ASCP Skin Deep

SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2021

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Listen to the ASCP Esty Talk podcast at ascpskincare.com/podcasts 33 Color Color is meant to describe unwanted pigmentation and/or reddened skin. Use the Fitzpatrick scale as a guidepost here. Also consider the underlying vascularity. Acne The word acne brings up all sorts of mental images of various acneic conditions. Sebum, the acid mantle, and inflammation will be things to note. GATHER YOUR INGREDIENTS If you're intimidated by ingredients (or find it hard to spell or pronounce them), one idea is to create a checklist that makes it easy to see your products arranged in functional categories. (Flash cards can be a valuable learning tool too.) Good ingredient categories to start with are cleanse, brighten, exfoliate, hydrate, and protect. Then, reacquaint yourself—and realign your categories— with terms like surfactants, humectants, antioxidants, astringents, and a host of other terms that play an integral role in defining skin care. Ask your skin care product vendor for educational materials and tools like manuals, catalogs, product brochures, posters, and consumer education brochures. Does your chosen product vendor have easily accessible online documents on their website? These offerings will facilitate your learning journey. Finally, develop an ingredient notebook. Personalize it with anecdotal notes from clients and their responses to ingredients you recommended. Take good before-and-after pictures. Endeavor to build your ingredient knowledge base, and your retail potential will soar. Your bottom line will thank you! TRIED-AND-TRUE INGREDIENTS Let's review some tried-and-true ingredients whose usefulness is backed by clinical studies. Many are useful in more than one category. Although this list is not all- inclusive, it provides an overview of a few great ingredients. • Alpha-Lipoic Acid: This antioxidant is excellent at quenching free radicals. It assists with key enzyme processes involved in converting glucose and other energy sources for use in the body. • Arbutin: This skin-lightening agent inhibits the formation of melanin by inhibiting tyrosinase activity. It is used to alleviate hyperpigmentation caused by sun damage, prevent age spots and freckles, and regulate melanogenesis. • Bisabolol: This anti-inflammatory derived from chamomile promotes wound healing, and its antibacterial properties reduce sensitivity, soothe skin irritations, and alleviate heat. clark van der beken/unsplash SKIN PHYSIOLOGY • Borage Seed Oil: This botanical emollient is the most economical source of gamma linolenic acid (GLA), an essential fatty acid that is useful for balancing skin lipids and moisturizing the skin. • Cucumber Extract: This anti-inflammatory, soothing ingredient has astringent and cooling properties. It has the ability to suppress melanogenesis, making it useful against hyperpigmentation. It also helps regulate the rate of transepidermal water loss. • Fructooligosaccharides: These naturally occurring carbohydrates, derived from cane or beet sugar, promote growth of healthy probiotic bacteria, strengthen skin immunity, and inhibit the growth of destructive bacteria. • Fruit Enzymes: These enzymes can be anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, keratolytic, skin softening, and wrinkle smoothing. They increase the solubility of the corneocytes, assist with exfoliation, and increase the skin's absorption of water and emollients. christelle bourgeois/unsplash

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