Issue link: https://www.ascpskindeepdigital.com/i/916074
www.ascpskincare.com 37 help the living cells rebuild with homeostasis, protect the work on the skin, and help the client maintain it for life" is a time-honored rule of thumb. • Under that simple four-tiered concept may be many different treatment modalities, but the categories remain the same. Remember, most of the things we see in the mirror that we don't like are just the skin's defense mechanisms. Our actual tissue, such as the skin around the areola of the breast, is far younger looking, having been protected from solar damage all our lives by simply wearing clothes. Skin that is exposed to the elements is always under free-radical attack. • Ingredients must be biologically active, whether they are anti- inflammatory, skin food, or antioxidant. Plants have frequencies and vibrations and can either be operating at full power or practically inert. A lot depends on where they are grown, how they are harvested, and how they are processed or extracted. • Pay attention to the actual manufacturing process. For instance, is the base that ingredients are blended in transepidermal? Will the ingredients still be "alive" when taken from the container? For example, peptides are very small amino acid groups that are quite fragile when exposed to oxygen. How many actually survive long enough to do their "conveyor belt" work in human tissue? • Are the herbs or plant extracts synergistic? Many have features that work wonderfully on their own, but are canceled out when mixed with another genus of herbs or minerals. For example, a formula containing ingredients rich in calcium can absorb all the nutrients from other herbs in the product, rendering them useless. Many times, a simpler formula with the focus on one or two actives is far better than products crammed with a dozen popular, trendy ingredients. • Good formulation created by a serious scientist is hard work and includes a lot of trial and error, as well as constant tweaking and running of samples even before test trials. From there, it's often 2–3 years before actual production begins. • Even before a pilot production run, there are required independent lab tests that cannot be avoided if manufacturers intend to stay in business. Challenge and stability tests are a must, but allergy testing is being demanded more and more around the world, especially in the European Union countries. All estheticians have the right to scrutinize the ingredients of the products they use—but the actual usage of the product, the modality, and the fully explained concept from the company producing it is the most important consideration. Do research when in doubt and avoid internet descriptions that may be tied to sponsored skin care bloggers or esthetic panels— they will give you their view and then lead you to products. Regardless of what may be done to the skin previously, the basic "remove the damage, help the living cells rebuild with homeostasis, protect the work on the skin, and help the client maintain it for life" is a time- honored rule of thumb.