The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly and lie about your age!” -Lucille Ball
Aren’t we all a bit overwhelmed by the gazillion number of skincare products on the market? Does your head feel like its spinning trying to navigate all the hype to address your specific concerns? If you’re wondering why; simply put, skincare is a multibillion dollar industry after your skin! Eeek! So how do you sift through all the commotion and invest wisely? Today, we’ll dispel a few lies and clear the air to clearer skin.
Lie #1 – It’s all the same. Other The Counter (OTC) vs. Medical Grade Skincare
I’ve got one question. Would you want an ibuprofen to treat the pain associated with a kidney stone? My guess is no. When we are dealing with conditions in the skin from acne to aging, the active ingredients in medical grade skincare are capable of penetrating the dermis (live skin) providing clinical efficacy resulting in correction vs. superficial fluff to dead flakey skin cells.
Lie #2 – If it’s expensive it must work.
Refer back to the opening statement, this a growing, multibillion dollar industry heavily invested in wooing you with buzzwords and pretty packaging. While medical grade products will typically cost more than what you find in your local super store they are comparable in price to department store brands and multilevel marketing brands (those require another blog post). It seems to me, before you head back to the beauty counter, you should consider if the pretty promises are being delivered?
Lie #3 – My grandmother lived to be 100 and didn’t have a line on her face, all she used was (fill in the blank) so that’s what I do.
I am certain your grandmother was lovely, so was mine but skincare has evolved, breakthrough science is discovering amazing ways to slow the aging process and deliver healthy and beautiful skin at any age. And in our day and age of U.V. exposure and environmental stressors, the option to combat these assailants and deliver flawless skin just like you got grandmother’s genes is something to write home about.
Lie #4 – Have a skincare regiment? No way, it’s too complicated.
We’re talking about the largest organ of your body people, please take care of it! You spend time and money at the salon and at home styling your hair, which is basically dead cells and you cover up the neglect of your skin with makeup. This seems backwards. Besides, effective skincare doesn’t have to be complicated. If keeping it simple appeals to you, express this to your skincare provider, her job is to tailor a solution to address your needs in a manner that works for you. We want you to be able to use what you invest in, get the results you hoped for so the only cover up you need is SPF.
Lie #5 – I just want to grow old gracefully.
There is nothing graceful about growing old with a passive attitude. Move it or lose it, I say. Even if the idea of injectable makes you cringe (which is unfortunate because they produce AMAZING results), healthy skin at any age is achievable and never goes out of style.
In conclusion, healthy skin is always in and it doesn’t have to be complicated. While genetics is a factor, take advantage of the benefits of cutting edge skincare. Be wary of trends, hype and the just because it was expensive notion, a lot of energy was invested to fool you so invest wisely. Finally, your skin is beautiful, take care of it as it takes care of you!
