Skin Facts (or maybe myths)

I don't claim to have great skin.

But I think I can safely say I have reasonably good skin, thanks to a combination of good genes (Thanks mum!) and no make-up (Just lazy).

But since I returned back to Singapore, I feel my skin has become a lot oilier.

Which is quite alarming because blackheads start turning up on my nose.. and I start to think my nose kind of resembles a strawberry at times. Now, strawberries usually conjures up images of nice cocktails or desserts.. but a strawberry nose... is very yucky.

So, I've started trying out different skin care products - stuff I've never tried before, and starting seeing a skin doctor.

And here are a few interesting facts (or myths.. only time will tell) I have learnt:

1. Forget about The Night Cream
Source: Dr Hauschka

Shocking, isn't it? Apparantly, when we sleep, our skin is working to regenerate itself, balance oil production and expel impurities. Applying night cream disrupts our skin's work and our skin becomes less capable of taking care of itself. Applying a cream all day long tells our skin to reduce moisture production and results in a drier skin.

Change required: Use serum instead of creams at night

2. Good skin can still be clogged
Source: My skin doctor

My doctor has been complaining about my clogged skin, even though I protested, saying that I have no pimples. But having "good" skin doesn't mean that your skin is not clogged.

So, how to tell if you have clogged skin even if you have no pimples or acne? Telltale signs are things like tiny little clumps that appear at your eye bag areas, blackheads and whiteheads.

Change required: Use a cleanser that is "strong" enough for you, even something with AHA, especially if you have oily skin (BTW, he advised against using Fancl and Kose, which he says is usually not strong enough for combination skin.)

3. It's too easy to overscrub your skin
Source: Dr Hauschka and my own experience

Since our skin is no kitchen floor, we shouldn't be scrubbing it all the time. When I first came back, because I found my skin to be oilier, I scrubbed my face about 3 times a week, sometimes even more. But I found that my skin only got worse with scrubbing. Now, I do it about once a week, sometimes less, and I find that my skin actually improves.

Change required: Scrub your skin only as neccessary. Or don't even scrub at all if the products you use are exfoliating in nature, already.

4. Wear sunblock even at night and indoors
Source: Taiwanese TV program - 女人我最大

An owner of a modelling agency mentioned on one of the shows that even when indoors or at night, we should ensure we wear sunblock, not to protect against the sun, but to protect against UV rays emitted by halogen lights, fluorescent lights and UV LEDs.

Change required: Wear sunblock that is at least SPF 50 most of the time. (I personally think this is quite hard though...)


BTW, here's an interesting article from National Geographic about our skin - which is our largest organ and covers about 2 sq m on the average in area. Now, that's a large sized picnic mat!