Toners, Clarifiers, Astringents – Oh, my!

Do you really need to use a toner, clarifier or astringent?  Are any of these products really a required part of your personal skin regimen?  My answer is: well, it depends…

 

It depends on why you feel you need to use one of these products – do you feel you need an extra step to help with excess sebum production, or help clear blackheads, or help smooth your skin texture?  Or, do you feel you need a little extra boost of moisture, or something to help calm your itchy, sensitive skin?

 

Astringents were developed back in the days when most of us used bar soaps or Noxzema to cleanse our skin.  Bar soaps are so highly alkaline (our skin barrier is actually slightly acidic), astringents were formulated at a low pH to restore the skin’s acid mantle and help prepare the skin for the next treatment product or moisturizer.  Now, we have many pH-balanced cleansers to choose from, and if you are already using a pH-balanced cleanser, an astringent (now also known as a toner, clarifier, refiner or freshener) is really an optional step in your skin care regimen. 

 

Toners help remove excess cleanser or residue left after cleansing.  Well-formulated toners also contain humectant, anti-oxidant and anti-irritant ingredients, and help soothe sensitive skin.  Toners for oily/acne skin used in place of a moisturizer are also an easy step for teens who like to keep a simple skin care routine. The proper way to use a toner is to apply after cleansing, before serum or moisturizer.

 

Toners for drier/sensitive skin types will contain humectants, which attract moisture to the skin, and other soothing ingredients.  Look for ingredients such as butylene glycol, sorbitol, glycerin, bisabolol, azulene, chamomile, cucumber and date fruit extract.  Notable toners for drier or sensitive skin types include Epionce Rebalancing Clarifier, Paula’s Choice Moisture Boost Hydrating Toner, and SkinCeuticals Revitalizing Toner.

 

Toners for oilier skin types may have a temporary tightening effect on pore appearance, and contain ingredients that help control excess sebum production and kill surface microbes.  Look for ingredients such as witch hazel, grape seed extract, salicylic acid, willow bark extract, and citrus extracts such as lime, lemon or orange.  Notable toners for oilier or acne-prone skin types include Epionce Purifying Lytic Toner, Murad Clarifying Toner, and Paula’s Choice Healthy Skin Refreshing Toner.

 

Toners that contain ingredients such as glycolic or lactic acid also help to encourage cell turnover (when in a pH of less than 4), and are great for anti-aging and skin smoothing benefits.

 

To sum it all up, some people, including me, consider toner or clarifier an optional step; others want to have that little extra step to complete their skin regimen.  There are days, after I’ve shaved my legs or in the colder winter months, when I need a little extra boost of soothing moisture from Epionce Rebalancing Clarifier (it really helps itchy, dry skin).  And there are those “hormonal” days when I need a little spot treatment with Epionce Purifying Lytic Toner.  It really depends on you to decide what works best for you!

Special Skin Care Concerns – Treating Asian Skin

Our Japanese partners from Osaka were visiting our corporate office last week and I got to perform a facial on one of the women on the team, which was a very special privilege for me.  Here in Boise, I don’t get many chances to work on Asian skin very often.

 

Asian skin is very delicate skin, and Asian women are very concerned about keeping their skin as light as possible.  Products that help with hyperpigmentation are highly regarded and coveted especially in the Japanese-Asian skin care market – but those pigmentation treatment products must also be formulated for very sensitive skin as well. 

 

Years ago, renowned dermatologist Dr. Thomas Fitzpatrick created a way to classify skin type by the tendency to burn or tan when exposed to the sun.  This Fitzpatrick skin typing helped the skin care professional determine which types of treatments would be safe for certain skin colors, such as aggressive chemical peels or laser procedures.  The Fitzpatrick scale ranges from Type I, the fairest skin most susceptible to sunburn and sun damage, to Type VI, the darkest skin most resistant to sunburn and sun damage.  As well, darker skin types tend to be the most susceptible to pigmentation disorders, such as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (after a blemish or scab has cleared), or melasma.  Although Japanese skin is very fair, it must be treated as Fitzpatrick V, due to the tendency for sensitive Japanese skin to pigment easily.  Aggressive peels and laser protocols must be used cautiously as well.

 

Visible pigment is triggered by an inflammatory response in the skin, so it is important for Asian skin to use gentle products that help calm inflammation in the skin.  Remember that living life every day exposes your skin to factors that contribute to inflammation – from sun exposure and pollution to lifestyle and diet.  Skin care products that use a combination of anti-inflammatory ingredients along with antioxidants (to help protect against free radical damage) help to calm the inflammatory process, which in turn helps improve the appearance of visible pigmentation.

 

My lovely Asian “client” had beautiful skin to begin with, so I concentrated on giving her a gentle but thorough cleansing with Epionce® Milky Lotion Cleanser followed by Epionce® Gentle Foaming Cleanser, using my ultrasonic spatula for very light removal of dead surface cells.  I infused Epionce® Lite Lytic with ultrasound to further deep clean her pores, reduce any redness, and smooth her skin texture.  I followed with an application of Epionce® Enriched Firming Mask to add hydration and further soothe her skin.  While she masked and relaxed, I performed a hand treatment using Epionce® Rebalancing Clarifier and Epionce® Renewal Body Lotion, slipping her hands inside warm mitts.  We finished the facial with a light application of Epionce® Rebalancing Clarifier, Epionce® Renewal Eye Cream, Epionce® Renewal Facial Lotion and Epionce® Active Shield Lotion SPF30+.  She looked absolutely radiant when we were done!

 

The Japanese skin care market has the most stringent regulations in the world regarding ingredient formulations, and products imported from the US must undergo very extensive testing before they are brought into the Japanese market.  This process could take years before a US skin care manufacturer is allowed to retail its products in Japan. 

 

Epionce® products, formulated to nourish the skin with a blend of botanicals and antioxidants, and help calm inflammation in the skin, will be introduced to the Japanese market in the fall of 2008.

Other “beauty blog” sites

I found an interesting beauty blog website last week — it looked legitimate enough when I first started reading.  There were many different “consumer reviews,” including positive, negative and neutral posts on many different skin care lines — like Obagi, Skin Medica, Epionce, Dermalogica.  But it became quite apparent to me after reading several of the reviews that the website was in fact a sponsored website, obviously skewed in the direction of the sponsored product.

So what I would like to point out to the general public is this: when reading a weblog — do make sure that the “facts” and the “reviews” you are reading are true facts and true reviews, not fabricated “reviews” made up by some busy corporate marketing department.

I clicked on the links on this particular website, to try to find out more information about their touted ingredients, Matrixyl 3000 and Argireline.  I wrote to the company for more information on their “clinical results” and asked these questions:

• May I have information on your clinical studies?
• Were these double-blind, controlled clinical studies?
• What were the parameters tested (ie, fine lines and wrinkles, pigmentation, skin clarity, etc)?
• What was tested, the individual ingredient or the finished formula?  What was it tested against (placebo, regular moisturizer, glycerin, etc)?
• How long were the tests conducted?  How many participants were tested?

So … I eagerly awaited my email response … and recieved a form email which was basically another advertisement for Matrixyl 3000 and Argireline … NO answers whatsoever to any of the specific questions I asked — and “we hope this answers all your questions regarding x-y-z product.  Please feel free to contact us with any other questions or concerns that you may have concerning this product.”  Yeah, WHATEVER — thanks for nothing!!

Here’s a fun fact: Of all the ingredients the FDA tests for cosmetics, only 1 out of 350 ingredients actually have activity in the skin when mixed in a formula — so BUYER BEWARE!  Remember, it’s more than does the product feel good and smell good — does the product actually work?

So I used a different sunscreen this weekend …

I am known in the family as the “sunscreen Nazi.”  I spent my childhood summers on the beaches of Southern California, and I’ve now spent the last 10 years trying to undo all that damage (for me, as well as a ton of other women my age who spent their childhoods worshipping the sun)– so I try very hard to make sure my children and the rest of my family are well-protected against the sun (try explaining to your 18-year old daughter that “pale” is really the new “tan”).

Every day without fail, my morning routine includes applying Epionce Active Shield SPF 30+ to my face and neck, followed by a dusting of mineral makeup (with natural SPF 20).  I love Active Shield with micronized zinc oxide, homosalate and octisalate — it absorbs very well and it has just enough moisture for my oily skin that I don’t need a separate moisturizer product in the morning.  The tube is only 2.5 oz though, so I generally don’t use it on the rest of my body — I use a different product to cover body parts.

We went on our first river rafting trip on the Fourth of July, and I bought several different types of my favorite body sunscreen from Neutrogena to protect the family.  I purchased Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock SPF 45, along with Active Breathable Sunblock SPF 30 and Ultra Sheer Body Mist SPF 45.  I was intrigued by Age Shield Face SPF 55 with Helioplex technology (a combination of Avobenzone and Octisalate which helps boost UVA protection), so I decided to try it on my face that day … Well, unfortunately by the afternoon, my eyes wouldn’t stop watering (I thought it might have been the wind on the river) — then by the drive home, I was burning and tearing and fogging up (I wear contact lenses and didn’t pack glasses like I should have).  I couldn’t wait to get home, cleanse my face, and put in a new set of contacts.  After I cleansed, I finally felt better.  The rest of my skin was fine; in fact, I was the only one with a weird reaction to any of the sunscreens.  I think it might have been the Avobenzone that irritated my eyes — it is a good broad-spectrum sunscreen ingredient, but it does tend to cause reactions in some people (never happened to me before).

So … I’m going back to my tried and true Epionce Active Shield SPF 30+ for my face … and I will stick with Neutrogena for the rest of my body.