Old English Lufu means Love

Tag: skincare

What Your Acid Mantle is and How (Your Cleanser) Affects Your Skin Pt.1
Skincare 101

We are going to take this post to the basic skincare 101 science of skin. In this post I will try and breakdown and explain what the acid mantle is in understandable terms and also guide you on cleansers and why they are an important factor when considering your acid mantle and skin type

The acid mantle is very important in determining your skin type and how to balance your skin. I searched the definition of acid mantle in Wikipedia and it was a little to scientific. I checked back to the more understandable definition from the Milady’s study book and found this explanation.
Definition: The acid mantle is a thin, slightly acidic film covering the entire surface of human skin, serving as a protective barrier against pathogens and reducing body odor.

Composition: The acid mantle is composed of:
1. Free amino acids and α-hydroxy acids (lactic acids) excreted from sweat
2. Free fatty acids and amino acids from sebum
3. Urocanic acid and pyroglutamic acid
pH Range: The surface pH of the skin’s acid mantle typically ranges between 4.5 and 6.5, with an average assumption of 5.0 to 6.0. However, recent research suggests that healthy human skin naturally tends to return to acidity levels below 5.0 when left untouched by skincare products or water for extended periods, with an ideal pH value of 4.7 and some individuals showing levels as low as 4.3.
How I break it down to a facial client

Everyday from the time we all wake up our skin is starting to balance. There can be a lot of environmental factors that affect the balance of your skin. I will mention those later. Now as you go about your day I always say between 12 and 3 pm we all start to develop a little sheen or shine on our face. This happens to everyone male or female. The amount of shine one produces varies by climate so there can be a little of a give and take. That sheen on your skin is your acid mantle. What that does is it is designed to protect you. A natural protective barrier. Now if you cleanse your face and your cleanser is to strong it will strip your skin and make it feel nice and tight. So what happens? As the day goes on your brain will realize “Oh they do not have their protective barrier let me produce more oil for them.” Now you begin the vicious cycle of trying to balance skin and you can produce more black heads and pimples. This causes your to go into a fight mode of trying to protect you and in the meantime your producing more oil. If you naturally have dry skin and your using a strong cleanser this can cause your skin to become extra dry and then eczema or psoriasis can occur.

That is why with any skincare routine one of the most important products is your cleanser. If you are washing your face in the morning to start your day and after you cleanse, your face feels nice and tight. That is an indicator that the cleanser you are using is too strong. So my rule number 1 with cleansers: You never want your face to feel tight after you cleanse your skin. Yes it could happen with an exfoliant but we normally do not want to exfoliate more than 2 nights a week. Night time is better for exfoliation followed by a deeply hydrating moisturizer.

Rule number 2 which can be the next step in your morning routine is no alcohol in your toner. The alcohol can also be drying and stripping. Remember when we are using a skincare regime we are looking for that balanced glow.

If a product is to strong and strips your skin you will produce more oil throughout the day. If the product is to heavy for your skin and the molecules of say an oil or cream are to heavy that too can cause breakout on the other end of the spectrum.

Rule number 3 is the water you are using to cleanse your skin with. Do you live in an old building with old rusty pipes? Have you looked up the region of where you live and the main water supply and what they put into that water? If the water is heavily chlorinated then you will be essentially washing your face with chlorine. Another stripping agent. (Not to mention when you shower you are breathing that in) A website you can use to check your local water supply: https://www.livescience.com/59935-tap-water-database.html

Rule number 4 how is the weather or climate where you are? What time of year is it? In winter we use electric and gas heaters to heat living spaces and that can have a heavy drying effect on the skin. If you are going outside and it is cold with a chill whipping breeze on your face, that wind can chap your skin as well and cause heavy dryness. If you live in a tropical climate, is it with heavy air conditioning usage? Air conditioning can cause the skin to run on the dry side. Tropical humidity can sometimes make you produce what feels like more oil and you can have a layer of dirt and sweat mixed and cause a breakout reaction. Climate is a very important factor to consider when you are searching for the correct cleanser for your skin.

Conditions that can be caused by your acid mantle being stripped are:
- acne
- blackheads and breakouts
- eczema
- psoriasis
- extreme dry skin
Again these main skin conditions can all have a root cause of the cleanser that you start your day with. Its not a formula for all because each individual has a story but in a round about way when it comes to balancing skin it starts with the cleanser and your acid mantle. Then you have the conditions of rosacea or psoriasis. That (in my opinion) is also a cleanser that is to strong stripping your skin. I will side note here a lot of times the redness can be caused by the climate. Especially the Northeast winters. You can see the rosey red cheeks on the fishermen and a lot of times people do not attribute this to the climate. (there is a natural homeopathic cream for this redness stay tuned for part 2 post.)

Types of Cleansers

When we go to the beauty store or any section of any store that sells skincare products it can be overwhelming to understand the different types of cleansers and what they do or how they work with the skin. Let me explain 5 common types of cleansers you’ll find and how each one can affect the skin.
- Milk Cleanser
- Foaming Cleanser
- Gel
- Oil Cleanser
- Micellar
- Bar Soap
I’ll start with my personal favorite which I think is good for everyone and that is the milk cleanser. Some brands might have a cream cleanser or call it that variation but essentially it will be a more creamy type of cleanser. This cleanser is more gentle on the skin and will not strip your skin. Next we have the foaming cleanser. The foaming cleanser is normally designed for more oily skin. It gives the sensation of a deep clean because the foam scrubbing feels like your really getting in there and cleaning but these types of cleansers can be harsh for the skin so be careful. If you are using a foaming cleanser and have noticed some breakout I would probably discontinue use. Also refer back to the rule. If you cleanse your skin in the morning does the cleanser make your skin feel tight? I wouldn’t recommend that type of cleanser for you. I’m going to place the gel cleanser in the same category. Gel and foaming cleansers are designed for more oily skin types so if you notice any tightness after a use or wash I’d say it would be a no for your skin.

Now oil cleanser is considered to have the heaviest of molecules of all the cleansers. A little bit close to micellar on the spectrum but more so heavier than all the other cleansers. To be honest I wouldn’t start my day with either of these cleansers. If you had massive dry skin or maybe an older menopausal skin this may work for your skin type to start the day but other than that I would use this type of cleanser in the evening and with a wash cloth. Also I would suggest here that Micellar is a great make up remover. Both eyes and face.

My final cleanser here is bar soap. I used to not be a fan of bar soap at all but now here I am with my own brand of bar soap. https://elementlufu.com/store/lavender-cleansing-bar/ When I switched to more clean beauty products I started really looking into the breakdown of soaps and ingredients and what is in everything. The right bar soap can be very clean (such as mine) and be effective and non stripping. What I find appealing with my bar soap and any “clean beauty” soap is if you can understand the ingredients. That has become the most important thing for me in my products is to clearly understand what I am using on my face.

Conclusion

All in all you just do not want your cleanser to be stripping your skin. Remember stripping equals more oil production. When you cleanse your skin you are not looking for that tight tight feeling. That is an indicator that the cleanser is to harsh for your skin. I know sometimes that it can be mental and someone might desire that tight feeling to think that their skin is really clean. But we just need to let that go because in the long run it is not going to serve you well. If you want that, “I need to feel super clean feeling,” you can always follow up with a non alcoholic toner and see the results on a cotton round.

To not make this info to overwhelming I’ve decided to break this post into a Part 1 a Part 2 and a Part 3 because there is so much detail into really balancing the skin. Like I’ve mentioned before, me personally I have been on both spectrums of skin. I was an acne model in facial school where they could use my face to demonstrate how to properly extract black heads and pimples and then I was borderline psoriasis when I had moved to a new city. I want to explain how those two conditions happened to me so that if anyone else may be in similar situations they can learn for themselves how to get back into balance or just realize the climate their living in and how it can have a dominant factor on skin. So I will explain in Part 2 how my acne skin condition happened to me and recommend various products that I personally used to get back into balance.
December 14, 2024
Confessions of a Licensed Esthetician
This post is for anyone working in the beauty industry or anyone thinking about working in the beauty industry. I’m going to be brutally honest here and tell you the ups and downs of working in the beauty and spa sector. There is always the good the bad and the ugly of working in any field. If your a people person there is more good than bad.

Lets start with what could be the bad. Nothing is that bad there are just some facts to point out in this industry that not everyone realizes are going on behind the scenes. When your a customer you will not always think about these issues but its a reality in this industry. Disclaimer here these are things that are coming from both my personal experiences and my opinion.

The Bad
1. Free Services or giving away your time and skill with no pay. An example I would give here is obviously a free nail service or facial or whatever it is in this industry you do for a job interview. This is a reality. When you go to an interview you have to show your work and you will have to perform a service with no pay. Where that can get not so pretty is if your constantly interviewing and having to give services and no one will pay you for that. I am okay with this in the sense that this is part of the reality of this industry. Another not so pretty is once you get hired and then you need to train you will be doing more free services. Imagine if an establishment has 8 different services on the menu. They want you to learn all the services and be able to perform them well. So you will be doing lots of services to practice and this is normally at a training rate (minimum wage). Occasionally people can tip you while your practicing.
2. Insurance depending on where you work you may need to provide and pay for your own liability insurance. Some companies will allow you to work under their insurance but sometimes you will have to provide and pay for your own insurance. Why this is necessary is if you have a rare experience or incident with a client (for example the wax was to hot and you waxed a client and their skin ripped and scarred) that client can sue you and you would want to have coverage.
3. Low commissions, tricky pay or an establishment keeps your tips. When you interview some places are not so transparent and they will offer information about your commissions, percentage and gratuity in the interview process while discussing your pay. You can start working and realize they set up the commissions in their favor by their booking process. Or you can work and I’ve had this happen personally where the establishment charges a service fee and they state on the website in teeny tiny fine print that the service fee is not for your service provider but if you would like to leave an additional gratuity you are encouraged to. (this is after the client was just charged 20 percent service charge on top of the service price.) Pretty sure the client is thinking that they just tipped.
4. Do not love product or brand I’m working with. Another frustration I have had throughout my career is not being in love with the product. Imagine getting hired at an amazing place and having amazing clientele and then the product or brand the place chooses to use you are not in love with. Its not always that your not in love with the product but you know from your knowledge and experience that there are better things out there. Imagine too that your expected to sell that brand and can earn commissions but the product could be a high price point and you do not believe in it. I have done so many facials where someone will ask me, ” so what do you use on your face?” You know its not the brand your working with but it puts you in an awkward response of well these products I’m using on you right now are good but for your skin there could be something better. Always not an easy thing to juggle.
5. Disease and condition of the nails for the nail technicians. People do not realize that you will be working on fungus on both the nails and the skin of the feet. Sometimes it smells. You are responsible for the proper sanitation and clean up after that client. Hopefully the establishment where you are working has gloves and provides gloves because I’ve had that issue where the order didn’t arrive and now we have this type of client to work on.
6. You become a free therapist. It has been said that psychology should be a pre requisite to work in the beauty industry. A lot of people tell you a lot of things. Some things you could go without knowing. I’ve been doing services where people can be sharing very intimate details about their life and sometimes you need to know how to respond.
7. The questioning. Guaranteed you will be questioned everything about yourself and your life. I have worked in the high end sector with high end and private clients and your trained not to ask them personal questions. On the contrary they will ask you anything and everything about yourself. Sometimes I think I don’t know you and I do not feel like answering this question but you kind of have to navigate how to answer with grace as they are a paying customer.
8. Bossy or controlling customers who tell you what to do or how to do your job. It can happen sometimes where instead of someone coming for a relaxing service they want to tell you how to do the service. You usually have to tip toe around them as you can never tell if its their personality or they are unhappy with the service being performed. Or they could be having a bad day and you are the lucky chosen one to receive the brunt of it all.
Even though the bad can seem super negative there are also some amazing positive aspects to this type of career. I have had way more good than bad and that is why I have stayed in the industry as long as I have. Taking it to a more positive note we can explore the good side of working in the spa and beauty industry.

The Good
1. Amazing clients. You can meet the most amazing people and depending on where you work you can have regulars and once in awhile(no guarantee) they can become life long friends. You can always learn a lot from your clients too. Many people that I have done services on have became friends or found ways to stay in touch.
2. Receive services at a discount and do trades. Always nice when you have extra time to practice services with a coworker and have a little surprise pampering time all while having a little extra coworker bonding.
3. Friendships with coworkers can be amazing. Normally working in the same type of environment and having studied from the same book it brings a commonality and you can usually find someone in your work space you “click” with. I have loved working with so many people in all my different spa and salon jobs and have great memories with them all.
4. Back to the amazing clients I have learned so much from my clients. It has always been interesting when someone has an interesting career choice or owns their own business and talks about it. Its fun to hear from people and different perspectives and learn something new as your working.
5. Product discounts. Always a perk when working with spa and beauty products to be able to get a discount or wholesale price. I have quite an array of spa products in the bathroom but they eventually get used.
6. Staying up with the latest trends. For me personally its nice to be in a career where your getting exposed to the newest trends. There is always change in this environment and growth. You can choose to keep it old fashioned and stick to the basic facial styles, or learn the equipment and machine facials. Its nice to be able to incorporate a little bit of both styles to a facial for example.
7. Trade Shows are the best. This is what keeps you in the know and its always fun to see the new concepts and trends being launched out in the industry. Normally bonding with a coworker or two as you attend the trade shows and being able to buy most things at cost as your attending the show with your license.
8. Great pay. If you set yourself up at the right establishment you can definitely make a great commission and pay rate. I’ve learned over time what places are good to work for and what commission scale works in the therapist favor. Note: I would probably never work for a place that offers either or whichever is greater in a two week period. That usually pans out to making minimum wage and you do all the work and the establishment gets paid in their favor. Again speaking from experience.
9. Down time you can give yourself a service. Always a plus. Sometimes from working in the industry it gives you the time to pamper yourself too. I have worked in some not so busy places and let me tell you my nails always had polish on them during that employment.
In conclusion working in the spa or beauty service industry can have its ups and downs but as long as you can focus on the booking and the end goal it can balance out to be a rewarding experience with each client and thus a rewarding career. I have loved working on all my clients and have some great memories through the years of some clients and the things they did or said that stay with me. I can still remember that special client that would always book a service every Friday for example or my male client that only wanted me to do his manicures and would work around my schedule every 2 weeks. There is definitely a human connection in this field of work and adding the beauty and benefits of enhancing a persons looks or the feeling of helping someone to feel pampered is a great reward.

Through it all the good or the bad the spa and beauty industry is a service industry that incorporates the power of touch. We all end up touching and enriching each others lives whether it be by the touch of a hand or the power of a skincare or body suggestion to enhance your overall feeling of health and well being. It is a great industry to work in and very personable on many levels. After over 15 years in the industry I can say that I am very happy I made the career choice that I did. Write a comment if you want to add to any of the pros or cons of the industry that I may have missed in the comments section. Also feel free to reach out with any questions per the contact button.
November 14, 2024