Q. I have been using the same cream for the past 6 years and a friend recently told me that it will no longer be working for me. Is she right and what should I do if she is?
A. I’m not sure how your friend got round to telling you that your cream is no longer working for you, but trust a friend to give it to you straight! She is right in a sense but don’t go doing anything rash like throwing your cream away or giving it to this friend (maybe that’s was she was after all along).
We all know the benefits our hair gets from regularly changing our shampoo and the same theory applies to your skin. Continued use of any product will reduce its effectiveness. That is not to say that you won’t get any benefit from it after such sustained use, just that the skin becomes complacent and stops reacting to the cream in the same way. By changing your cream you are forcing the skin to remain alert and respond to the product as it is intended to work. The shock on the new so to say.
It is important when investing in facial moisturisers to make sure that you are using the right cream not only for your skin but also for your lifestyle and the skins needs change throughout the year. In winter we need to support with comfort and protection and in summer we need to hydrate and defend, as well as the year round longing for firmness and wrinkle prevention. So although you are doing the right thing by using a daily moisturiser, you may not be getting the most of the cream you do use.
Guinot creams are designed to be used in families each one to treat a different skin concern, such as dryness, hydration, purifying, anti-aging etc. In each family there is a treatment cream to address the concern, a results maintenance cream, mask and serum. Once you and your therapist have assessed your needs, you start treatment with the treatment cream and then move onto the maintenance cream, if your needs stay the same you then return to the treatment cream, or if your needs change you begin treatment with a new family of creams. Masks and serums can be added as boost to the routine and this way you are getting maximum treatment results. Clarins work in a similar way, by offering creams to treat specific concerns, these are used and then skin is reassessed after completion of the product to see how the skin has changed and reacted. A follow on product can be prescribed or continued use of the existing product can be boosted with the addition of a serum.
The best course of action from here would be to pop down to the salon and let us do a complete skin prescription for you so that the next time you see your friend she can marvel at your glowing skin and not maybe she’ll be taking advice from you in the future.
