Men love soft, shiny skin. Here’s how to get it.
Nothing exudes youth and sex appeal more than the healthy sheen of nude, supple skin. While the cosmetics industry would love to have you believe that more makeup translates to a more attractive appearance, most men we spoke to actually say they prefer their women with LESS, not more makeup. There lies the conundrum, we women face. How can we bare our faces if our skin is anything less than flawless? We spoke to two skin experts, Marisa Tay, a freelance makeup artist and Dr Low Chai Ling from The SW1 Clinic on their take on how we can make it or fake it when it comes to glowing skin.
A LITTLE SCIENCE
Skin has three layers:
- The epidermis is the “raincoat” of our skin, it provides a waterproof barrier and creates our skin
- The dermis, beneath the epidermis, contains tough connective tissue, hair follicles, and sweat glands.
- The deeper subcutaneous tissue or “storeroom” is made of fat and connective tissue.
Together, these three layers work merrily together to provide three main functions: protection, regulation and sensation.
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A COLLAGEN A DAY KEEPS AGE AWAY…
Collagen is a protein produced by our cells that helps “hold” the skin together, keeping it looking younger and giving it firmness and elasticity. Think of it as ‘skin cement’. When we’re young, our skin stays plump and smooth because it constantly regenerates itself. As you age, your body naturally stops producing collagen and the existing collagen will begin to break down. This leads to facial sagging and wrinkles and gives skin a rough appearance. This also explains why it takes a longer time for our skin to heal and regenerate itself as we get older.
Does oral collagen work? There was a little debate in which the British Skin Foundation did assert that eating collagen did not benefit the skin. “It is quite a subjective matter as we all have different skin make-ups and different diets, which of course has an effect on what results we will see” says Marisa who does not take any oral collagen herself. The general rule of any supplements however is that you need to take them for 2 months before you can feel or see any significant benefit.
Our verdict: GIVE IT A MISS
Dream Sculpture is a skin lifting injectable made from Sculptra; it is not a filler in the sense it does not have an immediate volumizing effect. Rather, its main benefits stem from coaxing your skin to produce its own collagen over the next few months, thus earning it hoards of followers yearning to stave away the effects of age. “My patients are those in their thirties and forties who want to stay younger than their actual age. You see those 50 year olds with faces of a twenty-something? They are probably on Dream Sculpture. Its more prevention than cure, but we all know what when it comes to aging, prevention is king” says Dr Low who treats her patients with Dream Sculpture at her clinic in Orchard Road.
Our verdict: GIVE IT A TRY
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A LITTLE HYALURONIC ACID GOES A LONG WAY
The polymer hyaluronic acid is an important natural component of skin produced by fibroblast skin cells, which decreases as you age. Skin starts losing hyaluronic acid as early as age 18, but wrinkles and other skin damage from hyaluronic acid loss don’t generally show up until the late 30s or early 40s. Preserving or regaining hyaluronic acid is a goal of many skin care scientists and products that can help with these tasks can keep skin supple and youthful-looking.
Hyaluronic acid is an effective skin moisturizer. It’s a humectant, which means it draws water to the skin and helps prevent moisture loss. Studies have shown a Vitamin B5 containing hyaluronic acid serum can plump up surface fine lines and reduce crepey skin with continued use. Hyaluronic acid holds 1,000 times its own weight in water, thus attracting water to the skin and holding it there. “Though topical hyaluronic acid cannot be incorporated into your skin as hyaluronic acid itself, and has little to no anti-aging impact on the skin, except for its ability to hydrate your skin, we know that skin that is hydrated is more protected against environmental assault and looks glowing under makeup!” advises Marisa who often primes her clients with a hyaluronic acid serum before foundation.
Our verdict: GIVE IT A TRY
There are many ways to replenish the lost hyaluronic acid in your skin. One of the ways is the use of natural hyaluronic acid fillers. For those aiming to rejuvenate a dull complexion, Revitalift uses complexion-boosting hyaluronic fillers delivered in micro-droplets to give skin a dewy glow. “Because Revitalift is not made like other fillers, it doesn’t give added volume to the face” says Dr Low. “It’s main effect is to enhance the complexion by increasing the hyaluronic acid content of the superficial skin. My patients love the natural results!”
Our verdict: GIVE IT A TRY
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WATER YOUR SKIN
Your skin is made up of cells. And skin cells, like any other cell in the body, are made up of water. Without water, the organs will certainly not function properly or at their best. If your skin is not getting the sufficient amount of water, the lack of hydration will present itself by turning your skin dry, tight and flaky. Dry skin has less resilience and is more prone to wrinkling.
As water is lost in large quantities every day, you need to replace it somehow. The unfortunate truth about drinking water and skin is that water will reach all the other organs before it reaches the skin. So, it’s important to apply water to our skin and keep it there – this will not only show a visible difference in hydration, but it can prevent wrinkles, as well. One Clinics in Dermatology review found only one study that had examined the effects of long-term water intake on skin health. The study, published in 2007 in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, found that drinking 2.25 liters (9.5 cups) of water every day for four weeks altered skin density and thickness, but the exact results were contradictory. In terms of immediate results, one University of Missouri-Columbia study showed that drinking 500 milliliters of water (about two cups) increased blood flow to the skin.
“I’ve even found that my patients tend to complain of more acne when they’re dehydrated,” says Dr Low. “We know that small changes in diet can affect the type of oil and sebum that your skin makes, which we know, in turn, can be associated with an increase in acne formation. Dehydration may work the same way to trigger these changes in the oil glands in the skin.”
Our verdict: GIVE IT A TRY
To increase the water content of your skin, you need to optimize the water-holding capacity of your skin. This can be done by filling your skin with hyaluronic acid fillers which attracts water and holds it in place. One way to do this and give your skin a lifting effect is Filler Hydrolift which uses natural Restylane fillers to lift the skin of your face instantly. At the same time, the fillers attract water to increase the moisture content of your skin. “My older clients do better when they rejuvenate their faces with lifting fillers, then wear a minimal to moderate amount of makeup, then try to cover up their flaws with too much cosmetics” Says Marisa. “Many people think that makeup coverage increases with age, that’s not true. In my experience, older skin does not hold thick makeup well, often lending it a cakey “over made-up” effect.”
Our verdict: GIVE IT A TRY