Healthy skin is the secret to glowing, balanced and beautiful skin. And it’s down to three key functions:
By keeping these three healthy skin essentials in balance, you’ll be rewarded with radiant, nourished skin that’s in great condition. And to do this you’ll need to use the right ingredients for your skin as part of a regular skincare routine.
Following the fundamentals of CLEANSE, EXFOLIATE, HYDRATE, NOURISH & MOISTURISE every day, twice a day we can 'feed your skin healthy' for fabulous, healthy skin with a natural gorgeous glow.
Want to know more about the secrets to healthy skin? Here’s everything you need to know about the healthy skin essentials to keep it balanced, beautiful and looking its best.
Your skin’s Barrier Function sits just below the surface of the skin and acts as a protective layer. As the name suggests, it provides a barrier against irritation, inflammation and infection. It’s the ‘cement’ that holds the ‘bricks’ of your skin together.
Made of natural oils (also known as lipids), skin fibres and water the barrier is protective and is designed to prevent trans epidermal water loss (TEWL) from the skin. This prevents ‘bad’ bacteria, irritants and pollutants from entering the skin, leaving it compromised.
Two essential skin maintaining fibres also exist in the barrier - collagen and elastin. These are both essential for healthy, balanced skin that’s hydrated, soft and plump without sagging. As you get older, these both naturally diminish, which is why skin can feel dry with fine lines and wrinkles.
Your natural barrier can be disrupted through using the wrong products or a routine that strips your skin. If you starve your skin of oils, dehydrate it through lack of moisture or you use harsh scrubs on your skin, you might start to see signs of barrier damage on your skin. This can range from dryness, pigmentation, acne, dull skin and breakouts right through to deep lines, premature ageing and sensitivity.
A healthy skin barrier means that your skin is even, toned, and smooth, with no redness or inflammation. Signs of ageing are completely normal but a healthy skin barrier will help to minimise these, for healthy and strong skin.
The SKIN FIRST 5 STEP PROGRAMME helps to support a healthy barrier function through using nourishing ingredients and the right products to maintain your skin’s natural barriers. No stripping products or damaging steps, just cleansed and soothed skin that’s balanced, hydrated and protected.
If your skin is dehydrated, undernourished or has been compromised by harsh products then you’ll notice some changes to your skin. This could be breakouts, irritation, dry skin, flaking or burning and stinging when applying non-active products.
When the natural oils in your skin are depleted by ‘stripping’ cleansers, harsh products or extreme environments then skin loses water, dries out and becomes permeable to irritants, pollutants and allergens. This can in turn trigger inflammation and sensitivity.
These changes are more common after the ages of 35 to 40 the amount of natural lipids decrease significantly so we become more prone to dry, sensitive skin as we age. When the lipids are depleted we lose the conditions for collagen and elastin to thrive and the results are visual and physical:
VISUAL
Fine lines, wrinkles, dehydration, dull, lifeless skin, prone to breakout and prone to untimely ageing.
PHYSICAL
Dry, flaky, itchy, irritated, or sensitive.
A compromised barrier function leads to accelerated dehydration and a collapse of skin strength, quality and health.
The Acid Mantle and Surface Biome act as the first line of defence for your skin. They’re constantly reconfiguring to keep the surface of the skin at the perfect pH to host the good bacteria and fight off ‘bad’ bacteria and environmental pollutants.
Your skin’s acid mantle is made up of sebum (fatty acids) excreted from the skin's sebaceous glands (the glands responsible for making your skin’s natural oils), which mixes with natural lactic and amino acids from sweat to create this perfect pH. Your surface biome is the perfect blend of bacteria, fungi and viruses to keep your skin in balance and maintain its pH.
Our skin sits most healthily at a pH of 4.5 to 5.5 but most cleansing agents and environmental factors can push that balance to an extreme, causing us to lose the protective mantle from our skin and disrupting our natural skin biome. A pH of 4.5-5.5 keeps our skin's first line of defence fully protective and keeps our surface biome fully active.
It really is that simple, but it’s a complicated simple, which is why we have created the JANE SCRIVNER SKIN FIRST 5 STEP PROGRAMME . 5 products, layered daily, twice a day to create and maintain your BARRIER FUNCTION, perfect the pH of your ACID MANTLE and protect the SURFACE BIOME.
Taking just 5 steps a day, twice a day - CLEANSE, EXFOLIATE, HYDRATE, NOURISH and MOISTURISE you can return your skin to a fully replenished, repaired, restored and healthy state. Able to protect itself with full skin strength, all day, everyday. Replacing and replenishing what nature takes away. Skincare? Tick!
