Skin Resilience

In time for summer, Sue Dann, National Sales & Training Manager at OmniDerm, distributors of Dr. Spiller, Manage Your Skin and Herbal Aktiv Peel, reveals the solutions and secrets to maintaining healthy and age-defying skin.

People may think oils are anathema to skincare – why are they vital?

With the advent of ultra-light water-based skin care creams the importance of oils for proper functioning of the skin has been forgotten. Sebum, the skin’s own natural oil, forms part of the acid mantle, the skin’s natural protection against loss of moisture. It ensures the skin stays supple and able to resist wind and weather, foreign pathogens and other potentially harmful factors.

Dehydration of the skin is one of the main causes of ageing. Unchecked, it will lead to tightness and eventually rough skin. A failure of the skin’s protective systems will lead to inflammation, which manifests as diffused redness and/or sensitivity.

A light oil-based cream designed to mimic the skin’s acid mantle will quickly re-establish this protective barrier. Dehydration is alleviated almost instantly, inflammation and associated redness often subside within days. The skin feels and looks healthier, more radiant, with a natural glow. The oil content of the cream must be low enough to avoid an unnatural shine on the skin.

How do oils assist the various types of skin?

A light oil-based skin care cream will slow TEWL (trans epidermal water loss) to a natural healthy level, thereby ensuring the skin is well hydrated all day long. Good levels of hydration are associated with healthy skin.

The natural instinct when faced with oily skin is to thoroughly remove the oil. Cleansers, blotting papers and a variety of other tools are available to strip the dreaded shine from the skin, all of which strip the protective acid mantle. Our body reacts to this loss of moisture by increasing the production of sebum to re-establish its protection, causing a vicious cycle of oily skin.

So how to deal with oily skin? Firstly, we remove excess oil with a gentle cleanser that does not strip the skin’s protective layer. We then apply a light oil-based cream. These emulsions are proven to maintain healthy levels of hydration in the skin. Within a few days’ time the skin will react by normalizing the output of sebum. The unpleasant oily shine is past history.

What oils do Dr. Spiller products use and how are they effective?

Dr. Spiller Biocosmetics use a multitude of skin friendly oils. They are selected for their unique properties to ensure they synergistically support and complement other ingredients in the cream. Oils play an important role in ‘care’ for the skin. They also supply the skin with essential fatty acids and vitamins and act as carrier for oil-soluble ingredients. An example is carotin oil which, whilst basically a neutral oil, contains beta carotene (provitamin A) which doubles as active ingredient as well as colourant.

Traditional oils used by Dr. Spiller are olive oil, wheat germ oil (rich in vitamin E), almond oil, jojoba oil, avocado oil, borage oil, evening primrose oil and apricot kernel oil. More exotic examples are macadamia nut oil, the recently popular amaranth oil, marula oil, perilla oil and buriti oil.

Oils are vital for healthy skin. The skin type determines the optimum lipid content in a cream and the type of lipids used. Karotin oil is strongly supportive of cell division so it is predominantly used on mature, dull and stressed skin. Olive oil is rich in anti-oxidants; it therefore has protective properties that are suitable for sensitive skins which are low in moisture or likely to be reactive. Grape seed oil has a high content of linoleic and linoleic acids, essential for healthy skin. Each oil used has a primary characteristic and is chosen according to its interplay with other active ingredients, with an eye on desired outcome.

What other precautions can women and men take to slow down the ageing process – especially during our harsh summer?

The main causes of ageing are inflammation, dehydration and oxidation. These enemies of youthful skin are always found together. Excessive exposure to the sun pack A combination of sun avoidance and sun protection will limit damage to the skin. A good oil based cream will help avoid dehydration of the skin which can also lead to inflammation and increased free radical activity.

What are the main benefits of the Dr. Spiller ranges?

Dr. Spiller skin care is modelled on biomimetic lines. In other words, they mimic the conditions you would find on young, healthy skin. Adequate, long term hydration of the skin is one of the main aims. If the skin is protected against excessive moisture loss and against environmental influences it will quickly regain its normal, healthy appearance.

There is no big secret to radiant, beautiful skin. Our aim should be to re-establish the conditions found in young healthy skin. Our body will do the rest.

What R&D does the brand have behind it?

Dr. Horst Spiller developed his first skin care creams in 1960. Intensive research and development lead to the discovery of his unique ‘hydratain®’ formulation technology. Oil-based creams formulated with regular know-how have an oil content close to 50%, making them heavy and greasy. Dr. Spiller’s exclusive hydratain® emulsions can be as low as 19% in oil; they are light, easy to apply and comfortable on the skin. Today the company has an in-house R&D department composed of highly trained cosmetic chemists. The work of Dr. Spiller’s cosmetic chemists is overseen and controlled by independent laboratories to ensure their self-imposed high standards are not violated.

The company has a long history of innovation. In 1970 Dr. Spiller discovered the beneficial properties of Aloe vera. In 1971 he was first to developed a cream with SPF. Dr. Spiller refused to follow the trend to acids, a move which today is being seen as prescient. The US National Institutes of Health have recently recommended a shift from acids to peptides for gentler renewal of skin cells. Dr. Spiller developed his Rinazell Cream with lactic peptides in 1980. Today the company continues the tradition of introducing latest developments, be it from nature such as the anti-oxidant properties of Green Tea and Ginseng in Sanvita Cream, or the inclusion of high-tech developments such as Niacinamide in the recently launched Vitamin-C Plus Serum.

More at www.dr-spiller.com.au or Tel: 1300 301 007 for stockists.