Ask the experts

How can I help my clients deal with “lockdown skin”?

With the on/off coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions causing us to spend more time indoors, this can lead to a stressed complexion. Yet, there are ways to help your clients treat the effects of lockdown skin.

The emotional and mental impact the pandemic is having on our lives is causing many of us to be overwhelmed with feelings of anxiety. This can often lead to stress and restless sleep, which take their toll on the skin.

Advise clients to use the grounding actions of essential oils to balance their emotions, giving a feeling of support. A simple yet effective way is by using a diffuser unit to vaporise the chosen blend into the air, allowing them to inhale the aromatherapy benefits throughout the day.

Essential oils such as rosewood help to comfort the emotions and hush the mind, while rose oil gently soothes the senses and allows the burdens and emotional frustrations of the day to gently ebb away.

As we stay at home, many of us crank up the central heating to keep warm. Doing so introduces dry air into our homes and working environments, depleting essential moisture from the skin and leading to dehydration.

Tightness, itching and irritation are just some of the side effects clients may experience, so the use of correct, topically applied products is essential.

Getting clients to apply serums rich in hyaluronic acid will benefit the skin greatly by infusing moisture into the top layers. Hyaluronic acid holds up to 1,000 times its own weight in moisture to bind it to the skin’s surface and distribute it where it is needed, hydrating the skin and giving a healthy, dewy, plumped appearance.

With beauty therapists unable to work, and many clients also being furloughed, staying at home is leading to a more sedentary lifestyle, and the accumulation of toxins from less physical activity and consumption of more food and drink during lockdown days is leading to more people experiencing a bloated skin appearance.

Tell them to invigorate and detoxify the body with dry body brushing, which is like a mini workout for the skin. Firm bristles invigorate and stimulate the skin, increasing circulation and assisting with the elimination of waste fluid by enhancing the lymphatic system to give a refreshed skin appearance.

Not only does this improve the appearance of the skin but leaves it feeling soft and prepared for application of body moisturiser.

Matt Taylor is education manager for professional aromatherapy brand Eve Taylor, where he has developed strategies for growth.

How can I effectively combine microdermabrasion with other treatments?

Microdermabrasion (MDA) is one of the most versatile professional treatments around. First introduced to the UK beauty market more than 25 years ago, it is still seen today as a salon staple.

So, why is it so versatile? Depending on which system you look at, MDA offers a “progressive, not aggressive” effect on the skin, allowing you to perform superficial peeling of the stratum corneum, reducing its thickness through mechanical abrasion of the dead skin cells and thus correcting surface irregularities. This effect creates the perfect preparation for many other salon treatments. So, why is it so versatile? Depending on which system you look at, MDA offers a “progressive, not aggressive” effect on the skin, allowing you to perform superficial peeling of the stratum corneum, reducing its thickness through mechanical abrasion of the dead skin cells and thus correcting surface irregularities. This effect creates the perfect preparation for many other salon treatments.

MDA treatments combined with microneedling create an effective and intensive rejuvenation treatment. Preparing the skin with MDA first will help to remove the dead keratinised skin cells that have built up on the surface, which makes the skin appear somewhat dull and lifeless.

Removing these cells will aid penetration, allowing oxygen and active ingredients to travel deeper into the skin. The tiny micro needles will also be more effective when passed over skin as they will be able to penetrate the surface layers more evenly and stimulate fibroblasts, which is essential for collagen regeneration.

Another anti-ageing treatment that is good to combine with MDA is oxygen therapy. Carrying out an MDA treatment prior to oxygen therapy will act as a preparation of the skin due to the combined abrasion and vacuum action, which stimulates the microcirculation, improving blood flow in the epidermal layers.

This increases the supply of nutrients and oxygen to the tissues, which is essential for the stimulation of fibroblasts needed for skin regeneration, as these skin cells release collagen proteins that help fortify cellular structure.