How Clean is Your Skin?

Do You Wear Make-up?

Clean and Cleansed

Do you use the long lasting kind of foundation, so it stays on all day for work, and generally the evening too? What about sunscreen? Work in the city? Surrounded by smog? How about adding some air conditioning to dry out your skin, so your face is so thirsty it sucks everything in? Get the picture? Imagine just how dirty your skin can get, not to mention how all this grime mixes with your natural oils to create a sticky, waxy coating on your face!

So how long do you spend washing your face at night?

According to research by the International Dermal Institute, most women spend an average of only 20 seconds washing their face. Just 20 seconds to remove long lasting foundation, containing long lasting sunscreens, mixed with pollutants and your natural sebum. Think of those who don't even cleanse at night! This film of grime remains on your skin (unless you wash it thoroughly) blocking moisturisers and other skin care products from doing what they're supposed to do. This also contributes to dull skin and encourages congestion.

Skin cleansing is so important, but so often overlooked.

We probably spend more time washing our hair than washing our skin. Skin cleansing has come a long way. Gone are the days of using a creamy based cleanser full of lanolin and mineral oils followed by an alcohol based toner to then remove the traces of the greasy cream. We now know, after extensive research, that lanolin, mineral oils and alcohols are all bad for our skin, so what do we do now?

Well, there are lots of oils that are good for us, so firstly, opting for oil based cleansers (with the right kind of oils) is a great start. Oil and water do not mix, so to break down our natural oils, we really do need to use oils.

Which oils are good for our skin?

• Olive Oil is very high in antioxidants, and it smoothes and softens your skin while reinforcing your skin's natural protective barrier.
• Rice Bran Oil rich in vitamins, antioxidants and photosterols (plant based membranes) which help to defend, soften and facilitate repair.
• Kukui Nut Oil rich in omega-3 fatty acids and is very popular among Hawaiians for skin protection. It helps treat skin disorders like dry skin, acne, and skin irritations and it doesn't leave behind a greasy residue.
• Apricot Kernel Oil liquefies oily substances while being a great source of Vitamin A. This oil also helps to soothe irritation while being both nourishing and moisturising.
• Borage Oil this contains Gamma Linoleic Acid which is an ingredient often used to treat inflammation, eczema, dehydration and scaliness.
• Vitamin E Oil another rich antioxidant which smoothes and softens skin.

So, when searching for your next cleanser, keep an eye out for some of these ingredients. Oil really is the only product that can break down and dissolve any oil debris on your skin. Once your skin is clear from this, only then will your water based cleanser be able to penetrate and really deep clean your skin. We should all be double cleansing; during a professional treatment your therapist will cleanse at least twice, and sometimes they can spend up to 10 minutes just on cleansing!

— Maria