Having a skincare regimen has been a popular topic for many years and for good reason, considering that skin completely covers your body and is the largest part that is exposed to the world around you.
It’s a part of your body that you may not put much thought into until you notice acne, fine lines, or pigmentation starting to pop up. It can then quickly turn into a part that you start to pay close attention to.
Having a skincare regimen helps to protect, relieve and prevent skin care conditions from occurring so without further ado let’s take a look at the science behind a skincare regimen and how it can support your skin health.
A skincare regimen is a step-by-step process to help look after, protect and maintain the health of your skin. It can be simple or elaborate, depending on your skincare goals.
The main components of a skincare regimen are slightly different for morning and evening with the steps being:
Morning Skincare Regimen
Evening Skincare Regimen:
Skin may not get a lot of thought until skin conditions arise, however skin plays an important role in your health.
The main role of the skin is to act as a protective barrier from physical, mechanical, and thermal injuries as well as protecting the body from toxins. Additional roles of skin include retaining moisture within the body, producing vitamin D, helping to regulate temperatures, is involved in your immune system, and helps to fight against pathogens that come into contact with your skin.
Whilst many may assume a skincare regimen is reserved for individuals with skincare concerns or only reserved for females, everyone can benefit from having a skincare regimen.
It’s recommended that a simple skincare regimen can start from around the ages of ten for both females and males. This regimen is generally a simple and gentle regimen consisting of the basic steps and usually excluding the use of specialty products unless there is an underlying skin care condition.
Whilst your skin is an important physical barrier, damage due to age, sunlight, pollutants, chemicals, stress, and hormones can occur and is irreversible.
Although your skin regenerates naturally, it doesn’t mean that it sheds the damage as well. Chemicals, pollutants, and sun damage penetrate the deep layers of the skin. This can affect the genetic makeup of the cells and the production of collagen, which keeps your skin tight. It can also affect the pigmentation resulting in sun spots and discoloration.
A Skincare Regimen can protect your skin and prevent and reduce your skin from becoming damaged.
Some benefits of a Skincare Regimen include:
Helps to remove chemicals such as makeup
From a glance it may seem confusing with all the different steps to a skincare regimen, however, they all work together for optimal results. Let’s take a look at what these different steps do and how the Dr. Lam products fit into these steps.
A cleanser assists in removing an accumulation of dirt, oils, pollution, makeup, and dead skin cells. It works on the top layer of skin cells and cleanses without stripping the skin. Whilst your skin does regenerate, the dead skin cells can remain on the top layer leading to a dull and tired appearance. A cleanser can help to gently remove the dead skin cells.
A face scrub contains exfoliating ingredients that work to remove dead skin cells and unclog the pores. Whilst a cleanser does remove the dead skin cells, a scrub can be more effective due to its exfoliating properties.
A toner is an in-between step that is used to refresh your skin, reduces the appearance of pores, and helps to maintain your skin's natural moisture. It can help to prepare your skin for any deep penetrating skin products that are used after, such as moisturizer.
A moisturizer can be split into daytime and nighttime moisturizers and helps to moisturize, seal the additional products you have used, and soothe and soften the skin.
Daytime moisturizers generally contain an SPF factor, this factor helps to protect your skin from the sun and prevent sun damage. Nighttime moisturizers lack an SPF factor but provide a mild ingredient that can be kept overnight and helps to support your skin's regeneration process.
Specialty products can be used to help target specific skincare concerns such as acne, pigmentation, and fine lines. These products are used after a toner and are either used once or twice a day depending on the product. These products contain specific ingredients such as collagen, coenzyme Q10, Glutathione, and specific enzymes.
Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS) is a cluster of debilitating symptoms caused by stress that is estimated to affect around 80% of the population at any time in their life.
In your body, there are two adrenal glands that respond to various stressors by producing hormones. If your body experiences constant and chronic stress, this prolonged exposure can essentially drain the adrenal glands, reducing the amount of hormone produced.
This low hormone state can then cause an array of symptoms that are known as AFS. Whilst your adrenal glands are actively involved in managing stress, your body has a NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response System.
The NEM system consists of six circuits that work together to manage stress, with these circuits all directly affecting your adrenal glands. Your skin is part of your immune system and is involved in the Detoxification Circuit, this circuit works to detoxify your body of toxins and chemicals that your body is exposed to.
An imbalanced Detoxification Circuit can cause symptoms such as sensitivities to chemicals and supplements and medications as well as genetic mutations. Having a skincare regimen helps to optimize your skin health thus helping to strengthen this circuit.
Skincare products are not regulated by the FDA and can result in some skin care products containing chemicals that can do more harm or good. You may think of chemicals as toxic chemicals normally found in cleaning products but chemicals are found in many different products including skincare products.
Chemicals used in skincare products can cause multiple side effects that include skin irritation, possible carcinogens, and affecting hormone function depending on the chemical. In AFS your body can become sensitive to products, including your skincare products.
If you do use skincare products, it's important to check the label for harmful chemicals that may be used. Some of the common chemicals used in skincare products to avoid are:
If your skincare products contain one or more than one of these ingredients, it is worthwhile chatting to your health coach to help you decide on your skincare products and a regimen that will help support your body. Dr. Lam's Skincare Line does not contain these chemicals, so is clean for the adrenals and detoxification circuit.
A skincare regimen plays an important role in your health and is an important part of your wellness. Having a skincare regimen with products that help support your skin is important in maintaining skin health.
If you are concerned with your skin health or are concerned you may have AFS, the team at Dr. Lam Coaching can help. We offer a free** no-obligation phone consultation at +1 (626) 571-1234 where we will privately discuss your options. You can also send us a question through our Ask The Doctor system by clicking here.
The appearance of fine lines can symbolize the beginning of the aging process. The first place where fine lines start to occur is around the eyes, when these lines start becoming visible it may be worthwhile adding an anti-aging product to your skincare regime or consulting with your healthcare professional.
