Fight signs of ageing with this skincare routine: Tips by expert

Many women think that using any product can prevent their skin from ageing but this isn’t true. One needs to use products best suited for their skin and take better care than before to avoid signs of ageing. Dr Dinyar Workingboxwalla a well-known cosmetologist from Mumbai with clients like Jacqueline Fernandez, Lara Dutta and many more, explains in his book ‘Beauty Unleashed: A Comprehensive Guide To Getting Perfect Skin And Hair’, the perfect anti-ageing ritual. Here’s an excerpt from the book.

Skincare products can quite effectively help to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, breakouts, brighten skin tone and smooth away dryness and irritation. The problem is that there are so many products to choose from and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Below is an insider’s guide to the skincare aisle. Let’s start with the products you will need to use every day.

Your daily routine

Research says that every part of your body, including the cells in your skin, follows a predictable cyclical pattern: during the day, skin cells perform different functions than they do at night. For this reason, your morning skincare routine should differ from your night time routine. Now let’s start with what you should do upon waking.

The morning prescription

During the day, skin cells go into protection mode. In order to shield itself from the damaging effects of sunlight, your skin produces more sebum with production peaking at noon. This oily substance (sebum) delivers antioxidants to the skin’s surface, helping to neutralize the damaging effects of sunlight and pollution. The pH of the skin’s surface is higher during the day, allowing the skin to better protect itself from bacteria. For these reasons, your morning skincare routine should emphasize protection.

Step 1 Cleanse

To remove metabolic waste by-products produced by your cells overnight, cleanse with a proper cleanser (do not ignore your neck, which is the first giveaway of age). You want the cleanser to remove sebum and not break down your skin’s moisture retaining lipids. Unlike the inside of your body, the outermost layer of your skin functions best at a slightly acidic pH of 5.

Step 2 Wash

After you cleanse, wash your face with an acidic face wash. When you wash with an alkaline wash, it leaves an alkaline residue on your skin which lasts for several hours. This disrupts the skin’s naturally protective lipid barrier, causing moisture to quickly evaporate and return to its optimal pH, and the skin is more vulnerable to outside influences. A litmus test is best to check the pH of your product. Change your face wash with the changing seasons. If your skin is dry in winter, use one for dry skin, and in summer the one for oily skins. Notice how your skin changes when using the right products.

Step 3 Moisturize and protect

You might be asking why I’ve skipped the toner step and jumped straight to moisturizing. Shouldn’t a toner be used first? Not at all. Today’s cleansers are all pH-balanced, so using toners is no longer necessary. When toners are applied, the dirt that you see on the cotton swab is not dirt at all. It’s the top layer of dead skin cells. Removing them with a toner can strip moisture-retaining lipids further and cause irritation and discolouration. It causes the skin to be more photosensitive.

Moisturizing is another story. It doesn’t matter whether your skin is dry, oily, combination or normal. We need moisturizers to replace moisture lost during cleansing and washing, and to seal in moisture so it does not escape. Your skin type will tell you what type of moisturizer to use (lotion for dry skin or gel-based for oily skin). Although your skin naturally retains moisture through small molecular weight compounds called Natural Moisturizing Factors (NMF), it also needs a layer to seal in this moisture and prevent it from evaporating. Moisturizer is important for everyone, and at all ages, but it is more important the older you get. The moister your skin, the smoother its texture, the better your skin reflects light, the more radiant you look. A good moisturizer not only hydrates the skin, but also plumps it up, smoothing the appearance of fine lines. If you have very dry skin, you need to double your efforts, using a rich product twice. Your moisturizer should contain Vitamin E, humectants and emollient lipids like ceramides and essential fatty acids that soothe and heavily moisturize the skin.

Step 4 Stand-alone sunscreen/sun block

Apply sunscreen fifteen minutes before heading outdoors. Choose a product that blocks UVA light, which penetrates deeply into the skin and is the major contributor to skin damage, wrinkles, freckles, age spots and skin discolouration. This type of sunlight is just as prevalent in winter months as it is in summer. It can also penetrate clouds and reflect off other surfaces to reach the skin even if you are in the shade. For the product to block UVA, it needs zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Re-apply your sunscreen after sweating or every plunge in the pool even if the product says it’s waterproof. Whenever possible, shield yourself from sunlight. No sunscreen or sun block is a hundred per cent protective. Sunlight will still get through despite your best efforts.

Step 5 Makeup (optional)

If you wear makeup, I strongly suggest mineral makeup. It is made from coloured minerals (mica, titanium dioxide, zinc and iron oxides) and ultramarine pigments that exist in nature. Because of its high mineral content, this type of makeup naturally kills bacteria. Even without preservatives, it maintains a longer shelf life and has natural anti-inflammatory effects. It is perfect even for people with sensitive or acne-prone skin. The minerals in the makeup also reflect sunlight like a mirror, giving makeup a natural SPF factor of 15-20. For this reason, it’s a great idea to touch up your makeup before heading outdoors. For mature skins, mineral makeup is sheer and covers well. Unlike other makeup, it does not clump up and accentuate existing wrinkles and lines.

The evening prescription

As you sleep, your body turns down or turns off many processes (digestion, most brain activity, etc.), so it can turn up the repair and renewal process. This renewal process takes place throughout your body, affecting every organ, including your skin. This is one reason why sleep is so important to good health. At night, blood flow and lymphatic drainage increases, carrying more nutrients and energy to skin cells and hauling away more metabolic waste. The skin’s pH also drops, which signals enzymes for repair and renewal of the skin to become more active. Your night skincare routine should be designed to support this natural renewal process by providing the skin with the nutrients, moisture and hydration it needs.

Step 1 Cleanse

Cleansing is even more critical at night than it is in the morning. You might not be able to see and feel it all, but dust, germs, dead skin cells, pollutants and metabolic by-products have all collected on your skin through the day. You need to remove all of this, as well as makeup and the residue of skincare products (moisturizer, sunscreen) that you have used in the day, or your night products won’t be able to fully penetrate the skin. Think of what happens to dirty dishes when they sit in the sink overnight. What you could have easily washed off with minimal scrubbing has hardened into a cake and requires a lot of effort to remove. The same is true of your skin. Without proper nightly cleansing, I doubt you will fully remove dead cells and sebum. Some of it will remain, disturbing the skin’s pH and metabolism, leading to clogged pores, acne and dullness. Your skin will be more vulnerable to outside aggression too. Use the same cleanse and wash routine at night as you do in the morning. You may need more cotton swabs and use slightly more finger action to thoroughly cleanse the face and neck. Yet be gentle with your skin. Don’t over wash—it can damage your skin or strip it of its natural oils.

Step 2 Eyes

The skin around the eyes contains no oil-producing glands, making it thinner, more fragile and more easily wrinkled and irritated than the skin on the rest of the face. Do not apply your facial moisturizer to the skin around your eyes. These moisturizers contain water which the skin around the eyes will absorb, creating a puffy appearance. Instead use eye gels. These are made with ingredients that are safer and less irritating for the delicate eye skin. Choose your eye gel depending on the issues you want to address. For crow’s feet, use collagen containing gel that produces peptides. If you have dark, puffy circles, use a cream that contains soya, almonds, arnica, chamomile, retinols and antioxidants E and A and essential fatty acids.

Step 3 Restore and renew

At night your skin goes into renewal mode, hence you need a cream to perform this important function. A good night cream is one that:

• Is rich in antioxidants and essential fatty acids

• Helps even the skin tone and lighten pigmentation and age spots

• Promotes elasticity

• Builds collagen

• Renews skin cells

• Decreases fine lines and wrinkles

One may need to buy two different creams if one cream does not have all of the above qualities.

‘Beauty Unleashed: A Comprehensive Guide To Getting Perfect Skin And Hair’ is authored by Dr Dinyar Workingboxwalla and published by Westland Ltd. It can be purchased online on Flipkart. Watch this space for more excerpts from the book.

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Published: July 2, 2013 3:35 pm | Updated:August 13, 2014 11:02 am

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