To have healthy-looking, glowing skin, both the tone and texture of your skin must be in good condition.
Tone refers to the brightness of your skin and the evenness of its colour. Texture concerns the surface smoothness of your skin. We'll look at both areas separately, but the topics overlap, as your skin's texture can also affect its tone.
The tone of the skin depends partly on how much melanin or pigment it has. Poor skin tone is a concern for millions of women, as many factors, both from the body and the environment, can affect it.
Ideally, we would all like our skin tone to be bright and luminous, but it can become dulled by age spots, blotches, dark patches and hyperpigmentation. As a result, our skin can look not just dull, but also unevenly pigmented or blotchy.
Skin texture is dependent on the contours and surface smoothness of our skin. Let's look at what can affect our skin's texture.
Some characteristics of your skin can be inherited. There are also certain medical conditions that affect skin tone, such as Ehlers Danlos Syndromes, These syndromes can cause your skin to be thin, stretchy and fragile.
When we don't cleanse and exfoliate properly, dead skin cells can build-up on the skin's surface. This can make our skin feel rough and look dull.
Large pores can be caused by dead skin, dirt or excess oil. They can cause the skin's texture to look and feel rough, which can also affect its tone by changing the way it reflects light.
Collagen and elastin are fibrous proteins that from the building blocks of skin. Collagen is the scaffolding protein responsible for maintaining your skin's structure and firmness. Elastin is responsible for the skin's flexibility and its ability to regain shape after we smile or frown, etc.
Collagen and elastin are depleted by the aging process, pollutants such as smoking, UV light from sunshine and tanning beds. For women, falling hormone levels during perimenopause and menopause can also deplete collagen and moisture in the skin.
The breakdown of collagen and elastin also causes wrinkles and fine lines. This change in the skin's contours can cause shadows on the skin which can affect its ability to reflect light, making your skin look dull.
Microneedling involves running fine needles (around 0.5mm –1mm long) over the face, causing tiny punctures. In response, your skin produces new collagen to help the healing process. Microneedling also stimulates elastin production.
Treatments are usually a month or six weeks apart. After a few treatments, you will begin to see a new smoother and brighter skin layer emerging.
Microneedling is an effective way to give your skin the brighter, smoother and more youthful look you want. However, it shouldn't be used on keloid scars (raised or bubbly thickened scars). While it's a very safe treatment, it's not suitable if you're pregnant, immunosuppressed or taking anticoagulants.
It's also not recommended if you suffer from eczema or psoriasis. If you have rosacea, seek professional advice first. The suitability of microneedling for your condition may depend on the type of rosacea you have and what triggers it.
Following a microneedling session, your skin may become inflamed or a little bruised. These effects are short-lived, lasting a few days at most. They can be reduced by drinking plenty of water in the days before your microneedling session.
After a treatment, avoid direct sunlight and strenuous exercise for a few days to give the skin a chance to heal.
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