[By Tania Hui]
It is often said that a girl only grow to become a woman by learning from her past mistakes. But if the point is skin care, learning from the experience of your predecessors will be a much wiser route to take. In the flush of youth when you live like there’s no tomorrow, we often take our skin for granted, neglecting good skincare habits and committing skin crimes that comes with a hefty price tag in your latter years. If you are guilty as charged for any of these 5 common beauty mistakes, nip them in the bud to avoid the repercussions of where things will eventually head.
Sun Shiny Days
The big Kahuna of all the skin sins committed in the folly of youth is not paying enough attention to sun protection. We now know that 90% of skin damage happens due to over-exposure to harmful ultraviolet or UV rays. Hence it’s a no brainer that slapping on some SPF whenever you head outdoors is a habit you need to cultivate if you do not want to be covered with mortifying wrinkles and sunspots as you head towards your 30s-40s. Foster a life-long relationship with a trusty broad spectrum sunscreen that works against both UVA and UVB with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 30 or more. Although they may be priced a little higher, having day products with SPF filters (eg: foundation, BB cream, moisturiser) will go a long way with the additional sun protection that they offer.
When unfortunately signs of premature aging such as wrinkles, fine lines, sun spots, patchy discoloration and decreased skin elasticity are already set in stone, your best bet to reverse some of these damages from the indiscretions of youth is with some form of resurfacing lasers. The patented Fraxel® laser technology governing BB Aqua Touch Laser treatment is the first and most extensively studied fractional resurfacing laser, often hailed by experts as the gold standard for ultimate skin renewal. It can be engaged as a primary or adjunct aesthetic treatment to combat the physical signs of skin aging or to age-proof yourself by keeping them in check.The Thulium 1927nm wavelength is the feared nemesis which is more effective at targeting the superficial skin layers for faster clearance of brown pigmented lesions in photo damaged skin, melasma, and aged spots.This unique subablative laser is also found to be effective in improving skin elasticity, reducing enlarged pores and fine wrinkles. As its key strength is its renewal of the superficial layers of the skin, it gives your complexion an instant “photoshop” makeover effect. Each person’s skin is unique, but clinical studies suggest that for most patients looking for improved texture and reduction in prominence of wrinkles and fine lines, satisfactory results can be attained after 3 to 5 sessions done regularly at 4 to 6 weeks’ intervals.
Read More: BB AquaTouch Laser: Airbrush “Photoshop” Skin in Real Life
Not Removing Your Makeup 24/7
If you’re a sleeping beauty who hit the sack with your makeup intact, you’re actually sabotaging your chance of finding a Prince Charming who’s willing to kiss you awake. Sleeping with makeup is a cardinal beauty sin that does an insane amount of damage to your skin. You’re essentially clogging your pores, drying up your skin, and welcoming the invasion of comedones and zits causing bacteria with open arms! No matter how tired or sloshed you may be, reach out in your stupor state for some makeup removal wipes to give your painted face an all-over swipe if you can’t do it thoroughly with makeup remover and double cleansing.
The SW1 SKIN GYM Deep Cleansing Gel is a deep pore gel cleanser that gives all skin types a refreshing workout without upsetting the delicate moisture balance.This gel cleanser transforms into a lightweight, yet powerful cleansing powerhouse on contact with water, leaving no pores unpreened by breaking down and melting away excess sebum, impurities, and all traces of makeup. Skin feels completely clean with a gorgeous afterglow, silky-smooth to the touch, and perfectly nourished all over.
Not Feeding Your Skin Properly
If you’re eating junk food all the time, your waistline is not the only one that’s going to suffer as you’re essentially robbing your skin of protein, antioxidants and other nutrients that are required to keep it happy and healthy looking. You are what you eat— good dietary habits will show themselves on your pretty face and dietary indiscretions will leave their nasty footprints of dermal onslaught all over the place.
“To eat your way to good looking skin, avoid foods with high glycemic index as they cause a sugar rush and sudden insulin spike when consumed. As far as your skin’s health is concerned, sugar in the bloodstream is undesirable as it attaches itself to collagen and elastin fibres in a process known as glycation, and weakens them by doing so,” Explains Dr. Toby Hui, senior medical consultant with the SW1Clinic (formerly known as The Sloane Clinic). “Glycation made these protein fibres dry and brittle, as they ceased to be firm and elastic like how we would like them to be; translating as skin wrinkling, sagging and other signs of premature aging.”
Read More: Dark Eye Circles: Is There Really A Cure?
Second Guessing Your Skin’s Needs
When I started to have breakouts during my teens, I immediately assumed that the zits were caused by oily skin. Playing the expert when I knew next to nothing, in an erroneous bid to dry out my skin as much as possible, I experimented with all kinds of harsh products from Dettol soap to alcohol wipes! Needless to say, my self taught beauty regime backfired.I was totally clueless about my own skin type and just using whatever I can lay my hands on. I could have been using all the wrong products but the thing was, I never knew. On hindsight, I could’ve given my skin a little more TLC, and it could’ve gotten a lot worse, possibly irreversibly damaged, if I had not consulted a dermatologist in time.
“Get your skin type determined with a proper assessment by a beauty expert, be it your aesthetics physician or certified therapist from a reputable spa.” Advises Dr. Toby Hui, senior medical consultant with The SW1Clinic. “Having a correct analysis of your skin type is important as this will determine what products you should be using or avoiding to help realise the full potential of your skin, and bring it to the best condition that it can possibly be.”
Tattoo Gone Awry
Tattoos often seem like a good idea in the moment when you wanted to get yourself some skin graffiti, but tattoo regret is just as common. According to a nation-wide Harris poll done in America in 2016, almost half of people between 18 and 35 have tattoos, and almost one in four regrets it. Based on an estimate of about 60 million people in that age group, that would mean that about 7.5 million people have tattoo regret. Amongst those with tattoo regret, many were done at the spur of the moment when they were young, and at that time put little or no research into their decision. Tattoo removal is a far more complicated, prolonged and expensive procedure compared to having one done, so think twice to be doubly sure before you get yourself permanently inked.
Lasers are by far the safest and most effective way to deal with unwanted tattoos. The laser creates short pulses of intense energy that target the pigment in your tattoo, causing the pigment in the ink to fragment, and thus allows your body’s immune system to remove the ink from your skin. As this is repeated over several sessions, your tattoo will fade and eventually disappear. Dark colours are typically the easiest to remove, but thanks to state-of-the-art Tattoo Removal Pico Laser technology that comes equipped with multiple wavelengths including the prized 694nm Ruby laser, all tattoos can now be treated equally. The Discovery PICO Plus Laser is able to work in picosecond pulses, harnessing triple laser wavelengths in both pico and nano-second pulses, placing it well above its peers with no trouble removing all stubborn ink colours faster and more comfortably than any other technology available on the current market.
Pico second pulsing enables the “PICO Dusting Effect”, which is pulverization of tattoo pigments using ultra-short, pico second laser pulses to shatter ink particles at high pressure. This photo acoustic effect breaks tattoo inks into a fine dust cloud, with dust particles tinier than those fragmented by traditional nanosecond Nd:YAG lasers. Pulverized pigments are absorbed much more efficiently, resulting in speedier elimination of the ink particles by the body. The ultra-short bursts also mean even lesser thermal damage to surrounding normal tissue, thus there is lesser erythema and swelling compared to its traditional counterpart, dramatically reducing the risks of scarring.