Science of Skincare (S.O.S. #3): What is Cell Turnover and Why Should I Care About it?

Welcome back!

Today I am going to be educating you on what cell turnover is and why you should care about yours. If you aren't that familiar with the skin and don't spend much time taking care of it, this is extremely important for you to know about. Cell turnover is huge when it comes to combating aging and keeping your skin healthy and glowing.  I will be talking about exfoliation as well a little later on because it is a vital step in maintaining good cell turnover. If your mind immediately goes to apricot scrub, PLEASE do not stop reading this (also please throw it in the trash). 

So what is cell turnover? It's the process of new cells being created in the lowest level of the epidermis and moving outwards towards the outermost layers, to where they will eventually slough off as dead skin cells. When targeted, it can help with so many skin issues which is helpful when trying to combat more than one issue at a time.

As we age, the time that it takes for a cell to move through this process and become a dead skin cell lengthens, meaning your cells aren't renewing as quickly. This is why skin starts to lose it's glow as we age. The dead skin cells can sit on the surface causing your skin to look dull and can prevent products from penetrating well. No matter how much you try to, you cannot hydrate a dead skin cell. Ever wondered why a baby's bottom is so smooth? They have ridiculous rates of cell proliferation and their skin cells turnover very quickly. Did I just depress you? Hopefully I can bring your spirits back up by telling you how exfoliation can combat aging!

Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells from the surface of the skin. It can be done by buffing, scrubbing, chemically breaking down different components of the skin and more. It's generally broken down into two different categories of physical and chemical exfoliation; physical being those that buff or scrub the dead skin cells away and chemical being those that dissolve the keratin or other cells to get rid of the dead skin cells. The exact type of exfoliation that you need is completely dependent on your skin and preferences (although if you've read previous posts you probably already know that I believe in chemical over physical for most).  

If you're going to use a physical exfoliator you want to make sure that the ingredients creating the exfoliation can dissolve (i.e. sugar, jojoba beads (made of wax),etc.). Things like apricot scrubs can cause micro-tears in the skin so please don't use them EVER. If you have any acne you definitely want to stray away from physical exfoliation because it can spread bacteria and increase inflammation. 

Chemical exfoliators are what I believe to be the most ideal for most skin types. I prefer to gently exfoliate a little bit every day instead of doing a really harsh form of exfoliation once in a while. This ensures that my cells are turning over consistently. I like it too because of the added benefits of keeping my pores unclogged and my skin less likely to break out. To do this, I recommend a few different types of products. You could use AHA's, BHA's, fruit enzymes, rice enzyme powders, or Retinoids, just to name a few. They vary in strength and carry other benefits besides exfoliation. For example, Glycolic Acid is my favorite AHA and while it's great for gently exfoliating my skin (I use it in my toner every night with Lactic Acid), it also helps stimulate collagen, thicken my skin, and aids in moisture retention for my skin. Some fruit enzymes can also contain brightening properties. If you have more questions about which chemical exfoliant is right for you, please send me an email or message and I'd be happy to help you. Below I've listed some examples of these chemical exfoliators (**Amazon links are affiliate links meaning I make a percentage of the sale if purchased through my link. If this makes you uncomfortable please feel free not to use. If you do, thank you! Your support helps me bring more content to you!)

Here's a quick list of benefits in speeding up cell turnover regarding different skin issues:
1. Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (i.e. acne scarring): increasing cell turnover helps bring darkened and damaged cells to the surface and the scarring fades. 
2. Sun Damage: depending on the amount of damage, increasing cell turnover can fade and lighten sun spots.
3. Dry skin: product absorption is much more effective when there are no dead skin cells building up on the surface.
4. Aging: serums and treatment products are more effective because they can penetrate.
5. Acne: pores are less likely to become trapped with dirt and oil and house bacteria, if dead skin cells aren't sitting on the surface. 
6. Dullness: removing dead skin cells can remove the dull look of your skin and bring back your glow. Newer cells just simply look better than old ones. 
7. Fine Lines: plumper and newer cells will decrease the appearance of fine lines. 

I hope you learned more about your skin today and what you can do to combat aging and keep it healthy! As always, leave a comment below with requests for more S.O.S. topics that you'd like to see.

Until the next post,

Andrea 

Dre Does Skincare Answers!

It's pretty rare for me to go more than a few days without a friend asking me some type of beauty or skincare related question. Last week a friend asked me a skin question that I thought needed to be shared because many people experience this (including me!) but don't know what it is or what to do. Emily's question was "Why does your skin get bumpy in the winter?" These bumps usually found on the backs of your upper arms, the cheeks, or your legs are a condition called Keratosis Pilaris or 'chicken skin' if you've ever heard of that.

Keratosis Pilaris or KP for short, is a genetic skin condition that so many people have. It's different for everyone but basically the keratin in the skin hardens in the hair follicles and forms little plugs, which are the bumps you feel. It's more common in people with dry skin and people with eczema. It gets worse in the winter because we are usually dryer then. Sometimes you can experience redness in the areas of the bumps.

What can you do to help it? Exfoliation is key! Whether it is mechanical or chemical, it is best to stay exfoliated and then moisturized to reduce the bumpiness and severity of KP. One of my favorite brands Dermadoctor, makes a product line called KP Duty' designed for KP and two of them are sold at ULTA. Click here to look more! The first is a scrub that gives dual exfoliation due to the physical scrub and the addition of a chemical exfoliant that will help break down the skin cells. There is also ingredients that soothe the skin which is wonderful. The second product is a moisturizer with a chemical exfoliant in it to further help the exfoliation process while still moisturizing the skin. While I recommend both of these products for the body, I would make sure to use products specifically designed for the face if you suffer from KP on the face. 

I hope this helps you if you've ever wondered something similar to this! As usual, if you ever have questions, please feel free to ask! Your question might make it into a post if I feel it could benefit many!

Have a beautiful start to your week,

Dre

Dre Does a Nighttime Skincare Routine

I'm back with my nighttime skincare routine. I know it looks like a lot, but I don't use all of these products every night as you'll see shortly. Once again let me reiterate that this is just a guide for the types of products and steps that could be useful in a routine for you. This is what I personally like and as an almost licensed esthetician... (less than a month till I take boards!!) this is what works for me! If you missed my morning skincare routine or want to know what my skin type is, click here. 

Step 1: Cleansing is one of the most important things you can do for your skin. If you're going to do the bare minimum, please at least do this. I use the Aveda Enbrightenment Brightening Cleanser. Refer back to my morning skincare routine for more on it.

Step 2: Exfoliating is key for managing many different skin types. I do this step just at night because I find it's often enough for my skin. I use the Aveda Liquid Exfoliant because it is a chemical exfoliant which basically means it dissolves and breaks down the dead skin cells instead of your traditional mechanical exfoliant that scrubs and sloughs them off. Chemical exfoliants are great for areas of acne because there is no scrubbing involved so they are gentler on sensitive areas. I feel like adding this product in has helped my skin tremendously. For my post on why exfoliating is important click here. 

Step 3: Once again toning is in my routine because it's important to balance the pH of your skin. For more on this refer back to my morning skincare routine.

Step 4: Treatment! This is the main focus of my nighttime routine. I have three products listed but I don't use them all every night. This is where I really try to listen to what my skin needs and use products accordingly. First off I have my Aveda Enbrightenment Brightening Correcting Serum. If I'm working on fading any hyperpigmentation or discoloration (which I usually am...haha) I press the smallest amount of this serum into those areas of unevenness. Next, is the tarte Pure Maracuja Oil. I've been trying out a sample of this from Sephora for awhile and I'm loving it. Just 3 drops all over my skin and it feels so much softer when I wake up in the morning. It's supposed to help with fine lines and evening out skin tone, so I'll keep you updated on that. So far my skin seems to be loving it. Lastly, if I notice my Ezcema flaring up on my cheeks, I'll use a little bit of my Aveda Beautifying Composition oil on it. It's amazing at dealing with Ezcema and I just skip the moisturizing in that area since it's enough of a moisturizer. 

Step 5: Lastly, just like any skincare routine, we have moisturizing. I use the tiniest amount of the Enbrightenment Brighting Correcting Creme even though I have oily skin because I'm just going to sleep and especially with this winter weather, I feel like it gives my skin the hydration it needs. As it starts to warm up and my skin returns to its more oily state, I'll probably switch back to the Embrightenment Brightening Correcting Lotion I mentioned in my morning routine. 

Prevention is key is skincare. These may seem like a lot of products but as an esthetician with skin cancer in her family history, I want to take care of the only skin I'm going to get. The skin is the largest organ in the body and it can tell you a lot about your health so it shouldn't be skipped when living a healthy lifestyle. As usual, if you have any questions please let me know. A lot of you have been reaching out to me recently with questions and I love helping answer them! 

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does February Favorites

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Happy March friends! We're officially one month closer to spring and warmer weather! While that is one of my favorites I'm here with the things I loved most in the month of February. 

1. tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara: In February, tarte sent out a coupon code for valentines day so I took the opportunity to pick up their Christmas gift set I had wanted since it was already marked down. It came with two of these mascaras and I'm obsessed. It lengthens and volumizes so well and I feel like it holds curl really well too. The only con is that it's a little more difficult to get off at night than some of my other favorite mascaras but it's nothing compared to Benefit's They're Real, so that's good. I gave my sister a tarte eye set for Christmas and this came in it and she's obsessed too! While it is $19, I think it's a great mascara to keep on hand even if you use it only for special occasions. 

2. Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstic in 01: I love the finish of these lipsticks. Great pigmentation and they really do stay on for a long time. I love the finish because it's a happy mix of matte and gloss but I'd say they lean more to matte side. Whenever I wear this shade I get compliments and people think it's a really high end lipstick. So if you're daring enough to try something bold, go out to your local drugstore and pick this one up. I haven't tried the matte line by Kate yet, but after such success with the Lasting Finish line, I know it won't be long. 

3. Aveda Botanical Kinetics Liquid Exfoliant: I'm working on a few posts dedicated to my skin care routine so I'll go more in depth about this product there, but I recently added this chemical exfoliant to my night time routine and I think it's helping tremendously with getting rid of the acne and scarring on my chin. If you're new to exfoliation, check out my post on why it's so important here.

4. Bubble baths: We can't rid our lives of stress, but we can work on how we manage it so it doesn't affect our mind, body, skin, and everything inbetween. Bubble baths are one of my favorite stress management techniques. I made a promise to myself that is was going to take more of them in 2014 and so far I'm doing pretty well. If you're having trouble sleeping at night, try a bath beforehand to calm and relax you. 

5. MAC Cosmetics Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Superb: How does one stay away from beautifully packaged Rose Gold products? Don't look at me for the answer because I took one glance at the MAC counter and I was sold. Right now since I'm a little paler, I love using a little of this with a matte blush to give me more of a glow. I think in the summer time though this would make an amazing highlight for bronzed skin. I'll keep you updated on that if we ever see the sun again here in Michigan...

6. Thank You Power by Deborah Norville: My dad gave me this book for Christmas and I absolutely loved it. It's a quick and easy read about focusing more on our gratitude in all aspects of life because situations will not only turn out better for us, but we will be much happier. It's filled with many short stories and examples of how thank you power has helped others in all kinds of problems, big and small. I really recommend reading it. We can't control the things that happen to us, but we can control our attitude while we handle them. Gratitude plays a huge part in making us stronger through the tough times. 

7. Sharpie Pens: I'm not really sure how I survived life before these guys, but they are the only pens I will use. I love how they come in many colors so that my planner can be super organized. Just stay away from the clickable ones because I find those dry out faster. I like the simple skinny ones with the caps.

8. tarte Lipsurgence Lip Cremes: This set of 4 came with that Christmas set I mentioned earlier and I'm obsessed with them. The Lipsurgence line has multiple finishes but this is by far my favorite one so far. Great pigmentation with just enough gloss to keep your lips moisturized. I especially love the shade because it's a dark brown nude that I honestly might never have tried if it hadn't come in this set. It's a great color if you want something besides red to stand out boldly. I'm excited to try more shades like this.

9. Stila's Stay All Day waterproof liquid eye liner in Intense Black: I had been hearing tons of great things about this eyeliner so I decided to pick it up last time I was in Ulta. It has the best staying power I've ever seen in a liquid eyeliner which is exactly what I need when I'm doing more dramatic cat eye looks. I also love how fine the felt tip is so you can get a really precise and thin wing. I'm curious to see how long it lasts before drying up though, so I'll keep you updated on that! 

What were your favorites this month? Leave me a comment below if you're loving something you think I should try. I'm always excited to hear what others are loving at the moment!

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does a Quick Tip

Happy Monday!

I'm here with a quick tip dealing with dehydration and exfoliation. As I previously wrote about, you can check your skin to see if you're dehydrated. Click here if you missed that post where I show you a cool trick to do it yourself. I recommended water intake of at least half your body weight in ounces every day. If you're drinking this much water but still finding that your skin seems dehydrated, this is a sign that something else is the issue. A huge reason for this could be that you need a good exfoliation. If you have a lot of dead skin cells sitting on the surface of your skin, it doesn't matter how much water you drink, you will not hydrate that top layer. So I recommend giving your skin a good exfoliation. I also recently did a post on exfoliation that describes it's importance and what happens to the skin cells as they reach the surface. Click here if you'd like to read about that!

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does Exfoliation

I can't stress enough how important exfoliation is. In order for us to have healthy and glowing skin, skin cell turnover must be healthy. When new skin cells are formed at the base and deepest layers of skin they are round and full of nutrients. As they slowly make their way to the outermost layers of your skin, they become flattened and slowly lose water and nutrients. When they reach the surface they are dry dead skin cells that are ready to be sloughed off. 

Your body has a natural process to get rid of these cells called desquamation, but various factors can affect it. As we age this cycle slows down. It takes longer for these cells to reach the surface and by the time they make it to the surface they are usually extremely dry and flat. This is why most mature skin is super dry. Sometimes if you have oily skin, dead skin cells can get trapped in your pores and lead to blackheads. The oil kind of acts like glue and cells stick to it. 

For these reasons, it's extremely important to exfoliate. Getting all of those dead skin cells off the surface and pulling them out of your pores is crucial. You need the oil in your pores to help protect your skin so you don't want to get rid of it, which is why exfoliation is great for this.

Cell turnover is also extremely important for anyone with hyperpigmentation (dark spots) or discoloration resulting from old blemishes. Exfoliating will aid in helping the appearance of these spots fade as cells are being sloughed off. 

While I've talked mostly about your face, let's not forget the body! It's important that you are using a scrub in the shower too. Exfoliating areas where you shave or wax will help with preventing ingrown hairs and ultimately make your skin feel smoother. 

As wonderful as exfoliating is, make sure you don't do it too much! No matter what product you use make sure you are reading the directions. Over exfoliation can cause irritation and harm to your skin. Sometimes we can get the mindset that if something is good for us, the more we do it, the more benefits we will see. However, this is not always the case. 

Have a beautiful day,

Dre