#Skin Matters - 1

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The health and look of my skin is very important to me and after my recent adventure with a certain skin treatment, I thought it was long overdue that I wrote about skincare. 

This is the first of a six part series on #SkinMatters, I thought a little insight on some of the things I have done might help some of you, and perhaps maybe explain why the NOIR BEAUTY BOX  contains skincare products from time to time. This series will discuss the products I have tried ones that have worked great and ones that hmmm lets just say didn't go so well.  As with my hair I have used A LOT of  different products as I am always looking for that one product that will give me a  gorgeous even tone and glowing skin.






MY Skin

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I have combination skin.  Basically what that means is that my skin hates me and it cannot decide whether it wants to be oily or dry, so how this works on my skin, is that I have an Oily "T Zone" and rest of my face is dry.  Why my skin cannot decide what it wants to be has always been a mystery too me.  My skincare has always posed some challenges for me and I have developed a few systems to manage this which I will discuss in the coming weeks.  

I thought it would be fitting to start off the Series by discussing FACIALS or Skin Treatments.

Before you go for a Skin Treatment 

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You need to manage expectations, be aware firstly that you are not going to walk out of the salon with JLO glowing skin. Understand that when you go for a facial no matter what products you are using your  skin is going to be manipulated,  by that I mean they are going to work on your skin girl, either through "EXTRACTION" which means they will professionally "squeeze" your pimples and also"UNBLOCK" your pores which means they going to get rid of those black-heads or whiteheads on your nose or chin area either way you coming out of there looking bruised and "pinkish".  This is why you always hear people saying never have a facial a few days before a big event, I always think 7 days before an event is a good time to "heal" from your facial. 

So now that you know that you not going to look like you walking the red carpet here are a few things you should do before your skin treatment 

1. Choose a reputable Salon, the internet it a very powerful tool so use it "google" the salon  and check if there have been any reviews on the place 
2. Check what products they are using and "google" them too to see if there has been any   reviews on the products and make sure you know exactly what treatment you are going         for so that you can check the side effect if there are any on the internet 
3. Arrive early so that should you need to fill in any forms you are not rushing it's always a   good sign when a salon asks you to fill out a consultation form some products such               Dermalogica insist on this 
4. Don't do any at home exfoliation 3 days before you go for your facial as most products   used at these salons have active ingredient such as Enzymes and Acids. So leave the         scrubs and Retinol products alone for a few days 
5. If your skin is irritated or sun burnt reschedule, you are not doing yourself any favors by     having a facial on already irritated skin as you will exacerbate the problem and if your           have chosen your salon well they will not allow you to proceed

So you did all that and you know that your salon is absolute top notch and you are currently in the waiting area waiting for your treatment there are a few things you should remember but by far the the most important one is  COMMUNICATION 

The Therapist needs to know as much information about your skin and health as possible so that she can advise on the best treatment for you, withholding any information could affect your treatment and might cause you some health risks.

1. Medication -  if you are on any medication this could contra-indicate with some of the ingredients in the treatment especially if she is using "ACTIVE INGREDIENTS" this includes any contraceptive you are on, also some medications can cause sensitivity to the skin 

2. Previous Treatments - you need to let your therapist know if you have had any previous treatments and if you reacted badly to any of the product so that she is aware what not to use on your skin and also how long before your last treatment 

image from:www.fitnessandhealthzone.com

3. Allergies - if you have any allergies at all to anything such as Aspirin any food allergies as they use fruit enzymes in some of the treatments as well

4. If you have problem skin like Cystic Acne, Eczema or Rosacea you might want to first discuss any salon skin treatments with your dermatologist before your treatment 

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You are now currently laying on the treatment table listening to some soothing whale music and steam is blowing in your face and you are ready for your treatment, you made it now the nasty bit, I will be honest with you the part I hate the most about any facial is the EXTRACTIONS yes they yield fantastic results as long as they are done by a professional and in my experience they have yielded excellent results, a skilled therapist can unplug those pores and your skin will look great in a few days time so brace yourself for this painful process but keep in mind how minimized your pores will look and that pimple you tried picking at a week ago that now looks like a boil will finally be gone. Otherwise enjoy your relaxing time and be sure to let the therapist know if any of the products make you extremely uncomfortable. 

If you are a veteran at skin treatments just remember if you are going to try any new products or treatments rather ask your therapist to do a patch test 24 hours before you use them if it is a new treatment "research" the hell out it on the internet. 

A note on my adventure

Though I did not have such "lekker" experience after my last treatment I am not going to stop,  as I believe my skin benefits from skin treatments and is really better for it, I have not named the Salon I went to as I do not want any negativity associated with it. I believe that the salon I went to is extremely professional and they know what they are doing unfortunately these things do happen, it was a rather unfortunate incident.

Another question I keep getting asked is will I use Dermalogica again,  the answer at the moment to that question is ABSOLUTELY NOT, not because I believe that Dermalogica products do not work. Yes I reacted adversely to this particular facial,  but I have had almost 10 Dermalogica facials and chemical peels in the past and I had excellent results.

I feel the way that Dermalogica handled this whole incident was absolutely shocking and I will not support a brand I feel is patronizing, yes I may not be a skin care expert but "dammit I had an adverse reaction" from the use of your products so act like you care. I did meet one individual at Dermalogica who ultimately assisted me and turned out to be a pretty decent person,  but the person that dealt with my emails was extremely patronizing and condescending. Mzansi is a free country and I can choose where I spend my money and it will most definitely not be with Dermalogica. 

Enjoy your treatments beauties and love yourself beautiful

XXX 

Mzansifro!!! 

Disclaimer

I am not an expert nor am I a trained therapist or dermatologist, as with my hair experiences the stuff that I write about is stuff I have tried it has either worked or failed.  If you have any concerns about your skin see a dermatologis.t