Skin Scan Technology- How it can help you achieve your skin goals.
So.. the winter weather is starting to kick in and your skin is freaking out, you are feeling dry, oily and tight all at the same time and to top it all off your breaking out, what is heck is going on with your skin?!
The change in weather can really wreck havoc on your skin, whether it be in the summer when the sweat and oils cause more acne and breakouts, or the winter when our skin dries out and becomes flaky, dry and tight. It takes about 2 weeks for the skin to right itself once there's a change in the weather and this is the perfect time to come see a professional skin therapist about your skin concerns and goals.
This is where Photographic Skin Scans come into play, now.. when you get a facial at a beauty clinic your therapist will usually ask you what your concerns are with your skin, whether you feel as though you're oily, dry or even normal and what you currently use on your skin, they will then proceed to look at and feel your skin and tell you all the things they see and how they can help. Now.. this is all good and well, but the things they are mentioning you can't even see on your own face? How do you know they aren't just saying this to sell you products? Are you sure you even care about the pigmentation they've mentioned is spread across your forehead and cheeks? The answer to all these questions lies in the Photographic Skin Scanner, this wonderful piece of machinery uses special digital photography to provide a report of your skins conditon and advice about what products and treatments you can use/have to treat those certain skin conditions. The Skin Scan will also show you things such as:
Measurement of pore size and number
Measurement of wrinkles
An anaylsis of pigment on your skin
Determination of UV damage on your skin
Identifying the cause of acne, by looking at the acne causing bacteria
An evaluation of vascular conditions and causes of skin redness. Mint Beauty Therapy in Te Awamutu provide Photographic Skin Scans for $50 which is redeemable on product on the day! Ring 07 870 3938 to book an appointment if you are interested or book online at mintbeauty.co.nz
The skin scanner will take 3 pictures of your skin using different light spectrums to show you skin conditons invisible to the naked eye! Below, I've taken the liberty of using the skin scanner myself so you can see exactly how it works and how helpful it can be. (Also would love to mention the fact that we should not be ashamed of what the skin scan shows us, it's a tool to give us our best skin yet and to teach us how to look after it. If you dont have perfect skin in the beginning, it's totally ok.. it's the reason your getting the skin scan in the first place isnt it?)
This is a screenshot of what the skin scan looks like, when you come in and get it done your skin therapist will talk you through what it all means.. it's not as scary as it looks I promsie. The photo on the far left shows the size of my pores and where they are the most large, because I am an oily skin type it makes sense that this would be in my t-zone, where my skin is the oiliest. The middle photo shows where the p-acne bacteria and oil flow is on my face.. I havent been diligent with washing my makeup brushes recently so it definitely shows how much it makes a difference on your face when you don't pay enough attention to doing a small thing like that every week.
There are many more areas of the face that we look at under the skin scanner, to help us understand the underlying factors of what is going on on the surface of your skin, above is just one of the examples of the things we can look at under the skin scan.
Although it is definitely scary to see what's happening underneath the skins surface and what damage we are potientally doing to our skin, it's so important to know why this is happening (especially if you have skin issues such as acne, pigmentation and the likes) and the skin scan is a perfect way of actually seeing what is going on. You can see in the middle photo of this screenshot where all my UV damage is, seeing things like this makes me so much more consious of applying sunscreen everyday, something (even as a beauty therapist) I can go past and not think about until I'm out and about and doing my thing.
It is incredibly hard (and expensive) to find skin products that will work for you, and ease the problem areas you think you have (but might not actually have) so to be able to educate teenagers and adults is such an amazing feeling. You feel so empowered when you know exactly what's going on with your skin and how to help it and with the technology we have available it is so much easier to find out than ever before. I highly recommend giving a skin scan a go, even if its just to see what things come up that you aren't aware of to see what kind of products you can get into to help you look your best for as long as possible. I use skincare and having a beauty routine as form of self care, it makes me feel calm and at peace with myself and is a time of the night that is just for me, to take a breath and let go of the day. The skin does all its healing best at night time, so having a night time skincare routine that is best for you is so important and as mentioned many times above, its incredibly important to know what products your skin needs, your skin can actually get worse if you keep using products that aren't right for your skin type.
The last picture shows where my skin is roughest, this is very interesting to note as we can miss parts of our skin when we are exfoliating and its important to know where our skin needs a bit of lovin'.
I hope you have enjoyed this blog post, and a little bit of insight as to what skin scan technology can do for you. I added photos of my own skin scan so you can really see what the it looks like and the sort of problems the average skin has, such as oil and pigmentation. A professional skin therapist is there to treat any concerns you may have, and knows a ridiculous amount about the biology of the skin, so if you come in, don't be scared to ask any questions you may have about your skin concerns. We should be educating girls and woman about the skin that they are in, this is how we can get young girls and woman to stop with the photoshop, the comparison and the self doubt about their appearance. The beauty industry can be such a huge and scary place with all sorts of skin tips tricks, and hacks and makeup everywhere you look on the internet. Young girls especially can get so caught up in the whirlwhind that is youtube and spend hours and hours and hundreds of dollars on things that are only exacerbating the problem in the first place. We need to bring it back to basics, get woman to get to know their own skin and how it needs to be treated, and find products that work and I believe that's what a skin scan can provide. Thanks so much for reading. I am hugely passionate about the skin, so if you have any questions at all please feel free to message me on my Facebook page 'Beauty and Lifestyle by Hayley' or instagram @notjustaprettyfaceblog_