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We
answer your burning beauty questions
Do you have
a question for us? Check the archive below, and if you don't
find the answer, e-mail
us and we will respond as soon as we can.
[Hair questions: try our Hair Q&A
with Kevin Murphy. Click here.]
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"My
skin used to be oily, but recently it has become very
dry and sensitive. Why is this?" |
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"How
can I reduce irritation from shaving?" |
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"How
can I prevent ingrown hairs on my legs?" |
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"Is there any way to fade freckles and dark spots?" |
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"How
can I improve the condition of damaged hair?" |
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"How
can I reduce acne and chicken pox scars?" |
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"Why
doesn't my foundation sit nicely on my face?" |
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"Do
solariums give you a safe tan?" |
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"What
does a toner do? Do I need to use one?"
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"Until
recently, I always thought my skin was oily. Now all of
a sudden it seems to be dry, flaky, and very sensitive.
Why has this happened? What should I do?" - N.D.,
Sydney |
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You were
using soap or alcohol-based products for your oily skin,
right? My guess is that the alcohol and harsh ingredients
in these products have stripped your skin, removing the
natural protective layer - known as the Acid Mantle. Ordinarily,
the acid mantle helps keep the moisture in your skin,
and protects you from irritation. But when you use alkaline
soaps and harsh alcohols on your skin, the acid mantle
gets stripped away and your skin is left unprotected.
As a result, the skin cannot keep itself hydrated, and
is very sensitive.
The best thing you can
do for your skin is use products that are as gentle
as possible, to give your skin a chance to repair itself.
Try Botani's
Olive
Soothing Kit, which is especially designed to calm
and soothe sensitised skin. |
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"My
skin gets really irritated after shaving, how can I stop
this?" - J.T., Singapore |
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First of
all, make sure that the way you shave isn't making things
worse! Always shave in the direction of hair growth, not
against it. Use lots of shaving cream (Baiame's Kakadu
Plum Shave Foam is excellent, very soothing), so that
the razor doesn't drag on the skin, and use lukewarm water
rather than hot water. And change your razor blade regularly
- a sharp blade means less irritation.
If you're doing all this and your skin is still
getting irritated, you need to look at what to use after
shaving. Steer clear of heavily-perfumed, alcohol-based
aftershave splashes - if it stings, it's not doing you
any good! An oil-free soothing gel such as
A'kin
Pure Emergency Gel, with aloe vera and vitamin B5,
can help to calm irritated skin without making it feel
greasy.
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I
often get ingrown hairs after shaving my legs, how can
I prevent these? - Margaret, Hong Kong |
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Ingrown
hairs occur when the hair is trying to grow out of the
skin, but is prevented from doing so by dead skin cells
or tight clothing and so grows back into the skin. Often
they get infected and start to look like a pimple.
The best thing you can do to prevent ingrown hairs is
to exfoliate your skin regularly. You can do this using
an AHA lotion (such as
Alpha-H Body Zone for the body, or
Alpha-H 10% Glycolic Balancing Moisturiser & Exfoliant
for the face) every day, or using an exfoliating scrub
2-3 times per week (such as
Baiame
Salt Glow or
A'kin
Invigorating Body Scrub). This will allow the hairs to grow out
freely, without being blocked by dead skin cell debris.
It's also a good idea to shave in the direction of hair
growth, rather than against it (i.e. down your leg,
not up) - you might not get as good a shave but your
skin will not get as irritated! You can also use a loofah,
but make sure you keep it in a place where it can dry completely
after use - if it's left damp, it becomes a breeding
ground for bacteria which can make your ingrown hairs
worse!
To fix an infected ingrown hair, don't squeeze it -
you can make the infection worse! Apply an antibacterial
balm three times a day, then once the
redness has gone down you can use one of the AHA
lotions above to dissolve the skin cell build-up.
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Is
there any way to fade freckles and dark spots on my face?
- Richard, QLD |
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Skin pigmentation
is the result of an over-production of melanin, the skin's
brown pigment, in the epidermis. Often it is caused by
sun damage, but it can also occur during pregnancy (known
as "melasma" or "mask of pregnancy")
due to hormones.
If you wish to get rid
of skin pigmentation, above all you need to be wearing
a very high protection sunscreen (eg. SPF30+) every
day, as this will protect your skin against further
pigmentation. In addition to this, you have a few different
options:
- See your doctor or dermatologist for a prescription
for a cream containing hydroquinone, which fades
melanin.
- Have a series of fruit acid peels from a good beauty
salon or dermatologist. This will strip the upper layers
of your skin, hopefully removing the excess melanin
in the process. You may require a series of between
3 and 8 peels before you get the results you want, and
it will probably cost between $60-$80 per peel.
- See a dermatologist about laser
treatment. Note however that this may be quite expensive,
and works best on fair skin.
We also have a couple of products that may help,
before you have to resort to one of the expensive
options above:
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Mirenesse Night Serum Extreme:
Contains a blend of sea acids and retinol. Works by
simultaneously exfoliating the skin and encouraging
it to regenerate itself. |
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Alpha-H 15% Glycolic Hydrating Mask:
Not quite as strong as a salon peel, but works along
similar lines, exfoliating the top layer of skin to
reveal less pigmented layers underneath. |
The above products won't completely get rid of freckles,
but they will speed up the natural fading process. You
would need to use them for at least three to six months, in conjunction
with a very high protection sunscreen EVERY DAY, to
see results.
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I
have dry, damaged hair from a bad perm, and am desperately
trying to get it back into good condition, and grow the
perm out. Any suggestions? - Kristy |
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First of
all, have regular trims - every 4 weeks if you can. That
way you will get rid of the permed hair quicker, plus
your ends won't look all scraggly and frazzled.
Another thing to try is a protein treatment, such as
Kusco-Murphy Intensive Treatment or
Alchemy Macadamia & Wheat Conditioner. Your hair will look and feel soft
and silky!
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I
have some scarring on my face from pimples and chicken
pox. Is there any way of getting rid of or reducing these
scars? - Sharon |
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Probably
the cheapest (and least painful!) way of reducing the
appearance of scars is to use an AHA (alpha-hydroxy acid)
product, like one of those from
Alpha-H. This will help to remove the dead skin
cells on the surface of the skin, eventually revealing
newer (and less scarred) skin underneath. It will probably
take a month or two to see a reduction in the appearance
of the scars, but the appearance will continue to improve
if you keep using the product.
You may also find that
using a product with rose hip oil (such as Eleusian
Rose Hip Regenerative Oil) may help to improve the
scarring. Rose hip oil is rich in fatty acids (linoleic
and linolenic acid) that may assist your skin cells to
"regenerate" faster. I recommend using the rose hip
product at night.
Depending on how severe
the scars are, this method may not completely get rid
of them. If after using the AHAs for several months
you are still concerned about the appearance of the
scars, I would suggest that you see a dermatologist,
as techniques like dermabrasion, laser skin resurfacing
and acid peels can help with scarring. However, since
these methods remove a lot more skin, they will be more
painful and require a longer recovery time.
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Why
doesn’t my foundation sit nicely on my face? I’ve
tried heaps of brands, and even the really expensive ones
look patchy and cakey – they make my skin look worse
instead of better! - Aileen, 32, Warrnambool |
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It's a funny
thing, foundation: we use it to cover imperfect skin,
but the problem is, it looks much better on good skin!
It sounds like you need to use an
exfoliator
regularly – this will help to remove dead skin cells and
make your skin a lot smoother. Also, make
sure that your skin is well moisturised before you apply
your foundation, as this will assist a smooth application.
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A
friend of mine goes to a solarium regularly, and insists
it’s a safe way of getting a tan. Is this true? |
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It most definitely
is not true!! When your skin "tans", it is trying to defend
itself against the damage you are causing it by exposing
it to UV light. Your skin's only natural defence against
harmful UV rays is melanin, a brown-coloured pigment that
gives a "tanned" appearance. The more UV you inflict on
your skin, the more melanin your skin produces - hence,
you get a tan. The tan itself, no matter whether it was
from the sun or a solarium, is the evidence that your
skin is suffering damage. You can still get skin cancer
from solariums, and they will most definitely speed up
the ageing process. If your friend keeps tanning in this
way, she will look like a wrinkly old lizard within 10
years!! The only "safe" tan is one out of a bottle. Wear
sunscreen every day, and fake it instead!
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What
is a toner used for? Should I be using one? - Janet,
26, Bendigo |
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Good question!
The answer differs completely, according to which company
you ask. Some say a toner is used to "exoliate and
de-flake" the skin, some say a toner is to remove
cleanser residue, some say it is to rebalance the skin’s
pH level after cleansing. Others say a toner "tightens"
the pores, and yet others say the purpose of a toner is
simply to "refresh" the skin. So it seems to
depend on what brand of toner you are using as to what
it is supposed to do!
As to whether you need to use one, the jury is still
out, but my opinion is that toners are optional. Many
people use a toner because they like the "fresh" feeling
it gives them, which is as good a reason as any! Certainly,
some toners do have extra skincare benefits by virtue
of special ingredients that may improve moisture levels
or give added radiance. However I would not consider
them as an essential part of your beauty routine –
use one if you like to use one, but otherwise don't
worry too much.
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Do you
have a burning beauty question?
Ask Adore!! Just e-mail
us, and we’ll either answer it on this page or give
you a personal response as soon as we can.
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