TALK Greenville: Skincare professionals offer these tips for spring and anytime
The coming of spring is a gleeful time, no matter our age, with greening and budding everywhere, and warmer, sunny, longer days. There is new energy and anticipation of Summer trips and outings soon to follow.
We break out new duds for Spring. Shorts and sleeveless tops, cotton and linen. It all feels so good and freeing. Soon, bathing suits will be in order, which means a lot of exposure to the sun -- both its warmth and potentially harmful effects.
Every now and again, I look in the mirror, shake my head and say to myself, “I shouldn’t have laid out in the sun so much when I was younger.”
But in my defense and that of others my age, no one was talking about not getting in the sun then. It wasn’t sunscreen, but rather suntanning lotion or oil that was all the hype.
Fortunately for all, there is now much more helpful information available on how to best protect your skin.
There is not much you can do for existing spots from sun exposure, most skin-care experts say. Prevention is the key.
Helen Coquin, an owner and manager of The Skin Bar, a new business on Augusta Street near Downtown Greenville, says “a regular regimen of Vitamin C serum, cleanser with retinol and SPF is a must.”
Though chemical peels and other procedures can help, “so much of skincare is 80% of what you do at home on a daily basis and 20% what can be done in a spa,” Coquin says.
Among daily, do-it-yourself measures to protect your skin year-round, especially during the warmer months, “sunscreen is the No. 1 anti-aging measure to take,” Coquin says. “No. 2 is a Vitamin C serum which has antioxidants to protect your skin and kill free radicals which can harm your skin.”
Coquin, an Upstate native, has been a medical aesthetician for more than 10 years. There is a nurse practitioner on staff, and a physician, Dr. Stephen Johnson, is one of the owners.
“Skin Bar is not your average medical spa,” says Coquin. “We offer 16 medical grade skincare lines and can customize to a client’s skin needs and budget.”
Coquin says The Skin Bar is built on an awareness that time and money are people’s biggest constraints.
“We realize that all people are busy, which is why we offer all services in 30-minute intervals. We also offer memberships for $55 per month, for which you get one medical grade facial every month. This is an amount that we feel most people can incorporate in their monthly budget. We also offer consultations free of charge.”
In our excitement about warmer weather it is important not to lose sight of protecting and taking care of your skin.
Fortunately, Greenville offers many skilled skincare experts who provide excellent services and products
Coquin says getting good advice is essential, and going it alone, “especially with social media, can be overwhelming, with so many products that may work for one but not necessarily another. It is hard to know where to start and it is helpful having someone who knows what they are doing to guide you.”
Considering that your skin is your largest organ, covering the average body with a surface area of around 22 square feet, it is vitally important to take care of it the best you can.
With that in mind, I recently ran across a well-traveled quote from celebrity stylist Linden Tyler Glavich: “Invest in your SKIN. It is going to represent you for a very long time.” Now that’s a worthwhile investment!