Our skincare products are classed as ‘cosmeceutical’ grade or medical grade, as they contain active ingredients that are more effective at penetrating under the skin.

We avoid using the kind of non-cosmeceutical products you can buy from some department stores or salons. They may be in fancy bottles and look nice, but they are often a waste of money. They rely on ingredients that are not active enough to have a significant effect on the root of the problem – they just remain on top of the skin, doing little or nothing.

At Skin Perfection, our specialists make sure that you have the correct skincare products to maximise the results of your treatment plan.

We offer you a thorough skin-health check as part of your consultation, and can suggest from a wide range of medical-grade products tailored to your skin condition.

Anti-ageing skin care – featuring wrinkle creams, sun creams, facial serums and topical potions – is one of the industry’s booming sectors.

But the continually-growing market for ‘cosmeceutical’ products – cosmetics with medicine-based ingredients – can be confusing to would-be consumers. It’s not always easy to find out what works and what doesn’t, and a high price does not necessarily mean a better product.

The FDA, which oversees cosmetic safety and labelling in the US, doesn’t require manufacturers to prove the effectiveness of cosmetic products before they go on sale.

As a result:

• Many adverts make claims that critics say are exaggerated or unverifiable, and the results of clinical research into the benefits of many widely-publicised compounds and ingredients can be conflicting.
• Many skincare companies release ‘breakthrough’ products – with buzzwords such as ‘alpha lipoic acid,’ ‘CoQ10,’ or ‘Now with Ginseng!’ – but it’s not clear what, if anything, the products actually do.
• People buy the products, use them a few times, and find to their cost that they don’t work. The company then brings out another ‘breakthrough’ product, and the cycle continues.

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends customers consult a dermatologist before choosing skincare products.

We recommend this too, so you can be confident you are only using products that have been proven safe and effective in human studies.

Today, manufacturers develop and market cosmeceuticals by incorporating only pharmaceutical ingredients approved by the FDA, such as retinol or minoxidil, as well as antioxidants and natural extracts that have stood the test of time and do not need FDA approval.

The anti-ageing products market is traditionally resilient to economic cycles, given consumers’ unchanging desire to look young and healthy, and the importance of this in relation to our health, and well-being.

The propensity to spend on skincare is not hugely impacted by a slowdown, rather consumer preferences during these periods tend to shift towards lower priced mass-market products.

Product effectiveness is an important factor as consumers begin to seek visual, sensory, and functional benefits from products.

Can you really turn back the clock and undo the damage done to your skin in the past? Fortunately, yes – you can do that too!

There are now many skincare products that contain technologically advanced ingredients and highly effective botanicals. They can help to not only repair sun damage but also reverse some of the effects of both biological and mechanical ageing.

Because we see youthful-looking skin as portraying confidence, health and beauty, we are all concerned with what we assume is the inevitability of skin ageing. The good news is that we have more control than we realise over the rate at which our skin ages – and maintaining youthful-looking skin starts with good skin care.

Using products specifically formulated for your skin type is the first step to preventing unnecessary skin damage.

At Skin Perfection, we cannot stress enough that using the right skincare and the best pure makeup at home are vital to achieving and maintaining the results you are looking for.

The main – and largely avoidable – cause of prematurely-ageing skin is exposure to UV radiation. Ninety percent of the signs of premature ageing come from UV exposure. Even if you’re not in the sun for long periods, the effects of sun exposure accumulate over time and eventually show up in your skin.

Thanks to a wide range of minimally-invasive aesthetic procedures, we can now effectively reduce the signs of ageing skin and achieve natural-looking results without surgery.

So, to avoid reversing the results you have achieved from in-clinic treatments, we always recommend that you use a daytime moisturiser with sunscreen.

Looking after your skin and using the right skincare products at home will help to maintain the good results from your skin treatments.

Anti-ageing products that include natural and organic ingredients such as botanical herbs, and vitamin E continue to be popular.

A natural formula no longer means you have to miss out on the most effective anti-ageing ingredients.

Some of the hardest-working anti-agers are extracts that come from berries, plants, sea vegetation, and honey.

Increasing consumer concerns about skin cancer and wrinkles caused by sun exposure may lead to more multi-purpose products that have the dual benefits of moisturiser and sun protection.

Vitamin A derivatives

Vitamin A derivatives (such as retinol and the widely prescribed Retin-A) are strong molecules that focus on short-term results, over-stimulating the skin without considering the long-term consequences.

This is not a sustainable approach for beauty and youth, as we need an approach to anti-ageing that is more reasoned, relevant and sustainable.

Retin-A, Reova and Accutane

Retin-A, Reova and Accutane have proved effective in treating some skin conditions by removing the top layer of skin.

Retin-A was initially an acne medication, but in double-blind clinical medical trials it appeared to be effective in slowing down signs of ageing (via cell-turnover), so was introduced into the anti-ageing market.

However, two main problems have become evident with repeated use of retinol products.

Firstly, they can also be too sensitising and harsh on the skin. They can make your skin very dry and sensitive to the sun, even if you don’t notice any redness.

Secondly, losing the first or second layer of your skin may appear to give you a bright and fresh complexion, but it can actually harm your appearance. It may eventually leave you more susceptible to UVA rays, and that is especially a problem for women, as their skin is already considerably thinner than men’s.

In this case, it does not follow that ‘more is better’. A tiny amount of retinol really goes a long way – no more than a pea-sized drop is enough for your entire face.