Skin Care Protocol

As I have mentioned many times in other threads, skin health or external health is a reflection of your internal health/environment, so nutritional deficiencies and inflammation/oxidative stress from your diet and environment also play a role, in addition to your light environment (artificial/blue light at night and sufficient daily sunlight exposure).

With that said, there are some topical products that may be beneficial for management while fixing the internal, while also maintaining long-term integrity of the skin. One may have to try different products, as everyone’s skin will react in its own way to external stimuli.

While searching for products for the face, there are some ingredients that should be avoided:

- citrus essential oils may cause skin irritation especially when exposed to sun

- “fragrance/parfum” is usually referring to various petrochemicals unless specifically stated otherwise

- parabens can be disruptive for the endocrine system

- all non mineral-based sunscreens are readily absorbed into the body, some even possessing carcinogenic and endocrine disruptive activity, along with there being a higher chance of an allergy being developed

Water quality also plays a role in skin health as chlorine, excessive iron, excessive calcium, and other water pollutants will not only absorb into the body but will also dry skin out. I recommend purchasing a dual KDF shower filter.

Cleansing the skin with a gentle cleanser or just water (depending on if there are other products used to accumulate beforehand such as makeup or mineral sunscreens) particularly at night is important to remove free radicals accumulated in the skin during the daytime.

Exfoliation 1-3 times weekly depending on skin sensitivity. One may use chemical exfoliants for this purpose such as PHAs, BHAs, and AHAs. However caution must be taken with these as they increase sensitivity to the sun, therefore ideally a mineral based sunscreen would have to be applied in conjunction to these products.

As for physical exfoliation, there are generally three levels to look for depending on skin sensitivities. Sensitive skin types do best with scrubs containing fine grain exfoliants such as oats, rice, or micro jojoba wax beads. Regular skin types do best with medium-sized jojoba beads or botanicals. Tougher skin types can handle products containing ingredients such as nut hulls and seeds.

A good recipe for exfoliation that can be made at home is as follows. The ingredients can be ground in a food processor and sifted if needed to suit your individual skin needs.

2 tbsp rolled oats
1 tbsp rice
1 tbsp white kaolin clay, or bentonite clay for oilier skin types.

This recipe is to be stored dry and only moistened in small amounts on the hands so as to prevent it from molding. This recipe can also be used as a mask where the beta-glucans and phytic acid from the oats can help brighten the skin. Potential additives for this as a mask include kefir for probiotics and lactic acid, green tea powder for antioxidants, Gotu kola powder for skin regeneration, and honey as a humectant.

Skin treatment ingredients for targeted issues

Hyperpigmentation: Skincare products containing tyrosinase inhibitors have been shown to be helpful for hyperpigmentation. Some tyrosinase inhibitors include vitamin C (which in a formulation, should also contain vitamin E and ferulic acid to maintain the stability of vitamin C), kojic acid extracted from mushrooms, licorice root, alpha arbutin- derived from bearberries, and quercetin. Niacinamide may also be useful. Gotu kola is also great for this purpose.

Hydration and aging: Hyaluronic acid-containing products, snail mucin, tremella mushroom, rice extract, Gotu kola extract (Centella asiatica), and ceramides.

Acne: Gotu Kola again due to its madecassic acid content which aids in wound healing, inflammation reduction, and scar prevention. Niacinamide again, as it helps with redness and slowing down the production of excess sebum. Licorice root extract is also useful for acne due to its content of glycyrrhizin.

Hydration and sun protection:

For most people with average skin, a plain unscented moisturizer will do just fine. Those with dryer skin may want to seal moisturizer with an occlusive layer such as lanolin or tallow. Those with oily skin may want to try to find a gel-based moisturizer.

If you are someone who requires or prefers sun protection, a combination of zinc and titanium dioxide in a product is a safe alternative to chemical sunscreens.

As always, if things aren’t working, try something different.