Professional Skincare

By: Dr Beatriz Molina
Created on 08th October 2010

Dr Beatriz Molina, of Medikas in Somerset, explains why for skincare products that really work, it’s best to seek professional advice

Skincare is a funny thing – people will spend vast sums of money on products from the big brand names without batting an eyelid, but try talking to them about cosmeceuticals and they glaze over, assuming it’s just another made-up word to try and con them into buying products.

I was introduced to the concept of cosmeceuticals on my very first day of training in aesthetics. I walked into a clinic where the training was held and on the counter was an array of bottles and jars containing various creams and serums.

Like most people, I was sceptical at first – we are so used to seeing the bold claims made by the various cosmetics companies that you become immune to it after a while. However, as a doctor I have been taught to make decisions based on scientific evidence, so I went home and did some research.

After reading up about active ingredients and speaking to some colleagues who had been using cosmeceuticals for a while, the next step was to try them out for myself. And after a six-week trial I was a total convert – in just over a month my skin had completely changed; it looked better than it had in years!

When I launched Medikas, the very first thing I did was to stock up on cosmeceutical ranges to sell in my clinic. We stock about six different ranges, and they’re all great, but the problem I’ve always had is that you need to stock several ranges in order to get all the benefits.

One range might be good for glycolic acids, which treat acne-prone or age-thickened skin, but then you need a different brand to get vitamin C, which is an antioxidant. Then, earlier this year, I came across the Image range.

Image products are relatively new in the UK, but have been around in the States since 2003. The beauty of this range is that it covers all the bases – you have the Ageless line, which contains really good proportions of glycolics, but that’s not suitable for everyone, so they also do Clearcell products for acne, the Vital C range, which contains lots of vitamin C and the Ormedic line which is fantastic as it’s milder and is suitable for almost everyone.

Image also does a whole range of products for sun protection, which is so important as that’s something you need to have in place every day. People think ‘we’re only in England, it’s cloudy, it’s cold, we don’t need sunscreen’, but sun damage can happen on the coldest, wettest day, and is one of the biggest factors in the skin’s ageing process.

It is essential for people to understand that it doesn’t matter how many treatments you are having to deal with lines and wrinkles, you need to deal with the condition of the underlying skin if you really want to look good.

The Image range has integrated well into my clinic, because they also produce professional skin peels, so I can say to my clients, “if you like the effect this

peel has had on your skin, here are some products to help maintain that effect”. I think that Image products will help people in the UK to understand the benefits of using cosmeceuticals, as they are that much more affordable than the other ranges.

Of course, it’s still not cheap, because you don’t get good quality ingredients in a large enough dose to have an effect for pennies, but it’s certainly less expensive than most product lines on the market. And you don’t mind paying a little bit more for a product that really works.

My aim is that people will start to think of Medikas not just as a clinic to come to for injectables and laser treatments, but as somewhere you can come to discuss your skin problems and concerns.

So many of us just walk into Boots and buy a cream because we know the brand name, or we’ve seen an advert in a magazine, without thinking about what it’s really going to do for your skin.

Even if you ask one of the shop assistants for advice, they might tell you which of their products will be best for your skin type, but they are salespeople – they can’t sell you anything outside of their particular brand and they probably don’t have much training in the skin and how it functions.

Cosmeceuticals work because they have the right ingredients in the right doses – sure, a high street product might say it contains vitamin C, but if you look at the amount of vitamin C in there, it’s not enough to have any effect at all.

To get really effective skincare, you need to use cosmeceuticals and you can’t just walk into a shop and buy them, because you need the advice of a doctor or skincare professional to tell you which products are right for you.

Precisely because they are so effective, if you use the wrong product for your skin type, there is a slight risk of irritation. But, if you use the right products, I promise you will never look back!

It’s a slow process to educate the public about how to look after their skin, but I hope that with the Image range I can start to show my clients that skincare should be seen not as an expense, but as a necessity.