Charcoal masks are all the rage right now. Charcoal is the biggest beauty trend in 2017!
Removing hair and getting lots of blackheads out.
We can log onto Facebook or check out YouTube & there are hundreds of people posting their silly pictures and videos peeling off those charcoal masks.
Such a great concept, right?
WRONG!!!
Let me pull out my expert cap right now and tell you that anything that pulls out hair is removing skin too!
You are removing blackheads, but those charcoal masks are doing more damage to your skin then you think.
If a product or mask is painful or uncomfortable, that is a red flag! Your skin is telling you it doesn’t like what you’ve applied and doesn’t want it on.
Our skin is the largest and smartest organ on our bodies and it will immediate react to something that doesn’t belong.
When I say it’s a smart organ, what happens is we remove the mask & get that soft, plump skin left behind.
That is actually your skin REACTING to the charcoal mask. You have just removed to many layers of skin cells in the top layer, called the Stratum Corneum.
The Stratum Corneum is our skin’s protective barrier layer and consists of 8-20 layers. If more than 1 of these
layers is removed, the skin has to immediate work to protect it’s top layer.
If the top layer becomes damaged or removed, the skin swells to protect the Dermis (the 2nd skin layer) from harm.
This is extremely important to know, because the Dermis is home to our collagen, elastin, blood vessels, lymph, etc. If this layer gets damaged, we age quickly!
The Stratum Corneum layer is designed to protect the Dermis, so it MUST remain intact.
Say you remove too many layers of the Stratum Corneum, now what?
Now your skin is swollen and “plump” as a reaction to the damage done. This swelling is creating a layer of protection for the Dermis.
It’s ok if this happens on occasion, but if we are doing something like this on a regular basis, our skin is always in a state of repair and inflammation.
Over time, this inflammation ages our skin quicker than if we just left it alone.
This is extremely important to understand because our ultimate goal is to keep the skin’s barrier intact.
Exfoliation is important, but not to the extreme that we have turned to know and love for our skin.
To be completely honest, if you exfoliate your skin once a week, you are taking care of your skin properly.
Our skin knows exactly how to exfoliate and remove old, unwanted skin cells. There are those stray skin cells that get stuck or left behind.
One of the top complaints I get from clients is pore size and they want to know how to reduce pore size.
Actually very little can be done to your pore size.
Blackheads are never going to go away and many of those “so-called” blackheads aren’t even blackheads, they are called Sebaceous Filaments.
Sebaceous Filaments can be dark and visible like a blackhead, but don’t block the skin. Blackheads you can actually feel in the skin and you can see them in the pores.
There honestly is no magic cure for blackheads, just like you can’t stop you hair or nails from growing. It’s part of how our bodies function.
Now you know the difference and you’re well versed in how to keep your skin’s barrier in tact.
Just always remember that anything that feels painful or you hear others talk about the pain, it’s best recommended to avoid that product or ingredient all together.
Using gentle products that are customized to your skin’s specific needs are highly recommended and will best suit your skin.
Estheticians are great at customizing a great home care routine for you. Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple or as complicated; it just has to work best for YOU!
If you don’t have a great esthetician on speed dial, now is the time to find a great one.
Look for a solo esthetician who treats the skin more naturally or doesn’t turn to harsh peels or products that are constantly stripping the skin and creating damage.
