The difference and connection between beauty and skin health

Beauty is a skin optimization method based on individual aesthetic needs. Skin health is the basic state for the skin to maintain normal physiological functions. The two are neither antagonistic nor subordinate. They are two dimensions that complement each other in skin care behavior. Talking about beauty without health is to sacrifice the root and the last, and it is too rigid to exclude reasonable beauty needs.

Not long ago, my studio received a young girl who had just graduated. In order to look good in the camera for her graduation photos, she applied low-concentration salicylic acid once a week for three months, interspersed with photorejuvenation twice in between. In the end, her face did indeed become two degrees whiter. The old acne marks on her cheeks were so light that they were almost invisible. The original camera didn't even need to peel off the skin when taking pictures. But within two weeks of being happy, he came back to me with a sad face: after being in the air-conditioned room for half an hour, my face became hot and red, and it was itchy when the wind blew. The moisturizing cream that I used to use before was painful when I applied it. I went to a dermatologist and it was measured that the transepidermal water loss rate was three times the normal value. It was clear that the barrier was damaged.

I have been doing skin care consulting for almost 8 years, and I have seen too many examples like this. The core is that the boundaries between beauty and skin health are confused. Many people think that “if your skin looks better, doesn’t it mean you are healthy?” This is not true. The two evaluation systems are not based on the same logic at all: the standards of skin health are objective and unified. No matter which school of dermatologists, the core of judgment is whether the physiological functions of the skin are normal - the water content of the stratum corneum is maintained at 10%-20%, the sebum membrane is intact, and the transepidermal water loss rate is within the normal range. There is latent inflammation, and there are no problems with pigment metabolism or immune function. To put it bluntly, the most intuitive feeling is "comfortable skin": no redness or itchiness occurs when the season changes, no skin care products sting when applied, no redness and swelling for several days after being exposed to the sun, and even acne can disappear quickly. These are hard indicators and nothing to discuss.

But beauty is different. Its standards are completely subjective and diverse. Even the aesthetics of different periods and regions are different. The beauty effects that everyone pursues are vastly different. Nowadays, the mainstream in China pursues whiteness, brightness, and firmness. Instead, many girls in Europe and the United States want to tan their healthy white skin into an even bronze color. Some people think that freckles on the face are blemishes and must try their best to remove them, while others think that freckles are personal characteristics and must highlight them. There are even differences within the skin care circle on beauty methods: Functionalists believe that immediate methods such as high-concentration vitamin A alcohol and fruit acid peels are effective, while moderates believe that long-term use of strong drugs will destroy the skin's homeostasis, and a good complexion that is slowly cultivated will last long. There are also schools of traditional Chinese medicine and skin care that believe that skin condition is a reflection of the internal energy and blood. Drinking internal prescriptions is much more effective than applying a lot of skin care products. No one is absolutely right and the other is absolutely wrong. It is just that the needs for adaptation are different.

I had a client two years ago. He had sensitive skin in his 30s, and the redness on his cheeks was like a permanent plateau red. He also had redness, swelling, and pimples all the time. He spent nearly 50,000 yuan on whitening and anti-aging essences, but nothing was absorbed. Instead, his face became more and more sensitive. Later, I asked her to stop all functional products, use simple repair cream + ceramide essence, strictly apply physical sunscreen when going out, and don’t do random medical beauty projects. After maintaining her barrier for half a year, she went to a dermatologist for a test, and the inflammatory factors were all tested. It has come down, and the transepidermal water loss rate has returned to normal. She herself said that her face is finally no longer "angry". Even if she stays up late, it will not be swollen like a pig's head like before. The natural luster on her face is better than applying three layers of foundation before. Later, she wanted to lighten the fine lines at the corners of her eyes, so she went for Botox, but it didn't turn red for several days like before. The effect lasted for almost a year and was quite good.

You see, this is the core connection between the two: skin health is the "carrier" of all beauty methods. When the skin barrier is stable and there is no inflammation, when you use whitening essence, the active ingredients can penetrate into it normally and work, and it will not cause irritation and redness as soon as it is applied to the face. ； If you undergo medical aesthetics procedures such as photon and fractional therapy, you will recover faster after surgery, and the effects will last longer, and your face will not be ruined after the procedure. In turn, reasonable beauty treatments can actually strengthen skin health: For example, if your skin is originally healthy, but your face is dark and yellow because you stay up late all the time, using some reliable antioxidant essence can not only brighten your skin color, but also reduce the damage of free radicals to the skin. On the contrary, it can delay skin aging and reduce the probability of subsequent inflammation and sensitivity.

There are two extreme opinions on the Internet now. One is "Beauty is a tax on IQ. Healthy skin is enough, don't bother with useless things." The other is "It doesn't matter if you have a bad face just to look good. It can be repaired later anyway." To be honest, both of these are quite extreme. The former actually ignores people's normal aesthetic needs: for example, many people's natural freckles and acquired acne marks do not affect their skin health, but they make them less confident. They can be improved by using compliant whitening essences and regular photon programs, so why not? Not to mention the latter. I have seen too many people take unsafe whitening injections in order to pursue "cold fair skin", and use hormone-containing ointments to quickly remove acne. In the end, they ended up with a hormonal face, which did not heal after three or four years of treatment. It was really not worth the gain.

Sometimes when I talk to clients about science, I always compare skin to the house you live in: healthy skin means that the foundation of the house is stable, the walls are strong, it does not leak air or water, and it is comfortable to live in.； Beauty means that you decorate according to your own preferences. Some people like Nordic style, some like Chinese style, some want to whitewash the walls, and some want to put up patterned wallpapers, it doesn't matter. But you can’t just knock down the load-bearing wall just to make the decoration look good, right? When the house collapses, no matter how beautiful the decoration is, it will be useless. On the other hand, if the foundation of your house is laid firmly, the decoration effect will be more durable, and the wall covering will not fall off after living in it for two days.

In fact, you don’t have to separate beauty and skin health so much, and you don’t have to stand on which team. Just figure out what your needs are, stick to the bottom line of “skin will not be uncomfortable”, and then choose the beauty method that suits you according to your needs. After all, your face is yours, and it is the most cost-effective thing to be comfortable and good-looking.