Busting Skincare Myths
There is so much information available to us at every turn that it can be overwhelming, confusing and frustrating trying to keep it straight. I thought I’d do my part by busting a few myths that pertain to caring for our skin during the coldest season of the year.
Raquel x
MYTH #1: YOU DON’T NEED SUNSCREEN IN THE WINTER MONTHS TRUTH: YOU SHOULD BE WEARING BROAD SPECTRUM SUNSCREEN EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR
This is a complicated myth with a lot of tentacles, so let me break them down.
1. The idea that a cloudy sky will prevent UV irradiation full stop is sadly untrue. You can ignore the UV Index as far as hoping that a low UV Index means SPF isn’t necessary. You might not get a sunburn on a UVI 0-2 day, but UVA will still reach your skin, accelerating aging and causing hyperpigmentation. So if you care about that at all (and if you’re reading this, you clearly do) then commit to wearing sunscreen daily.
2. Many people believe that they will not produce Vitamin D without unprotected sun exposure. While sun exposure does support natural Vitamin D production, there’s no universal time recommendation. The Exposure-to-Vitamin D formula depends on your skin tone, your geographic location, the time of year, time of day, and how much skin is exposed. It could range from 3 minutes to 23! And regardless of the amount of exposure, we know that unprotected sun exposure causes DNA damage. It can even occur at less than 1/5 of your burn threshold. In order to strike a balance between healthy Vitamin D levels and prevention of cancer/aging, it may be necessary to determine your baseline via a blood test and discuss the results with your doctor and dermatologist.
3. It’s commonly believed that UV rays stop when they encounter glass. Unfortunately, this is not entirely true. UVB doesn’t pass through glass, however UVA does. This means that being inside all day doesn’t preclude you from needing sunscreen. There are complicated mathematical formulas to determine the amount of exposure one gets based on the size of the window, time of day, and proximity to the window, but nobody has time for that. Good rule of thumb – if you can see the sky from your seat, UVA can reach you. Wear your sunscreen, and reapply every two hours to maintain that protection.
ROCKY’S RECS:
MYTH #2: YOU NEED TO STEP UP EXFOLIATION TO GET RID OF DRY DEAD SKIN
TRUTH: EXFOLIATION SHOULD BE LIMITED TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY BARRIER
I understand where this myth comes from. Flaky skin = dead skin = exfoliate that ish away! Only this belief ignores the very important and often neglected skin barrier.
The stratum corneum is comprised of dead skin cells, sure, but it also contains lipids like ceramides, cholesterol and free fatty acids. There’s also a layer called the acid mantle, which keeps the skin at a slightly acidic pH, helping to manage the microbiome. Together, these layers protect our skin from invaders and prevent dehydration (aka transepidermal water loss, or TEWL).
However, the barrier can become compromised pretty easily, from harsh products, hot water, cold weather, low humidity, and exposure to UV and pollution. When the barrier is compromised, skin can be red, tender, itchy, dry, raw, peely, and inflamed. Sounds delightful!
Considering how delicate the barrier is in the face of these winter conditions, how do we prevent all this from occurring? First step is to moisturize like your life depends on it. Look for ingredients like ceramides, shea butter, tocopherol and jojoba oil. Bonus points if it also contains squalane, glycerin or ectoin. Second – pull back on the exfoliation. This means limit your AHAs, enzymes, peels, scrubs, etc to once per week. Third, get a humidifier. I love my Carepod because it holds a large volume of water and is insanely easy to clean.
But I have an Important Disclaimer!! This advice is primarily for “normal” to “dry” skin types. If you produce a LOT of oil or have severe acne, ignore all blanket advice and just stick to what your esthetician tells you.
ROCKY’S RECS
Auteur Definitive Lifting Toner
MYTH #3: YOUR SKIN CAN HANDLE MORE RETINOL IN THE WINTER
TRUTH: WINTER ISN’T THE TIME TO INTENSIFY YOUR EXISTING RETINOID PRODUCT
This may sound paradoxical, but the lack of UV exposure in the winter months actually slows down the rate at which Vitamin A is depleted from your skin. Wait what?? You’ve probably heard that summer is the worst time to use retinoids, now I’m telling you to be careful in the winter, too?? Allow me to explain
The Vitamin A stored in our skin is depleted by UV exposure. When we blast the skin with more Vitamin A than it can handle, it responds with retinization, or a retinoic reaction. This is the name for symptoms like redness, peeling, irritation, raw skin, etc. This is why we have to start low and go slow when introducing retinoids – a lifetime of UV exposure without topical supplementation means the Vitamin A receptors in our skin are weak from disuse. In my dream world, we would start using very low concentrations of Vitamin A as pre-teens in order to prevent this deficiency from ever occurring.
So fast forward to now – you’ve been using Vitamin A daily or close to it, you’ve worked your way up and your skin can handle a nice, healthy concentration. Every so often you’ll be ready to move up to the next level. Winter is not the best time to do it, and if you want to try leveling up anyway, you need to be very careful to avoid irritation. I typically recommend sticking with your current level of Vitamin A at this time of year. If you do increase the concentration, do it slowly, by alternating with your current level for a few weeks to make sure you don’t experience a reaction.
It’s important to note that ignoring that advice about summer retinoid use is limited to the cosmetic derivatives of Vitamin A – namely Retinyl Palmitate, Retinyl Acetate and Retinyl Propionate. Retinyl Retinoate (a patented Verso molecule) is also included in this category. Derivatives like Retinol and Retinoic Acid (available by RX only) degrade in sunlight and do cause photosensitivity, so these two are the forms that are not to be used in the daytime and should be discontinued when spending time in the sun.
ROCKY’S RECS
IT’S WRITTEN IN THE STARS
Our very own Monica David gives us the scoop on the rare occurrence of Pluto Entering Aquarius. ♒️
As of January 20, 2024, Pluto has moved into Aquarius. What does this mean? Pluto, the planet that rules death and rebirth, major transformation, power struggles, destruction, and ultimately inevitable change – has now shifted into the sign of Aquarius, which hasn’t happened in 245 years!
The sign of Aquarius itself is rebellious, innovative, progressive, and it rules communities and technology. So now that Pluto has entered this radical sign, expect to see profound changes in your personal lives, and on a global scale in the years to come! Pluto will stay in Aquarius until 2043.
