Everyone wants great looking skin, and a lot of us have at least a few things we wish we could change about our own skin. Most of the time you just don’t know what to use, or where to look for the answers. You try everything from dabbing toothpaste onto your pimples to slathering yourself in coconut oil to cure your skin’s dryness. You never once consider seeing an esthetician, because that’s just a “waste of money and an expensive indulgence”!
Once you finally get fed up with making your own kitchen cabinet potions you resort to asking your friends for skincare advice. They rave about the products they are currently using for their skin and give you a list on what to buy. Lots of money later, you end up realizing that they aren’t working for you in the way that they did for your friends!
Left feeling defeated, you notice an infomercial on skincare products come onto the T.V. They’re talking about a new product for sale that is essentially a “face lift in a jar”, or so it seems. The salesman in the infomercial begins talking about all the science and research behind the product and most of what he’s saying is over your head, but it sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. You have great confidence that this cream is the answer to all of your problems. So you grab your credit card and pull out your phone to order this life changing product. To no surprise, a few months later this jar of “miracle cream” ends up sitting in your bathroom cabinet collecting dust… along with countless other products you have tried. And thus, the endless cycle of searching continues.
You can’t help but feel like giving up, I mean you’ve tried everything, right?
You’ve tried everything except investing money into seeing a professional and receiving regular skin treatments.
Let’s face it, unless you spend hours digging into skin textbooks and learning about ingredient names, you are not going to know as much as a professional about the skin and how to help it. You may think you have dry skin, when in reality you have dehydrated skin. The two are completely different skin types that can present themselves in a similar fashion. If you are not backed with skin knowledge and the things to look for, you will typically just assume its dry skin.
Dry skin lacks sebum (the oil your skin produces) while dehydrated skin lacks water content. The two conditions are treated through different products with different ingredients. So it’s no wonder the products you bought for dry skin are not helping!
Let’s list a few good reasons why going to an esthetician is beneficial and may even save you money:
Expert Skin Analysis
When you go up to the skincare counter of a department store to get advice on which products to purchase, they only see you with your makeup on. The people who work behind the counter are are not set up to lay you down, do a thorough cleansing of your skin and examine your face under a mag light. So they leave it up to YOU to tell them what you think your skin type is. They will then recommend you expensive products that really may or may not help.
A skin professional is able to talk to you about your individual skin concerns, while seeing your skin in its truest state. It is also common to be asked questions which help the therapist to understand you skin and how to go about treatment. For example, which medications you are currently taking, your stress level, water intake, SPF usage, current skincare regime, ect. All of these things need to be taken into account when trying to recommend products and develop a treatment plan.
Professional Grade Products – Higher Active Ingredients
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration separates skin care products into two different categories: pharmaceutical and cosmetic. What’s the difference? Cosmetic products (the stuff you see on the shelf at grocery and department stores) are produced in very large batches and lack active ingredients, at least at a concentration that actually has an effect on the skin.
Why would they produce and sell products that hardly have any effect? Like we talked about earlier, the average consumer self diagnoses their skin, and more times than not, it’s the wrong diagnosis. We can seriously irritate and harm our skin by using the wrong products, and that is exactly why the active ingredients in are incredibly low, or even non-existent in over the counter products.
Is it any wonder why we can try a dozen different products and not really notice anything different in our skin? The PH and percentage of active ingredients in over the counter products is much different than what your esthetician can provide you with. Estheticians must undergo extensive product knowledge training and continuing education courses in the professional lines that they carry.
Treatments, Machinery, and Products
We live in a “do it yourself” society. However, there are some things that should only be left to a professional.
A skin therapist can administer enzyme and chemical peels, which can dramatically improve skin texture, scarring, sun spots (hyperpigmentation), and even fine lines and wrinkles. They are aware of the contraindications of each treatment and can advise you on the safest, most effective path to take to address your specific skin concerns.
They have access to treatments such as high frequency, which helps treat and prevent stubborn breakouts, minimize the apprearance of large pores, minimize fine lines and wrinkles, decongest puffy eyes, fade dark eye circles, and even help the condition of the scalp and nourish hair follicles for healthier hair growth.
There are so many options available today. We have more research and knowledge than we have ever had. Yet it is so easy to be left feeling frustrated, confused, and discouraged when left up to your own expertise. You don’t have to feel that way any longer, there is hope for your skin. See a licensed skincare professional today and begin your journey into achieving healthy and beautiful skin!