MY CLARISONIC

Estheticians love tools – especially tools that provide exfoliation options.  Have you heard of the Clarisonic?  I am in love with mine.  It is so much more than an ordinary exfoliating device – it’s like a hand-held facial massage tool.  The Clarisonic was created by Sonicare, the same company that brought us the Sonic toothbrush technology.

 

Under the chemical or mechanical exfoliating categories, the Clarisonic would be a form of mechanical exfoliation, along with physical scrubs (granular bead-like ingredients), hand-held brushes, ultrasonic skin spatulas and microdermabrasion.  Unlike the standard esthetic rotary brush, which turns in one constant direction, it moves in several different directions at once.   In fact the Clarisonic micro-massage technology makes 300 movements per second, to really deep clean the surface of the skin. 

 

Like the Sonicare toothbrush, it is programmed to “beep” at timed intervals to prompt you to move to different areas of the face while cleansing.  For example, on the one-minute setting, you will cleanse your forehead for 20-seconds, your nose/mouth/chin area for 20-seconds, and finish on each side of your cheeks/jawline for 10-seconds each.

 

After using the Clarisonic, your skin feels ultra-clean and smooth, and skin care products penetrate easier and faster.  According to the Clarisonic website, “you will notice an improvement in the appearance of pores, skin tone, fine lines and wrinkles, and absorption of serums and moisturizers.”  The website also shows before-and-after pictures of cleansing manually vs. the Clarisonic.  It was shown that with the Clarisonic, 6 times more makeup was removed than with hand cleansing.

 

There are inter-changeable heads available for the Clarisonic, depending on your skin type and skin condition.  The shortest bristle brush is the Regular Brush Head, suitable for normal skin, décolleté and body; the medium bristle is the Sensitive Brush Head for sensitive to normal skin; the longest bristle is the Delicate Brush Head for delicate or sensitive skin.  There is also a new brush head called the Spot Therapy Brush Head for areas of the body that may need extra attention, such as the décolleté, arms, legs, elbows and feet.  It is recommended to replace the brush heads after 3-4 months of twice daily usage.

 

For personal use, the manufacturers of Clarisonic say that it can be used twice daily.  For those clients who like the Clarisonic at home, I recommend oilier skin types use it only 2-4 times a week; normal to dry types may use it more often.  I am an oilier skin type, so I use it 2-4 times a week to help keep my pores clear and my skin smooth.  I will also use it at 3 or 4 days post-chemical peel, when my face is no longer sensitive and the first flakes start to appear on my skin surface.

 

 

There are a couple of different ways estheticians can use the Clarisonic in their practice, including retailing the product to clients.  Because the mark up is relatively low and the retail price is relatively high for an at-home treatment, I generally prefer to keep the Clarisonic as a back bar modality.  When performing a relaxing facial, set the brush to turn off the timed beeps which might be distracting to your client on the bed.  My favorite way to use the device is during my second cleanse, before a chemical peel procedure, to enhance penetration of the peel (NOTrecommended for first-time peelers), or I would use it prior to an IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) procedure.  I also like to use it for smoothing keratosis pilaris (the little red bumps that appear on the backs of arms and legs).  I disinfect my brush heads in hospital-grade disinfectant and air dry.

 

As an esthetician considers adding to her treatment arsenal, the Clarisonic makes a very good option, whether you keep it on your back bar to offer your clients something special – or you choose to offer it as a retail item.

 

Photo accessed from google images, 3/23/2009.

HEALTHY SKIN AND INFLAMMATION

Inflammation describes the process by which our body heals itself.  Today, I’m going to discuss two different types of inflammation: Acute and Chronic.  And I’m going to define the role that inflammation plays in influencing the health of our body’s largest organ, the skin.

 

When your body is injured, an entire network of inner response “teams” is immediately triggered to help fix the injury, which is why you will notice swelling, tenderness and redness around the injury site.  This is the process known as Acute inflammation.  Acute inflammation is necessary to help the body heal its injury and protect against infection.  The pain response of acute inflammation is your body’s signal to stop what you are doing, to avoid further damage.

 

Then there is the process known as Chronic inflammation.  When constant injury or insult to our body is allowed to occur on a regular basis, our bodies are in an ongoing battle to combat the acute inflammatory process, which then becomes a chronic condition.  Chronic inflammation can be triggered by stress, being overweight, sun exposure, diet, exposure to pollution, smoking, hormones and disease, among other things.  Over time, excessive chronic inflammation also significantly increases your risk of several life-threatening or degenerative diseases such as arthritis, allergies, asthma, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s (source: Reinagel, Monica. The Inflammation-Free Diet Plan, 2006. McGraw-Hill).

 

So what effect does inflammation have on the health of your skin?

 

We learned the importance of a healthy skin barrier (those outer protective layers of your skin) in my last blog.  Having a healthy skin barrier helps protect you from environmental elements that trigger the inflammatory response in the skin.  However, if left untreated an ongoing inflammatory response will break down a healthy skin barrier. Chronic inflammation in the skin manifests itself with visible skin aging and skin diseases.

 

Acute inflammation happens in the form of sunburn when your skin is exposed to excessive sun without any protection (your skin turns red, feels tender and swells slightly).  But chronic inflammation actually occurs on a daily basis from sun exposure – even if you are not in the sun long enough to sunburn.

 

Applying some topical products, like harsh prescriptions or facial scrubs, can trigger inflammation in the skin as well.  Microdermabrasion and chemical peels will also trigger an acute response in the skin.

 

Keep in mind that not all inflammation in the skin is a bad thing.  Microdermabrasion or chemical peel treatments help remove the superficial outer layers of stratum corneum (the skin barrier), and help move fresh cells to the skin surface.  At the same time, collagen and elastin are stimulated in the dermis, to help plump and support the skin.  But you couldn’t microderm or peel your skin every day, or you could be left with one very damaged skin barrier!  It’s also important to protect your skin after one of these types of treatments, since leaving your skin unprotected invites harmful exposure to environmental elements (sun, microbes and bacteria).

 

People who choose to exfoliate on a daily basis (men exfoliate every time they shave their faces) should consider taking steps to repair and fortify their skin barrier after exfoliation, when freshly exposed skin is most vulnerable to damage or bacteria. 

 

Choose skin care products that are fortified with anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory ingredients that strengthen and protect your skin barrier, to help slow the chronic inflammatory process in the skin.  Make it a habit to wear sunscreen every day; preferably a sunscreen that provides at least SPF 30, and is fortified with antioxidants to help fight free radical damage (remember sun exposure is the number ONE element that causes inflammation and visible aging in our skin).

 

To sum up, some acute inflammation may be helpful to trigger cell turnover and stimulate collagen and elastin, which can help keep our skin looking good – but too much extended and prolonged inflammation creates a damaging chronic process, which contributes to visible skin aging and skin disease.