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Diet, hormones, weather or choice of product: when it comes to our skin, it seems there's a challenge at every turn.

Whether cold weather leaves your skin dry and sore or hormonal imbalances cause you to break out, most of us struggle with some type of skin issue.

Routine means we don't often take the time to consider what may cause the issues or, indeed, how to treat them effectively, so we reached out to our panel of Dermalogica experts to find out more.

Armed with years of experience, a wealth of knowledge and a desire to school us on skincare, they took SHEmazing readers questions, and got down to business.

Take a look at this…

1. I am 23 years of age. I have always had pretty good skin, the odd break out! But recently. My skin is breaking out, spots, red bumps, etc!

I keep my skin really clean, and eat a pretty good diet. I do a lot of photographic shoots, as I am a model, but my skin is really getting me down! What can I do?

Try using an oil cleanser as a first step in cleansing. Oil cleansers attract oil and debris more effectively than a water soluble cleanser so will lift off any makeup or dirt efficiently before you follow with the second skin specific cleanser. PreCleanse Balm is a favourite!

Professional tip is to wash makeup brushes regularly with your cleanser to give a thorough clean and avoid transferring bacteria back onto clean skin. 

Regular daily exfoliation will polish and help deep clean the skin. Daily Superfoliant contains charcoal which is hugely popular for adhering to grime and pollution giving a polished and resurfaced skin in one go.

 

2. I have combination skin and no idea what kind of skin care routine I should be doing or what products.

I get localised breakouts but also get dry tight skin on my cheeks under my eyes. I think I have deep pores too because I get blackheads quite easy and they're difficult to get rid of.

A core regimen should contain double cleanse starting with an oil based cleanser followed by the skin specific cleanser to target your core skin concerns. PreCleanse and a face wash such as Special Cleansing Gel is a great starting point. 

Wash face twice in the morning and the evening for guaranteed clean skin! Dermalogica advocates exfoliation as a critical step in everyone’s routine.  Regular daily exfoliation will keep breakouts at bay while smoothing skin surface and helping any subsequent products you are layering on to sink into the skin properly.

Hydrating toners make sure you don’t strip the skin but rather add critical moisture. Try Multi Active Toner as a Dermalogica cult classic.

Finish with a moisturisers that gives the right balance of water and essential oils without making you feel greasy. Skin Smoothing Cream is been a top seller for Dermalogica since its creation in 1986. During the day boost your moisturiser with sunscreen to ensure you future proof your skin against skin ageing. Pro tip – spritz your toner throughout the day to help alleviate that tight feeling. It won’t impact your makeup!

3. I suffer from eczema on my face pretty bad. The skin on my face is so dry it actually hurts. There are red dry patches all on my forehead, my cheeks, my lips, my scalp that travel down to my neck. I have been to the doctors who have treated me with a course of antibiotics, medicated cream but it has just come back.

I hate it, it’s so sore it’s horrible to look at and my face has gotten so wrinkly from the dry skin I get irritated every time I look at myself. What can u do to help my skin?

Take the less is more approach.  Eczema skins lack the natural oils that give a protect barrier to the environment. 

This means that irritants can penetrate through skin faster causing sensitivity and redness.  It also means the skin severely dry and can even shrink back on itself looking more lined. 

Nourishing formulas are vital to replace skins natural oils.  Creamy cleansers such as Essential Cleansing Solution will not strip skin while replacing lipids.  Avoid foaming cleansers as they will leave skin uncomfortable and tight.  Phyto Replenish Oil is a targeted product that will replenish skin and strengthen that natural lipid barrier.

Super Rich Repair is a highly emollient moisturiser that will saturate skin with oils and leave a protective shield protecting skin.  

4. I have redness and broken capillaries, I use Dermalogica ultra calming serum. Any other advice would be great.

Repeated flushing can lead to constant stretching and shrinking of blood capillaries. This repeated action can cause the blood capillaries to lose elasticity and eventually stay dilated leading the appearance of broken capillaries on the surface.

Be conscious of the temperature of water you cleanse with to reduce the amount of flushing induced.  Keep it tepid.

When cleansing or applying products use less friction and press products into the skin rather than rubbing.  Target redness with UltraCalming Mist throughout the day to keep redness down. This reduces the frequency of stress on the blood capillaries. 

5. I've had acne since I was 15, I'm 28 now – seems to be getting worse as I get older! I'm on minocycline antibiotic.

I have tried the pill, tertralyscal, benzyol peroxide etc and salicylic acid but it didn't work I'm thinking about Spiloacatone but I'm not allowed on roaccutane due to health issues do u have any advice?

Try monitoring what triggers breakouts. This often can be linked to stress, reduced sleep, consumption of high glycaemic index foods or even dairy.

Other tweaks to lifestyle might include changing the pillow case every few days, wipe over mobile phones daily and wash makeup brushes more frequently.

Acne often does need long term management which in itself can be stressful. Seek professional skin therapist advise where they will be able to create a customised Skin Fitness Plan which will help you evaluate your lifestyle and at home regimen, along with providing treatment suggestions to boost skin results.   

 

6. I receive constant breakouts and also have many black heads on my chin and even when I get facials and have them removed they come back as little lumps and have never seem to disappear. Would love some help to figure out what these are.

Check makeup and skin care for any comedogenic ingredients which aggravate the inner lining of pores producing extra skin cells, oils and ultimately blockages in the form of blackheads and under surface bumps. 

Artificial colours will be found in many foundations and will be listed on the ingredient listing as D&C dyes along with an allocated number. Mineral oil or paraffin liquiduim is an occlusive ingredient that can trap naturally shedding skin cells and cause blockages. 

Finally isopropyl myristate gives formulas a silky feel but can be very aggravating on skin. Use of ingredients such as salicylic acid in daily cleansers or exfoliants will help clear our pores for a smoother skin surface.

7. I get oily skin, redness and spots. My skin is very sensitive. Any ideas?

Always treat sensitivity as a priority. Focus on hydration and adding water through oil free moisturisers. Sensitive skins natural protective essential lipid barrier is often depleted so water is lost from the surface.

When skin becomes very dehydrated it can often lead to producing more oils to help keep skin well lubricated. Balance skin with moisture without adding oil and this should help treat oiliness and relieve sensitivity. 

Target spots with mild topical products that directly treat the actual breakout rather than altering the entire regimen to target breakouts so not to disrupt general sensitivity.

 

8. Sore red and white spots around mouth and below nose above mouth, dry skin around cheeks and nose and forehead and blotchy discolouration around face.

Often skin can display multiple conditions that may or may not be connected or interlinked. When having multiple skin concerns always start with targeting sensitivity.

Use products that will reduce inflammation and stabilise the balance between oils and water on the skin to bring it back to its natural protective state.

A core regimen of cleanser such as UltraCalming Cleanser will clean without aggravating. Barrier Repair will soothe while restoring the dryness around the face. MultiVitamin Power Recovery Masque, referred to by Victoria Beckham as ‘An Ambulance in a Tube’ powerfully soothes skin while restoring vitamins to leave a healthy, glowing skin. 

9. What do you recommend for reducing the appearance of broken veins and also fine lines around the eyes.

Broken veins are often a result of constant dilating and contraction of the blood vessels in the face. 

This can be genetic where skin naturally flushes easily or from environmental factors such as changes to climate or being in central heating and air-conditioning repeatedly.

Keep skin calm with spritz toners that reduce redness and minimise the length of time the skin is red.  Topical product is unable to realistically remove broken veins but certainly can prevent them from getting worse.

At 0.5mm thick, the skin around the eyes is one of the thinnest on the body, making it one of the first areas to show the signs of ageing. Using eye products which strengthen the skin and the deeper structural proteins such as collagen will help keep skin resilient and firm.  Retinol is one of the best known ingredients to target ageing.

Only use formulas designed for around the eyes to ensure the percentage is buffered for this sensitive area.  Initially skin may need to build tolerance but this ingredient is sure to get results like no other.

10. My face and arms go very red when I get too warm like if I run or stand near a Bunsen burner and they get very itchy think it might have something to do with my smaller pores but I'm not sure.

Sounds like your skin may be genetically sensitive. Sensitive skins have more reactive blood vessels that easily dilate in response to heat.  This can be heat from external factors such as environment or internal body mechanism such as cooling the body from exercise.

One our skins primary functions is temperature regulation. It does this through dilating blood vessels to release heat.  In sensitive skins there is also a higher level of histamine.  This pro inflammatory chemical is designed to help promote positive inflammation in response to injury or invaders. 

Due to the higher level of histamine this is an over-response causing itching on the skin. Unfortunately we can only try manage sensitive skins. Using products that help build skin tolerance such as Ultra Calming Serum Concentrate will improve skin resilience to external and internal factors.

 

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Ah, another day, another person telling us we're doing things wrong.

And in this case, we're all apparently making tea wrong.

The cheek of someone telling us Irish how to make tea… pfft.

I know it's a completely frivolous thing, but it really grinds my gears.

Person Holding Silver Pitcher

We're living in an age where people have the tools (hello, Internet) to voice their numerous opinions, and while this can be a fantastic thing, it also lends itself to utter sh*te.

Twitter users, who have no beauty expertise, are telling us how to wash our hair, and Instagram fans are giving out to mothers who give their kids a peck on the cheek – and it comes to a point when it's just so tiring and ridiculous.

And the latest in a long line of 'experts' is William Gorman, of the UK's Tea and Infusions Association, who has come out today to say that we're all ruining our beverages by reboiling the water.

He obviously hasn't heard of the water charges over here in Ireland…

Person Holding White Ceramic Coffee Cup Leaning on Brown Wooden Table

But in all honestly, 1) we probably knew this in the first place and 2) do we really care?

William told The Telegraph: "Usually when people’s tea goes cold they reboil the kettle and make another cup. But doing this you are guaranteed to give yourself a dull cup of tea.

"You need freshly drawn water for a good cup because reboiling it takes out all the oxygen and nitrogen out of it."

When Cosmo commented on Will's views, they quipped "WHO KNEW," but we're giving the right old stance of 'who gives a f*ck'.

Image result for tea gif

So, from now on, we're going to stop listening to all these 'experts' telling us that we're living our lives wrong, because guess what? We're going to live our lives the way we want to.

#RantOver… I'm going to reboil the kettle.

Oh, and while we have you; don't forget to have your say in the inaugural SHEmazing Awards this May! It's time to vote, and you can do it right here! 

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Ever get the itch to bitch but think it’s better to hold that frustration inside?

Well, according to the experts, from now on it might be better for your health and your friendships to share those not so nice thoughts with others.

According to Marie Claire, social psychologists have discovered that having a good rant can be therapeutic and is essential when it comes to bonding with friends.

Dr Jenny Cole told the mag: “When we talk about someone behind their back, an emotional bond develops with the person we’re speaking to.”

“And that bond is stronger when the information is negative…Because it’s riskier to share a negative view, so the trust between you and that person becomes greater.”

As it turns out, bitching is not a new social phenomenon by any means and actually goes way back to when we first evolved from primates and learned to speak.

Dr Cole believes gossiping replaced grooming (a means by which apes bond) as a key form of social interaction – so the next time you catch yourself having a little rant, you could say it's a natural thing?

But before anyone takes the news to the extreme and goes on a total bitching spree altogether, it might be worth noting that, like anything, when taken too far gossiping can be damaging.  

Oxford Professor Robin Dunbar warns: “Carried to extremes, [bitching] can of course be harmful.”

“But I think its primary function is to maintain the stability of the little community you belong to by establishing a collective view.”

“If so-and-so is behaving in a way you think is wrong, you hope eventually they’ll get to hear of it through the group.”

Sounds like it's time to get the girls over for a little chat!

 

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Experts have warned about how the 5:2 diet may make you live longer, but it could also leave you more susceptible to infection.

The diet, which involves eating next to nothing for two days during the week is said to lower blood pressure, but scientists from the University of Bath have been testing on fruit flies over the last year, and they’ve found that the diet can lead to a 20% increase in infections.

The leader of the study Dr Nick Priest, a lecturer in biology and biochemistry said:

“We know that certain stresses such as starvation or exposure to pathogens can extend life and increase fertility, but we have found that ironically this has a trade-off in terms of immune function.

“Our findings are not all that surprising. We have known for decades that starved mice are more likely to succumb to serious infections.”

“But, there has been a lot more interest in the short term benefits than potential long-term costs.”

“There are clear health benefits to diets such as the 5:2 regime, but we need to bear in mind there are side effects.

“It shows that even the fountain of youth should come with a warning label.”

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