Everyone keeps asking the questions, how to make skin and texture smoother,
more even tone in our color, the glow and, you know,
getting rid of pigmentation. It's hard to keep up with these things and to look
at what can help with that perfect complexion.
Welcome to the Beauty Babble podcast,
the show that keeps you informed, inspired and connected within the spa salon
world.
Never ending search for the perfect complexion.
This is a topic that I wanted to start off with our first episode because I think
everyone keeps asking the questions, how to make skin and texture smoother,
more even tone in our color, the glow and, you know,
getting rid of pigmentation, all these things.
And I think in the industry and with all the TikTok that's going on out there
and videos, it's hard to keep up with these things and to look at what can
help with that perfect complexion.
Yes, we know products.
We're going to get into a little bit about things that I'm sure that you already
know about, but I like to go through that and then a few other things to help.
So we want to work through the whole process.
And like I said, at the end, you can always ask a few questions if there's
time at the end.
Okay.
So the first thing, you know, glowing skin,
we know nothing feels better than soft, smooth skin.
We know that facials are distressing.
It also helps the nervous system with that flight and fight reaction of our body,
which helps to take on and calm the body internally as well.
And some people also find that when they're stressed, they flush or they might
look tired, they're not sleeping.
So there's other effects that happen with that.
But, you know, the basic facial treatment is, you know,
involving that cleansing, exfoliation, eliminating, cleaning the pores deeply
and removing the impurities of the skin, nourishing the skin.
And we do what we can in the moment of that treatment.
And most of the time, I would say 99% of the time, they come out looking pretty good,
right? A clear complexion, a brighter complexion.
They feel smoother, softer, plumper.
And this is the things that they want.
And we want to give this to our clients.
So in the skin structure, purpose for today, a quick review,
feel free to take notes if you'd like.
The skin cells move up to stratum from the base of the stratum basal layer
all the way up to stratum corneum.
Now, when we look at this, I want you to think about the cell renewal process.
We know it's on average 30 days.
So we like to say a range of four to six weeks, depending on the person,
what they're doing.
And when we look at the skin structure, we know the top layer of the epidermis,
you can see it on that image there, is our protective barrier.
But within that are five layers of the skin.
Most of the treatments that we're dealing with is lies right in the stratum corneum area.
And we need to be careful how much deeper we're going,
because now you're going to tap into the live area of the skin as you move down.
Now, the live area of the dermis, it nourishes the skin,
it actually nourishes the lower portion of the epidermis.
And we know that that's where the fibroblast cells are,
which help with producing elastin collagen.
And about 70% of our collagen lies in our dermis area.
By the time the cells reach the stratum corneum, they're no longer living.
That's that top layer that we talked about.
And on average, that cell process of coming from the basal, moving its way up,
from the dermis, pardon me, up through the five layers of the skin.
When you get to the top, that's where that dead layer starts to build up.
So we know the cells flatten and create dead cells.
And there's that glue-like substance, sebum, that sticks those layers together.
So as we age, we know that this process of cell renewal from the dermis,
all the way up through the five layers of the epidermis,
takes 30 days, roughly four to six weeks.
This slows down tremendously.
Once you start reaching 30, it slows down a little bit by 40 for sure,
and 50 and onward.
So this could be up to 50 days if they're not doing anything with their skin.
So if they're promoting exfoliation, etc., then that will change things.
And that's why we promote the once a month facial.
So we definitely want to look at what we're doing with the skin.
And when we're dealing with that top layer, we're working on the complexion,
we're working on cleaning the pores, getting rid of the dullness of the skin.
So when we work through it, just a little closer picture of how those five layers change.
So it does start out in the basal layer with the cells,
and you can see the structure changing slowly.
So once you get up into the granular layer, it starts to flatten.
And the stratum molyseum is actually only in your palms and hands,
but they always have these in our images.
So it would just bounce right to the stratum corneum at that point.
So you want to think of the stratum corneum as a brick and mortar.
Okay, so it's definitely stuck together with the glue,
and it's layering on top as protective.
It's the first line of defense.
So this is the barrier.
This is an essential role to your skin.
So this is why we need to watch what we're doing with how much we're doing to the skin.
And that means we, as ourselves, our clients, and as we are doing treatment.
This is also the layer that aids in hydration.
So there's a lot that goes on in that layer.
So when we think of exfoliation, we want to watch how often.
Is it too frequent?
Is it too aggressive?
I'm going to show you an image of what happens in that actual area.
So microscopically, you can see in A, the figure A there,
there's a small little fissure, a little crack.
You can't see this.
This is just in the skin layers.
Of course, it's microscopic.
B is the part where it's cracked.
And you can see the arrows just at the bottom where that little line is,
the little yellow dashes.
That's the boundary between your stratocornium and the viable epidermis.
But above it, you can see the cracking.
This is where it starts to create issues with the barrier of the skin.
It can be sensitive.
It can be that plasticy looking skin, reactive, sensitive to touch.
And products are too active for their skin.
And or into the rosacea, potentially the eczema or eczema,
depending how you say it, psoriasis, that type of thing.
So when you're looking at the stratocornium,
you want to look deeply what are we doing to that skin as a professional?
But also, what are they doing to their skin?
You know, with today, there's so much going with peels and all these equipments.
And they can buy it all off Amazon or go to the store and buy many things.
So you really need to dig deep to what's going on with them and how they're doing this.
So really educating them on this, I think is essential and will help you.
We're going to dive a little deeper into it.
But first off, so now we also know that over exfoliation can lead to that
inconsistent excessive sebum production.
This is when the imbalance happens and they're potentially stripping
the barrier of their skin at that top layer.
And this is where the side effects can happen.
Or they can't handle certain products.
So when we're exfoliating the skin, we want to consider the thickness of their skin.
So if you think about the thickness of the skin, if you were to grab your eyelid
or under your eyebrow, you can think you can feel that it's quite thin through there.
So if you haven't done it, just try it.
Then if you want, and that's about a once a week exfoliation.
And that includes what kind of products are using.
So are they using salicylic acid and retinols and vitamin C's
and stuff like this on top of that, they have an exfoliation.
They want to do a glycolic treatment.
They're coming to see you for microdermabrasion or dermaplaning, whatever it may be.
So you want to look at how often exfoliation is actually happening to the skin.
So if you were to grab placing just under the jaw and next to you'll feel the base of your jawbone.
You want to grab in there, the lower jawbone just on the outside.
And you're just going to pinch it slightly.
So compare it to your eyelid and you'll notice.
So mine is medium thickness.
So potentially I could do two times a week and thick skin,
which definitely you'll notice is much thicker is two to three times a week of exfoliation.
So thin skin on average is one time a week.
Medium is two times a week and thick skin is up to three times a week.
Well, two to three, depending on their sensitivities, right?
So we know that exfoliation helps to look younger, brighter, glowing when done properly and not too often.
We want to look at the age, the turnover rate.
So yes, if they're a bit older clientele that you're working with,
then they could maybe handle a little bit more.
And of course, for more effective yet gentle exfoliators are really good and those can be chemical.
Those can be enzyme exfoliator.
If you're getting deeper into your cell aesthetics and glycolic and lactic and things like that,
you want to be mindful of how strong it is.
So what I want to always remember is the mantra less is more.
So don't overdo it and try to explain to your clients to not overdo it as well.
So when you think of signs of the skin, when the barrier has been tampered with,
it could be excessive, right?
Or it could just be minimal, but it could be anything from that flaking and peeling
that's happening in certain areas of the skin.
I think we've all seen it where it happens in the chin line,
sometimes into the cheeks and right in the middle of the forehead.
They're breaking out, again, not acne, because of hormones.
I'm talking there, it's breaking out the congestion of the skin.
There's that redness and inflammation into the skin as well,
typically on the cheeks, sometimes the chin and usually in the corners of the nose as well.
They're feeling tight all the time.
They just can't seem to hydrate that skin.
They're not getting that suppleness that they feel after your facial treatments.
Sometimes the fine lines and wrinkles are more evident.
They're even though they're using a product and like I said, they're doing treatments.
Find out what else they're doing.
And again, the overall dryness or dullness, I should say, of the skin.
So when we think of this never ending search for perfect complexion,
we've got our treatments down and understanding what they're doing and how they're doing it.
So try to give them a treatment plan.
But outside of that, they could be doing all of this.
They could be spending lots of money, products, treatments, gadgets.
Who doesn't have gadgets at home?
It's a course that's not going to be maybe as strong as what we can have access to,
but they still can get it.
And then the biggest thing that is our competitors is social media.
It's huge.
It's everybody seeing on TikTok or videos on Instagram of their skin and how they're looking.
Like for example, I love the videos on derma planing.
They're derma planing and they're taking sheaths of skin off their face.
We'll think about cell renewal.
How often is cell renewal?
So obviously that person has not done any exfoliation or any kind of treatment like that
for a long time for an order that much dead skin cells to be built up in the stratum corneum
on the upper level.
So then your clients come to see, but I don't see anything like I saw in the video.
So this is why it's essential to explain to your clients what they're doing.
So you're not going to have the buildup.
So don't expect the buildup.
The vellus hair that they have on the face will come off,
but there's very little skin that's going to be showing like that.
So keeping the skin hydrated is helpful, but always remember,
if they're not exfoliating, they're not using the products to help exfoliate the skin,
whether it is like PHAs and their cleansers or toners, then what's really coming off the skin?
So set them up to understand why they're not seeing that.
Now moving on to more.
So let's say you've got the client that you're working with and they still,
you know, they're using the products, they're committed to their skin care regime at home.
They're seeing you for treatments.
You are looking and seeing that after, what else could there be?
And this is where I'm saying, you know, you want to make sure that you talk to them about what they're eating.
Now, I know you're not dietitians, none of us are dietitians.
I'm actually a holistic nutritionist, but I'm not a dietitian.
And I dove into that just because I know internally, I mean, we know that we are what we eat.
So if we look at what they're doing with their skin, we're going to spend a little bit of time of how we can start to help them.
So ultimately, what you eat is going to be an indicator.
So if you think, well, you have a pretty good diet already, you know, you're eating,
you know, less processed foods, you're drinking plenty of water, what else can you do?
Sometimes it's finding the balance in what you're eating as well.
So yes, eating fruits and vegetables or high in antioxidants, they fight the theoretical damage,
cause that premature aging at that cellular level.
But the other side of that is sometimes it's the gut itself.
And the gut plays a huge role in how our system actually absorbs all those nutrients.
So if they're eating really healthy, say 90% of the time, then what else could it be that's going on with them?
So when you think of overall gut health, some of the things that can affect.
So you've probably heard of prebiotics, things like that, we're going to dive into that.
But most of the time it's going to contribute to a poor diet, medications, antibiotics, NSAIDs are non-steroidal anti-inflammatories.
And antacids, popping, you know, the tums all the time, cause they're always have that gassiness or heartburn type of thing.
Infections is another one, they're sick often.
And stress can be a lot too on the stomach and on the body, the whole gut of the digestion and hormone imbalances.
And then there's other things that could potentially be causing.
It could be neurological things that have happened to them, a stroke, or they have some of the things going on with their bodies.
So understanding there's many things that can contribute to this.
Again, we're not doctors. I know we're not dietitians, but just to discuss it with them to find out.
So when we dive into this, we're going to get into some quick things about food.
So consuming fermented foods is really good for the body, all in moderation, less is more.
Remember that saying that I'm telling you about.
So consuming fermented foods like, so what that does, it actually helps to, it's a good bacteria that's built up in the food and the yeast itself, which breaks down the sugars.
And a lot of times it's the excess sugars that we're eating through the day. It's in our juices, it's in our energy drinks, it's in our fruit, it's in our cereals, it's in yogurt, it's in everything, your bar that you have, your booster drink that you're drinking, whatever it may be.
But anyways, just to give you an idea why sugars, because that's our biggest challenge in this society today is how many sugary things we're having.
So basically, it's going to boost the number of beneficial bacteria, probiotics in our guts.
So tempeh is made from fermented soybeans and kumbacha, you've probably heard about that, that's been on the rise for a while, it's fermented tea, it's fizzy, it's tart, flavorful, made from black tea and green tea.
However, you want to make sure when you're buying the store bought, there are a lot of people that make their own, but the store bought are very high, they add sugar alcohols to it, so just be mindful if you're having it and a little bit at a time.
Literally, it could be a tablespoon every other day to get started if your gut health is an issue. I do always say, you know, reach out to a dietitian and tell your clients the same thing.
Just to give you a little more education on this side of things. But there's still research in this and trying to really see the effects of how kumbacha is working for us.
Now, we've heard of miso, miso soup, it's a Japanese cuisine, it's fermented soybeans, salt and koji, koji is a type of fungus, and this might sound gross to you, but we're full of all of this in our bodies.
You know, we have to have this word to fight off everything that could potentially harm us. So don't get, you know, all freaked out over that, but it is factual and we're all part of a bacterium.
Now one thing about miso soup or miso itself, it's very high in sodium. So again, a little bit at a time is always good.
We've heard of kimchi, it's a Korean side dish, it's fermented cabbage or other things like radish and that and some people are getting really, how do I say this, creative and what they're doing.
So it becomes really healthy, it's very, very high in fiber, vitamin C and K. Now, there are actually studies shown that it actually has been helping with IBS, which is Irrigable Bowel Syndrome.
So it's rebuilding that flora through the intestinal tract, which is considered a whole gut health, right, from our stomach to our intestines.
And the last one, just quickly to discuss is kefir. Kefir is a culture dairy product.
They're still studying this on humans to see how it really truly affects us. And just read again the ingredients, look for anything that says O-L-S-E on the end is like glucose,
Sucrose, anything ending in that is a sugar byproduct. And I'm not sure if you know about ingredients very much, but if they have a certain percentage or under a certain percentage, they do not have to list it.
So what they've done, the food industry has actually gotten very smart with this, they will have 6 to 10 different types of sugars in there, but because it's a little bit of everything,
they don't have to actually show it on the ingredients list. So that means when you look at the macro breakdown of how much carbohydrates are in their sugars, it's not always factual, because they don't have to show the full amount,
they put it all together. Sometimes we'll look out and they'll have it right at the top, at the top with glucose or sucrose as well.
So the first one is eating good foods, fresh probiotics. Again, that was like that coconut kefir is one. Fresh probiotics are really good.
You want to choose unpasteurized if you can, pasteurized, kills beneficial bacteria and then they got to put back things into it. So it is better if you can do that.
And then you think about probiotic yogurt. So remember that not all yogurts are the same. They can, and you want to look that it says contain live culture. Then you know it actually has probiotics in it.
And the last one there are nuts and grains. If they're raw, you need to activate them first. And we'll touch on that a little bit after this next one.
The next thing we know is water. Excuse me. Dehydration is a huge part. And we can see that when we're analyzing the skin by just grabbing to the edge and just push up and see if you see the fine lines.
And sometimes you got to play with your lighting a little bit to look. But if you lose as little as fluid loss of 1 to 3%, it actually can impair. It's considered mild dehydration.
So that's not a lot. It's very little, but it actually our skin, hair and nails are the last thing to get nutrients and hydration.
It's going to nourish our organs first and then that's why it's really important to think about the water and how much we're having does help also relieve constipation, which is part of the gut health if you're not having a bowel movement every day.
Consistently, meaning once a day, some people have two to three, depending on their bodies. This is normal behavior. Your body needs to do elimination because you're eating every day.
If you're going deez without it, then or your client mentions that and help them by advising them to go see a dietician and talk about this. They need to change their diet.
Definitely to help that. The other thing with water, what it actually does, it helps to, well, it appears to decrease the chances of kidney stone formation, which is on the rise in younger people.
There's more and more people having kidney stones and very young. This used to be an older person because again our bodies are a little bit different as we age.
So just quickly on that, why do we activate nuts? It contains an enzyme inhibitor that can sometimes upset the stomach and just basically what it is is you're soaking the raw nuts in salt and then you lay it out to dry out.
If you're doing the raw nuts, a lot of people don't realize it'll actually affect the stomach. So just a quick note, it's a lot more gentle for the stomach to digest.
So speaking of nuts, moving into how to help from the inside out, just targeting a few interesting items for you to look at. So walnuts is our first one.
It is packed with omega three, of course high in fiber. They're going to help with the redness of the skin. And again, less is more. It's like four or five full walnuts is the most in a day.
And leaving your complexion a little clearer, omega three actually helps regulate oil products in our skin, our production. It helps to balance the hydration.
It minimizes the signs of aging because it's allowing that natural oils in our body. Whereas vitamin, sorry, omega six itself is also going to hydrate that rougher skin.
It does help to fade hyperpigmentation. It helps with treating acne and eczema and wound healing. So that is your omega six in there.
And again, there's, you know, it does help with cells and hormones and mood as well.
While salmon is packed with omega three, you're going to hear that maybe you're not a salmon fan, but another high in omega threes are to think of fatty fishes like macros, sardines and chobies might not be your jam.
But, you know, just you can also take supplements as well. Again, consult your doctor with that or your pharmacist can actually help as well.
Especially if they, if you are taking any kind of medications or your clients are, tell them before they start, they should really talk to their doctor.
They don't want to book an appointment and wait two months to three months, whatever it may be out there.
Now I'm bashing the doctors scheduling, but they can talk to their pharmacist because they have the list of their medications because they do interfere with the medications.
So make sure that you remind them of that. We tend to forget.
And it's important to be okay.
And yeah, so basically it's going to help through the body and help reduce inflammation in our body as well as which will help with our skin and it strengthens the cellular inter integrity which is really important for that glowing skin side of things too.
So, I've ordered a flax seed. I think so flax seed is actually, if you have the whole seed you do need to, in a mortar, break it down, or you can just buy flax seed meal.
You need to store them in the fridge once you've opened that it should say it on the package, but you can add just a teaspoon I wouldn't do that like sometimes I'll recommend three tablespoons if you've not taken that before, you want to go slowly add like half a teaspoon in the morning, drink lots of water, because it's very fibrous.
So you need to have a little bit at a time as I said less is more and build to it slowly. So it does help like said regulate hormones it lowers the blood sugar, and that's because it's very high in fiber.
That's the biggest reason for it. Again, there's that omega three again.
And see this per cup. No one's going to have a cup of flax seed please don't do that. It's a small amount, but there was a study in Ohio that found that it does help to heal wounds much faster.
So it's definitely like think of skins that are healing from acne.
Right, or breakouts.
Moving into carrots. Most people do love their carrots they're full of fiber and very high in antioxidants which help to protect the skin.
And there's a lot of vitamin an it so that is an asset to growth of new cells that's going to stimulate and like I said, the antioxidants help to reduce the free radical damage.
So think of the colors. So red, orange fruits and vegetables, some greens like, you know, or what you're eating tomatoes, watermelon, pumpkin, spinach, collard greens, those are all really good for you to.
And so it's also going to help with that UV protection as well so it does on the fact of, you know, the damage from the sun can help restore the molecule levels and that's what they are antioxidants are basically a donor to the oxidized cells so they help to restore the oxidized cells.
Moving into. Yeah, keeping also the immune system again it's got health that we're talking about.
Before I forget to mention that berries.
These are one of the top things on my list of fruits that I like to incorporate their very high in fiber their powerful antioxidants so they really do help protect the cells and help to fix and restore damage cells.
They are really good at normalizing the oils of our skin as well.
So they're rich in the good bacteria which is pre biotics it's high in fiber like I said controlling the sugar levels.
And they do recommend fiber per day is about 25 to 28 grams per day. So if you've never done that you can always take a look at tracking and just to see on my fitness value you can get a free one and change it and shows you how much fiber you have in a day.
So sometimes it's increasing increasing that fiber level.
Alright, so when you're looking at working with your clients is have the discussions with them just talk to them.
Do your own research as well so that you know you're staying on top of the transit are out there. As I mentioned before higher a dietitian it's important.
And or you can talk to your doctor if you go to your doctor you do get some sessions for free as well here in Alberta. Anyways, Alberta Canada I'm not sure of your district in your area, but just think everything in moderation less is more.
It's very important. So reminding them that every day, starting from however age they are, you should be using SPF to protect their skin, their home care is essential as well.
Both professionally and what are they doing at home. As I said before a lot of people are doing other things and not sharing with us, what they actually do, and then recommend exfoliation for them like what is best for the client, you know their skin.
So find out what they're doing and put a plan together based on that cellular renewal so that you're keeping their skin at a base level of boosting the cell renewal, helping with the anti aging, but also not overdoing it as well.
So then water intake, talk to them about their water intake, make sure they're drinking a lot of water, it helps and you can actually put in like in a liter of water if you put maybe a quarter cup of juice, the, like a good juice not like some of the products that are out there like a pure juice or squeeze it
in as well from an orange even that would be fine a couple oranges and lemons or something that glucose that natural glucose in there actually helps to hold the water in the body as well so they're not just urinating it out and just paying it out.
So remind them of that. And essentially it's eating the rainbow, think about what they're eating, and helping them understand a bit more. Sometimes we fall in the pattern of eating the same things all the time because life is so structured for some of us.
So just try to change it up and remind them about and how good some of these nutrients are not just with your skincare.
So you need to be careful of social media you need to know what's going on out there. Try not to fall for what you see sometimes you do need to do your own research like I said, and really research it if you see some new trend that's out there's no wonder what that site start
Googling it and look and look for the medical research done on it because there is an information out there for that.
Okay. You are what you eat, and think about every 20 days your skin replenishes itself. But again that's based on age.
Your liver takes about five months to restore itself your bones is 10 years your body makes the new cells from the food you eat. So you need to have nutrition. So if every day it's take out for often maybe it's once a day.
And you need to have a good oil process to a certain degree, because they're using sauces and most of the time they're not going to use a good like all of oil when they're cooking, even the salad, most of the time they're using canola oil, which we can't digest very
fast. And there's no omega in it. It's not good for us at all. And you know just think of the new cells, what we want to eat to help to nourish from within so we do need to help our clients understand that they're accountable to to what they're eating can affect their
skin. Also stresses of life can affect their skin. So really diving in to see what's going on in their world, as much as you can without getting overly invasive in their personal life, but they have a choice to make, and it can't always fall on us as
professionals to make your skin perfect and beautiful or whatever their expectations are when they're not taking care of themselves for a and that's the biggest thing I just wanted to say about this.
And that's the presentation.
Thanks for listening to Beauty Babble.