skincare routines

The #1 Way to Save Your Skincare Routine

Category: Blog

Skincare Routines to Have the Skin of Your Dreams

In this article, we are going to discuss what your really is, and how to develop the best skincare routine for your best looking skin yet.

What is Your Skin?

Your skin is your largest organ. Its appearance generally reflects the inner health of all the organs and systems beneath it. It has many different functions, but its primary role is to act as a barrier between the external environment and internal environment. Our skin protects us, holds us together, and shows the world a part of who we are.

Don’t you think you should up your skincare game based on your skin’s role in your life?

The skin is made up of two layers with very different structures.

The epidermis, the outermost layer, fulfills the role of bodyguard. It is mostly made up of keratinocytes (that’s the cell type). They function by a process called keratinization, where the keratinocytes reproduce and divide. At the same time, proteins are being made, lipids are being secreted, and there is a formation of a cross-linking pattern being developed.

What’s interesting is that during this process, the organelles (tiny working parts) of the cells, including the nucleus are being removed. This leaves just keratinocytes, flattened and metabolically “dead” as the barrier – this is your skin, the part that everyone sees. These cells are sealed together by lipid-rich domains (lipid = fat), forming a water-impermeable barrier.

So the way that layer of our skin is designed, is to keep the bad things out and the good things in.

This means that our skincare routine is taking care of “dead” cells.

The dermal layer, below the epidermis, provides strength and elasticity. It has the lymphatic system (for drainage), vascular system (blood supply) and neuronal system (neurons) within it. It is mostly made up of extracellular matrix proteins, 75% of which are collagen fibres. The dermal layer, feeds the epidermal layer.

Should your skincare routine come from within then?

Nutrition and Your Skin

It is widely accepted that the nutrition status of a person will affect their skin health and appearance. The skin, and symptoms that appear on it, give us an idea of something going on on the inside. This is seen relatively easily, with the deficiency of certain micronutrients resulting in disease conditions, i.e. dermatological signs of vitamin B deficiency is a patchy, red rash or poor wound healing being a sign of vitamin C deficiency. Interestingly, many of our antioxidant defences, such as vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium are obtained through the diet.

The frustrating thing about the skin is that getting the nutrients to the epidermal layer isn’t that simple. Since the epidermal layer doesn’t have its own vascular system to bring blood and nutrients, it has to get it from the dermal layer below.

It is unlikely that nutrients delivered topically can penetrate to the dermal layer, due to the outer layer acting as a barrier. This means that the best way to support our skin (and develop a great skincare routine), is from the inside out – allowing nutrients to be carried through the blood stream to the dermal layer. Beauty really does come from the inside. For example, studies have shown that taking 3g of vitamin C per day for six weeks elevates the vitamin C content in the skin, so this is one way to improve the look of our skin.

It’s very common for those with skin issues or concerns to also have digestive concerns. These two conditions often go hand-in-hand. At Bay Wellness Centre, we find that it is most beneficial to address those digestive symptoms and concerns before beginning to add physical or topical treatments to the skin.

Once we optimize digestion, skin appearance naturally improves and then we can add in the physical and topical treatments to enhance what we’ve already accomplished.

Should I even bother with topical application of Vitamin C?

When blood levels of vitamin C are low, topical application of Vitamin C can be delivered successfully, however this is dependent on the formulation of the cream, lotion or serum that you are using.

Vitamin C is a water-soluble molecule that is repelled by the epidermal layer of our skin (so it can’t get through). It is only when pH is below 4, and the vitamin is ascorbic acid that it can penetrate the epidermal layer. So far, there has not been a system developed that is successful in vitamin C application. So you’re better off eating your vitamin C for skincare than applying it directly to your skin. This means that your digestive system must be working properly!

One amazing tool available to boost your nutrient status quickly and without adverse side effects is with nutrient IV’s. We can tailor nutrient IV’s to exactly what we are treating and trying to improve. These can be a great add-on tool to improving the look and feel of your skin over time.

Physical Treatments for Healthy Skin

Once you’ve got your internal environment taken care of, you’re feeling healthy and energized – you want to do some self-care and things that make you feel beautiful too. At Bay Wellness Centre, we have multiple treatments available to address your skin health. We like to focus on the whole person and body, so adding in some medical aesthetic treatments is like icing on the cake.

Our medical aesthetic treatments are all aiming to improve the look and feel of the skin by increasing the collagen synthesis. Unfortunately, after the age of 25 collagen synthesis declines, leading to the signs of ageing. With our treatments, we are tricking the body into creating more collagen so that you can appear to age slower, with beautiful, radiant skin.

Have a look at our skin treatments here:

Would you like more tips and information on skin health? Click here for “Finally – Have the Skin Of Your Dreams” download.