Winter is coming, and I'm not sure about you, but my hands need more love than during other seasons. Here are some tips on how to take care of your hands WEAR GLOVES I'm not a big fan of wearing gloves, but you can spot significant changes while wearing gloves during colder days. HOUSEKEEPING? USE GLOVES! Do you do any chores in your house? If you use any chemicals like dish soap, disinfecting cleaners, bleach, etc - use gloves to protect your hands from strong substances used in dish soap and other household chemicals. There are some products with ingredients like Aloe to make dish soaps more friendly to our skin, but still, it's better to avoid using them with bare hands. IDEAL HAND WASH What kind of hand wash should you use? I don't know why, but usually, people think that our facial skincare has different needs and norms than our hands and body. Even if the skin in all areas is almost the same. Why almost? Just a quick recap of basic skin knowledge - our skin is made out of 3 layers, the outer one is called the Epidermis. The epidermis is made out of 5 different layers (starting from the deeper layers to the outer layers): stratum basale & stratum spinosum - two 'alive' layers, stratum granulosum, stratum lucidum & stratum corneum - this last one is probably the most known to you. Do we have all 5 layers on our entire body? No! Stratum lucidum appears only on the palms of our hands and on the soles of our feet. Similar to the face and body, cleansers with a pH of around 5,5 are the best for our hands. HAND SCRUB? Do you need a hand scrub? Although our hands go through lots of stuff daily, it's good to remove dead skin cells just like we do with our faces, so scrubs are amazing. I'm aware that people usually prefer enzyme and chemical scrubs - I prefer them too, but if it comes to hands I accept grainy scrubs as long as the grains are gentle & delicate. removing dead skin cells makes it easier for active ingredients to go through layers of the skin. HAND CREAM I prefer to choose delicate creams. Instead of focusing on scent, I prefer to select plain ones with good ingredients like Ceramides, Glycerin, and different plant oils. It's good to find a cream with occlusives to lock the moisture in the skin. HAND MASK I'll share with you a tiny trick, but there are hand masks sold by Korean brands which I really enjoy using - they are like sheet masks but for hands. If you don't have a hand mask, you can do a tiny trick - buy a rich, thick cream - it might be one with vitamins A + E or a moisturizing ointment. Use a thick layer of this cream and put your hands in separate plastic bags or plastic foils. Buy cotton gloves for treatments and put them on a foil or bag - if you can't find such gloves then using tiny towels works great too. Leave them on your hands for at least 15 minutes. I hope these tips are helpful :) Let me know how you take care of your hands and what's your favourite hand cream.

Back in the day, our moms used to introduce us to skincare. Nowadays, it's the other way around - younger people have better access to information, and they can influence their parents to make some changes. Today, I wanted to talk a little bit about adult skin. I mostly focus on younger skin in my posts, so today let's focus on mature skin and what to search for when you're trying to find skincare for your parents, family members or friends. What's the main difference between young and mature skin? - Although the scheme of skin layers is the same for every human, there are some changes. I won't focus today on how the skin is made, but I want to share some facts about mature skin that might be useful for you while selecting skincare for mature skin. - Mature skin is about 30% thinner than baby skin. Epidermis is getting thinner, there's also a decrease in adipose tissue (fat) that's located in the hypodermis. - We can divide aging into three different groups: intrinsic skin aging - it's a process determined by our genes and changes inside the body like changes in hormones; extrinsic skin aging - which is caused by external factors like UV radiation; aging caused by facial expression - We can spot differences in skin elasticity, skin is losing its volume. Wrinkles and fine lines are getting more visible. - Decrease in the production of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid. The quality of collagen and elastin is also decreasing. - The skin barrier gets weaker - You can spot more visible changes in the pigmentation of your skin - especially on the face and hands. The main problems I spot with mature skin I was lucky enough to mostly practice as an esthetician/cosmetologist on mature skin. So here are a few skin conditions I mostly had to deal with: - adult acne - this type of acne might be related to hormones so it's good to visit a dermatologist, and endocrinologist first. - telangiectasias or spider veins - visible red veins, mostly around the nose. Depending on the level of advance you might need the help of an esthetician to remove the veins or proper skincare based on vitamin C, chestnut, arnica and similar ingredients - age spots - visible pigmentation, products based on ingredients like vitamin C, azelaic acid, retinol, kojic acid or arbutin - rosacea - we usually spot visible redness in this condition, arnica, chestnut, green tea, vitamin C, resveratrol and lactobionic acid might be helpful in this case. What we should remember while selecting products? While selecting products for mature skin, we should remember that every skin is different - it might be different to the same ingredients and that introducing new skincare products shouldn't be fast. Especially if you introduce your parents or grandparents - my mom is always annoyed with the amount of product I tell her to use just because something is new to her and she needs a slow start (for example with retinol, but that's good). What ingredients to look up to for mature skin? - Ceramides & cholesterol - since mature skin has problems with the lipid barrier, adding these ingredients has a positive effect on protecting adult skin and making it healthier - Squalane - this ingredient is similar to our sebum, similar to jojoba oil. You can massage your skin with this oil or just use it at the top of your evening skincare routine - Red Ginseng - it is one of the most common hanbang (Traditional Korean Medicine) ingredients. It's rich in antioxidants and ginsenosides, it has anti-inflammatory properties. - Retinal - yes, not retinol, but retinal. Why? It works great on wrinkles, and the retinal is more delicate to the skin even if it's more powerful. - Collagen & Hyaluronic Acid - although I would say that you should eat food rich in collagen and use hyaluronic acid only if your skin likes it. Collagen has huge molecules so it works more like a film on the surface of the skin, while hyaluronic acid - it's a personal preference if you enjoy using this ingredient or not. - Antioxidants - such as vitamin C, ectoin, coenzyme q10, glutathione, vitamin E, resveratrol, niacinamide, superoxide dismutase and more. Antioxidants help the skin fight free radicals. Korean skincare for mature skin Here are some products for mature skin that my mom and I tried and I would recommend them. - S.Nature Squalane Moisturizing Cream - Atopalm MLE Cream - Dr G. Red Blemish Clear Soothing Cream - AHC Eye Creams - Primera Youth Radiance Vitanol Serum - Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream Classic Ex & Serum Ex - SU: M37 Secret Essence Advanced Sync Program - Sooryehan The Black Serum And what does your skincare routine look like? What are the main struggles with your skin? Ps. I almost forgot - no matter if you're teenager or adult, sunscreen is really helpful to protect skin from negative effects of UV radiation on the skin.

Do you deal with acne, but nothing works for you? You bought lots of skincare products, but acne doesn't want to go away? Here are some reasons behind that! Too much stress Do you have an important exam? Or maybe you have a harder time at work? Stress is bad for our immune system. Just as acne might be a reason for stress and lower self-esteem, stress makes acne worse. Each of us has different levels of tolerance to stress and different coping mechanisms. We still have a lot to learn about how stress works on our skin, but learning how to cope with stress might be helpful not only for your skin but your entire immune system and overall health. Wrong cleanser? Do you know what's the pH of your cleanser? I mean water-based cleansers like foaming gel, cleansing gel, cleansing cream, etc? The key is in the pH. The natural pH of the skin is around 5-5.5. The pH of soap is around 9-10 (if you wonder why people use Dove bar soap and have nice skin - Dove bar is not a soap, but syndet - a synthetic detergent), and cleansers? It depends, many cleansers have slightly acidic pH just like our skin - around 5.5. Some cleansers have higher or lower pH and these are the cleansers you should use with toner. We need to balance the skin's pH after cleansing, toner is a product to do that for us. Sadly, in my case using high pH cleanser and following it with low pH toner doesn't work, but I've noticed one amazing thing: too high pH makes my acne get worse. I used so many products for acne and it didn't work, the culprit was my cleansing gel. Cutibacterium acnes (since acne bacteria is no longer called Propionibacterium acnes) have a pH above 6. The higher pH in cleansers creates an ideal environment for this bacteria. If you are searching for a cleanser with a pH of around 5.5 - I've listed all my favourite water-based cleansers in a curation list called "Cleansers for acne-prone skin". Unhealthy eating habits Do you like to eat processed food? I do sometimes like to eat some chips or crisps, but the problem is that processed food isn't good for our guts and skin. There are many healthy alternatives, but sometimes they take time to learn how to prepare them or even preparation takes a while. Still, changing your eating habits can be beneficial for your health. I'm aware that there's a huge popularity of supplements, but before you take a supplement - talk with your doctor or dietician, too many vitamins and minerals can be as bad as not enough of them. Using drying skincare Do you use retinol, acids and alcohol-based products at the same time? Let's fight with some myths. Alcohol-based skincare isn't good for acne. Yes, alcohol dries the skin, but instead of helping the skin, you dry the skin, immune cells treat that as an alarm and what happens? Your skin will create even more sebum to balance the problem with a dry skin barrier. Too many activities are also bad for the skin. After all, acne is nothing else than inflammation, so instead of using strong, drying products, focus on balanced skincare with anti-inflammatory properties. I hope these tips will help you a bit with your routine. Feel free to ask questions regarding acne and skincare in general :)

We always talk beneficial aspects of cosmetics and ingredients used in beauty products, but every person has ingredients and products they don't like. Estheticians or cosmetologists aren't better. I think this discussion might help all of us find the reasons why some products or ingredients don't work for us Niacinamide Do you also think that niacinamide is in every product? I'm not a fan of niacinamide, although it has great properties for all ages and all skin conditions. It helps with acne, brightens the skin, and most importantly - it's a water-soluble vitamin. The problem I have is the amount of niacinamide in our skincare routines. Brands are trying to put the biggest amounts of niacinamide in products without thinking that we already have 2-5% of niacinamide in other products in the routine. The thing is that the majority of research is based on the lower concentration of niacinamide, we know how well it works for skin in 4-5% concentration. If your skin is red after a skincare routine, the problem might be in niacinamide - especially for sensitive skin, niacinamide concentrations above 2% might be problematic. It all depends on concentration and formulation. Zinc If you have acne-prone skin, then zinc is an ingredient you have to try. In some cases of acne or allergies zinc supplements might be needed (remember that before adding supplements to your daily routine, it's good to do a blood test and consult a doctor or specialist like a dietitian or nutritionist), but normally in diet, it's better to just eat food rich in zinc than use a supplement. Zinc doesn't only work from the inside, it can be also used as a spot treatment. Lots of companies are mixing zinc with niacinamide. Even if zinc is helpful, in some cases zinc can make your acne worse. If you have such problems, switch zinc treatments to calamine ones. Wheat Oil - Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil I enjoy using oils in skincare and haircare, but each oil won't fit every person the same. I'm not a fan of "Comedogenic rankings" because the comedogenity of ingredients was tested on rabbit's ears. Our skin is not as sensitive as rabbit ears. Why I don't like this ingredient is simple - wheat can be problematic for people with food allergies, celiac disease or Crohn's disease. It's also a very heavy oil and the only people I see this oil can work are people with super dry skin. A better choice is squalane - an ingredient that naturally occurs in our sebum. Glycolic Acid Glycolic Acid is a great ingredient, it's the best AHA available because it has a small molecule, which makes it more powerful. Not every skin is going to tolerate it. If you have sensitive skin then mandelic acid can work better for you. Another option is PHA instead of AHA. Sometimes milder products used for a longer amount of time is better than quick results on the product with higher concentration. Let me know which ingredients you don't like and why

Do you know the right shampoo for your hair or how you should choose the right product for your scalp? Here are some tips to help your hair care routine! If you thought that hair care routines are easier than skincare ones, you're probably wrong - hair care is a bit more complicated. Especially if we compare skin and hair care knowledge online, it might be a bit disappointing. What's the recommended scalp routine? I prefer to call it a scalp routine than a hair routine because shampoo is for the scalp, and conditioners or masks are for the length. The best routine is washing your hair as often as you need - I need to wash my hair daily or every 2nd day, and I try to stick to that. Some people need to wash their hair once a week, some often. What I was recommended and I swear by is washing your hair twice in a routine. You don't need a big amount of shampoo - a small amount for first cleansing and a small amount for 2nd cleansing should be enough. During the first cleansing shampoos usually don't want to lather up, it's easier when we just use a small amount wash it off with clean water and do the same step once again to make sure we remove products and grease from the scalp. How often should I exfoliate? Just like with the face, our scalp needs a bit of help with exfoliation. Scalp scrubs help with the transport of active substances in hair ampoules and scalp serums by removing the outer layer of the scalp - the dead cells on the surface of the skin. Additionally, if you have problems with hair follicles, scalp scrubs can help unclog them hair follicles (pro tip: if you have problems with hair follicles on your legs, enzyme and chemical scrubs used regularly and urea creams might change your life). Using a scrub once or twice a week is super helpful. How to choose shampoo? I'll tell you a tiny secret - sometimes two are better than one! Yes, I'm aware that no one wants to spend money on a few products at once, but in some conditions like dandruff having two shampoos is better than sticking to one shampoo. The reason is simple - anti-dandruff shampoos can be very drying for the scalp, and we don't want to cause new problems after taking care of dandruff. That's why when you deal with dandruff or other scalp problems using anti-dandruff shampoo once or twice a week and using regular shampoo on the other days is more healthy for the scalp than using anti-dandruff shampoos. A shampoo for dry scalp For dry scalp and hair shampoos with Keratin, Trehalose or Silk might be helpful. Try shampoos like Lador Keratin Lpp Shampoo. Ryo Damage Care & Nourishing Shampoo is different from Lador since the brand decided to focus on ginseng and nourishing oils but for the dry scalp, this combination of oils might be a big advantage. A shampoo for oily scalp Oily scalp goes well with herbal ingredients like rosemary. It shouldn't be a surprise that I recommend Rosemary Scalp Scaling Shampoo from Aromatica - this shampoo has some anti-dandruff effects as well. Aromatica Tea Tree Purifying Shampoo in my opinion is stronger than Rosemary and might give a better effect if your scalp needs washing every single day. Shampoo for sensitive scalp Sensitive skin and scalp need more delicate formulas. Pyunkang Yul Low pH Scalp Shampoo is a shampoo with the right pH for sensitive skin to take proper care of. 107 Scalp Purifying Microbiome Shampoo contains vinegar - it's not a very typical ingredient in hair products (even if Lador and A'pieu have some products with vinegar for hair), but similar to Pyunkang Yul, 107 is a brand created for sensitive skin, including scalp. Anti-dandruff shampoo Search for products with Climbazole like Daleaf Better Root Dandruff Shampoo, Dr.forhair Folligen Anti-Dandruff Shampoo or RYO Hair Loss Expert Care Shampoo For Anti-dandruff Scalp. These three shampoos are not only based on Climbazole but they also mix other ingredients to calm the scalp. Shampoo for hair loss. If you deal with hair loss, please visit a trichologist or dermatologist. Using shampoos and treatments can be helpful with hair loss, but the key to success with hair loss is knowing the background of this problem and eliminating it. Labo-H Hair Loss Relief Scalp Strengthening Shampoo takes care of the scalp's microbiome. Nineless Breworks Hair Growth Shampoo is a product you can get more easily online than Labo-H, but this shampoo helps with itchiness of the scalp and hair loss. Do you have a favourite shampoo?