Time to take care of your skin

For this month’s column, Louise Thomas-Minns, CEO of Louise Thomas Skin Care, offers plenty of straight-talking advice during Skin Care Awareness Month

September is National Skin Care Awareness Month, and for good reason. For one thing, the previous summer months can wreak havoc on your skin, especially if you failed to protect it from the sun’s harsh rays. On top of this, the upcoming autumn weather warrants a shift in your approach to skin care thanks to the cooler, drier air and abundance of allergens (hello, dry skin rash). At Louise Thomas Skin Care we always think of September as being the start of our new year. It provides the perfect opportunity to check in with your skin and take stock of your skin care routine. We will be taking all our clients that we treat, through a natural ‘skin health evaluation’.

This month we are going to dedicate time to you, our community by continuing to provide you with straight talking skin care advice and we want you to join in the conversation by using #SkinCareAwarenessMonth.

Here are some questions that our clients and community have been asking us recently:

Q/ Is it really necessary to cleanse your skin every day?

A/ Hopefully you wouldn’t go a day without showering or brushing your teeth because we understand that to not do those things results in poor hygiene and a risk of disease or infection, so why wouldn’t you cleanse your skin too? Choose a cleanser that is gentle and designed for the skin of the face that will support the delicate, protective barrier functions and use it morning and night. Exactly what ‘The Cleanser’ from Louise Thomas skin care was designed for.

Q/ Why should I moisturise and what should I look for when buying one?

A/ So you’ve removed ‘the day’ (make up, sunscreen, pollution, dirt, sweat) from your skin by cleansing and now you need to follow the basics of skin care which is replacing the moisture that gets lost while your skin is working hard for you all day. Look for a hydrator that contains the barrier building blocks through ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerine, squalene and polysaccharides. You’ll find these in our moisturiser ‘The Hydrator’.

Q/ What’s all this about daily UV and blue light protection?

A/ The last piece of the very ‘basic’ puzzle is to protect your skin from the damaging rays of UV that are present no matter the weather 365 days of the year and also ‘HEV’ (High Energy Visible) light, often referred to as ‘blue light’ emitted by electronic devices like smartphones, tablets, computers, LED lights, and the sun. As always though there is balance required here as some exposure to blue light preferably from daylight, helps regulate our body’s sleep-wake cycle, improves our mood, keeps us alert and can even enhance memory. A daily application of a broad-spectrum sunscreen is a great first choice, given that the sun emits a large portion of blue light that sunscreen can protect from. You want one, though, that’s rated SPF 30 or greater and contains plenty of antioxidants. These ingredients help to defend and minimise the chain reaction of damage before it visibly impacts your skin.

Join the conversation over on our social channels #SkinCareAwarenessMonth and tell us ‘How is your skin feeling?’

Visit Louise Thomas Skin Care.

Featured images – supplied