Targeting redness-prone skin

Are you redness-prone? From occasional flushing to rosy cheeks through to rosacea many of us suffer with some type of redness issues with our skin. Whatever the severity of your symptoms we all have one thing in common – everyone wants to correct it!

Why is my skin red? There are many contributing factors to redness in the skin:

Barrier Disruption from over cleansing/exfoliating/inappropriate products: this is extremely common, there seems to be a trend for scrubbing and stripping the skin which is the very worst thing you can do in terms of your long-term skin health and appearance. Your skin has a natural protective barrier that needs to be in place for the skin to function properly. Compromising this barrier allows irritants to penetrate the skin, among other effects, leading to inflammation and redness. Simply easing back on your routine and replacing with gentle, skin-supportive products with anti-inflammatory and skin building ingredients will help enormously in this case.

Shaving: shaving will almost inevitably lead to some skin irritation and inflammation over time. Using anti-inflammatory ingredients in your skin products will hep counteract this.

Rosacea: this is an inflammatory disorder of the skin that can vary in severity from a little redness on the nose, cheeks or chin through to constant raised red patches and disfigurement of the nose. It is very important to begin an anti-inflammatory skincare routine as early as possible to slow the progress. It is possible to dramatically reduce the impact of rosacea with early and correct intervention. See here for more details if rosacea is your main concern.

Food intolerances: there are common culprits in your diet that cause blood vessels to react in those prone to redness, especially alcohol, spicy foods and caffeine. Keep a food diary to pinpoint your particular triggers so that you can eliminate them.

Sun damage: UV exposure worsens every skin issue so be diligent in using your SPF30 daily and reapply every 2 hours during outdoor exposure.

Stress: just like sun exposure, stress has a detrimental effect on any skin issues you might be prone to. I don’t have the cure unfortunately but be aware of it and try to mitigate it.

Weather: apart from sun, cold and wind will also play a part in redness by stripping the skin barrier. If you must be out in it, make sure that you are replenishing your skin barrier after by using products high in anti-inflammatory and barrier repair ingredients.

Visible red veins/capillaries: a side effect of weather exposure, flushing etc. can be visible little red capillaries on your face that don’t fade when the flushing subsides. These can be easily treated with diathermy.

Most redness-prone skins will have a combination of the above triggers. The good news is that with a little care, many redness issues can be controlled. Taking the above advice and daily use of gently corrective homecare will give you great results over time. The top 3 skincare products to use at home for anyone concerned with redness are:

Anti-Redness Concentrate: Use daily under your SPF30, this serum is packed with soothing, calming, anti-inflammatory ingredients as well as essential skin nutrients and anti-oxidants to calm, strengthen, repair and protect your skin cells.

Skin Comfort Cream: Use at night alone or over a facial oil to deeply moisturise while offering anti-redness benefits of specially selected natural botanical extracts.

SPF30: Every skin, every day, SPF is your number one skincare product! Our Advanced Day Cream has SPF30, UVA+UVB protection, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants to make it a full skincare products as well as sunscreen.

Is rosacea your particular concern? Then add Lipid Repair Concentrate at night to repair the barrier and protect the inner skin structures from outside irritation.

Using your microfibre cleansing cloth

if you haven’t tried cleansing with a microfibre cleansing cloth, you don’t know what you’ve been missing!

It gives the quickest makeup removal and leaves your skin feeling so clean and fresh. The microfibres gently but thoroughly cleanse your skin and pores much more effectively than cotton wool or regular facecloths.

While you can use a microfibre facecloth with any cleanser, we particularly recommend an oil based cleanser such as our best-selling Skin Comfort Cleanser.

Step-by-step cleansing routine with microfibre cleansing cloth:

Apply one pump of Skin Comfort Cleanser (or cleanser of your choice) to your hands and gently apply to the face, eyes and neck. If you are wearing heavy eye makeup you can concentrate on this first and gently rub the cleanser well in to dissolve mascara.
Then run your hands under warm water and massage in the cleanser with wet hands, again concentrating on any areas of heavy makeup if worn. Rewet hands and repeat.
Take the microfibre cloth and run under warm water. Wring out excess and wipe away cleanser from face eyes and neck. Rinse, wring out and repeat.
Follow with your skincare while skin is still warm and damp from cleansing for extra product absorption.

How do you like to cleanse?

Buy microfibre facecloths here

p.s. No it is not the same microfibre cloth as you use to clean your kitchen 😂

The professional skin refining kit

If you saw my Facebook live video from earlier this week, we addressed a couple of things.

Number 1: We’re suspending treatments at this time until 29th March.

For the full statement see here.

Number 2: That doesn’t mean you can’t keep up with your skincare at home!

As a first at Skin Essentials I have made a professional product available for home use as a special kit because I trust you, our clients, to use it. What makes it a professional product is that we usually use it only in the treatment room, but don’t worry, it does not require special training or licence to use! It’s actually quite simple to use with maximum expert skin refining results.

This kit contains:

Skin Comfort Oil,
Skin Comfort Cream
Professional Refining Skin Polish.

Note: contains aspirin derivative (this is the salicylic acid ingredient) so on the side of extreme caution not to use during pregnancy or aspirin allergy

Refining Skin Polish:

This is a gentle powder combining four active ingredients for cellular renewal and skin polishing:

Horsetail powder to smooth and clean (also antiseptic and nutritive).
White willow powder (salicylic acid) smooths, anti-clogging agent and anti-inflammatory.
Retinoid (vitamin A derivative) increases the rate of cell turnover.
Ascorbic Acid (brightening, anti-oxidant and lightly exfoliating).

Use alone on all skin types or after enzyme exfoliator (for extra boost if skin is in very sluggish, neglected or dull state). Mix half a teaspoon with warm water in the palm of your hand to begin dissolving actives, and gently massage into skin for two minutes. Remove with warm water/cloth.

If using after enzyme exfoliator there is no need to remove the enzyme first.

Mariga x

Which microneedling is right for you?

Microneedling is one of our favourite skincare treatments on the planet!

But did you know, there are many different types of microneedling treatments you can get at Skin Essentials?

How do you know which is right for you?

Microneedling: I absolutely love microneedling and incorporate it into almost all our anti-ageing programmes. There are many types for different levels of outcome and a customised plan will be created especially for your skin, but in general terms:

Classic Microneedling: Best for early signs of ageing such as first eye lines etc, in a course of 3. Excellent as a single treatment as a pre-ageing advanced facial to build collagen as a future-proofing method. Add into your treatment routine from late twenties onward to delay the visible signs of ageing.

Trifractional Resurfacing: Combines shallow needling with radiofrequency energy. Best for first lines, pores, texture issues. All ages requiring surface smoothing and tightening.

Voluderm Facelift: Combines deeper needling with radiofrequency energy. Best for hollows under the eyes, softness around mouth and neck rejuvenation. Usually age 40 plus.

Pyramid Facelift: Combines trifractional and voluderm technologies as above with radio frequency skin tightening to address all signs of ageing where revision is required on wrinkles, sagging or lax skin, texture and radiance. Usually 40 plus but can also be adapted to address pitted scarring on any age skin.

SmartMeso Nano Needling: Combines very shallow needling with vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid Infusion. Best for dull, congested skin that needs a boost. Deeper than a facial but still focused on the uppermost skin layers to improve skin quality not structure or shape.

We have just launched a very exciting microneedling treatment from Amieamed Exceed, which is the most comfortable and effective microneedling technology in the country. We have Amieamed Exceed Microneedling exclusively in Wexford and Donnybrook.

Shop our special launch offers HERE, and book a treatment online below:

Microneedling – should it cause your skin to bleed?

The goal of microneedling is to strengthen the skin and support it’s processes to achieve a firmer, smoother and more even skin.

This is achieved by triggering the release of growth factors and cytokines in the skin which promote and increase cell-to-cell communication,

while also enhancing the absorption and processing of your homecare ingredients.

Ultimately the formation of new collagen is the end goal.

In order to get this response it is NOT necessary to penetrate the skin to a depth where you will cause bleeding, despite popular images on social media etc. where you will see a lot of epidermal trauma/bleeding allegedly associated with cosmetic or clinical microneedling.

These images are either used for sensationalism and share-worthiness or possibly because the person posting it is not educated in the latest microneedling techniques and science which has shown us that, unlike early attempts at refining the technique, needling to blood-depth is not at all necessary for results on skin rejuvenation.

In the skincare industry we now know that,

“new collagen forms no deeper than 0.6mm regardless of depth of injury”*

This tells us that needling beyond that depth is pointless and will just give the skin more work to do in terms of healing, using up energy resources that could be better used in creating collagen fibres, the very end goal we are looking for.

So, absolutely not, you do not need to see bleeding as an end point on microneedling, this is very outdated thinking and not what you should expect from a practitioner who is up to date in education and experience in the field of microneedling.

Even better, the technology is being so refined that skin needling is no longer a treatment to grit your teeth and get through, it is by far more comfortable that it used to be. You may not quite sleep during your treatment but you may be surprised at how much the treatment has changed. Give it a try! Your skin will thank you.

*ref: “The Concise Guide to Dermal Needling”, Lance Setterfield, M.D. “An Alternative Treatment For Scars, Wrinkles and Skin Laxity”, (Matthias Aust, M.D., Des Fernandes, M.D. & colleagues).

New launch coming soon to Skin Essentials! Sign-up for first access:

The Oily Skin Essentials

Throwback to our blog: Daily Care For Oily Skin – Mariga’s Advice from April 2016, edited to current time.

If you have an oily skin type, this is a must read!

Are you managing your oily skin type correctly?

Like all skin, this requires a daily skincare routine.

First, we have to define and understand what a true oily skin type actually is. Many people mistakenly think that they have oily skin when in fact it’s something else altogether.

What are the hallmarks of a true oily skin type?

Large pores, particularly on the t-zone
The skin NEVER feels tight, itchy, or dry
Daily shine
RARELY has blackheads or spots

If the above sounds like you, coupled with makeup that just slides off and hair that needs to be washed every day, then you have a true oily skin.

While it IS possible to have oily skin AND acne, they are two different things and having one does not automatically mean you will have the other. Many people with acne assume that their skin is oily when that is (in Irish Skin anyway) most often not the case. In Irish skin, perhaps 10% of the population will be a true oily skin type.

The benefits of oily skin.

Yes, there ARE many benefits to having oily skin! You usually have a blemish-free complexion, a slower rate of wrinkling and higher tolerance to a wider range of skincare products, treatments and cosmetics.

The downsides of oily skin.

Most people with oily skin get fed up with large pores, too much shine and make-up not staying put. As you can see these are mostly APPEARANCE issues rather than actual skin problems so they can be much more easily addressed then poor dry or red skin types.

How so?

There are two things to know about controlling the appearance of oily skin:

Cleansing and exfoliating often makes it worse (you’re doing it wrong).
- Trying to deep cleanse and exfoliate away oil is not just a waste of time, but is like trying to drive your car by pressing on the brake and the accelerator at the same time! One action is fighting against the other and you will most likely ruin your engine (or skin) in the process.
- When you deep cleanse or over-exfoliate oily skin you get rid of the oil that is there at that moment, same as if you did a gentle cleanse. But with deep action products, you have stimulated a deeper reaction in the skin. The response by the oil glands of being ‘stripped’ is that they go into fast production mode to make up for lost resources.
- So you deep cleanse, scrub or exfoliate then a coupe of hours later your face looks like an oil slick. You did it to yourself! You gave your skin the signal that it was lacking oil and it produced more, it was only trying to please you!
Oil fights oil.
- The secret is to CONTROL the flow of oil, not stop it. Lipid secretions that are controlled continuously and gradually distribute oil evenly over the surface of your skin. There is no sudden stop/start, no patchy production. The result is an evenly lubricated skin surface with no sudden shine.

How to achieve that?

You need to regulate oil flow by applying minute amounts of the right oils in the right ratios to the skin surface so that it gets the message that oil is always available and stops sudden production. This might sound scary but it doesn’t take long to get in the habit and start to see results. Why not try it? What have you got to lose? Team oil! See more about oil for oily skin in Mariga’s video on daily management tips for oily skin below.

Best targeted Skin Essentials products for oily skin:

Lipid Repair Concentrate – The mix of lipids, ceramides, good cholesterols and fatty acids in this super serum mimic exactly the precise mix of lipids found naturally in healthy, balanced skin.
Advanced Protection SPF30 – All in one moisturiser and SPF protection. Full of nutrients your skin needs i.e. Mineral SPF, anti-oxidants, moisturiser and vitamin treatment in one.

The Dry Skin Essentials!

If you have dry skin, this post is for you!

As we are coming out of the other side of Winter, we are still submerged in our daily air conditioning, heaters, fire’s burning in the evenings to keep us warm.

What this is all doing is dehydrating our skin further, so most of us need to take care of our hydration levels.

Throwback to our blog – skin types vs skin conditions – Mariga referred to the three basic skin types. *Repost from our original blog published in 2017*.

Have you ever heard of lipid dry skin? If you’re new to Skin Essentials, you probably haven’t. Lipid dry skin has an intrinsic tendency to low natural oil production. It will look dull, thin, flaky and tired. Your skin may have a tendency to redness, especially across the cheeks, with some whiteheads and visible capillaries. This skin tends to age quickly.

As mentioned, lipid dry skin will react quickly to outside factors such as wind, central heating, air conditioning and cold which can make it feel itchy or will sting. It may also be slow to heal and can scar easily. You can already see how this skin type may easily be mistaken for ‘sensitive’.

The lack of natural oils in the skin impairs it’s defense and protection allowing it to become inflamed by outside aggressors, therefore the treatment protocol is to restore the oil balance to strengthen this barrier.

Professional treatments for dry skin will consist of gentle facials using products that are high in essential fatty acids, anti-oxidants and nutrients.

At home, products must be very gentle and contain no fragrance (even naturally derived such as essential oils), artificial colouring or abrasive particles. Harsh cleansing is the most common mistake, make sure your cleanser is completely free from sodium laureth sulphate and keep exfoliation to a minimum.

Oil based cleansers are best. Avoid the sun as much as possible and keep heating or air conditioning as low as possible. Drink plenty of water and try to eat a diet high in essential fatty acids. (Nuts, seeds, avocado, oily fish). Your pharmacist or heath food shop will be able to advise you on your diet and recommend a supplement if necessary.

Products from Skin Essentials for your skin type:

Super dry or medically compromised skin will love our Skin Comfort Kit.

I hope this sheds some light on why your skin may be feeling tight and dry. If you have any questions please get in touch, I’m always happy to answer. Call our Wexford clinic on 053 9145981 or contact info@skinessentialsbymariga.com.