Skincare Secrets of the Original Supermodels from The 90s

Beauty Insider,Beauty Tips,Face & Body Care,Features,Tried & Tested |

January 26, 2018

(Photo Credit: Versace VersaceVersace— Spring Summer 2018 Ad Campaign)

[By Trinity B. Lexington]

To commemorate the 20th year of passing of fashion legend Gianni Versace, Donatella delved into the archives and presented a wonderfully nostalgic collection that pays homage to the late couturier’s legacy. The cherry on the cake was the surprising grand finale which rounded up 5 of the original supermodels favored by Gianni in the 90s – Naomi (Campbell), Cindy (Crawford), Claudia (Schiffer), Carla (Bruni) and Helena (Christensen).

Decked in iconic Versace gold chainmail dresses, these 5 statuesque ladies with an average age of 50 certainly know a thing or two about everlasting beauty, holding their own against the new girls led by Kendall and the Hadid sisters. While we might not be genetically blessed with mile long legs of Amazonian proportions, looking good is very much an equal opportunity. Here’s a rundown of the skincare secret each of them swear by to maintain her youthful appearance, proving that age is but a number if you approach it right.

Curb you sweet tooth for better skin

Madonna, Cher, Barbra, Twiggy. When you are known by your first name in the industry, you can be sure that you’re right up there amongst the elite, and Naomi is one of such in the disposable world of fashion. Although she infamously told Playboy in 1999, “I never diet. I smoke. I drink now and then, I never work out. I work very hard and I am worth every cent”, Naomi pointed out that she steer clear of sugar as best as she could.Refined sugar and other simple carbohydrates with high glycemic index such as white bread and soda leads to a spike in insulin levels and set forth a burst of inflammation throughout the body.

“Sugar in the bloodstream attaches to protein in a process known as glycation,” explains Dr. Toby Hui, senior medical consultant with the SW1 Clinic (formerly from The Sloane Clinic). “When this happen to the protein fibers collagen and elastin which help to keep our skin firm and elastic, they become dry and brittle, leading to signs of premature aging such as wrinkles and sagging. Simple carbs also messes up the immune system and exacerbates skin conditions such as acne and rosacea.”

To help retain a youthful complexion for as long as possible, aim to keep your blood sugar levels consistent with low-glycemic, high protein food, consumed in small divided portions to avoid insulin spikes and the nasty dermal destruction that comes with it.

Big hair must care

While the most frequently quoted supermodel one-liner got to be Linda Evangelista’s “We don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day.”, Cindy Crawford’s “Even I don’t wake up looking like Cindy Crawford.” is perhaps the most useful piece of advice dished out by the glamazons of the 1990s.

Speaking to InStyle magazine in 2016, Cindy remarked, “I think people always want that quick fix, but to me it’s about consistency. I didn’t just start working out; I began when I was 20. Working out, getting enough sleep, not smoking—all of these things are cumulative. You may not see those results in a week or even a month, but in a year, and with consistency, you will. It’s about maintenance. That’s my approach on how to handle aging.”

As a mother and mentor to up and coming model du jour, Kaia Gerber, Cindy advocates sunscreen use, proper removal of makeup before bedtime, and not taking your hair for granted.

In recent years, laser light therapy has gained momentum as an effective treatment of hair loss. The FDA approved Revage 670 Laser, either as a standalone treatment or paired with Revitascalp in the Keramax Scalp Program, is widely recognized as the gold standard to treat your follicular woes, maintaining existing hair volume and rejuvenating thinning hair to nothing short of resplendent. With a total of 30 laser diodes, Revage provides critical coherent beams as a direct source of low level laser energy in a hood that goes over the scalp to ensure maximum contact with the areas to be treated. Scientific studies done reported an 85% success rate in halting hair loss, with an almost 40% of increased fullness reported. Revage is therefore not just a treatment that targets current hair thinning, it’s also useful to help prevent further hair loss, providing the perfect solution to keep your tresses as healthy and glorious looking as they can possibly be.

Exfoliate to glow

With more than a thousand covers scored throughout her illustrious modeling career, German bombshell Claudia Schiffer lays claim as the living mannequin with the most magazine covers in the Guinness Book of World Records. Looking closer to 27 than her actual age of 47, the eponymous Guessgirl and one time muse to Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel has a surprisingly simple skincare regime.

“It’s all about exfoliation,” Claudia revealed to Glamour magazine earlier in March’17. “My favorite is Clinique for Men Face Scrub, because it has enough grittiness to actually make a difference and gives skin a refreshing tingle. I use it at least two to three times a week.”

If you aren’t already a devotee to this beauty mantra, it’s about time to make it so! Exfoliating your skin regularly helps remove dry skin cells that may be clogging up your pores. It will also help to make the openings of those pesky pores appear a little more shallow compared to those coated with a layer of girt. From the premium line of doctor-inspired, medical grade CHAI skincare products available online from the SW1 Shop, the GOLD FLAKES Illuminating Facial Scrub is a unique exfoliator bursting with powerful antioxidants from champagne and pearl extracts, working in overdrive against free radicals and air pollutants ravaging your skin. This vitaminized facial scrub gently exfoliates to buff away dry skin flakes while infusing vitamins A, C and E to condition the skin and keep it well nourished. Regular use helps to minimize pore size,reduce the appearance of fine lines, refine texture and reduce oil control all at one go, helping to keep your complexion positively radiant with a supermodel’s glow.

Lasers befitting for a First Lady

Turning 50 this year, former first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy shares her fear for wrinkles but do not want to have a strange face. Sharing her quintessential French wisdom on how to preserve one’s beauty, the supermodel turned singer-songwriter “had ‘several times’ laser, ‘does not the sun’ and exchanged fine cigarette to an electronic version. A bit of gym, bit of alcohol and lots of sleep.”

Worried that your cloudy complexion is preventing your natural beauty and personality to shine through as you aged? SmartX Lite can easily breathe new life into your otherwise tepid skin tone, especially when done over a series of comfortable, low down-time sessions in the Dazzling Skin Program. Complexion-transforming carbon dioxide laser delivered in an airbrush micro-spray pave the way to deep dermal benefits without any overt tell-tale downtime. With instantaneous stimulation of your skin’s natural cell renewal cycle, SmartX Lite laser treatment enhances skin texture and elasticity and improves upon uneven skin tone, blemishes and fine lines all at the same time. With 6 sessions recommended to be done at monthly interval with alternating Pearl Éclat Sonophoresis treatment and LED Red photomodulation therapy, this deceptively simple program engages not one but three ‘glow-getters’ to address your dermal needs, leaving your skin confidently rejuvenated against the test of time.

Supplement from within

Although she had switched places and is more likely to found behind and not in front of the lens these days, Danish supermodel Helena Christensen is nevertheless as camera ready as her Victoria’s Secret days. Besides being a firm believer of a good skincare regime to keep the signs of aging at bay, Helena champions supplementing from within. ‘I’m taking care of my insides and my outsides, and that’s the best I can do.”Says Helena in an interview with Allure.

Amongst the many new health supplements flooding consumer’s market, a standout product with exceptional dermal benefits is FDA approved Crystal Tomato, a once-a-day oral skin supplement that contains ‘colorless carotenoids’ extracted from a unique breed of non-genetically modified white tomatoes. These colorless carotenoids will not result in skin discoloration and is a potent, naturally occurring ingredient for skin brightening. L-cysteine, another active ingredient, is an amino acid which activates the natural production of glutathione to further boost the lightening of dark pigmentation and patchy skin discoloration for desired skin clarity from head to toe.