Skin Concerns - Beyond the usual

E97: 4 Skincare NoNos (unless you want unhealthy skin!)

Posted on July 11, 2023June 30, 2023 by Meta Esthetique in Skin Concerns

Some can be worse than others, but this is a common question we receive : “is this actually something that can be bad for my skin?”

Let’s admit it…we’re all guilty of at least ONE nono on the list, and I can confirm one that I do sometimes… Why do we tend to develop bad habits, even when our brain is screaming at us to stop?! We KNOW it’s bad, but sometimes we just can’t stop! Satisfaction? Guilty pleasure? Or just because we simply don’t even know? Well, we’ll deep dive into 4 NONOs that we see all the time and explain why these are not really beneficial to your skin.

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E95: Essential Summer Advice for Melasma and Rosacea

Posted on June 27, 2023June 30, 2023 by Meta Esthetique in Skin Concerns

With the warm Summer months ahead, it’s always a tricky season for certain skin conditions. Some people will thrive in the humidity and heat, however, if you have a pigmentation concern such as melasma, or an inlfammation disorder like rosacea, the Summer season can take a toll on your skin. Well, don’t worry, today I share FREE tips you can utilize ALL season long in order to keep you skin heat to the lowest level.

What you’ll learn:

The one thing you’ll always have to do to protect your skin (if you know, you know!);
Worse times to be exposed unprotected;
An easy trick to lower the heat, from your refrigerator!
…and more!

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Instagram – The Meta Esthétique Studio LTD

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Book a consultation with us HERE!

READ IT!

Podcast Transcript

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

skin, melasma, rosacea, heat, summer, trigger, sunscreen, super, humid, sun, inflammation, flare, reapply, conditions, summertime, wintertime, coming, skincare regimen, hat, work

Hello hello everyone welcome back to the podcast Emilie here as usual and as always, this episode is brought to you by Meta Esthétique, premier Ottawa skincare establishment since 1979, where we guide and educate our clients on how to age gracefully and how to feel confident in their own skin. So we are well into the Summer. The heat is on, so for many of you, I’m sure all around the world the summers are just getting warmer, hotter, more humid, and it does take a toll on our skin. Especially if you have a skin condition such as melasma, hyperpigmentation, rosacea or just general redness. The summertime can be a little bit tricky on how you will treat your skin and how your skin is going to look. Especially when it comes to rosacea and melasma.

Unfortunately, heat and sunshine is going to be a trigger that will probably give you a flare up. So that means that either your rosacea will get worse, or your melasma will get worse or you’re going to get more patchy and more dark melasma coming through. So don’t worry, there are some things that you can do but you just have to be aware to prepare for the summer season and for the heat that it’s going to bring into the skin. So I’m going to share with you some tips on essential summer advice that you can use if you have any of these conditions or if you just generally want your skin to retain less heat. Too much heat will lead to more inflammation, and when we have more inflammation, the skin is simply just not happy. So here are the tips.

Obviously sunlight is going to be an issue, so with sunscreen, you’re just gonna have to reapply. There’s no way around this, you just have to apply, apply, apply, apply every two hours especially if you have rosacea and melasma. Unfortunately, those are conditions that will be triggered with heat, with light and if there’s too much heat inside the skin too. It will trigger a flare up so obviously some people have you know, more melasma than others have more active rosacea than others, but you know, you just got to live with it and work with it.

Humidity will influence the outlook of your skin. I know that in the summertime, a lot of people will be less dry because the humidity levels are much higher. So we have that like super dewy skin. It’s super moist and everything.

You know that’s one plus side of the summer, that’s for sure. But number one you just want to have your sunscreen habits on point. I’m super annoying. I know I know. I know. But just keep that powder stick that Colorscience sunforgettable stick in your purse, bring it with you everywhere have it just beside your computer. If you’re working from home, that way you can see it and you do the same habits as if you were drinking water.

Wearing a hat is going to be another very simple one. I’ve actually gotten into having funky hats and now my hairline and my forehead gets so much less heat and that is usually does. This will help the skin because every time you have a sunburn guys you’re just promoting the chances of you getting a skin cancer or potential melanoma or anything that can be dangerous on skin. So wear that hat, keep your habits with your sunscreen super active.

Another one is keep it cool. So after your day in the sunshine because you know we all enjoy summer, we like being outside we like spending time outside but after the day you want to keep your skin cool because for some people, especially with the skin conditions that you mentioned earlier, you will retain that heat a little longer okay? So you’re gonna do ice cubes, you can put some ice cubes in your in a little towel and then you can pass the ice cubes for 10 minutes on your skin to lower the heat. You can do a cold plunge if you want to that that really works super well and has amazing health benefits to to flush that heat from your body. You can also, during the day, you can stay out of direct sun between 11 and 2 because that’s when the sun is at its most intense. And you can do cold towels do which is great.

You might want to keep your hydration up because you know obviously the sun the heat will dry you out in the sense because you’re sweating so much So you want to make sure you keep your water intake super high.

And finally, don’t be afraid to re-adjust your home care regimen. If you have a skin that kind of stays the same throughout the year then good for you. If you live in a climate that stays nice throughout the year, then that’s great for you as well. But for people that are in Canada, the temperature really does change. Whether it’s fall, summer, spring or winter. So in our culture, it’s very common to modify our skincare regimen for the seasons that are coming, so don’t be afraid to ask question!

Don’t be afraid to look into it. Change your cleanser to a more to a gel cleanser so that it just cleans a little bit more thoroughly than using a milk cleanser that’s more comforting and gentle on the skin in the wintertime. Another example would be to use a lighter weight moisturizer or to have less steps in your regimen because your skin simply can’t take it in the summer because it’s just so humid. You can up your exfoliation, like there’s just so many things that you can do to keep your skin healthy in the summertime but ultimately speaking it’s going to be: be careful in the sun like honestly, I know it’s really boring of me to say but that is THE way that you’re going to keep your skin healthy. In the summertime. I have a lot of clients that have melasma and every summer it’s always like okay, we got to make sure that your good with your sunscreen, that you wear your hat and that your being careful in the sun. Otherwise, your Melasma is gonna come out and you just have to make your peace with it, you know. There are ways that you can work around it and you can do treatments in the wintertime to lower your melasma but in the summer, you’re just a little bit more limited to what you can do because of the heat and because of the sun.

When it comes to rosacea. Rosacea is not a friend of any heat, either, but you have to keep in mind that with rosacea, anything that’s going to trigger inflammation, you know even from like alcohol intake or spicy foods will trigger some flare ups again, depending on the level of rosacea that you have. Some people aren’t affected by what they eat and others will but it’s something that you can keep in mind that whenever you have a flare up, just take a look at what you ate what you drank. and maybe you can say okay, red wine. I know I’ll get a flare up and I’m okay with it but I know it’s a trigger for inflammation for my rosacea.

That’s all I have for you guys today. I thought making a really short quick one would be useful for the summer months that are coming ahead. So if you have any questions feel free to reach us on Instagram @metaesthetique or just send us an email: hello@themetaesthetique.com and we’ll be happy to help you out with your skin, you may customize 6 month programs for everyone that come through our doors so we can help you transform your skin through the six months, so we will chat very soon, reapply that SPF, and take care!

E88: Using Vitamin A to normalize your skin

Posted on April 4, 2023April 4, 2023 by Meta Esthetique in Learn, Skin Concerns

If you could normalize your skin daily in order to have a beautiful skin for a lifetime, would you do it? Vitamin A is such a popular trend at the moment! But as you know, we are NOT about the trends, but about the science. There’s a reason why Vitamin A is used is many different strengths to treat different skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis, hyperpigmentation, wrinkles, and many more. BUT, the secret is behind the different FORMS. Many will have side effects to this, but don’t worry, there is another solution. You have to start LOW and go SLOW to build your skin back. Are you intrigued yet?

What you’ll learn:

How Vit A affects the skin
Forms of Vit A
Myths about Vit A
How to utilize Vit A to normalize your skin
Signs of Vit A deficiency

Links:

Read it!

podcast transcript

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

vitamin A, skin, skin cells, retinoic acid, prescription strength, reaction, prescription, week, retinoid, deficiency, form, people,

healthy, daily, topical application, collagen, strong, works, retinol, benefits

Hello everyone, welcome back to the podcast. Emilie here better known as The Meta Fairy and today we have a really special episode. We are talking about vitamin A. If you guys follow us on social media, if you are one of our clients, you know that April is out is all about vitamin A because we did go into a new purchase. We got into a new medical grade line that the cornerstone ingredient is vitamin A. And before a deep dive into vitamin A, its benefits and just for you to understand a little bit more about how it works on the skin because there’s a lot of misconception and things that people believe about vitamin A that you know even myself then this is the main reason why we went into this that are simply not true. So the reason why Danielle and I decided to invest in this beautiful wonderful medical grade skincare line is because it’s funny it’s because we you know, we see a lot of clients daily we and we noticed that a lot of people are obsessed with taking prescription retinoids if you don’t know what prescription retinoids is, it’s retinoic acid. It is the strongest form of vitamin A that you have to get through a prescription through either your doctor or your dermatologist. And every time I treat someone that has currently a prescription of that strength it’s their skin is just completely stripped. It is read it is flaky, they can only use it once a week because it’s too strong. And that’s an we’re gonna deep dive into this but it’s what’s the point of using something once a week when it’s when vitamin A is a vitamin that you should use every single day. So this is why we you know, we’ve been looking for this line for about a year now. So if you know us and you’re currently a client of ours, you know that we are very very picky. We’re very research everything that we get into we want to make sure it’s not just a trend thing. We want to make sure that it’s based on science. And it just went really well with the way that we work with our philosophy with what we believe in. So I will have further podcast episodes on the line, but I just wanted to start and talk about vitamin A. Because these are things that everyone should know about.

So did you know that vitamin A is of the greatest deficiency in the world, most people are unaware that they suffer from a chronic localized deficiency of vitamin A. Vitamin A is also very light sensitive. So as soon as our skin is exposed to the sun or the rays, if the vitamin A is kind of sucked out of the skin cells and this is why we developed photo aging. So we really do constantly need to use vitamin A daily. So a lot of you will probably tell me, yeah, but Emily, vitamin A is super UV sensitive. So this is where we get into the science of the different forms of vitamin A. Because yes, you are correct, retinol and retinoic acid. So retinoic acid would be the most active, the most strong, and that would be the prescription strength. And again, keep in mind, you don’t have to go all the way super strong in order to get results and I will explain to you why in just a second. So yes, you are correct the alcohol form of vitamin A, which would be retinol and the acid form of vitamin A which would be retinoic acid are both UV sensitive so you are correct. However, there is one more form that is not UV sensitive, and that is the esters, so those are the oils of form of vitamin A. So you have retinyl proprionate, retinyl palmitate and retinyl acetate. So these are the lower strength forms of vitamin A but just because they are lower, it doesn’t mean they are not doing their job. And this is where it gets super interesting. This skin will naturally transform any type of form any type of form any form of vitamin A into retinoic acid within the skin cell. So as soon as you put on either retinol acetate retinol palmitate retinol, the skin will naturally transform it to retinoic acid and as we know retinoic acid is the form of the prescription. So let me ask you this. If you lose vitamin A, from your skin cells daily, and you have to replenish it daily in order to have a healthy healthy skin cell. Why would you use a strength that you can only apply once a week when you can use another form that you can apply daily that will replenish your skin cell and increase the increase the health of your skin every single day without stripping your skin and you’ll have the same exact benefits than using it once a day prescription wise. Think about that for a second. If you’re someone who’s been interested in using a prescription strength because everyone is doing it. And you all know that you know for us we are not we are not people that are easily influenced by trends. We don’t we don’t care about that. What makes sense what is scientifically proven, that works on the scan. This is why when we do new things or we get into new technologies, we research the crap out of everything because we want to make sure that what we’re offering to our clientele is actually legit, because unfortunately in our industry, there’s a lot of trends. There’s a lot of floo floo stuff that just pops out. And it’s it’s it’s just it’s just not our it’s not our thing to go into floo floo. Things. We want to offer you the best scientifically backed up services and products so that you can have results.

So if you thought about what I asked you, why would you use something that only once a week and that will irritate you to the max and I’ll explain to you why you guys get irritated. So a lot of people will experience that sort of that side effect. It’s called a retinoid reaction. And usually it’s marked by redness of the skin exfoliation so flaking mal breakouts uncomfortable skin tight skin, just overall like a reaction skin just not something that’s really pleasant. So a retinoid reaction occurs when the skin is too deficient of vitamin A to metabolize it effectively. Okay, let that sink in. A retinoid reaction occurs when the skin is too deficient of vitamin A to metabolize it. So your skin cell by receiving that very strong retinoic acid prescription strength directly will be like oh my god what is this? It’s kind of like, okay, this is gonna be a really silly example. But if if this can help you understand? It’s like, let’s talk about booze. Okay? It’s because it’s just easy and people understand it. And so you’ve got your beers. You’ve got your wine, you have your liquors, and then you have like the strong stuff. Okay. So, if you’re someone that’s not used to having a regular drink, obviously having a shot of vodka when you’ve never had strong liquor is going to just bring you down, right? You’re just gonna be, you’re gonna have two shots, you’re gonna be like, holy, and that’s it, you’re gone. Whereas if you start with your little beer, slowly and just have one or two it won’t smash your face. Okay? Same example, with vitamin A. I know this is so silly, but it just it paints you a picture. Okay. Same idea with vitamin A.
If you’re going to use vitamin A start low and go slow to build up within the skin. The How can I say this? This the skin cell will get used to it and it’ll be able to take more and more and more as you build it. That’s why with the brand that we we decided to go with they kind of have like a step up system. So you’re always constantly graduating to a stronger strength of vitamin A within the products. So you start low and you go slow. And as your skin cells get used to having regular vitamin A intake then you can have stronger, stronger, stronger, stronger as you move along. In the stepup system. So it’s super smart because it gets your skin cells to be healthier with every bottle that you get. So it kind of shows you an example with the with the alcohol thing. If you go straight to the shots, you’re just going to be on your on your bum and it’s just not going to be your body’s just not used to it. Whereas if you just start low with your little beer, and you slowly make your way up, it won’t be as bad. Might not be the perfect example but it kind of paints you a little picture. Now, a lot of people believe that vitamin A will make your skin thinner and that’s a very common. I think that’s a very common myth. Because back in the day retinas they weren’t like it wasn’t the ingredient to use. But that’s just because they there wasn’t a lot of scientific backup. To understand how vitamin A works on the skin. So let me break the myth down a little bit for you. So yes, the skin the skin will not get thinner. However, however, when a retinoid reaction occurs the skin does because does become thinner. But it’s very tempting. It’s not permanent, because it’s just a transient reaction, right? So the thinner skin is reversed when the reaction subsides and the vitamin A receptors are more actively absorbing vitamin A again. Okay, so again, vitamin A will not make the skin thinner with time if you don’t have a reaction, because for example, if you’re using prescription retinoids, then yes, obviously your skin will become thinner because you’re having a reaction constantly to it. But the fact is that vitamin A will always make the skin thicker and healthier. However, when a retinoid reaction occurs the skin does become thinner. But as it is a transient reaction it does not permanently damage to skin. So it’s only if you have a reaction. So if if let’s say you’re listening right now and you use your prescription, you have a prescription and you use it once or twice a week. And you always have a reaction every time then yes, your skin is getting thinner because of that reaction until you build it up. But the problem was with the prescription, it’s so difficult to build it up if you’re only using it once a week. Right? It’s like going to the gym once a week. It’s hard to build up your muscles and your cardio and all the good benefits of working out if you’re only going once a week, right? So a little bit every day will give you the same benefits if not more, because everyday you’re feeding vitamin A to your skin cells. And that’s what they need. They need daily intake of vitamin A kind of like vitamin D daily intake of vitamin D being exposed to the sun because it gives you vitamin D is a daily thing that needs to happen because it influences your your mood, your hormones, you know all that jazz. So it’s the same idea of of vitamin A. You need to start low, go slow, but have daily applications of vitamin A you may think, Well what if I have rosacea? What if I have you know, dermatitis or something that’s in inflammation related. So again, anyone that has that type of skin condition is because there is some there’s an imbalance within your skin. And Rosacea is very you know, Rosie socials, it’s not if you have it and you’re listening. It sucks, I know. But there are ways to control your rosacea and any skin cell whether it’s whether you have rosacea, dermatitis and all that jazz, actually do they do need vitamin A, just the lower dose to start with, and it will absolutely build the strength of your skin cells in order to be more resilient. And as we know if you have dermatitis, for example, that’s an inflammation of your epidermis, your first layer of your skin that you see. It’s an inflammation of that of that layer. So and that is because your moisture barrier is compromised in some way. And yes, it is related to like somewhat an auto immune reaction, but it’s not it’s not as dramatic as it sounds but feeding it a low a very low dose of vitamin A will increase its strength and its resilience and it will help the condition of your skin if you have a skin condition like that. So when you have a deficiency in vitamin A What does it look like? So a deficiency in the skin. You’ve got many signs that can pop up that can develop so you’ve got some damage which is the pretty obvious one. sun damage, loss of laxity, you’ve got wrinkles, roughness, irregular pigmentation, sallow skin, elastosis and even breakouts. So did you know that restoring vitamin A through diet takes up to seven days but restoring Vitamin E through topical application takes a few hours. So when you hear me talk about skins, supplements and things like that constantly, it’s the same idea. And this proves my point. If you’re taking collagen, for example, because you want it to reach your skin, it doesn’t make sense because it’ll take way longer and it will not give you the effects of a topical application for replenishing collagen. Okay, so when you eat something, it’s good of course it’s good for your body. It’s good for your internal organs. It’s good for, you know, getting all the nutrients and things like that that’s that’s fine, but don’t expect it to magically change your skin. By taking it taking something orally, you got to keep in mind that topical application will be the quickest way to restore something on your skin. Okay? So these are the following things that can happen to your skin when you have a vitamin A deficiency and then you’re probably thinking, Oh my God, I’ve got everything or a lot of us do have these things as we get older. Well, this is where the daily application of vitamin A will really really help your skin. There’s many key benefits to vitamin A. It is it’s really known as a normalizing skin vitamin. So it forms the basis of a normal, healthy and well functioning skin. So it will promote natural moisturizing factor. It will promote a healthy dermis and epidermis. It will promote collagen and elastin. It will support skin immunity. It will help improve pigmentation and it will also help improve problematic skin conditions. So for people that go on Accutane, Accutane is just a very strong form of vitamin A. Yeah, so you can see a little bit the link of using a lower dosage every single day how we can benefit your skin instead of using a prescription strength once a week, because it won’t regularize it won’t normalize your skin cells because it’s just too strong once a week, and obviously you can’t use it every single day. You would lose your your first your first layer of your skin like it would just be completely burnt. So using something daily, a lower dose of vitamin A will give you a really, really healthy and functioning skin. So that’s a little bit of a vitamin A I hope this like intrigued you to know how amazing this molecule is how amazing vitamin A is for the skin. Next week I’m going to talk about a little bit more about the brand itself. I wanted to do two separate podcast episodes because it’s a lot of information to talk about and I don’t want to overload your ears. I want you to sit on it and to think about it. If you guys see if you if you guys follow us on social media, we have a our spring summer Soiree. That’s coming up on May 11. So please make sure to check it out. But we will keep going next week and we will talk about our brand that we are just getting in next week and then you’ll know a little bit more about how it works because it has a precise way of rebuilding your skin in terms of vitamin A. And anyways, I won’t go too much into it today. But stay tuned for next week. We’ll talk about it more on that note. Think about it. Think about vitamin A and think about if you have a prescription think about how it affects your skin if it does.

If you’re going to use vitamin A start low and go slow to build up within the skin. The How can I say this? This the skin cell will get used to it and it’ll be able to take more and more and more as you build it. That’s why with the brand that we we decided to go with they kind of have like a step up system. So you’re always constantly graduating to a stronger strength of vitamin A within the products. So you start low and you go slow. And as your skin cells get used to having regular vitamin A intake then you can have stronger, stronger, stronger, stronger as you move along. In the stepup system. So it’s super smart because it gets your skin cells to be healthier with every bottle that you get. So it kind of shows you an example with the with the alcohol thing. If you go straight to the shots, you’re just going to be on your on your bum and it’s just not going to be your body’s just not used to it. Whereas if you just start low with your little beer, and you slowly make your way up, it won’t be as bad. Might not be the perfect example but it kind of paints you a little picture. Now, a lot of people believe that vitamin A will make your skin thinner and that’s a very common. I think that’s a very common myth. Because back in the day retinas they weren’t like it wasn’t the ingredient to use. But that’s just because they there wasn’t a lot of scientific backup. To understand how vitamin A works on the skin. So let me break the myth down a little bit for you. So yes, the skin the skin will not get thinner. However, however, when a retinoid reaction occurs the skin does because does become thinner. But it’s very tempting. It’s not permanent, because it’s just a transient reaction, right? So the thinner skin is reversed when the reaction subsides and the vitamin A receptors are more actively absorbing vitamin A again. Okay, so again, vitamin A will not make the skin thinner with time if you don’t have a reaction, because for example, if you’re using prescription retinoids, then yes, obviously your skin will become thinner because you’re having a reaction constantly to it. But the fact is that vitamin A will always make the skin thicker and healthier. However, when a retinoid reaction occurs the skin does become thinner. But as it is a transient reaction it does not permanently damage to skin. So it’s only if you have a reaction. So if if let’s say you’re listening right now and you use your prescription, you have a prescription and you use it once or twice a week. And you always have a reaction every time then yes, your skin is getting thinner because of that reaction until you build it up. But the problem was with the prescription, it’s so difficult to build it up if you’re only using it once a week. Right? It’s like going to the gym once a week. It’s hard to build up your muscles and your cardio and all the good benefits of working out if you’re only going once a week, right?

So a little bit every day will give you the same benefits if not more, because everyday you’re feeding vitamin A to your skin cells. And that’s what they need. They need daily intake of vitamin A kind of like vitamin D daily intake of vitamin D being exposed to the sun because it gives you vitamin D is a daily thing that needs to happen because it influences your your mood, your hormones, you know all that jazz. So it’s the same idea of of vitamin A. You need to start low, go slow, but have daily applications of vitamin A you may think, Well what if I have rosacea? What if I have you know, dermatitis or something that’s in inflammation related. So again, anyone that has that type of skin condition is because there is some there’s an imbalance within your skin. And Rosacea is very you know, Rosie socials, it’s not if you have it and you’re listening. It sucks, I know. But there are ways to control your rosacea and any skin cell whether it’s whether you have rosacea, dermatitis and all that jazz, actually do they do need vitamin A, just the lower dose to start with, and it will absolutely build the strength of your skin cells in order to be more resilient. And as we know if you have dermatitis, for example, that’s an inflammation of your epidermis, your first layer of your skin that you see. It’s an inflammation of that of that layer. So and that is because your moisture barrier is compromised in some way. And yes, it is related to like somewhat an auto immune reaction, but it’s not it’s not as dramatic as it sounds but feeding it a low a very low dose of vitamin A will increase its strength and its resilience and it will help the condition of your skin if you have a skin condition like that.

So when you have a deficiency in vitamin A What does it look like? So a deficiency in the skin. You’ve got many signs that can pop up that can develop so you’ve got some damage which is the pretty obvious one. sun damage, loss of laxity, you’ve got wrinkles, roughness, irregular pigmentation, sallow skin, elastosis and even breakouts. So did you know that restoring vitamin A through diet takes up to seven days but restoring Vitamin E through topical application takes a few hours. So when you hear me talk about skins, supplements and things like that constantly, it’s the same idea. And this proves my point. If you’re taking collagen, for example, because you want it to reach your skin, it doesn’t make sense because it’ll take way longer and it will not give you the effects of a topical application for replenishing collagen. Okay, so when you eat something, it’s good of course it’s good for your body. It’s good for your internal organs. It’s good for, you know, getting all the nutrients and things like that that’s that’s fine, but don’t expect it to magically change your skin. By taking it taking something orally, you got to keep in mind that topical application will be the quickest way to restore something on your skin. Okay? So these are the following things that can happen to your skin when you have a vitamin A deficiency and then you’re probably thinking, Oh my God, I’ve got everything or a lot of us do have these things as we get older. Well, this is where the daily application of vitamin A will really really help your skin.

There’s many key benefits to vitamin A. It is it’s really known as a normalizing skin vitamin. So it forms the basis of a normal, healthy and well functioning skin. So it will promote natural moisturizing factor. It will promote a healthy dermis and epidermis. It will promote collagen and elastin. It will support skin immunity. It will help improve pigmentation and it will also help improve problematic skin conditions. So for people that go on Accutane, Accutane is just a very strong form of vitamin A. Yeah, so you can see a little bit the link of using a lower dosage every single day how we can benefit your skin instead of using a prescription strength once a week, because it won’t regularize it won’t normalize your skin cells because it’s just too strong once a week, and obviously you can’t use it every single day. You would lose your your first your first layer of your skin like it would just be completely burnt. So using something daily, a lower dose of vitamin A will give you a really, really healthy and functioning skin. So that’s a little bit of a vitamin A I hope this like intrigued you to know how amazing this molecule is how amazing vitamin A is for the skin. Next week I’m going to talk about a little bit more about the brand itself. I wanted to do two separate podcast episodes because it’s a lot of information to talk about and I don’t want to overload your ears. I want you to sit on it and to think about it. If you guys see if you if you guys follow us on social media, we have a our spring summer Soiree. That’s coming up on May 11. So please make sure to check it out. But we will keep going next week and we will talk about our brand that we are just getting in next week and then you’ll know a little bit more about how it works because it has a precise way of building your skin’s loss of deficient loss of deficiency Geez really rebuilds your skin in terms of vitamin A. And anyways, I won’t go too much into it today. But stay tuned for next week. We’ll talk about it more on that note. Think about it. Think about vitamin A and think about if you have a prescription think about how it affects your skin if it does.

Yeah, it’s a very interesting philosophy and I really do we really do agree with it. So I hope that this gave you a little bit more information on vitamin A and we will chat next week. We will see you next week. Enjoy the rest of your day. evening, afternoon or night wherever you are right now listening to the podcast. All right, we will catch you on the next episode.

E87 Skin changes between Winter and Spring, and how to tackle them!

Posted on March 23, 2023March 23, 2023 by Meta Esthetique in Skin Concerns

Spring’s warmer temperatures do influence the moisture barrier activity, which will inevitably directly influence how you will treat your skin. In the colder winter time, many of us will have more dehydration, sensitivity, more surface wrinkles due to dryness, etc. But don’t worry, in this episode we tackle HOW the skin changes in the Spring, and what you can do about it to have a happy skin transition. Stick around till the end, I’m dropping a DATE on our event in May.

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Podcast Transcript

Key Words: skin, dead skin cell, winter, spring, antioxidants, wintertime, mind, sun, exfoliation, skincare, moisture barrier, sunlight, summer, coming, give, talking, seasonal changes, warmer, expired

Hello everyone, welcome back to the podcast Emilie here as usual, better known as the meta fairy. Today we are talking about how your skin can change from winter to spring and how you can navigate those changes. So yes, we are officially in the spring season, depending where you are in the world. You might not have as many extreme seasonal changes but up in Canada, we do. Most of the time, I would say it’s winter and we have a very short summer. But no, that’s just me complaining because I’m Canadian, about the weather, but the spring season is here. It’s feeling a little bit warmer, we have the less and less snow. It’s feeling really great. You can feel the warmth of the sun as well when you go outside even through your windows.

Which by the way, if you’ve listened to my past podcast episode, make sure that you get efficient amounts of sunlight in the morning because it actually does activate your dopamine levels in your brain. And I’m not saying to just lay in front of the window for hours. This is according to a neuroscientist that I listened to. His name is Huberman. It’s very interesting. He talks about how sunlight affects the dopamine levels of your brain and there’s a lot clinical study backups on this and yeah, so when it’s sunny outside, you can just go out for 10 minutes, if it’s really sunny and just look at the sun (obviously blink!) but this will actually activate dopamine levels in your brain. It’ll get you set up for the day, and it’s just a good mind booster.

So anyways, I’m talking about this now because I’m sitting recording the podcast and the sun is just hitting me so I just thought I would mention it but anyways get as much sunlight as you can. Obviously with sun protection. It’s really good for your mental health.

So spring, a lot of people so what happens is obviously when you go from winter to spring, the skin is going to act a little bit differently than when it is the winter. Because in the wintertime, especially if you live up in Canada or in places that we do have different seasonal changes! The thing that happens is that in the winter, the air is really really dry and the air will automatically try to pull out moisture from our skin which will lead to the moisture barrier disruption. The moisture barrier wants to protect the skin and wants to keep the moisture inside but because of the environmental triggers of this dry air trying to pull out as much moisture from your skin as possible, the moisture barrier is going to have a little bit of a harder time if you’re not doing the right things at home to keep it to keep the moisture inside your skin. So obviously your skin is going to be a little bit more dehydrated, more dry, you’re going to be more sensitive. You might see more fine lines because when your skin’s in dehydration, which you know it happens a lot in the wintertime. Your surface wrinkles are going to look more preeminent like they’re going to look more obvious in the wintertime. So example for your hands: you know how when you wash your hands in the winter all the time and you put that hand sanitizer, you see how they look when they’re always dry versus a nice moisture to summer hand. Very different look right so the wrinkles the surface wrinkles, the fine lines are going to show up more when your skin’s dehydrated so these are just some of the few little things that can happen in the winter some of the main concerns that can happen, but then as you transition into the spring, there’s a few things that will happen.

One of them will be that your moisture barrier is going to produce more oil because the temperature rises, right, so some people will probably feel a little bit more oily than usual. That could be a little bit more obvious maybe from spring to summer, but for some people it’s from winter to spring. So it just depends on your skin type. Again, keep in mind all the advice that I’m giving in these podcasts, it’s general information. Your skin type is very unique. Your skin conditions are very unique your skin, you know you could have different skin conditions such as rosacea, hyperpigmentation, excema, things like that. So keep in mind these may not apply to you, they may as well so you just have to make sure you check in with your skin professional. So if you’re a client of mine, just send me a message or you already know this information. So like I was saying, most people’s moisture barrier activity the oil activity is going to increase when the warmer weather comes. So one thing that you can do is that you can switch out your cleanser. Switching out your cleanser is such a common thing guys in the wintertime you want to use something that’s more gentle that’s not necessarily going to foam up because you don’t want to dehydrate the skin more right. But in this case because your moisture barrier is going to produce more oils, it’s okay to use something that’s going to be a little bit more on the lathering side or even just a gel cleanser because it will be better at cutting through the oil of your skin because you will produce more. So keep that in mind your skin’s gonna produce a lot more oil as the temperature rises.

Now the thing that you have to keep in mind, a lot of people cut back on exfoliation in the wintertime because they don’t want to address the skin too much because some people will be more sensitive because of the moisture barrier trying to protect itself more from the dry air etc. So that’s okay but something that you can do is to increase your exfoliation like I said in the past as the summer rolls around as the sun exposition is increasing in the in the warmer months so spring summer, we get more daylight exposure, right so your skin’s gonna naturally produce more dead skin cell build up. So it’s normal that in the spring summertime you’re going to increase your exfoliation, totally normal. So coming out of the winter, you may feel your skin rough, that can be from dehydration, but it can also be from lack of exfoliation. So there’s two things you can do. You can book a treatment if you want to have something that’s going to really take off that spring, dead skin cell build up, which you know, I recommend that to everyone. We all know that a spring treatment is such a good idea for the skin. And at the same time it’s a great opportunity to treat the skin at a deeper level than you could at home. So you can do that or you can increase your exfoliation you can add an extra day or two of exfoliation depending on your skin type and what you can handle. I am a big fan of using both techniques. I like chemical but I also like physical. The reason behind that is because chemical is great because it will loosen up those dead skin cell build up. It’ll remove that glue that keeps them all together, right. Kind of like brick and mortar. That’s the common example I use when I talk about dead skin cells, brick and mortar just imagine brick and mortar. So the chemical acid is going to dissolve that mortar that keeps the dead skin cells all packed up together. However, it won’t lift them off of your skin. So that’s why I’m still a big fan of physical exfoliation. I love a good microdermabrasion to lift off those dead and dry skin cell buildups. So keep in mind you can do both and if you want to keep the physical onto your skin pro then you can absolutely do so. There’s a bunch of different techniques, techniques that we can use that can give you that nice deep exfoliation technique on the skin. Microdermabrasion is one of our most popular ones. It’s great people love it. The skin is beautiful after!

Now, because there’s more sun exposure because we’re more outside we have to keep in mind that the environmental damage will be obviously more increased. Depending on your lifestyle depending on you know your day to day jobs, your work outside your work inside. There’s a bunch of things that are gonna vary I know a lot of people like students will get some summer jobs lifeguarding things like that. So one thing that should not have changed between spring up between winter and spring would have been your sun protection obviously you know me protect the sun protection needs to be all year round, but be extra diligent. If in the wintertime you didn’t really think about it. Maybe make a note that because it’s spring and summers coming up. Just put it in your habits to reapply it every two or three hours if you can. One trick that I like to do is to keep that I give people that work in front of a computer. I tell them put your put your sunscreen just beside your screen. That way you’ll see it and then when you get up to lunch or things like that. You’ll see it you’re like Okay, I gotta reapply some. So it’s just, you know, having a good habit of reapplication. When it comes to some protection, so that shouldn’t have changed technically. But I know in the spring and in the summer, people are more aware of the sun protection because we feel the sun warms whereas in the winter, it’s like it’s cold. You know, it’s like a mind thing, right? But try to read don’t change that
if you’re diligent about some protection, just keep applying it if you’re not take this new season as a sign that you should just, you know, ramp it up a little bit with the SPF all year round. You know, I don’t have to repeat myself.

Like I was saying before earlier, because we some of us will spend more time outside environmental damage is more around our skin. So ramping up your antioxidant is a great idea. A lot of products do have antioxidants. In the formulation, but a nice cocktail of antioxidants and either your serum or your moisturizer is a great idea. Some people in the wintertime they’ll use products that are more repairing more calming more, more soothing on the skin when the warmer weather rolls. Around. You can actually use something that’s a little lighter as well. It’s kind of the same idea as the cleanser. Your skin is going to be more oily naturally in the warmer weather so you can switch up your moisturizer to a lighter form. By doing so you’re switching up so might as well use something that has a more powerful cocktail of antioxidants. Basically, just to recap, antioxidants are your number one tool to fight off oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is something that will naturally occur on your skin with either environmental damage. So sunlight, extreme temperatures, pollution, you know all the outside stuff. So by using something that has a lot more antioxidant will kind of backup that damage and it will repair the skin in that sense. Instead of using something that’s more calming and more repairing. You’re still using something that’s repairing, but you’re using antioxidants in there to do the action so you can use a lighter cream and you can use something that’s a little bit more antioxidant oriented.

Now. I’m so excited. I did a little teaser the other day on our social media. We are we have a lot of new changes coming up. We have an event coming in May. And now I’m talking about all these different things you can do with your skin. And I’m so happy because I’m excited to offer you a really cool and better solution for all these different things. I don’t want to say too much because it’s still too early but I’m not gonna say anything, anything more because otherwise I’m just gonna spill but like I said on our Instagram it’s something that revolves around vitamin A, and we’re having some little renovations happening at work so we can do more treatments and things like that. I don’t want to say too much because otherwise I’m just going to spill. So lots of thing coming up. Keep in mind may we’re going to have an event if you’re in the Ottawa area have Mark your calendars May 11th is going to be the day!! I haven’t said that anywhere else. So if you listen to the entire episode, then you’ll know the secret may 11. An event is coming. So super excited. I will release more details as we move along into end of March slash beginning of April. But super excited new things are coming. I’m so stoked. I hope you guys are having a good beginning of spring. I did a I did a good thing I cleaned my skincare closet if I can call it a closet because I have so much stuff. But you should do you should do so as well. Check your bottles, make sure everything is not expired because you know how you use sometimes things in the winter and then you leave it until the next winter. And then you notice that it’s expired well throw that stuff away. You don’t want to use anything that could potentially bring bacteria on your skin. So do a little cleanup do a little skincare cleanup in your things. Make sure everything is clean, clean your brushes, check your bottles, make sure everything is not expired and give away the stuff that you don’t use. We all have things that we do not use in our skincare drawer. It just stays there because someone gave it to you and you never use it because it’s not good for your skin type. If that’s you give it to a woman’s shelter or just give it away to someone that can use it. Okay. When it comes to skin, it’s more efficient to use things that are better for your skin that are made for your skin type. So if you receive some gifts and things at Christmas that you’ll never use, give them away and someone else will use them. All right, so excited to let you know what’s going on. We will do so soon. Hope you have a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful day and we will chat very soon on the next episode.

E82: 4 skin conditions that are linked to a broken moisture barrier

Posted on February 5, 2023February 7, 2023 by Meta Esthetique in Learn, Skin Concerns

Also knows as the acid mantle, did you know that your moisture barrier is your skin’s BODY GUARD? This famous barrier is not only responsible to protect the skin from environmental debris and outside bacteria, but it also has another purpose: to keep the moisture within your skin. It’s made up of lipids (oils) that bind your skin cells together. When it’s intact, the skin feels soft and supple. But when it’s broken or damaged, it will make your skin feel irritated, red, sensitive, since it has tiny broken cracks that is letting the moisture OUT and letting the outside irritants IN. The moisture barrier usually will be influenced greatly by day to day habits (it’s the little things over time that can make a big impact, like washing your skin with a soap bar, smoking, or not wearing SPF.)

Things you’ll learn:

What it looks and feels like
Habits that can influence the moisture barrier’s health
4 skin conditions that are linked to this damage
Products to utilize to fix these issues with time line recommended

Links

Thank you for your kind listening ears, always.

With gratitude

Emilie

Connect with us:

Check out our Velvet Skin Membership Program

Instagram – The Meta Esthétique Studio LTD

Facebook

Book a consultation with us HERE!

READ IT!

Podcast Transcript

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

skin, moisture barrier, moisturizer, moisture, irritation, redness, broken, people, meta, mind, prescription, super, barrier, basics, winter, exfoliation, oil, retinoids, irritated, fix

Hello everyone welcome back to the podcast Emilie here as usual better known as the meta fairy and today’s episode is always brought to you by Meta Esthetique premier Ottawa skincare establishment since 1979 where we guide and educate our clients on how to age gracefully. Now we are still in the wintertime and I don’t know for you but whenever the cold weather is around us I can definitely feel it in my skin. And it is the same for every one. I don’t believe that someone’s skin can stay relatively the same throughout 12 months out of the year, the winter time. Even if your winter time is slightly warmer than a typical Canadian winter. You will still have a slight change in humidity in you know all the way the sun hits the earth and the way you know you change your lifestyle according to seasons like there’s so many different things that will affect your skin but environmental change and environmental seasons will definitely have an effect on it.

So today I thought I would talk about something that we kind of tend to forget about. And it is going to be the base of four different skin conditions when this happens, so we’re going to talk about four different skin conditions that are linked to a broken moisture barrier.

Okay, so first and foremost, let’s talk about the moisture barrier and what it is. The moisture barrier is also known as the acid mantle and it is your skin’s bodyguard. So this famous barrier is not only responsible to protect the your skin from the invite environmental debris outside bacteria, but it’s also really important to keep in mind that the moisture barrier. One of its main roles is to keep the moisture within your skin. So it’s made up of lipids so oils and they bind your skin cells together. And when it’s really really healthy, the skin is going to feel soft and supple. But when it’s broken or damaged, it’s going to feel irritated, red is sensitive and that’s only because there are tiny, tiny little broken cracks in that barrier and it’s letting the moisture out and it’s letting the outside irritants in. So we always have to keep in mind that the health of your moisture barrier is going to be influenced by two different things, especially two different things so you’ll have your day to day habits. But you’ll also have the things that you put on the skin as well.

So what does it look like and feel like? Usually, especially for me because I treat a lot of skins. Usually I can tell right away when someone’s moisture barrier is broken as soon as I touch them. First of all the touch is really really rough. Some people will get more flakiness than others it depends on the degree of how damaged the moisture barrier is. Redness right away. dryness, irritation, sensitivity and most of the time these are things that you can fix if it’s solely linked to a broken moisture barrier.

Now there are many different habits that will influence the health of your moisture barrier and a lot of them if they’re little things, little things that will accumulate throughout time and will really damage consistently that barrier. So for example over exfoliation is one of like the most common one that you’ll see that and using skincare products that are too drying so someone that uses a high foaming cleanser or a soap bar every morning and night. There moisture barrier is going to be totally screwed up. And it’s silly but just the first step of the regimen, the cleansing step when that is not the right product for your skin type. It really throws off the rest of your regimen because it’s giving your skin a condition that it should not have normally because it is due to the high drying level of that cleanser. Another thing would be skipping the use of your moisturizer so you know sometimes when you know it’s your lazy Sunday afternoons or lazy Sunday mornings, and you basically don’t do anything all day long or you’re just too busy, maybe kids or family duties that you just completely forget to put on something on your skin. Doing that consistently. You will feel it right away that your skin is dry. Your skin needs that moisture on a day to day basis. And when you skip it way too many times. It’s going to try to bounce back and protect itself. So some people for example, the ones that have oily skins, they think that if they use a moisturizer, it’s going to increase the oils. It won’t it actually will diminish your oil production because when you don’t wear moisturizer, your oily skin is going to be like oh my God, I need water. I need it. I need it. So it’s going to overproduce oil to try to bounce back. The fact that there’s less moisture within the skin. So just keep that in mind. Don’t skip the use of your moisturizer. Use it morning and night. Super important.

Another common one that I’ll see is prescription retinoids those damn prescription retinoids Listen, I have a love and hate relationships with the prescription retinoids the only reason behind that is because so many people that I see that use prescription retinoids their skin is completely screwed up. It is too strong. It makes the skin really flaky. It basically really destroys the moisture barrier because it is a strong prescription. So unless you have really bad scarring or really bad wrinkles that are deep, deep, deep, deep, I don’t really necessarily believe that you need a prescription strength retinoids you can get one that is a little lower than a pure vitamin A prescription and you will get the same results except you will not have as much irritation. So that’s another common one that I see.

And obviously in the winter, the fact that we’re going to artificial warming systems so most of us have furnaces or you know heating systems in our house. That’s super drying on the skin and most of us need a humidifier or something to retain the moisture in the air. And then you go out and super cold so there’s a clash in the climates. You know, it’s very, very harsh on the skin. So you know these are just little things that over time if you keep doing them you will encourage a more broken moisture barrier.

When you have a broken moisture barrier, it is it’s going to encourage lots of skin concerns that you wouldn’t normally have. So yeah, some people tend to be more sensitive to be more sensitive Naturally Speaking, others tend to be more dehydrated naturally. But here we’re talking about skin conditions that are induced by moisture barriers that are damaged. And most of the time what’s going to happen is that the common signs of a damage moisture barrier will be lots of dryness, so you know when it’s like you touch with your fingers, your skin and it feels really rough to the touch. That can be one because you’re you’re drawing flakiness and peeling. That’s going to be another one irritation and redness. So inflammation is going to be your big number one. And for some people this is the sucky part is that if you have a broken moisture barrier, that that means it’s let it’s letting the moisture out. Right. So when it’s letting the moisture out, your skin is going to be naturally dehydrated. And then it’s going to block the sebum activity from coming out to your skin and people that are more acne prone are going to have more breakouts because everything is clogged underneath the skin because of that dry buildup.

Basically you’re going back to basics. When your moisture barrier is not healthy when it’s broken. You really need to go back to the basics and you have to think moisture, moisture, moisture repair and calming ingredients. Keep in mind as you get older, your your skin’s moisture barrier like anything else in your skin, you know the activity slows down the skin becomes a little bit more sensitive and then it becomes more dry because you’re producing less oil, things like that your skin’s moisture barrier is going to be more vulnerable after a certain age. So for sure, aging is going to be a factor to keep in mind but there’s always things there’s always things that you can do to keep it as healthy as possible.

So one thing that you will do, like I said before, you’re going to go back to basics. You’re going to put away your retinoids you’re going to put away your vitamin C’s you’re going to put away your AHAs your BHAs anything that’s really strong and active. You’re going to put all that shit aside, okay? Because your skin’s simply not going to take it. It’s not normal to put on something on your skin and to feel it sting. Every time you put something on your skin. That’s your skin kind of trying to tell you that something’s not right.

Okay, so first of all, you’re going to use a very gentle cleanser. So you’re going to put away any type of foaming cleanser, put that shit aside, and you’re going to be using such a calming milky something that’s not going to irritate your skin and something that’s not going to form Okay, so some type of emulsion or some type of milk usually is the best way to go because it’s it really leaves the skin nice and hydrated. You’re going to watch out for your toners you’re going to make sure that they’re not astringent, you’re going to make sure that there’s no alcohol in them. And you’re going to make sure that you’re going to switch that out for more of like an essence.

So instead of using a toner, you’re going to use a essence and the one I really do recommend to use is the Intuos line. There’s a product called the boosting essence, it’s kind of like an ALEC sear. And what it’s going to do is that it’s really going to repair that skin it’s going to get it ready to absorb the future products that you can put on your skin. It’s going to detoxify the skin too at the same time. So and it’s going to feed it a lot of nutrients and a lot of vitamins at the same time. So very important to just keep it basic but use products that won’t be too aggressive on the skin. Okay.

Now another thing habit wise that you’re going to try to stop doing is washing your face with really really really really hot water. So you know when you go in the shower and you’re taking the super hot shower because you really feel like it. Well you’re not going to put your head under the stream of water that is too hot. Because when you do that the hot water it’s going to dilate your capillaries okay, it’s going to raise your skin’s internal temperature and it will impair the skin’s moisture barrier your best to use lukewarm or even cold water because that will not aggress the skin’s moisture barrier. Super important. Some people love the hot water on the face. It’s great but you can’t do it consistently. You really have to avoid it, especially if your skin is in a situation where the moisture barrier is not is not in its optimal situation health wise.

Now in terms of moisturizer, you’re going to use one simple moisturizer morning and night. Keep it simple guys, it’s the same idea. You’re going to back to you’re going to go back to simple routines. You want a moisturizer that is made to fix. redness, irritation, dehydration, you know the typical moisturizer that is going to calm the skin down. That is going to rehydrate it and rebalance everything that’s going on with that moisture barrier. So the one that I truly, truly, really really love is this Swiss fine Aqua coulomb creme. Anyone that has used this moisturizer before I call it the gold jar. Even though the jar is pink, it’s like it’s gold in a jar. It is so so soothing. It even has a green tint in it to kind of counter effect the redness of the skin. And it really really works well on flushing that redness. You can also use a specific serum or something that’s a little bit more concentrated but again, not something that’s too active something that’s going to target that specific irritation. The peace booster is a really good example and swissline That one is made for irritated, flaky, any skin type that tends to be more in the irritation side is really really great for that and wear your sunscreen and then you’re golden. So you’re going back to basics. You’re using a very basic routine. You can even drop down to simply using a cleanser and a moisturizer and obviously your SPF in the day but if you really want to drop it down, but generally speaking, it won’t be an overnight thing. You need to keep doing this for a long time. Up to four weeks, I would say a good month before you actually start to see that, hey, my skin is actually starting to feel less irritated, less sensitive, less angry, basically. So I would say four weeks is going to be the timeline that you’re going to look at in terms of fixing that whole damage, moisture barrier. And keep in mind it’s something that can come back if you go back to old habits if you go back to doing the things that did in in store can you say that that in store that brought up the broken moisture barrier. If you go back to all these things that you were doing, then it will naturally come back.

So don’t think that once you’re done fixing your moisture barrier then you’re done for life. It’s it’s kind of like staying in shape. You always have to work at it to make sure that you stay in shape, right. So keep that in mind when you go back to like using your exfoliation acids and your vitamin C’s and all these things. Just keep in mind Don’t go too fast, you know, slowly at a time reintroduce your things slowly don’t shock your skin into too much activity because it will scare it off and you might have some issues with your moisture barrier that will come back. So hopefully that gave you a few insights on the things that you can do to really help the health of your moisture barrier. The really the ultimate trick is really to always have something in your routine that’s going to be hydrating hydration is one of the most important skin concerns that you should keep in mind. So hydration goes hand in hand with a healthy moisture barrier. In terms of professional treatments, we can do a lot when it comes to moisture barrier.

But ultimately speaking, it really comes to what you do at home that’s going to be a game changer. You can come and see us every month. But if you go back at your house and you do shitty skincare habits, we’re gonna have to fix you up every single time that you come in and it’s not going to last because you’re not doing the right things at home. So keep that in mind. When it comes to a broken moisture barrier. It really comes to what you do at home and using the right type of products in order to fix your skin.

If you would need some help in that department. You can always reach us by email if you’d like to have a longer conversation at hello@themetaesthetique.com or slide in our DMS if you’d like to @metaesthetique on Instagram. So happy happy rest of your day. Hope you’re doing well and hope your winter is not as harsh as ours up in Canada. So we will chat with you very soon and we’ll catch you on the next episode.

E77: How to treat and repair a Fall or Winter Sunburn

Posted on November 22, 2022February 15, 2023 by Meta Esthetique in Skin Concerns

Ever wondered if a sunburn IS a thing in the Fall and Wintertime? Well, let me tell you, it’s a THING! We are humans, so we aren’t perfect, and things will slip up. This happened to me during the past weekend (and I’m a skin professional…. dear god!), and I wanted to show you how you can treat this kind of sunburn, and the tricks I have up my sleeve to repair the damage that I’ve done to my skin:

What you’ll learn:

Things NOT to do at home
Step by step simple routine to perform for 7 days
Treatment that can lower inflammation

Links:

Thanks for your kind listening ears, always
xo

Connect with us:

Check out our Velvet Skin Membership Program

Instagram – The Meta Esthétique Studio LTD

Facebook

Book a consultation with us HERE!

READ IT

Podcast Transcript

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

skin, sunburn, spf, inflammation, calming, exfoliate, moisturizer, put, repair, washcloth, snowing, esthetician, products, flakiness, works, skincare, fall, mask, recommend, clients

Hello everyone welcome back to the podcast, Emilie here as usual better known as The Meta Fairy and this episode is always brought to you by Meta Esthetique, premier Ottawa skincare establishment since 1979, where we guide and educate our lovely clients on how to age gracefully and just on to manage their skin as they get older. So, something that happened to me this past weekend. If you guys follow us on social media, you will know I had a terrible sunburn on my skin and we are in the middle of November. So I figured you know what, I am not the only person that happens that this happens to so I’m going to talk about it on the podcast because it is such a common thing and you know, yes, we are estheticians and we tell our clients to put on their sunscreen and we do it as well. But we are humans, and it happens a lot of the times that we slip up and then we see the consequences of what we are, you know, teaching others and telling people what to do and then when it happens to us, we’re like okay, good job. You knew this would happen and you didn’t follow your own directions and look at you now.

So let’s just laugh about it for two seconds. I was outside all weekend long. I barely put on any moisturizer. I was really off grid so I didn’t really have access to a lot of you know, amenities and I did put on my sunscreen but only in the morning. And that’s because I was outside the whole day. Just you know, doing some activities and some adventures and I did not reapply my SPF and I got a terrible, terrible sunburn. In my face. The sun was not shining. It was snowing. And it just shows you guys that the UV rays still penetrate the clouds even if it’s snowing, even if it’s the middle of the fall, beginning of winter. It doesn’t matter you need to wear your SPF all the time and you need to re apply it. Re-application is really the most crucial key part of using a proper SPF.

A common thing that I hear and that really really bugs me is when people say well I have a moisturizer that has an SPF and it’s like well if you think about it the SPF factor of your very expensive moisturizer will expire after two hours. So no you are not protected all day long with it. You will need to reapply it. This is why I do not recommend and that’s a personal that’s like a you know a lot of skin professionals will have different opinions on that. But to me in the logic behind the SPF factor I prefer to have a separate SPF because it’s going to cost you way too much to reapply that fancy pantsy cream that has an SPF in it every two hours. It’s going to cost you way too much.

So in my opinion, you’re just buying a glorified SPF. I just prefer to have two separate products have your treating moisturizer, let it do its job and then put on your SPF on top and re apply it throughout the day. To me that makes much more sense and it’s more cost efficient as well. So now what did I do wrong this weekend? I didn’t put on my moisturizer regularly so my skin is really dry and I got a big bad sunburn. So my skin is irritated and red. So what do you do? What is the procedure to treat and take care of your skin after a sunburn that you weren’t expecting to get? Like, you know, when it’s the summer and it’s hot and humid you get a sunburn. You’re like, Okay, I knew this was gonna happen. And it’s okay but it’s really not okay, but when it happens in the winter in the fall, it kind of throws you back because you’re like “oh right, Emilie told me this, that the sun was still there, the UV rays are still there and they can still penetrate all the layers of the clouds in the snow in the trees and everything”. And it does damage your skin.

So what do you do? So what your I’m going to tell you what you do. You’re going to put aside all your actives. So your exfoliators your chemical peels, like your chemical exfoliators, physical as well. You’re not going to irritated more your very active sunburn.

You’re also going to just use calming, soothing and repairing products. Okay? So in my case, things that you can do at home just to switch your routine you’re not going to use hot water on your skin and you’re not. You’re well you’re going to try your best not to use a washcloth because the washcloth I use a washcloth personally when I wash my face at the sink, but to remove what I’m putting on my skin, but it does act a little bit as an exfoliator so if you have a raw sunburn, it will hurt your skin. So use your hands. There’s nothing that’s better than using your hands on your skin to skin on skin right so it’s soft, it won’t irritate. So you’re going to cleanse your skin with the softest cleanser that you have. And you’re going to use your hands to remove it. Okay, so no washcloth.

Now second, you’re going to do a week long cure of using your most calming repairing mask. In my case the one that I really really love is the Hydra Sensitive Mask in Guinot it is the one that I recommend for anyone that has a reaction anyone that has sensitive skin and has like this red, inflamed skin. It just repairs the skin. There’s barely any scent to it. It’s like a nice, thick, creamy texture. So it really replenishes that moisture barrier that has been totally attacked by the sunburn. So I’m actually doing it consistently every day, every day for the next week, just to give that skin the most repairing actions as possible and they put it on for like a good 20 minutes. So I put it on I do my things. Either I’m in the bath or I’m you know, cooking or whatever. And I kind of forget that it’s on my skin. 20 minute treatment with that mask will really help repair your skin, slowly as you get through the week.

You’ll see that when you have a sunburn, depending on the degree of it, it can peel, right. So if you have a lot of flakiness, I will recommend that you do exfoliate how ever you’re going to wait a little bit you’re gonna wait at least five days. Okay, so you’re gonna wait until the inflammation is lower, but it doesn’t hurt to the touch or burn or tingle when you wash your face or anything like that. And then when that feelings stops, now you can exfoliate. Now I’m going to say you’re not going to use your 10% glycolic you’re not going to use your scrub. It’s going to be way too aggressive. You need an enzyme exfoliator. This is the softest way that you can exfoliate your skin so anything that’s enzymatic, you will use so if you know we have the collage be allergic. It is enzymes It’s really soft. There’s no physical grains or anything like that. It’s a nice little gel, and it works like a charm. So when you do exfoliate post having that really bad sunburn you will use this type of product. All the links are below so you can check them out. That’s basically what I’m doing.

Every every day I’m using the mask. And when I see that my inflammation has lowered and that my flakiness doesn’t hurt anymore. If you have flakiness, then I’ll use the ganache beautician you can use depending on the degree. It could be done the next day but in my case, I’m waiting a couple of days before I do exfoliate just so I don’t like completely attack my skin. And in terms of regular products, so like I said put your actives aside this includes your vitamin C This includes your retinol This includes your chemical acids like anything that’s too active. This is going to aggravate the situation with the inflammation. You will use your alcohol free toner or lotion that you’re using. And then you’re going to do either a calming serum, and a calming moisturizer so in my case, just to give you an example I’m only using the Peace Booster. This is I think it’s one of our best products that can target so many different things, especially inflammation any redness, any acne any left over red pigmentation. It is amazing to repair the skin.

So Peace Booster, Essential Serum, which really tells your skin how to be how to be healthy. It’s really it’s going to balance the oil in the water levels. It’s going to calm down the inflammation. It works also on the microbiome of your skin so it’s a great serum and so I’m using the essential serum at night and then the Aqua Calm Cream.

So using that these basic products will just repair the health of my skin after getting a really bad so this is what I recommend. Again, a very unexpected sunburn, but simple go back to basics, and it’ll be fine. You know, it’s the effects of having sunburns. You might not see it right away. But as you get older, you know the skin spins right? So the pigments will come to the surface. The you might have some surface wrinkles that show up way earlier than they should. So that’s all packed effects of getting regular sufferers which you don’t want to do. Right. So how can you prevent having a sunburn? Well, you know what I’m gonna say I’m just gonna say, pack your sunforgettable brush in your purse, in your backpack, in your pocket, in front of your laptop if it’s because you’re working all day in your by a window … and put it on every two hours. It’s as simple as that there is no magic trick up the sleeve to you know, not having there’s no other tricks to protecting your skin than using a UV protector every two hours specialist what you have to do.

So that’s the best advice I can give you if ever you do have a sunburn in the middle of the fall or the winter and when it comes to you know the skin being sensitive or being when burned because that that often does happen when you’re out there. In the winter days, the fall days and the you know the hair is so dry and it just rips the life out of your skin. So for anyone that’s listening that lives in a country or in a city that you do have harsh winters and harsh falls. You just have to be on top of your skincare and just make sure that you always hydrate that you always put a protection barrier on your skin before going out for the day and just reapply your SPF.

It’s just it’s just going to be the best thing to help your skin and if you need a little extra boost, go through your esthetician get an LED treatment. I love the new LightStim machine that we got it is amazing on the skin. It reduces inflammation so much there’s a clear glow and plump the skin after receiving a 20 minute panel. So I’m doing that three times a week now. I mean it’s at work so I can use it but for all the clients that we have on the membership, they love her 20 minute treatment in the LightStim lounge. It’s kind of being on the beach because it has a warmth coming from the infrared and it just you’re only missing the waves crashing in the background and then your skin is just absorbing all the good led action in the skin. So I’m going to be doing that this week a lot because of the sunburn but it’s just it shows you that we can do all kinds of different things. We can always help your skin. There’s always things that we can repair no problem there, but the trick is really to be preventive.

You know we want to prevent as much damage as possible. And that’s what age management is all about is prevention on what could possibly happen on your skin. So hopefully this gives you this gave you some tips. If you would like to have if you would like to check us out, check us out. Go on our Instagram @metaesthetique or if you’d like to send us an email to have a longer conversation hello@themetaesthetique.com. And until next time, we will chat very soon.

E74: How a stressed mind will influence your skin, and how to manage the negative effects

Posted on October 11, 2022 by Meta Esthetique in Skin Concerns

That negative mindset of stress has a fine little way of leaving a mark on our skin, without us even realizing it! It’s true, an overwhelmed mind will always reflect and sometimes, the signs can vary from: acne flare ups, eczema, hives, increased oil activity (sebum!), cold sores, rashes, and the list goes on. Not to mention the dark mindset that can send us in a vicious cycle, which will influence our outlook on everything happening to us, making everything *not fun*! The common thing all of these signs have, is that they are all linked to inflammation. So, how can we deal with this?

What you’ll learn:

Understanding the “fight or flight” & how it triggers inflammation
It’s ok not to do ALL the things, and it’s same for your skin, in the state of inflammation
Self-care, a self-preservation tool to lower stress levels
Topical activity that will lower inflammation levels on your skin – synergy between internal work, and external work.

Links:

Thanks for your kind listening ears, always – and find the ways to calm your inner self for the benefit of your self-preservation
xo

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E72: The science behind HOW we age and the daily factors that influence it

Posted on September 20, 2022 by Meta Esthetique in Learn, Skin Concerns

Our collagen production slows down after the age of 30 – you probably heard that one many times. However, have you ever questioned yourself on HOW it works inside your skin? It’s a little science episode today, but if you’re interested in knowing the big whys behind what happens when you’re skin cells age, then listen to this one! We’ll also talk about the benefit of utilizing LED Therapy, specifically the wavelengths of amber, light red, dark red and infrared.

What you’ll learn:

The different elements that influence accelerated aging (all things we can control!)
Chronic Inflammation downfall
Light Stim LED therapy benefits (4 of them!)
Membership benefits

We go all in on the details about LED, so this one is definitely a great episode if you’re curious to know how it can benefit your skin.

Don’t forget to check out our event on Oct 27th where we officially launch the sign ups for our membership!!

Thanks for your kind listening ears, always
xo

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Connect with Meta:

Instagram – The Meta Esthétique Studio LTD

Facebook

Book a consultation with us HERE!

E79: Personal Q&A

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Meta Esthetique in Learn, Skin Concerns

Why don’t we finish the year with a personal Q&A? I thought it would be a juicy way to end the year! We talk skin all the time, this week we are getting personal so we can connect on a deeper level!

We wish you the best holiday season with your family and friends, and we’ll catch you in 2023 🙂

Thanks for your kind listening ears, always
xo

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Facebook

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E69: How to start using retinol the right way (and avoid irritation!)

Posted on August 30, 2022August 30, 2022 by Meta Esthetique in Skin Concerns, Skincare Routines

Retinol or retinoids (which is the prescription form) is a common ingredient that is being used to reverse signs of accelerated aging. As we get older, our skin’s metabolism slows down, and we always have to find creative ways to keep the collagen and elastin cells up from their lazy boys in order to keep our skin healthy.

The downside of using this ingredient is that it’s not being properly used, and most times, irritation and dryness occurs as a side effect. Unfortunately, many use retinol as a “quick fix” but in reality, it’s an ingredient that needs to be used slowly at first to not shock the skin, and it takes TIME until this ingredient actually shows effect.

What you’ll learn:

Popular forms of retinol
Retinol and acne
Retinol and preventive care for aging skin
How to deal with the potential irritation of using this ingredient
Things you HAVE to take into consideration before jumping on the retinol train
Frequency of use

Products mentioned:

Thanks for your kind listening ears, always
xo

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Connect with Meta:

Instagram – The Meta Esthétique Studio LTD

Facebook

Book a consultation with us HERE!

E66: NEW SEASON 3 Redefining “ANTI-AGING”

Posted on August 10, 2022August 10, 2022 by Meta Esthetique in Learn, Skin Concerns

Welcome to season 3!!

A much needed Summer break for new podcast ideas! We hope you’ve been taking the season well, having fun with your family and friends, and taking the time to push the reset button. After all, what’s the point of taking Summer holidays am I right?

Now, I wanted to launch this new season with a very important topic for me, redefining what “anti-aging” is, and what it stands for. I see SO many posts about women that are angry towards the marketing words of “stopping the aging cycle” – which I totally agree with. Instead, I think we should look into anti-aging with another perspective.

Products mentioned:

Colorescience Sunforgettable Brush On SPF50

Thanks for your kind listening ears, always and let’s kick off season 3 with a boom!!
xo

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Connect with Meta:

Instagram – The Meta Esthétique Studio LTD

Facebook

Book a consultation with us HERE!

E64 Your 50s and 60s Retention Decades

Posted on June 28, 2022June 28, 2022 by Meta Esthetique in Learn, Skin Concerns

As we go through loss of firmness, surface wrinkles, etc., an additional thing that can happen in your 50s and 60s (+), is that your skin has tendency to decrease in oil production. Yes, is doesn’t sound that bad, but when you start to feel the skin “crinkle” because you have very little nourishment, it’s time to trick the skin into RETAINING as much moisture and nourishment as possible.

What you’ll learn:

✔️ What happens to your oil activity in your 50s+
✔️ What you should add to your routine
✔️ RF Resurfacing – EMatrix for wrinkles
✔️ The 2 genetic ways you will age – “hollowers” or “saggers”

✔️ Let’s talk surgery vs non-surgical and the quality of the skin

Are you ready to take care of your skin? Book your appt today!

Thanks for your kind listening ears, as always!

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Connect with Meta:

Email: hello@themetaesthetique.com
Instagram – The Meta Esthétique Studio LTD
Facebook
Book a consultation with us HERE!

E63: Your 40s The Firmness decade

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Meta Esthetique in Skin Concerns

In your 40s, this is really the decade where you’re going to start seeing visible signs of loss of firmness. Yes, the collagen cell production start to decrease in your 30s, but you will notice it a lot more on the skin in your 40s.

What you’ll learn:

✔️What loss of firmness looks or feels like : collagen and elastin breakdown
✔️Treatment you may want to start thinking about
✔️Which ingredient you should be adding to your routine

Links

Youth Booster 0.4% Retinol

Sublime Skin Tightening

Thanks for your kind listening ears, always
xo

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Connect with Meta:

Email: hello@themetaesthetique.com
Instagram – The Meta Esthétique Studio LTD
Facebook
Book a consultation with us HERE!

E45: Winter Skincare Nonos

Posted on February 15, 2022 by Meta Esthetique in Learn, Skin Concerns

I don’t know about you – but the winter up in Canada is quite harsh: cold temperatures (we’re talking -30!), harsh winds and short days where the sun sets way too early. All this to say that it really does influence the health of our skin, especially if we don’t modify what we do at home regularly in order to fight the negative effects of the winter on our skins.

Today we dive into common skincare NONOs that most people tend to do, and how to fix them. Once you know these simple tricks, your winter care will be much more effective.

Products mentioned

Cleanser and Toners:

SPF Products:

Cream SPF: Guinot SPF30 Sun Logic
Powder SPF: Colorescience Products

The best winter mask:

Swiss Line Hydra Soothing Mask

Looking for a soft physical exfoliator? Here’s what we recommend:

Force Vitale Mild Exfoliating Refiner

Thanks for your kind listening ears, always
xo

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