Skin Care RX

Here’s to your skin and a lifetime of glow

BY Tracy Duhs

As a skin care professional, I’m thrilled to share a few insider tips that may transform your skin from thin, dry, sensitive, broken out, or hyper-pigmented to healthy and radiantly glowing. There is one easy change you can make today that will help set you up for a lifetime of healthy skin.

First of all, let’s get expectations clear: your skin most likely will never be flawless like your favorite Vogue cover model. Even her skin doesn’t look like her photos. That’s Photoshop, and it’s an unfair expectation to place on yourself. As Tyra Banks has so eloquently put it, “Perfect is boring, human is beautiful.” But what we do want is healthy skin. So, how do we achieve beautiful, healthy skin, and what are we possibly doing that sabotages our skin’s health?

#1 Healthy Skin Sabotage: using a face wash that compromises your skin’s acid mantle. The acid mantle is part of the skin’s immune system. It is a very thin, and slightly acidic, film on the surface of the skin that acts as an interface between you and the world. It’s your barrier against bacteria, viruses and other contaminants. Have you ever washed your face with soap or an astringent cleanser and experienced a tight, dry feeling? That was your acid mantle being stripped and knocked out of balance. This can lead to irritated skin with pores that are open and susceptible to compromise.

Fix: use a pH-balanced face wash free of chemicals and caustic ingredients. My personal recommendations are Arcona Toner Tea Bar (best for active, oily or combo skin) or Osea Ocean Cleansing Milk (best for dry or sensitive skin). These are two facial cleansers that will not compromise your acid mantle and are biochemically proven to leave your skin balanced. Both products can be found at GraceandParker.com

DIY Face Wash: mix one teaspoon of organic jojoba oil with one drop of pure lavender vera (English lavender) essential oil. This makes for an excellent face wash as well as face conditioner all-in-one. Simply rub the mixture over your face, gently massage, then take a warm, wet towel and wipe off the excess. Rinse and repeat. Voila … gorgeous, healthy skin!

Getting regular (once a month) facials by a highly educated skin care professional can also dramatically change your skin for the better. When we look at our faces in the mirror every day, it’s difficult to have an objective perspective about the changes in our skin. In choosing a skilled esthetician, you can trust this person to help you design a skin care program that adapts to your hormonal fluctuations, the weather, stress levels, etc. Nothing in life is constant and neither is our skin. 

We can benefit by choosing a professional who will guide us along our skin care journey. Here is my list of local, trusted estheticians: Joelle at Votre Beaute, 619.291.6614, votre-beaute.com; Heidi at Urban Calm, 619.236.1395, urbancalmspa.com; or Lexi at The Sanctuary Wellness Experience, 619.861.8351, thesanctuarySD.com Ρ

[ FOR MORE INFORMATION, visit Tracy’s blog at tracyduhs.com Tracy Duhs is a Wellness Coach at The Sanctuary Wellness Experience. thesanctuarySD.com | 619.861.8351 ]