You might feel like a broken record sometimes but making sure clients are educated in skincare basics while they do homecare, especially when locked down and unable to attend salon appointments, is good business in the long term. Dermal Therapist Jessie at Sweet Pea Skin and Hair (which stocks Sircuit Skin Cosmeceuticals and is owned by the local distributor) helps debunk the top ten myths that people surprisingly still believe about cleansing and skincare routines.
MYTH #1: Cleansing is not an essential part of a home care routine and it doesn’t matter what you use.
“Not true,” says Jessie. A cleanser is the first step in your home care routine. It is not necessarily the most important step, but it is important. A cleanser is responsible for cleaning your skin and removing dirt and impurities that have built up while you’ve slept and during the day. It needs to be enough to remove makeup and dirt, but gentle enough not to dry out / strip your skin. The pH balance of your skin is very important, it’s responsible for keeping your skin in a state of homeostasis. Without it, you can have issues anywhere from redness and sensitivity to dehydration and breakouts.”
(We recently rounded up all the different cleansers out there and investigated the topic of serum cleansers.)
MYTH #2: Makeup wipes are good enough, I don’t need to cleanse.
“No, no, no! Makeup wipes were made to refresh the skin during the day, on an aeroplane or in between cleansing, not to use instead of a cleanser. Think about it this way — when you use a makeup wipe to remove your makeup, you’re removing the dirt that is on the surface, it cannot penetrate the top layer of skin where bacteria and dirt sit and multiply. If you are not cleansing and emulsifying a product onto your skin, dirt will continue to build up which can lead to breakouts and premature ageing. Not to mention they’re bad for the environment and are full of chemicals that don’t belong on your skin. Remember – makeup removal does NOT equal clean skin.”
MYTH #3: Micellar water is just as good as cleansing.
“Untrue. The trend I’ve seen over the last few years has seen micellar water booming in sales. Although it’s not the worst thing to use on your skin, it’s not doing what you think it is. Most micellar waters are made up of oil and water. It’s great for removing mascara and stubborn eye makeup but not great for cleansing. Most micellar waters leave a residue on the skin due to the ingredients, meaning it can act like a film blocking the pores, disrupting normal oil flow and acting as a barrier for treatment serums to penetrate properly. They are almost always full of alcohol and fragrances which are a nightmare for breakout prone and sensitive skin. A cleanser will allow dirt and pollutants to be removed from the skin, not just pushed around. You could use it as a makeup remover as your first step and then follow it with a proper cleanse.
Or you could just use an actual cleanser and save your money for something that really benefits your skin!”
MYTH #4: I need to use a toner after I cleanse.
“That might have been the case 40 years ago when most cleansers were full of lanolin, which left an oily residue on the skin, and a toner was used to remove that layer to allow proper penetration of products and help our skin return to a normal pH balance. We don’t have that issue anymore. We’ve come a long way and most cleansers nowadays are pH balanced and no longer use ingredients that leave a film on the skin. Toners are also full of alcohol and astringents which can strip the skin and cause that tight, dry feeling. It’s unnecessary and are almost always cause irritation over time.”
MYTH #5: I have oily skin. If I use a moisturiser it’s only going to make me break out.
“Absolutely not true. If you are oily, you need to opt for a lotion or gel-based moisturiser instead of creams. You could even look for a moisturiser with exfoliating ingredients in it like an AHA or retinol. Replenishing your skin with a moisturiser after you cleanse is so important as it helps to nourish your skin and keep it hydrated. Dry, dehydrated skin can actually lead to more issues like an over production of oil and acne. Moisturisers also help with protecting your skin against dirt and bacteria as it creates a healthy barrier between your skin and the outside world. You don’t need to be using the same moisturiser morning and night, you could use something lighter during the day, such as Day Care or Coolaid and at night time you could use Dreamweaver or Cloud 9. It just depends on your concern.”
MYTH #6: I don’t need a serum, a moisturiser is enough.
“Sure, a moisturiser is a great step and very necessary in our skincare routines, but a serum is what is going to create a biological change within your skin. A serum has a very small molecular structure, meaning it can penetrate our cells where a moisturiser cannot. A serum will sink into the skin, a moisturiser will sit on top, locking it in. There are a lot of serums on the market today but not all are created equal. Science plays the biggest role in serums and the ingredients are essential to how they interact with our cells. We need serums to treat specific concerns. They are the hero and that’s where you will most likely spend the most money in your skin care routine.”
MYTH #7: I don’t need to exfoliate OR I exfoliate every day.
“If I had a dollar for every time I heard either one of these statements, I’d have enough money to buy the entire Sircuit range! Exfoliating is one of the most common misconceptions in skin care / one of the most over used products. You have to understand that our skin exfoliates itself every 28 days, but as we age, that process slows down significantly. Exfoliating encourages the new healthy cells to come to the surface, resulting in smoother, younger, more even looking skin, not to mention removing the layers of dead skin that can lead to clogged pores and fine lines and wrinkles. You won’t always be prescribed a scrub, it may be a chemical form of exfoliation (AHAs or BHAs) instead of a manual scrub. Two to three times a week (depending on your skin type) is more than enough to keep your skin looking fresh and radiant.”
MYTH #8: I only want to use organic products, I’m too sensitive for anything else.
“For something to be deemed “organic” it needs to be straight from the source. Organic products have ingredients in them that are made from natural ingredients, but thanks to science and technology, we have been able to isolate the good part of an ingredient and mix it with other powerful ingredients to create products that are going to be beneficial to our skin.
For example, our bodies naturally absorb vitamin C from our food, but in order for it to be used by our skin, we have to topically apply it. Vitamin C is a brilliant ingredient and can be used for a lot of different skin concerns, but the ingredient itself is quite unstable and often needs to be mixed with other ingredients and chirally corrected in order for our skin to accept it and use it to our advantage. That’s where the science comes into it.”
MYTH #9: But I drink heaps of water, how can my skin be dehydrated!?
“I swear, I hear this every day. Your skin is the largest organ. It is constantly evolving and adapting to its environment, but it is the last place to get water. We are mammals, we lose water through our skin so by the time your body has used up the water in your system, you’ve already gotten rid of it as waste. The reason your skin looks and feels amazing when you’re constantly drinking water is because all of your organs are working properly. To hydrate your skin, you need to topically apply serums and moisturisers.”
MYTH #10: I don’t need sunscreen because I’m never in the sun.
“As soon as you step outside, you’re being attacked by UVA and UVB rays. If you drive sun can still penetrate your skin through the windscreen. Even if you are only outside for 15 minutes, you are exposed to the radiation that is responsible for premature ageing, pigmentation and cancer. Scientifically speaking, Australians age 10-15 years faster than any other country because of our position on the earth.
The best anti-ageing secret I can give you is use sunscreen. Use it every day.”
We asked Jessie how she became a dermal therapist and how she started working with the Sircuit range. She says “My employer at Sweet Pea Skin & Hair, is also the distributor for Australia and I was given the opportunity to train with the brand and use the products personally which I then fell head over heels in love with it.” She’s a good source for information on debunking skincare myths as she’s a professionally certified beauty professional. She is a diploma-qualified beauty and laser therapist with advanced qualifications focusing on skin therapists and cosmedical modalities.
Why should be share these tips now?
Jessie says “It is always a good idea to explain to clients the Dos and Donts of skincare to ensure they are doing the correct things from home and using their products the right way in order to benefit their skin and target their concerns. Sircuit is a very active range so ensuring they are using their products correctly is so important. We want the products to compliment each other and work synergistically with the skin, so if we are able to explain properly clients should have a better understanding of what their products are doing and how to use them properly.”
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