No, really - is this just an industry focused on the vanity of humankind? Why spend so much on a cream? Who cares if you have a few dark spots, wrinkles and a breakout here and there? The answer is so simple, yet so intricate…

I think we’ve long passed the phase where most of us try to have a flawless complexion - you just choose a great filter on your phone! We would probably rather spend that money on fresh organic produce and our favourite exercise classes (pilates ain’t cheap, people!) that will promote our wellbeing and prolonged health. Yet, something feels a bit contradictory - we are willing to spend money on internal, physical and mental health but our skin health must always get the sloppy seconds. As you may have learned somewhere in a trivia questionnaire, our skin is the body’s largest organ. It is responsible for protecting us from outside factors (whether this be the sun, harmful agents or physical injury), it regulates our body temperature and is responsible for one of our 5 main senses - touch. The skin has a lot of functions and I’m sure if you had a burning desire to know all of them in detail you’d sit there with your medical degree by now, so let’s not go down that rabbit hole of details today.

‘Protection’ is almost always listed at the top of the list and that is probably because the skin’s role in our protection is so multifaceted. We are exposed to many different external factors on a daily basis but let’s take a second and focus on only one: light. When exposed to light, melanocytes inside the skin start producing a substance called melanin (this is responsible for our skin colour). Melanin travels all the way from the dermis (the bottom layer where the melanocytes have set up home) up to the epidermis (the top visible layer of your skin) and they form a little cap above the nucleus of your keratinocytes (they basically form the actual barrier against outside environmental factors - touch your arm…you are now touching the keratinocytes). That is why you will get a tan when spending time outside - your skin is protecting you from the sun exposure! The nucleus of each cell contains the DNA and protecting this is vital to inhibit faulty mutations which in the long term can lead to various skin problems and ultimately skin cancer.

Another interesting fact you may want to remember for that trivia evening is that South Arica has the second highest incidence of skin cancer globally (we’re only a little short from incidences in Australia)!  Sun is also not the only source of ‘light’ that triggers this immune response; computers and smartphones emit blue light (HEV or High-Energy Visible light) and we all spend a lot of time on these (promise I’m wearing my sunscreen as we type); thermal heat sources like heaters or even certain light bulbs emit IR radiation (infrared) which stimulates the same response in our skin cells. Those are some scary facts! And one thing I want to keep in mind when choosing which product to best protect me.

Except for the obvious issue of skin cancer, emotional trauma can also be experienced from untreated skin issues such as melasma and especially acne in younger people. Melasma is the dark pigmented marks that often appear in an almost butterfly-like pattern over the face and is usually associated with hormones. This mostly happens during pregnancy and fades after the birth of your bundle of joy, but often times melasma is already seen much earlier due to the use of contraceptive pills or other hormonal imbalances. It is rare, but I have seen it with men suffering from certain hormonal impacts as well! This is a very tricky condition to treat from the outside as it is caused by internal hormones, but we can focus on protection from the external contributing factors, breaking down current pigmentation and preventing further pigment from forming (Oke, I see you almost starting to yawn, so we’ll keep the rest of this melasma lecture for another day). Moving on to the most well known skin issue associated with trauma, depression and other psychological phenomena – Acne.

Most people don’t know this, but acne is not a difficult issue to improve! Note that I said “improve” and not “correct” – acne is still influenced by hormones so to completely get rid of those blemishes until the hormones are sorted out can only be done by a medical doctor and prescribed medication – and please don’t let Susan from the beauty counter tell you otherwise. But there is really no need to send your child to an already difficult and stressful school environment with red, inflamed breakouts, telling them “it’s normal for your age” and to “just wait it out”. During teenage years, personality development is at its peak and some clients still have nightmares about their acneic skin from YEARS ago…as adults, they are still paranoid at the slightest skin change that may look like a once-off teeny tiny breakout starting to form. Untreated acne can also lead to permanent skin scarring which is much more difficult to treat and improve and often require costly ablative laser therapy which is not safe for all skin types. The correct homecare products to keep breakout-prone skins clean and minimise the activity of P-acne (bacteria responsible for acne specifically), suppress the excess sebum (oil) production and ensure a gentle yet effective exfoliation to manage the associated build-up of excess keratin (the superficial skin cells) will drastically improve these problematic skin types and have a significant effect on their self-confidence development.

Now, you may be thinking “I don’t have acne, what is this pigmentation you are even talking about and laying in the sun has never been my thing anyway so why stress about skin cancer…really, I have perfect skin, why must I care about my skincare?” Short answer – you don’t have to. BUT, good genes alone can’t keep away the inevitable ageing process and with that comes the wrinkles, the sun spots, the uneven texture, dull appearance and sagging. At the moment you may be all about “natural ageing” and “embracing the wrinkles”, just don’t come crying when it’s your 50’th birthday, all your friends still look like 35 and you’re the only 70 year old there…

Our answer to why skincare is important could therefore probably be answered by a very simple little life quote, “prevention is better than cure”.

Have your skin assessed by a trained skin professional who can refer you to the correct medical aesthetics doctor or dermatologist if needed and who is able to assist with any other skin issues you may be suffering from or simply to help you maintain your youthful glow!