Skin Care Reviews

Not all skin care products are created equal; and therefore, not all of them can actually be good for your skin.

If you really want to get into the skin care basics, then reading shampoo and skin care product ingredients should be your number one priority. As you know, skin conditions vary from one individual to the other. This means that what may be a great skin protection product for one person may not serve the same purpose for another. In fact, it may even cause more harm than good for the other person in this equation. Knowing the exact ingredients of the products you are applying (and knowing the specific effects on your skin) is one way of making sure that you are keeping you skin as healthy as possible.

Skin aging is mostly due to the unhealthy skin regimens using or overusing “safe” products. Here are some things to consider if you really want to keep skin aging at bay.

1. We all know that applying too much makeup can damage the skin, but when it too much really harmful? Too much is when your face feels heavy from constant application. Try to limit your makeup to the very basics and allow your skin to “breathe” every once in a while. A weekend or a day with a bare face cannot possible harm your skin. Try to make sure that you stop using the cosmetic products immediately if you do experience any form of irritation while wearing it. This is particularly true for new products you are testing.

A note about long-lasting makeup: some of them can be quite damaging to the skin because it takes a lot of chemicals to make them just so. Also, cosmetics of this type would need strong solvents just so you can remove them. If you must use long-lasting makeup, then use them as sparingly (in terms of frequency of use.) If you have any doubts at all about certain cosmetic products, it would be best to ask your health care provider. You can ask you doctor or your local dermatologist for advice on makeup products.

2. Skin care products are so numerous in the market these days that it is quite easy to buy any with abandon. Unfortunately, many of these products do not really work as promised, and some can even create low level but long term and irreversible damage. It would be best to consult first with an expert about stronger, chemical based products especially those that are for skin peels and the like. Certain products that contain alpha-hydroxyl acids, retinoids and Vitamin C can have severe skin health repercussions if you misuse or overuse them, so care should be given to the actual application process and the dosage.

3. Any shampoo or skin care product that has SLS compounds like sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate should be on your banned list. The same goes for ammonium based compounds like ammonium laureth sulfate and ammonium lauryl sulfate. These are normally found in cleaning solutions and detergents, but may also be found in shampoo and skin care products (like peels.) These are very harsh chemicals that can damage your skin very quickly. Try to choose the ones that are glycerin based instead. Again, if you are in doubt, ask your health care provider.

In this article, you will learn a thing or two on skin biology. Understanding what our skin is composed of and how it works can help us distinguish a good skin care method from a bad one.

As most people may know, the skin is the biggest and heaviest organ in a human body. It covers about 15% of our body weight, and is about 70% water, 25% protein and 2% lipids. Our skin consists of three main layers, namely the epidermis, the dermis, and the subcaneous tissue.
The epidermis is known to be the topmost layer of our skin, which blocks us from any environmental factors. It consists of three types of cells: Keratinocytes cells, which are the predominant and produces protein keratin; Melanocytes cells, which produce melanin that is the pigment responsible for our skin tone and color; and Langerhans cells, which are the frontiers to the immune system of the epidermis, since they prevent unwanted external substances from penetrating the skin.
The freshness of how your skin looks like and how it can absorb and hold moisture depends on the condition of the epidermis.
The dermis is located between the epidermis and subcutaneous tissue. This is the middle layer of our skin, and is considered to be the thickest of the skin layers. It contains a firm, solid mesh of collagen and elastin fibers.
The collagen and elastin are both vital skin proteins. The structural support that holds other skin structures comes from collagen. Your appearance would depend on the amount of collagen your skin produces, as well as the quality of collagen it produces. But as you age, your skin’s production of collagen degrades. There are also a number of factors that increase collagen degradation, namely UV rays, smoking, chlorinated water, free radicals, inflammation, and irritation. When a skin’s structure gets distorted, it leads to wrinkles and other skin imperfections. Elastin, on the other hand, is responsible for your skin’s resilience and elasticity, and is more stretchable than collagen. It gives our tissues ability to return to its original shape after it has been stretched.
Capillaries and lymph nodes can be also found in the dermis. The capillaries are responsible for oxygenating and nourishing the skin, while the lymph nodes protect our skin from any microorganism. This layer of our skin is also comprised of sweat glands, hair follicles, sebacious glands, and even a small number of nerve and muscle cells. The gland responsible in producing sebum, which is the oily substance that moisturizes our skin, is the sebacious glands.
The Subcutanous tissue, which mainly consists of fat, is the innermost layer of our skin and is located under the dermis. The cells that are predominant in this layer the adipocytes or also known as fat cells. These fats protect underlying tissues from cold and mechanical trauma as they serve as a heat insulator and shock absorber.
Now, that you know what makes up your skin, you will be able to take better care of it by boosting up on your skin’s protein production.