We interviewed Andrea, owner and founder of Flourish Skin and Wax, a skincare spot in San Francisco that provides clients with holistic plant-based skin care and products and what Allure Magazine deems the best Brazilian wax in San Francisco. We wanted to know what skin care products we Liminas women should be using now to prevent the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines {shudder} in the future and Andrea gave us the inside scoop.
Give us a little background on yourself.
I have now been an esthetician and in the skin care business for about 7 years. I received valuable and extensive training from a well established salon on an exclusive street (think Rodeo Drive-esque), Maiden Lane, in San Francisco, as well as other knowledgeable estheticians. I have worked mostly with natural products and specialize in preventative and and long term skin care, as well as waxing.
What is your personal skincare regimen?
Currently, I use Osmosis Skin Care products because they fit with my personal views on skin care. They have taken the focus away from over exfoliation and damaging the skin to trick it into creating new cells (like a lot of other skincare solutions out there), and instead use a vitamin A derivative to increase cell turn over. I use a gentle cleanser, an anti-aging vitamin A serum, a light moisturizer, an eye serum with a very low dose of vitamin A, and OF COURSE sunblock.
What causes skin aging?
Skin aging is a natural process as our bodies grow older. There are many factors that can speed up the process: over exposure to sunlight, poor and lack of sleep, alcohol, and smoking. These and many other factors such as environmental toxins, pollution, and herbicides can produce free radicals, which are unstable oxidized molecules within the cell. When free radicals are formed they are missing a needed electron to be stable so they “attack” other molecules. When the other molecules in the cell are attacked they also become free radicals and when this happens enough, it leads to the damage of the living cell. This is a very simple explanation of how all disease is caused but when it happens to cells in the skin combined with the natural slowing of our cell turn-over rate, we get fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin.
No one wants fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin {eew}! How can we prevent skin aging?
So far, from what I have seen, read, and studied, there is no way to prevent the natural aging process from showing in your skin. It is inevitable and must be dealt with in a healthy and graceful way. But don’t be discouraged, there are plenty of ways to prevent the aging process from happening too quickly.
We can limit our exposure to the sun, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, get plenty of sleep, and generally take good care of ourselves. As far as topically, keeping the body and skin well hydrated is very important. People with dryer skin tend to wrinkle sooner and more. Also, using a product with vitamin A to speed up cell turnover can reduce fine lines and pigmentation as long as it is the right product. Not all products with retinoids (vitamin A) are created equal. Many products containing retinoids also contain other ingredients that I believe are not good for your skin. For example, glycolic acid and benzoyl peroxide, while effective in immediate treatment for acne, can thin and damage the skin in the long run. They also increase your sensitivity to sunlight, which could result in hyperpigmentation (permanent sun spots). As for the free radicals, this is where the anti-oxidants come in. Anti-oxidants can neutralize free radicals by lending the needed electron to the free radical and stopping the killing spree. The anti-oxidant is special because it does not become a free radical when it gives away its electron. Anti-oxidants are found in vitamins and supplements but are best consumed in regular old fruits and vegetables.
At what age do you recommend women to start using anti-aging products?
It depends on the condition of the skin. Its good to start young, in your twenties, but it is very easy to over-stimulate the skin at this age, which could cause acne and hyperpigmentation. If you are dealing with very oily or acneic skin, you can be more aggressive in the anti-aging treatment because oil inhibits penetration of the product or peel. It also depends on ethnicity and lifestyle. If you are going to do anti-aging treatments on skin that naturally contains a lot of melanin, you want to use some sort of product that contains a tyrosinase inhibitor (tyrosinase is the key enzyme in melanin production) to keep the skin from over producing pigment while the cells are being stimulated to produce new cells more quickly.
If you don’t have a lot of money to spend on skincare, what is the one must-have skincare product for women in their twenties?
Sunblock and eye cream!
Does ethnicity make a difference when it comes to skin care products?
Absolutely. As I stated before, some skin is more prone to producing melanin when it is stimulated or over stimulated. Anti-aging products will stimulate our skin cells to reproduce at a faster rate. If women with darker skin do not take care to use a tyrosinase inhibitor to suppress melanin production, they may end up with an uneven tone to their skin or even very dark spots that can be permanent.
What should we NOT do? We feel like some magazines push way too many products and procedures on women our age–is there any potential harm in overdoing it? What should we steer clear of?
Steer clear of overdoing it. Like I said before, the skin can be overstimulated and stripped. Many people use cleansers with sulfates in them. These are cheap detergents that can strip the skin of it’s natural oils and barrier known as the acid mantle. When this happens the skin can begin to over produce oil, which causes acne and a sheen. Make-up won’t stay and it makes us look a little haggard. If you have been over doing it with the products, take a step back and take a few weeks where your just using a very gentle natural cleanser and a moisturizer/sunblock. Give your skin some time to calm down and be it’s natural skin self. You’ll most likely see that the skin will calm down and not be so problematic. Then get yourself to an esthetician that YOU trust. Find one that makes sense when they explain their philosophy on skin care and let him/her treat you. Be realistic about your budget and maintenance level. Don’t buy 7 products if you really only have the time or energy to use 3.
