Our skin is designed to protect us from the climate and external atmosphere.  We produce sweat to lubricate the skin and this helps to protect us from the aging effects of the sun and wind and air-conditioning, heaters and pollutants in the air.

Our pores gently allow sebum to pour over our skin to protect us.  If we dry our skin out by over cleansing this natural process is disturbed.  As our skin becomes dry the pores will become open and unable to gently move the natural oils or sebum through the pores to lubricate the skin and so the pores become blocked and infected as they cannot sweat out toxins.

Toxins are gently  squeezed out of the body through the pores as sweat to cleanse our system.  It is healthy to sweat!  Dust particles in the air we breathe are captured by small hairs in the nose and covered in sebum to help them move through the pores out of the nose, by over cleansing we block this natural process and blackheads and spots occur.

In the morning our skin should be moist, like dew on grass this will quickly dry!  I like to think of this as Gods natural moisturizer for our skin.  By cleansing in the morning we disturb the natural balance and dryness occurs.  Spritzing with a light toner will refresh the skin without disturbing the balance.

In the daytime our natural bio-rhythm is fast, allowing us to respond quickly and move.  In the night our bio-rhythm is slow, allowing us to relax and restore our energy.  Night time is for replenishing as we breathe in deeply our skin cells will absorb whatever we put on it!  By cleansing at night we remove the sweat and dust accumulated through the day, this is the perfect time to apply an anti-aging and cell regenerating serum and cream.  A serum will deliver active ingredients deeply into the skin cells while a cream will soften and nourish the skin.  Daytime is for protection and hydration keeping our pores gently moving and protecting our skin from the harsh elements such as sunshine, wind, air-conditioning and heating.  A gentle spritz toner should be followed by a light hydrating serum to keep the pores supple and cream with protective qualities.  If you are swimming, skiing, cycling or running a protective balm or vasoline can protect against wind damage and the resulting redness and sensitivity can be prevented! I used this for horse riding and it prevented broken capillaries which are common when our delicate skin get a beating from the wind!

Treating the skin with a mask will help to balance the ph of the skin and clear blemishes.  A good mask will have a gentle cleansing action but also a hydrating and nourishing quality. When our body becomes overly acidic, we will notice our capillaries become fragile and our skin will flush easily gradually broken capillaries will cause more permanent redness!  Diet is important to neutralize the body and we are here to advise you personally.

A Monthly or Seasonal Facial is recommended and we can advice you on homecare  products to maintain and treat your skin.

Caroline Bartlett