Why Not Try Dermalogica’s Precleanse Balm? Step zero in your age defence treatment

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Dermalogica recommended double cleansing and say that using Precleanse Balm, will transform the way we care for our skin. By adding in this Step Zero into your face care routine, you can make the most of your facial cleanser and address some of those trickier skin concerns of skin in your late 30’s and 40’s, like sensitivity and dry skin. This product is also great for those of you who are makeup fans, as it removes those stubborn ‘stay-long’ products. But is it the right choice for your skin concerns? What is Precleanse Balm and why should you be considering adding this Step Zero product to your daily face care routine?

We asked Dermalogica education executive Victoria Scofield to explain it all.

Meet Dermalogica’s Victoria Scofield

As well as being education executive for Dermalogica, Victoria also has nearly twenty-five years experience in the skin care industry, with fifteen years at Dermalogica and is a trained and experienced skin therapist. In short, Victoria knows her stuff! So who better to take us through this new product and how it can fit into a skin care routine for age management.

Dermalogica's Precleanse Balm is an ideal step zero, first cleanse. It goes on as a balm but with the skin’s natural heat works into an oil. So Victoria calls it a balm to oil cleanser. It works with the principle that oil attracts oil so it attracts all the things we’ve just talked about – from dirt and grime and cells to makeup. It works to melt through the layers that have built up over the day or night.

Age Management Skin Care

If you have read our blog before, you might know already this but at Jersey Beauty Company we don’t believe in shaming women as they age with miracle anti-ageing time reversal products. We know that skin care is about healthy skin, so we like the idea of Age Management. It’s true that as we age our skin changes, so it’s about learning how to manage that change to keep our skin healthy. Wrinkles are a natural part of the ageing process, but premature ageing and deepening lines and wrinkles are often the sign of our skin not being as healthy as it could be. So how can Dermalogica Precleanse Balm be a part of this age management skin care? To help Victoria, we asked two volunteers, Marita and Michelle, both in their 30’s and 40’s, to chat through their skin care concerns and also to try out the Precleanse Balm.

Meet Marita and Michelle

Michelle is in her 40’s and admits she doesn’t really understand enough about her skin now. In her 20's she felt her skin was really sensitive, but it isn't now. Michelle, like a lot of our Jersey Beauty customers, has tended to stick with the same products even though her skin needs have changed. Michelle knows her skin's feeling a lot more dehydrated and she’s starting to see the signs of wrinkles.

Marita had a baby two years ago. Initially just post-birth, she had had very dehydrated skin, with her hormones going crazy, she feels like her skin is only just coming out of that phase, now doesn't quite know what to do with her skin. Marita wants to help protect her skin against premature ageing but like a lot of us, doesn’t know where to start!

Introducing The Double Cleanse

Dermalogica education executive Victoria loves introducing clients to the idea of double cleansing. Dermalogica advocate a double cleanse, which is what it says on the tin - cleaning your skin twice. Victoria explains the first cleanse should be with an oil-based cleanser and the second with a cleanser that's really designed to target your individual skin concerns.

Why? Well, your skin produces millions of dead skin cells every minute or so. If you add to that, throughout the day, we're producing oils, secreting sweat, and even just the effects of our environment. Our skin is constantly picking up dirt, grime and pollution that sticks to your skin. So our skin get very dirty very quickly. And then for all the makeup fans, who love products that stay on all day, there is that added layer to remove when you cleanse, which is sometimes stubborn!

PreCleanse Cleansing Balmbalm-to-oil emulsifyerSkin90ml: £36.00

Precleanse Balm from Dermalogica is an ideal step zero, first cleanse. It goes on as a balm but with the skin’s natural heat works into an oil. So Victoria calls it a balm to oil cleanser. It works with the principle that oil attracts oil so it attracts all the things we’ve just talked about – from dirt and grime and cells to makeup. It works to melt through the layers that have built up over the day or night.

Apply and Work Dry on the Skin

You apply the product to dry skin and work the product dry on your skin. Both Marita and Michelle commented on how nourishing the product is, it really conditions the skin and you can feel that in this first step. It isn’t heavy or greasy as it is a balm that turns into an oil. Dermalogica therapist Victoria explains that’s the active ingredient of Apricot Kernel Oil in the Precleanse Balm, which is very lightweight but really nourishing for the skin. That coupled with a biolipid complex really reinforces the essential fatty acids, stopping any dryness and sensitivity by helping to repair the lipid barrier – that’s the oily protective layer that sits on top of your skin. Using a precleanse means we can get really deep, thorough cleansing, but it's not going to leave your skin dry or tight or vulnerable.

Emulsify and Rinse

Once you have worked the balm into your skin and it has attracted the oils and dirt on your skin, the next step is to emulsify before you rinse. This simply means getting a small amount of water and making adding to the oil so it turns sort of milky coloured. This is designed to really break down and start to lift off not only the pre-cleanse balm but that dirt and makeup by solubilizing the oil. You can then rinse your skin.

How Skin Feels After The Step Zero Precleanse

Michelle often worries about using cleanser as her skin feels tight after using some cleansers. But after the Dermalogica Precleanse Balm? Michelle is happy and doesn’t have that tight feeling to her skin that some facial cleansers give her. As our skins get older, particularly after our 30’s, cell renewal starts to slow down. This means that our skin doesn't produce as much moisture, as much natural oils, or lipids on the skin. We start to see more dehydration and dryness as our skin ages. So being able to deeply clean the skin, but without compromising the lipid barrier, is really important to keeping our skin clean and healthy at the same time.

The Second Cleanse – why do we need it and what should we use?

The Double Cleanse is so called because it involves a second cleansing step. So the Dermalogica Precleanse is ‘Step Zero’ or the first cleanse, you then need to follow up with a second cleanser. You might be wondering why… Marita and Michelle both commented how clean their skin felt after using the Precleanse. Well, the point of the Precleanse is to melt away that surface level dirt, debris, oil and makeup, the second cleanse can now get deeper into the pores and really make sure your skin is completely clean. This will help products like moisturisers and boosters to really get that goodness to the deeper layers where it is needed.

When choosing a product for the second cleanse, Victoria recommends starting with Dermalogica Essential Cleansing Solution. The Essential Cleansing Solution is a light, creamy cleanser that is really nourishing. For someone like Marita, who hasn’t really got a skin care routine set, it is a great choice as it isn’t too harsh on the skin. It is fortified with safflower oil, which is a water soluble oil, making it nourishing but not greasy.

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Next Step… Toner

Both Michelle and Marita tend to stay away from toners, like a lot of our JBC customers, associating them with the way toners used to be - harsh, stinging and sticky. But Dermalogica toners are spritz toners – they hydrate and freshen the skin, and can be used not just as part of your face care routine but throughout the day to refresh tired skin. Skin therapist Victoria recommends Dermalogica Multi-Active Toner for the two women, as you can use it over makeup, without it smudging your makeup but still having an effect.

Using a toner throughout the day can also help with dehydration lines. We sometimes think we see our wrinkles more clearly at certain times of the day, as Michelle mentions. That is actually a sign of dehydrated skin. Using a spritz of toner gives your skin that added boost.

Using Dermalogica Multi Active Toner after cleansing gives this boost of hydration and antioxidants before you start the day, which is locked in with your moisturiser.

Multi Active Tonerhydrating, refreshing spritzSkin250ml: £45.00

Moisturise with Dermalogica Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF50

Both Michelle and Marita admitted they don’t really know what to use on their skin now their skin is ageing. And it can be confusing. There are a lot of products that are “anti-ageing” or “time reversing” but what our skin actually needs are products that are designed to care for the skin concerns our late 30’s and 40’s skin has. That’s why Dermalogica education executive recommends the two women try Dermalogica Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF50 moisturiser. It’s part of the AGE Smart range but is designed to be used from aged 35+. It contains peptides, which help to rebuild collagen and has a vitamin complex to help regenerate cells and keep skin healthy. The other really important “anti-ageing” quality is that it has SPF. Protecting your skin from the effects of the sun (even when it doesn’t seem sunny!) is a key to avoiding premature ageing and skin concerns in later life. This moisturiser has a built in SPF 50 to protect your skin.

AGE Smart® Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF50 Moisturiserfirming, emollient moisturiserSpf50ml: £75.00

Dermalogica Skin Primer SPF30

Dermalogica’s Victoria wanted to introduce our two volunteers to one more product before they left – Skin Primer. Dermalogica explain this as the step in between skincare and makeup. The Dermalogica Skin Primer SPF30 not only has a sun protection factor built in but also has a clever light tint that actually suits all skin tones, as Marita and Michelle found out! This is a great option for when you maybe don’t want to wear makeup but want some basic coverage.

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Skin Perfect Primer SPF30 22mlilluminating make-up prepSpf22ml: £55.00

So, what is the verdict?

Marita and Michelle, our two lovely volunteers, have tried the Dermalogica Precleanse Balm, as part of a complete face care routine. What do they think? There was a lot of talk about how quick and easy the whole process was, that adding in the extra step at the start wasn’t time consuming but you could really feel the difference on your skin.

If you have skin in your thirties and forties and you don’t double cleanse, chances are you aren’t giving your skin a thorough cleanse. Which means all the other amazing products you have found aren’t able to really penetrate as deeply into the skin as they could!

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