Dermalogica Skincare Blog

You may be wondering why you would need to ‘pre-cleanse’ your skin, especially if you feel that your cleanser should do the job on its own. Pre-cleansing can, however, offer a number of benefits that make it a step you would find well worth your while to integrate into your skin care regime.

Dermalogica’s Precleanse is designed to prepare the skin for deep cleansing by dissolving make-up, sun cream, pollution and sebum. When you apply it to the skin, all the impurities on the surface are emulsified and can be rinsed away to leave your skin ready for the next step of cleansing deep into your pores.

Pores look and feel clearer, and the skin is softened, soothed and nourished, ensuring that it is in optimum condition for cleansing. If you have skin that is prone to congestion and blemishes, adding this simple step can help you to discover a clearer, much improved complexion.

Once you have rinsed away the Precleanse, follow it by cleansing your skin using your usual Dermalogica cleanser for a deep clean worthy of any skin care professional! Your skin will thank you for it and reward you with a radiant and above all healthy complexion you will not want to hide under layers of make-up!

Sometimes it seems like all the products we use on a daily basis, whether food or cosmetics, now come with a health warning attached. You may remember the scare a few years ago, when links were made between aluminium chlorohydrate in deodorants and breast cancer in women.

While there has been no conclusive evidence to prove a link, it is known that the daily application of such products can result in a build-up of the substance in body tissues. Such a build-up may not cause serious illness, but it can leave your skin dry and irritated, particularly when the deodorant also contains alcohol.

So, if you prefer to err on the side of caution and avoid aluminium chlorohydrate completely, or if you simply want happier skin, you will be pleased to know that Dermalogica’s Environmental Control Deodorant contains neither aluminium chlorohydrate nor alcohol.

Instead, this deodorant uses plant-derived extracts to neutralise body odour and the bacteria that cause it, and it does this without using a synthetic smell to cover up own your body’s. It is easily absorbed into the skin, and leaves no residue, so you will not have to worry about staining your clothes, either!

If you are looking for a simple, effective product that will be kind to your underarms, give this deodorant a try… You won’t be disappointed!

You will be amazed by the difference that Dermalogica’s Overnight Repair Serum can make to your skin, even after just a few days of using it. Perfect for combating signs of ageing, this intensely nourishing serum can be used on its own or in combination with your usual night-time skin treatment to repair your skin while you sleep.

The serum works in several ways:

• Collagen production is stimulated, resulting in improved skin density and a renewed plumpness, causing fine lines to fade
• It improves the natural protective barrier of the skin, reducing moisture loss
• Skin elasticity is boosted
• Skin cell renewal is stimulated
• Pigmentation irregularities are reduced, revealing a more even skin tone
• It reduces the appearance of tiny blood vessels visible through the surface of the skin
• Offers repair and protection from free radicals
• Antimicrobial ingredients reduce the likelihood of breakouts

Thanks to this serum that provides such dramatic results, you will wake up to revitalised skin with renewed luminosity. You may think that such an effective product would cost the earth, and yet the serum offers fantastic value for money: you only need to use between four and six drops a night to see the effects, meaning that you get excellent value from one bottle. Still not convinced? Order a sample with your next order and find out for yourself!

When you read the list of ingredients of many skin care products today, it may seem utterly incomprehensible; all the talk of MMPs, ROS and AGEs, elastin, collagen and skin cell renewal may seem like a load of mumbo-jumbo, and you probably just want your skin care products to fulfil their promises and make your skin look and feel great.

Luckily for us, Dermalogica have done the hard work for us, looking at the three major causes of skin ageing (see previous article) and then using this knowledge to formulate a skin care regimen that both protects and repairs ageing skin. The result is the AGE Smart System, which is a range of products to be used morning and night to leave your skin looking smooth, bright and firm.

The range includes everything you need to cater to your skin’s needs:
• Skin Resurfacing Cleanser
• Antioxidant HydraMist
• Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque
• Multivitamin Power Firm
• Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF 30
• MAP-15 Regenerator
• Renewal Lip Complex

This range is ideal for skin that is dry or showing signs of premature ageing, with most people finding that their skin shows signs of improvement within days of starting to use the range of products.

We are all familiar with the signs of ageing skin: wrinkles and fine lines, irregular skin tone, loss of firmness and elasticity… These are signs that many of us dread and that most of us will try to slow down.
Until fairly recently, scientists were not aware of the biochemical mechanisms at the root of these changes; now they have been identified, however, it is easier to understand how they can be controlled.
There are three main biochemical mechanisms that lead to skin ageing:

1. Reactive Oxygen Species (a.k.a. free radicals). They are oxygen molecules produced by exposure to UV rays and pollution. They have been proven to destabilise skin cell molecules and attack collagen and elastin fibres. The result is skin that is unable to repair itself efficiently and the appearance of lines.

2. Matrix Metalloproteinasis (or, MMPs)are proenzymes secreted by the body that require extracellular activation which comes in the shape of our old friend the sun, although inflammation can have a similar effect. Once activated, they attack the collagen fibres in the skin and interfere with collagen synthesis.

3. Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs) are produced when collagen interacts with glucose. Now glucose is essential in providing energy for our cells, but AGEs can cause skin to develop the signs of ageing we all recognise by accelerating the formation of fine lines and wrinkles, and reducing skin cell renewal and elasticity.

Luckily, Dermalogica have developed skincare products specifically designed to target these three causes of skin ageing, and the next article will look at how these AGE Smart products can help.