, Fairy liquid. The list goes on and on. When I realised SLS was in laundry detergent and Fairy liquid it really got my head spinning. Clearly this wasn't very good for me. But what was I to do? Every product I owned had this ingredient in it. Well I found my savior! DERMALOGICA

And I haven't looked back since. Dermalogica is a product line free of common irritants and ingredients that could cause breakouts (including SLS, lanolin, SD alcohol, mineral oil, artificial colours and fragrances) that improves skin health, and is only available from qualified skin therapy professionals. As a brand, Dermalogica immediately upset the prevailing paradigm of beauty and glamour by classifying skin care as a health issue as opposed to a cosmetic concern. Now Dermalogica can be a bit pricey but it is so worth the money. As I said before I have always struggled with my skin and breakouts. Since starting Dermalogica last December my skin has never felt or looked better. Most days I don't even wear makeup as I feel I don't have to hide my skin any longer. Yes, I still occasionally get breakouts (monthly visit from Aunt Flo, you know) but they are never as bad as they used to be and Dermalogica really helps them clear up quickly. I recommend you give it a whirl. Most of their products come in travel size bottles so give it a try! You can find more info about them at http://www.dermalogica.com/ir/

#skincare #facewash