A few age-conscious clients looking for product recommendations

I am interested in a night cream. I am 27 and very age conscious, so the product needs to be anti-aging. I have combination skin—dry cheeks and a slightly congested t-zone area with some broken capillaries throughout my skin.

The first thing I would say in response to this email is this person needs to give up the anti-aging concerns, at least at first. Let me reiterate: you need to prioritize how to treat your skin. The first and foremost concern is the amount of oil your skin is producing. This emailer has combination skin, which means that she has a little too much oil production in the common areas of her nose, forehead and chin. Her cheeks probably aren’t truly dry; they may feel that way, but I imagine the skin on her cheeks is normal. She may, however, be even slightly dehydrated, making her skin feel dry where she isn’t as oily.

Starting with normal to oily skin is really where she needs to focus. The concern she has about aging is justified, of course. She is 27 years old and is just at the beginning of seeing the aging process start. What I want to tell her is: just wait! The lines and wrinkles that you may just have inklings of now will deepen with time, no matter what you do (short of cosmetic procedures). Perhaps reading Ageless Beauty—Part I and Part II will help to influence how she perceives the aging process. Starting at this early age, still in her 20s, could really make a difference in the long-term. 

If she was to go to the department store looking for anti-aging products, she would probably leave with things that would cause problems and not help her skin. No doubt “anti-aging” products would contain ingredients for true-dry (oil-dry) skin; ingredients that would work for that type of skin, but on her skin they could increase the congestion she mentioned at best, and at the worst, cause breakout.

Can you see how you can’t get caught up in the marketing words used in skin care products? You must stick to your guns and buy products based on the number one priority: oil or lack of oil produced by your oil glands. If you veer off course, you will be contacting me with a concern about your problem skin, when the cause could be something as simple as using products that aren’t appropriate for your skin type. Even if this person was 55, she still might not need a product that has a lot of oils and emollients. It all would depend on the amount of oil in her pores.

This emailer’s second concern was broken capillaries. This probably causes her skin to be a bit sensitive. But again, she doesn’t necessarily want to buy products specifically for sensitive skin. It all depends on if those same products will work for her normal to oily skin type. Even in the line I sell (Yonka-Paris), many of the products for sensitive skin are better utilized by those who have normal to dry skin. If a client has oily or combination skin and is also sensitive, I will always treat the oil first.

Products—any product—shouldn’t cause irritation or aggravate sensitive skin. So using products for normal to oily or combination skin shouldn’t cause her skin to react. If she can find sensitive skin products that don’t also create more congestion in her pores, great. As always, it will be a trial and error process, no matter whose products you are using.

Based on this young lady’s comments, this is how I would prioritize what she needs to look for in skin care products:

• First, treat the normal to oily skin with skin type appropriate products.
• Second, know what to do and what not to do for the broken capillaries. See Couperose Skin explained (see link below).
• Lastly, if aging—or aging well—is a concern, be armed with knowledge about the truth and the myths of products and procedures in regard to aging.  

She would do well to watch the amount of sun exposure she is accumulating as well as look at her diet to see where she may need some adjustments that could help her body in the short and long run. Aging, first and foremost, is genetic. Premature aging and aging in general is next due to sun exposure (especially overexposure). And diet can create health or dis-ease in our bodies.

Another young lady wrote:

I’ve started noticing a couple of (gasp!) wrinkles around my mouth and eyes. Any suggestions? Yes, I am wearing sunscreen and a hat!

Yes, wrinkles will come, and there is only so much you can do. When you have the first inklings of lines appearing, it may be disconcerting. You’re going from nothing to something. Hopefully, you’ll get used to the lines because they will get deeper with time.

Sun plus time equals aging. This equation is age old and undeniable. Wear sunscreen and sunglasses to prevent excessive squinting; all those things you know to do—do! Eye cream is vital if you aren’t already wearing it daily, and hats are absolutely necessary when in the sun. If you find a good one, let me know—I’m always on the lookout. And exfoliating is crucial to help keep the dead cell buildup off your face, making the lines look less severe.

I’m sorry I don’t have a miracle cure for you. But you can always go to the department store—they are full of miracles! It’ll cost you, and it’s doubtful you’ll see any big results, but they are selling miracles! Decide what is important: how you look or who you are. Miracle cures can be found in someone else’s books, blogs, or products. With me you will get the truth, and the truth is we are all aging every second of every day. How are you going to use your time?

For more information, see:

• Using dry skin products on oily skin—STOP THE INSANITY!
• Sensitive Skin: Q & A
• Couperose Skin explained

—not usually in jars of cream, tho