Reinforce A Client's Skin Barrier

KimberlyLee

The skin acts as a barrier against external agents, according to Kimberly Lee, doctor of naturopath, at Skin Inc.’s Face & Body Southeast spa conference and expo.

Maintaining the functionality of the skin barrier is essential to prevent diseases such as melanoma. However, skin is able to take care of itself in many ways, according to Lee in her presentation “Reading Between the Lines: What Your Skin is Dying to Tell You.” Skin is:

  • Self-healing;
  • Self-cleansing;
  • Self-regenerating; and
  • Self-regulating.

Estheticians should use discretion when doing peels and laser treatments, since they have the potential to create trauma in the skin. Client age and skin health should be considered when planning treatments so that sensitive and reactive skin are not put at risk.

“Our skin is our defense against actual penetration of toxins or anything that will harm our skin … We think we can exfoliate, burn off, laser off, microdermabrasion off these dead skin cells, but they’re very important,” said James David Brown, R.N., in his presentation "Melanogenesis: Sun Damaged Skin."

If a product inflames a client's skin, it will need to be sedated before moving forward with a treatment's next steps. Soothing masks work well to calm the skin down. 

“When we think about treatments, we can do some chemical peels, and we’re peeling off those upper levels, but if you think about it we’re really not fixing the actual problem—the problem lies much deeper,” said Brown.

More in Physiology