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A successful treatment will first establish
a philosophy of caring for your entire
"being." That philosophy considers the total
person: what you see in the mirror, what is
underneath the surface in terms of health
and nutrition, and what is going on inside
your mind and spirit. Two out three, you
will note, are not visible.
Which is also to say, there is not a
one-size-fits-all solution, even if the
topical regime guidelines tend to be similar
for widely different skin problems.
Learn to
Evaluate
You must first analyze your skin care
history. Really have a good look at
your skin and write down what you currently
do for it and have done in the past. Look
for a pattern.
For example, those who try many different
things, often at the same time, may actually
have quite good skin, simply because they
have not allowed any one thing to induce
skin fatigue. But usually, the opposite is
true, their skin is weak and probably
topically addicted – again, not to any one
thing, but to all topicals in general: too
much of everything.
The pattern in this example is excess. In
skincare, you will learn, less is best.
The visible evidence of this reveals
imbalance, not a singular problem. This
slight but important shift in thinking
should give you excellent perspective.
Guard against slipping into regarding your
skin as a “problem,” or series of problems
to be corrected. Put another way, the rattle
of a snake is not the problem, it signals
the problem. The information of poor skin
sitting in front of you, as you look in the
mirror, is a visible clue but it is by no
means the complete information.
Behind the visible information or, “problem
skin” – is the root problem of imbalance
usually caused by a person, acting on poor
information, making poor choices or often
simply lacking enough information to provide
a good plan.
So, when you sit down with paper and pencil
in hand, what you see in that mirror is just
the tip of the iceberg. You are to gather
all the information you can - skincare
treatments, nutrition/diet and other
behaviors affecting your skin - and then
you can take the proper steps to achieve
balance. Later on, the visible evidence of
that will be your results.
Balance is an exceptional quality in our
world, make this your pursuit. It is the
definition of holistic achievement. Balance
is not a static condition, it requires
constant optimization, adjustment, like the
man on the high wire.
Gather
Information
People purchase skincare products for many
reasons, but many of them believe they have
a problem and this new product will solve
it. Typically, in our culture, this means
they will solve the problem with a specific
antidote – whether taken orally or topically
– something that will target the problem,
remove the obstacle and allow you to get on
with your life.
We are trying to make you aware that the
‘problem/solution’ approach to skin (as in
life) usually does not work, or work for
very long. Problems arise first out of an
imbalance. The source of that can be as
complex as the genetic makeup of the person,
or as simple as poor diet, compulsive
habits, inadequate rest, poor choices or all
of these and more, as mentioned before.
Often you will find "a series of unfortunate
events", to borrow from Lemony Snicket, has
led to the grand finale of weak, depleted
skin.
You will be best served by using a
systematic approach, a comprehensive program
compatible with your life and outlook.
If you use 302 Skincare products as part of
a problem/solution paradigm, you will be
disappointed in the results. In effect, you
are simply using Ellen's Place Salon as an expensive
drug store, or tune-up shop.
Design The Program: Part I
Find The Baseline
Simply providing a program is not an
end-all. The program itself may be quite
destructive. For example, a not uncommon
one-size-fits-all program goes something
like this: six months of continuous
exfoliation, topical retinoids applied
almost daily, along with numerous creams and
lotions for night, morning and during the
day. Facials are rituals with little regard
for the situation of the person. This is
indeed a program but one that ultimately
does little more than stress the skin
abnormally, with the potential to leave it
permanently depleted.
When you deal with the skin, you deal with
the total person. No matter what skin
condition that confronts you, your approach
must be consistent – to optimize your skin.
That may mean you have to first get it back
to NORMAL. This means you must find your
baseline, how your skin really behaves,
beyond the influence of topicals and
treatments.
Intervention techniques in medicine seek to
put an immediate change in place that STOPS
something that has been ongoing. Similarly,
you must often STOP habits, products,
procedures that you have been using. The
purpose is to find the baseline, to know the
real person, the real skin situation in the
same way that you cannot see through a foggy
windshield and must find clarity. This
may take some internal motivation to do.
Design The Program: Part II
Determine The Variables
It is not uncommon for it to be very
difficult to stop everything you now do to
your skin. It is also difficult to establish
a nutritional program or verify one is in
place that does not do harm. Diet and
exercise is a significant part of a skincare
regime. Many people have developed their own
programs for nutrition and exercise. These
should be re-thought.
Try to analyze your daily life. What
personal stress in your life could aggravate
your skin situation. If medications are
involved consider, as you plan, how these
might have compromised your good skin
health.
The variables are just that – variable.
Pregnancy, drug dependence, emotional
stress, rapid onset of skin changes – all of
this must be factored into the design of
what to do and what not to do in designing a
program.
When medications are involved and necessary
for your health, you must understand that
these medications may cause a reduced or
increased ability of the skin to respond
positively to topical products and
procedures. These medications vary from an
oral antibiotic, to thyroid supplement, to
strong anti-histamine, to simple birth
control pills just to name a few.
Medications often work to thin the skin,
leading first to epidermal collapse and
premature dermal collapse. This mimics the
aging process. Sometimes, the skin does not
recover. On the other hand, medical
supplements designed to support a weak
metabolism can aid skin rejuvenation. In
either case, the proper dose is essential.
You often may find the dose has not changed
for a long period of time. This needs
looking into. Your doctor may need to be
consulted.
Design The
Program: Part III
Know The Skin History
The psychological and physical dynamics and
the amount of the daily grind of stress all
tell you what you have put in front of
yourself - your obstacles as it were. Now,
let's consider the skin history, what has
been done over the years.
Pay particular attention to what worked for
awhile and then stopped working. You want to
know what prompted a positive and a negative
response.
In the case of a positive response to a
topical or studio procedure that disappeared
quickly, you might find the dose scheduling
of the regime quickly fatigued the skin.
Discover what medical procedures have been
performed – from plastic surgery to medical
devices – lasers, thermage, etc. Some of
these may have caused permanent depletion of
tissue.
Chronic topical application of acid-based
products, long term retinoid use and so
forth may give you a lot of insight into the
resilience of the skin and clues as to
problems you face. This is the deep
background. More recent product and
procedure choices will be especially
important to consider if you are to make
gains.
We can assist you in this process of forming
a clear topical history and acting on that
information. You may be dealing with a
highly sensitized skin situation, which is
not immediately apparent. Most often, you
are dealing with skin that has lost its
ability to react. Depleted, worn out and
just blah skin – most often found on those
who have spent considerable sums in trying
to avoid exactly what they have.
The skin protects and it cannot be smothered
into a beautiful look. Aggressive techniques
bring about a hasty retreat of the very skin
functions we most want to flourish.
Unfortunately, this is the long history of
many people. If you do more of the same, you
will get the same results.
Design The
Program: Part IV
Present Your Program
The prescription listed in our regime books
present a positive alternative to the past
and present situation. It presents a program
to find balance and how to optimize it. You
need to understand that you are a part of
the process, not a machine tool to be
repaired. Most of our customers are eager,
even far ahead of this. They are
intelligent, well read, and look for
guidance.
When 302 topicals are part of the mix, we
find that the transition period is the only
troublesome consideration. By that we mean
that the introduction of 302 topicals
is a crucial time. That said, the vast
majority of people provided with 302
Skincare products will have no difficulty.
But, a few will have so sensitized their
skin from long term acid exposure, or will
continue using products against
recommendations that they are jeopardizing
the entire effort.
Interaction with acid products still used,
or recently (up to one month) stopped will
be marked by itching and redness, on
occasion. Dryness is also apparent. Most
topical acid users are addicted. Withdrawal
of their acids leads to immediate dryness
and itching. Their skin will take time to
find the baseline, to de-sensitize and
become normalized in reaction. Use a very
mild cleanser during this transition period.
How long does that take? We like to see an
intervention to discontinue all acids,
indeed all topicals but washing for about a
week to 10 days.
Many times the skin will be depleted, dry
and itching for several days and then it
will settle down. Mild breakouts are not
uncommon. It is vitally important that
nothing topical be applied during this
period – except to cleanse – and that should
be
done as minimally as practical. Obviously,
it does not make sense to time this
transition to baseline period just before a
week in the sun. We want to reduce all
topicals to the bare minimum and that
includes sunscreen.
Implement
The Program
Topicals
When the skin has settled out and a healthy
diet begun and the internal medicine and
patient outlook is positive, in other words,
when all systems are go, then a 302
cleansing regime should be
introduced
- usually one of the 302 Cleansers
in the morning and the 302 Face & Body
Bar in the evening. These products
soften the skin dramatically and set the
stage for protein deposition.
Introduce the 302 Drops on
Monday, Wednesday, Friday nights and the 302
C Boost on Tuesday and Thursday during the
second week. By the third week include the
302 A Boost on Saturday. Sundays are free
days. Moisturizers are optional, be certain
not to use products containing acids.
This is a common, very effective regime.
Implement
the Program
Procedures
Around the eighth week it is time to
introduce studio/clinic procedures that will
boost the slower and more imperfect
metabolism of aging tissues (after age 30).
If the client/patient has been provided a
low intensity ultrasound device for home
use, it may be used daily, though separated
about 8 hours from high performance topical
application to avoid undue stress on the
skin. This regime may be most helpful for
cystic acne client/patients.
After this period, the skin should be
allowed to rest for about three weeks to one
month (rest = no treatments).
Finally, after three or four months of
topicals and procedures, it is advisable to
give your skin a holiday – a week to ten
days free of everything but mild, neutral
cleansers.
You may then re-introduce and the skin
should jump to another level of improvement.
Conclusion
Effective program implementation requires a
systematic approach. Proper skincare
is more than just applying a lotion or using
a cleanser. It involves the total
person and using any product without
considering diet, exercise, stress, other
medications, etc. is short sighted and will
usually lead to unsatisfactory results.
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