For this post, top skin therapist, Louise Thomas-Minns from U and Your Skin in Norwich and London, singles out the worst 5 skin aggressors:
1. ‘The sun causes 90% of the ageing damage to our skin as UVA rays are present 365 days of the year. Protect daily using an environmental shield to guard against UVA/B and pollution.’
2. ‘Sugar is right up there as a big No No for skin health. It contributes to lines, wrinkles and yes there is science behind the fact that sugars in excess can contribute to spotty outbreaks.’ Read more about the effect of sugar on your skin.
3. ‘Now you don’t need me to tell you that smoking full stop is bad for your health but why would you want to super charge the ageing process of your skin as well as giving yourself an increased chance of ugly broken capillaries and dull, lifeless skin due to the stunting of the flow of Oxygen and nutrients?’ Read more about smoking and skin.
4. ‘There’s a fine line between moderation and excess and that’s certainly true when it comes to alcohol consumption. A little red wine, for example, is rich in age fighting anti oxidants but drinking excess will increase the youth grabbing free radicals the body produces in response as well as the sugar surge it creates.’ Read more about the effect of alcohol on your skin.
5. ‘Beware of over exfoliating your skin. Now don’t get me wrong I’m a big fan of this necessary skincare task but we have all become a little bit obsessed with scrubbing our skin to within an inch of its life. When you remove dead cells you also remove the essential fats your skin needs to remain healthy.’
Louise is a beauty and skin therapist who holds an NVQ level 3 and CIDESCO qualification. She also has a Cert Ed teaching qualification and is an NVQ assessor in beauty therapy.
Her diverse career began in 1996 and took her from being a beauty therapist, salon manager, account development manager and trainer for MD Formulations and Bare Escentuals, teaching the theory and practical aspects of NVQ and CIDESCO beauty qualifications, to developing her own unique facial treatment and now working as a skin therapist in her Norwich ‘skin lounge’ and in London at The Wyndham Centre.
Her passion has always been in skin health and stemmed from her own personal battle with Acne which she has a particular empathy for.
‘U and your skin’ the facial, was developed after 10 years of research and experience to offer a totally bespoke treatment that encompasses a 3 dimensional approach, science, nutrition and holistic therapy.
Louise Thomas-Minns at the opening of her Norwich 'Skin Lounge'.