Drawing by Leonardo da Vinci
On Thursday I had the pleasure of an in-depth skin consultation with Linda Jackson of the Face Place in Albany, for an article I am researching on Cosmeceuticals (if you're wondering what I mean by cosmeceutical here is a great article written by Milly Nolan of Mindfood.com). I had dozens of similar experiences in my 10 years of beauty marketing so I usually leave feeling a little hohum.
With Linda, I had not one but two lightbulb moments. First of all, I asked her what the most important thing is to use on your skin (assuming she would say 'moisturiser'). Her response was 'vitamin A because it is essential to the nucleus of every skin cell. If you don't do anything else to your skin, at least use vitamin A in some form, but get professional advice first to avoid reactions.' Vitamin C and other antioxidants came in second and third, followed by moisturiser (she even said it is better to be slightly under-hydrated than under-treated with vitamin A) and last of all, cleansing. Apparently, we all cleanse far too often and should only do it once a day at most, in the evening, to remove makeup and the grime of the day. That's it.
The second 'ding' was that she talked about my home care routine for 50 out of the 60 minutes of our appointment, only mentioning her treatment recommendations at the very end. When I commented on this, she was quick to emphasise that home care is 70% of beautiful skin, and if clients aren't prepared to invest in that, there is little point prescribing a lengthy and potentially pricey treatment plan. It was refreshing to hear such an unapologetic (and logical!) approach to home care, which is so often an afterthought at beauty salons.
How about you, beaunz belles? Have you used vitamin A on your skin? Did you notice a difference?
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