Get glowing

Adding advanced services to your menu is a great way to generate additional revenue and tackle complicated skin issues. Angela Taylor, Dermalogica’s director of education for the UK and Ireland, explains how

How can beauty pros tap into the growing interest in skin health and glowing skin?

“Even if you’re not active on social media, it’s good to stay abreast of trends and to understand what’s having an impact because we need to have an open dialogue with our clients. So, if we see a trend like glass skin, we need to be able to either leverage the treatments we offer or educate in the right homecare to help to achieve that look. You can also correct any misinformation, so when you see the wrong trends coming into fruition and influencing clients, you can steer it in the right direction.

“Conversation is one thing, but the other thing is to consider whether your menu includes services that are going to benefit the health of the skin in the long term but also give an instant result. People are looking for shifts in the skin where they can really see a difference. Last year, Dermalogica launched LuminFusion, a supercharged service that combines exfoliation stacking, luminosity through red light therapy, and nano-infusion technology to infuse actives into the skin.

“Since we introduced LuminFusion, a lot of accounts are experiencing increased demand from clients looking for services that have no downtime and show instant results but can also be used as a steppingstone or maintenance for more advanced treatments. These allow you to charge a higher price point.”

Are there any skin concerns that might pose a problem for achieving glowing skin?

“Pigmentation affects a lot of people and can be frustrating because hyperpigmentation can make skin look dull as it prevents light from reflecting. We therefore need to consider how we can safely tackle pigmentation on the skin and be inclusive of all Fitzpatrick skin types.”

How do you safely treat pigmentation on a range of skin tones?

“When we look at pigmentation, there are two cells that are very interconnected – the melanocyte cell which produces melanin pigment, and the Langerhans cell which is connected to immune inflammatory response. Inflammation in the skin can lead to production of melanin, and equally when we have a nervous response from the brain – from stress, for example – we release certain neuropeptides as well as melanocyte-simulating hormones that stop the inflammation which is being induced.

“So if inflammation is induced in melanin-rich skin, it can be more prone to pigmentation. Sometimes aggressive peels or resurfacing treatments have been more difficult to use on melanin-rich skin without invoking an inflammatory response. There are now more inclusive ingredient formulations and technology that we can leverage to treat the entire Fitzpatrick scale.”

Which skincare ingredients do you recommend for treating pigmentation?

“For exfoliation, look at the hydroxy acid group because the acids can be multifunctional – salicylic is also antiinflammatory. Lactic acid is another example that has brightening and exfoliating properties. Azelaic and tranexamic acid are also fantastic because they inhibit the tyrosinase enzyme, interfere with the cascade of melanin production, and help cell turnover. We also need ingredients to tackle the actual production of melanin – tranexamic acid again, but also niacinamide, which helps block the melanin pathway between the melanocyte and keratinocyte cells, are incredibly effective in doing this.

“We recently launched the Melanopro Peel system which uses a lot of these active ingredients that resurface the skin to remove pigmented cells while also addressing the melanocyte cell itself. It has been specifically formulated to be suitable across the fitzpatrick scale. This can also be combined with homecare with vitamin C and peptides, as well as SPF, which is non-negotiable.”