“While the weather outside is frightful, your skin must still be delightful!” A wonderful customer serenaded us with this ditty as she entered our clinic, and she couldn’t have been more on point!

If there is ever a time to take care of your skin, it’s during this winter season. Firstly, the cold and crisp air outside shocks our skin, dries it up and it all seems to shrivel; then we go inside and get blasted with the high central heating which, as comforting as it may seem, dehydrates and dries out our skin even more! All manner of sensitivities and reactions appear mostly at this time of year as well, and the result is that our skin is dry, flaky, blotchy, dull, oily, basically a complete mess!

Secondly, it’s the Holiday Season! We must look our best when attending all the glamourous parties and various events; it’s no good slinking into our opulent outfits and slipping on our perfect (but probably extremely uncomfortable) shoes, if our faces don’t match our accoutrements.

It’s really not as complicated as it all appears, I know there seems to be a plethora of undesired reactions which accompany this exciting season, but it all really boils down to one big main reason:

Our skin has a natural barrier which acts as a defence shield against external unwanted factors, such as pollutants, bacteria, loss of hydration, etc … this is called our Acid Mantle, also knows as our Hydro Lipidic Shield.

It is made up of oils, fatty acids, lactic acid, amino acids and our skins’ own NMF (Natural Moisturising Factors). This protective film has a pH of between 4.5 and 5.5, and is slightly acidic, which is why it is referred to as our “Acid Mantle”.

Now for the exciting stuff! How does this affect you?

All of these protective oils waterproof our skin and help keep the skin cells tight and flat (as opposed to loose and at an angle), protecting your skin from all of the elements like wind, extreme cold and extreme heat. They also make it harder for bacteria and other microbes to penetrate the skin.

Our Hydro Lipidic Shields can be disrupted if you use gel or foam products to clean or treat your skin, the real way to tell if this is happening, is if your skin feels “squeaky clean” and tight after you’ve treated it. Just like when you find that perfect pair of suede boots, and the lovely shop assistant offers to spray protectant on them, but you’re in a rush so it doesn’t happen. The next day, you put them on … they’re fabulous, it rains … and those blasted water stains are not budging. Just as your wonderful suede boots need protection, so does your skin.

Some simple rules to keep your Acid Mantle strong and healthy:

• Gel and foam cleansers are our most notorious culprit. Get your hands on an oil-based cleanser, like a milk or a balm. We recommend our wonderful milk cleansers which not only cleanse the skin thoroughly within one wash, but they will also treat your skin according to your specific concerns, whether you need some glow, some nourishment, or some oil-regulating; we have the perfect one for you!

• Regulate your pH on your skin and make sure it’s at a perfect level to keep it strong! The best way to do that it to exfoliate with an appropriate hydroxy acid-based lotion, which we just so happen to be famous for! Whether you have a sensitive tendency to your skin, a pigmented appearance, a dry tendency to your skin, or a thick skin which nothing seems to be able to penetrate; we also have the perfect acid lotion for you!

• Whether you tend be on the oilier side with your skin, or on the drier side, one ALWAYS needs hydration. Of course, if you’re producing a lot of your own oils (you’re of the oilier tendency), then you would need less oils, but you still need hydration. It is such a common misconception that if you strip your oils, you’ll be less oily. You will be, for an hour or so, but they will come back … they always come back! Balance your skin, balance your hydration, and they won’t. Hydration is key for everyone. The best way to hydrate your skin is through serums as they have smaller molecules and therefore penetrate the skin faster and deeper. A rule of thumb is the thinner the product, the easier it penetrates. We have 3 main hydrating serums; one for an oily tendency skin, one for a balanced skin, and one for a drier tendency skin.

• The absolutely vital component to this whole routine is preventing T.E.W.L. One cannot prevent it without following the steps above appropriately, as they prepare the skin, however this is really the secret ingredient … the lipids (oils) which are to strengthen your Acid Mantle and nourish it.

We have 5 Star Products, which are incredibly popular this time of year:

Happy preparing and shopping for this wonderful and exciting season! After all, it’s the best part, isn’t it?

As always, should you have any questions whatsoever, we are available by telephone on 020 3358 9997 or email at concierge@embassyofbeauty.co.uk to discuss any of your questions.