The relationship between beauty and skin health

Scientifically adapted beauty practices are a gain for skin health, while wrong beauty practices that exceed skin tolerance are the number one killer of skin health. The two are neither bound to cause and effect (beauty does not mean good skin), nor are they contradictory (pursuit of skin health does not mean that beauty must be completely rejected).

Last month, a friend who worked in the dermatology department of a tertiary hospital complained to me about a 28-year-old Internet operator who, in order to catch up with the trend of "anti-aging as early as possible", went to a private beauty salon once a week for a high-concentration salicylic acid acid treatment. When he got home, he used a home radio frequency device on his face every day, and applied a whitening mask for seven days. In less than three months, his originally neutral skin turned into severely sensitive skin, with retrograde rash all over his face. The slightest breeze made it red and itchy, and he couldn't even apply ordinary moisturizer. During the interview, she still asked, "I am doing beauty treatments on my skin, why is it getting worse? ”

Practitioners in different fields have quite different opinions on this issue. If you ask a senior ingredient blogger who specializes in "strong medicine skin care", he may say that the tolerance building process of acid brushing is not done well, and the frequency of use of the radio frequency device is wrong. If the operation is compliant, acid brushing itself can promote the metabolism of old dead skin cells, and radio frequency can stimulate the regeneration of collagen, which is obviously good for the skin. ； But if you ask public dermatologists who advocate "minimalist skin care", they will most likely say that healthy skin does not require additional acid treatments or radiofrequency. Instead, messing around will destroy the skin barrier. It is these so-called "beauty programs" that damage the skin. There is nothing wrong with either statement, the only difference lies in the three words "fitness".

Since I was a child, I have relied on beauty treatments to turn my skin from "sick" to healthy. He was born with oily skin. He started getting cystic acne in adolescence, with red and swollen nodules all over his face. He tried washing his face with salt water and applying white vinegar on his face, and various folk remedies were useless. Later, he went to the medical cosmetology department of a regular hospital and received regular acupuncture + red and blue light, combined with topical adapalene and medical moisturizing cream. After more than half a year, all the acne disappeared without leaving any deep scars. Now his skin condition is more stable than many people who never bother with it. Do you think what he did is considered beautification? Of course it counts, and it actually helped him restore the normal functions of his skin.

Many people have a too narrow understanding of beauty. They either think it’s just smearing a bunch of expensive essences on your face and running to a beauty salon, or they think it’s all about IQ tax. In fact, if you apply sunscreen carefully every day, apply a moisturizing mask once or twice a week, or even apply hand cream in winter to prevent dryness, these are essentially beauty behaviors. I liken the skin barrier to the exterior wall of my home. Beauty is like maintaining the exterior wall: if you regularly patch the gaps in the wall and paint with sunscreen paint, the wall will definitely become stronger and last longer. ； If you just use a shovel to scrape the wall, then smash it and reinstall it at every turn, then no matter how good the wall is, there will still be air leakage. The skin itself has its own metabolic rhythm and tolerance threshold. If your beauty behavior just steps on its demand point, it will add points to your health. If it exceeds its tolerance range, it will cause harm.

Speaking of which, I have stepped into similar pits before. Two years ago, when Internet celebrity cleansing mud masks became popular, I followed the trend and bought a can. I read that bloggers said that applying the mud mask to the entire face twice a week can remove blackheads and shrink pores. I followed the instructions. Within half a month, the cheeks on both sides of my nose began to turn red and sting when touched. I went to see a dermatologist friend who said that the stratum corneum on my cheeks is thin. Applying the mud mask to the entire face is equivalent to actively "delaminating" the barrier. Later, I changed to applying it once every two weeks, only to the oily areas of the T-zone. The blackheads were completely removed, and my cheeks never turned red again.

There is actually no need to argue over the two factions currently arguing fiercely on the Internet: One faction says that except for cleansing, moisturizing and sunscreen, everything else is an IQ tax, while the other faction says that various functional ingredients and medical beauty programs are the best way to fight aging. Both statements are correct depending on the person. If you are in your early 20s and your skin is in stable condition with no acne or redness, then you should make a basic three-piece set every day, and at most add a favorite whitening essence. It is indeed enough. If you mess around, you will easily cause problems. ； But if you are over 30 years old and you obviously feel that your skin is loose and fine lines appear, or you have problem skin with acne and acne marks all the time, basic skin care alone cannot solve the problem. Proper use of compliant functional ingredients and appropriate medical beauty programs in regular institutions can actually maintain the health of your skin for a longer period of time.

In fact, the standard for judging whether a beauty behavior is right or wrong is very simple. Don’t believe in the gimmicks of “skin rejuvenation in 7 days” and “face change in 28 days”. It depends on whether your skin is comfortable after the treatment, whether there are any abnormal reactions such as redness, itching, stinging, and acne breakouts, and whether it is stable and translucent in the long run. It is more reliable than any blogger’s Amway or merchant’s propaganda. After all, the original intention of beauty care is to make the skin better. If you cause skin problems in order to "become beautiful", you are putting the cart before the horse.