Skin Care Confusion: Getting to Know Skin Care Formulas

By far, the most common customer questions we receive are about HOW MANY skin care formulas are out there. Which ones are truly necessary? How many do I need and what order do I apply them? The marketing we see on a daily basis leads us to believe if we aren’t using this miracle serum or that wrinkle-busting cream we are missing out on the latest skin care miracle. With a new one every week, how different can it really be?
Can it be worth these enormous retail prices? Is it all just glossy marketing?

We asked Dr. Hannah to give us the breakdown of what these formulas really are (or are supposed to be).

Below that we will go over “skin care routines” and what order to use your skin care.

Cream

Emulsion of oil and water in approximately equal proportions. Penetrates stratum corneum outer layer of skin well. Both oil soluble and water soluble actives can be used.

Lotion
A lotion is a low viscosity topical preparation intended for application to unbroken skin. By contrast, creams have higher viscosity than lotions.

Gel
A gel is a jelly-like material that can have properties ranging from soft and weak to hard and tough. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute cross-linked system, which exhibits no flow when in the steady-state. By weight, gels are mostly liquid, yet they behave like solids because the polymers dissolved in the water form a three-dimensional cross-linked network within the liquid. It is the crosslinking within the fluid that give a gel its structure and contribute to the adhesive stick. Because viscosity of the gel depends on the interaction between the solid and water, it can change greatly by adding even small amounts of salts or other ingredients.

Serum
In the skin care industry, “serum” is a fancy term for lotion, with oil and water components that vary.  Serum is a word borrowed from medicine, to suggest the idea of something strong that can benefit your skin. The usual meaning is less fancy: a blood derived liquid, plasma, from which the clotting factors have been removed. The industry steals many terms from medicine and science in general. Because by the FDA definition a cosmetic cannot be claimed to change skin physiology, the medical-sounding terminology is used to convey the idea of a medical benefit without annoying the FDA.

Toner
A toner is a liquid, mostly water but with additions, used to remove rests of oils and sebum, stripping the skin from oily substances. But oil has a purpose: it lubricates and hydrates the skin. People think oil means they’re dirty, not true at all. Photoshop has also convienced people (women mostly) that the skin is supposed to be opaque and not glossy.

Exfoliants
Resurface your skin and get the “smooth feel” but beware of the cost to your skin. There are three ways of exfoliating your skin: physical (like crystals used in micro-exfoliation), chemical peels, and enzymatic peels. At Skin Actives we have products that use these three methodologies while preserving skin health.

Acids
Chemical peels are acid solutions that will break down the proteins in the most external layers of the skin when used with caution (if used without great caution they will burn the skin). Our TCA spot peel is the strongest we offer, for those pesky hyperpigmentation spots that will not go away with anything else. Use as directed and you will do well. We have a milder form of chemical peel, our Alpha Beta Exfoliator, which can be used on face, décolleté and hands without problems. It will provide an “invisible” peel, and you will have satisfyingly smooth skin without down time or visible peeling. Our Vitamin C Serum with its low pH will leave your skin feeling smooth.

Proteases
Have you ever used meat tenderizer? Do you use cold water washing powder for your clothes? How about contact lens cleansers? If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, then you have used proteases. Meat tenderizer contains papain. Cold water washing liquid has subtilisin to break down proteins that stain your clothes. And strong contact lens cleansers also contain subtilisin. Proteases are proteins with enzymatic activity; they can break down very specific bonds linking amino acids in proteins, breaking down those proteins into pieces. Proteases will not penetrate very far at all, so they are very safe. A warning for those of us with a tendency to develop allergies: please take into account that many people become allergic to some proteases, especially papain and subtilisin (this is why I use protease free liquid to wash my clothes). When applied to skin, proteases with the right specificity will hydrolyze the proteins in the most superficial layers of the skin, exfoliating dead skin cells and impurities. Exfoliation will help keep your pores open and free of blackheads and acne.

Sunscreen
This is a lotion that contains ingredients capable of absorbing or reflecting UV radiation before it reaches the skin to prevent burning and aging.

What is the perfect “routine” or “regime” for my skin?