- It does also have a bit of a...
Just got a bit of a scent, a bit of a I'm a waft.
- [Woman] It smells like a (indistinct)
- It smells like bacon.
You must take that.
(laughs)
- [Woman] It's why I can't buy.
- Hi, my name's Natarsha.
I'm a customer service advisor here at Adore Beauty.
Today we're gonna be talking about ways
to prevent and treat pigmentation caused by sun damage.
I was quite late to the skincare game.
I'm 33 now, and I spent most of my late twenties
tanning at the beach or even worse
in a solarium don't judge me
cause tanning used to be cool.
I actually used to work at a solarium beauty salon.
So it was even worse.
I would come into work and have a sunbed
every morning like I used to work so bad.
And, but also because I'm Italian, I just, I don't burn.
Like I literally, my skin doesn't burn.
So I was like I don't need sunscreen.
My skin doesn't burn.
You do .
Ironically enough it was actually when I made the conscious
decision to stop tanning
that all of my imperfections in my skin started to show.
I've had age spots.
I had fine lines, really uneven skin tone.
It turns out that that so-called healthy tan
was actually just hiding the damage it was causing.
I decided it was time to get serious about my skin
and start looking after my skin.
Unfortunately, pigmentation is one
of the hardest issues to reverse.
I really wish that the beauty IQ podcast
was around when I was in my early twenties.
There's just so much amazing
skincare information education available now.
There's not much you can do
after the pigmentation has been caused.
You can try and treat it
and try and reduce the appearance of it
because it's so deep below the surface of the skin
obviously takes quite a lot of products
and work to kind of penetrate all those layers.
So the number one thing
to prevent pigmentation is sunscreen.
The truth is it doesn't matter what you do for a job,
indoor job, outdoor job, office job.
We all really need to be wearing SPF all day every day.
The truth is even just going from your house to the car,
sitting in that car with the sun,
beaming through the window,
it's all causing damage to your skin
and contributing to pigmentation, that's for me.
There's even been a lot of research lately
that says that the blue light from your screens
and from your phones
is also contributing to photo aging and pigmentation.
So it doesn't really matter where you go.
You can't really avoid it,
I guess not just from a cosmetic point of view,
but also a health point of view.
In Australia we have some of
the harshest UV levels in the world,
thankfully facial sunscreens have come a really long way
since those thick greasy white gross sunscreens that
that every day is most important.
You're like me
and it's too late to prevent
any pigmentation forming
there are still some really great products
that you can use to help
minimize the appearance of pigmentation.
Stop it from getting any worse,
also rejuvenate your skin
to help kind of break it down a little bit.
So the first thing I use in my skincare routine
is this Dermalist Ultra Hydrating Lactic Cleanser.
I've never really been impressed by cleansers.
Like I don't really think that much of them.
I mean, they're only on the skin for like a minute,
but this one has really, really proved me wrong.
Lactic acid is a really gentle exfoliating ingredient
and that will kind of really modely resurface your skin,
but it's just not harsh or drying
like a lot of the other acids can be.
I'm really mindful of using anything
too harsh and too stripping.
A lot of people think, okay, we've got pigmentation,
I'm just gonna try and strip my skin back
and use all these really strong acids,
but you're actually gonna do more damage
to your skin doing that.
So this is kinda of the best of both worlds
I use this morning and night.
It's gentle enough to use every day,
also contains vitamin C and charlene finger lime,
which is like a natural form of vitamin C.
And that also helps to brighten your skin tone
and lighten up that pigmentation.
It also contains niacinamide which is vitamin B3
B3 which reduces redness and congestion.
Taking away the redness will also take away
from the appearance of your pigmentation.
I've been using this only for a few weeks
and it's already actually brightened my skin tone.
It's helped my skin feel smoother
and it's also made my skin
feel really nourished and hydrating.
So I'm amazed at a cleanser can actually do so much
when I only use like a tiny,
the tiny's might go such a long way.
So that's step one in my skincare routine.
Secondly, in my morning routine,
the next thing I've put on my skin is a vitamin C serum.
We generally tell people to use,
your serums lightest to heaviest and use it.
You use maybe like a vitamin B
or a hyaluronic before you vitamin C,
but we recently just had SkinCeuticals training.
And they said that your vitamin C
should be the first thing that you put onto your skin
after cleansing with their products especially.
But SkinCeuticals are
the absolute gold standard in vitamin C serums.
They have 20 years of science
and research to back up all of their claims.
So they're the real deal.
This is their Phloretin CF.
It is 10% ascorbic acid, which is the pure vitamin C aspect.
Also has 2% Phloretin.
Fruit Phloretin actually is a powerful antioxidant
that actually helps with pigmentation.
And also ferulic acid,
which is another antioxidant.
So this is not only gonna help to brighten your skin,
it's giving you so much more protection
from the sun and from environmental pollution
and external factors that can age you
and also contribute to pigmentation.
Vitamin C inhibits the production of melanin under the skin.
This will actually block those,
that pigmentation from getting darker.
It does also have a bit of a...
Just got a bit of a scent.
Some people actually do say it smells a little bit,
kind of like a mild bacon smell,
obviously, it hasn't got any artificial fragrances.
So many products have all this,
unnecessary crap put in there to make them smell better.
But this is really just like,
the raw ingredients that are effective
that are in there.
When you put on your face,
it smells for a tiny bit
and then the smell goes away.
But to be honest,
because the product's so good,
the smell doesn't bother me.
This is the SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF
and most of their vitamin C serums,
they are this kind of amber yellowy color.
And they do oxidize over time.
Over time, it will actually get a little bit darker.
And with this one
you only need about three or four drops
over your whole face.
I always avoid kind of my under eye area.
They do have a special one for eyes,
if under your eyes is your concern.
But this one is just for designed for the rest of your face.
This one is probably on the higher end
of a price point for vitamin Cs,
but because my pigmentation and my skin tone
is one of the most important,
my most important skincare concerns.
I can justify spending that
little bit more for that product.
Cause I know it's amazing and it's worth it.
Then after that, I will use my Alpha-H Vitamin B Serum
sorry, I've just got makeup.
(laughs)
I know my serums and this one's
also got copper peptides in it,
which help with anti-aging
and rejuvenating collagen production
elastin production in the skin,
but it also has niacinamide.
I think vitamin B is
probably like the most underrated active ingredient,
but it's a really important part of your skin care routine.
Vitamin B helps to strengthen your skin's barrier.
It also helps to hydrate your skin
and, you know, nourish it.
This has also got hyaluronic acid in
which plumps up your skin
and helps to really lock in the moisture in your skin.
Alpa-H vitamin B is actually a really beautiful blue color.
And this one again,
you only need three or four drops of that.
It also has a little bit of a smell.
It's nothing like a really,
really gross or really bad,
but it's something to be conscious of
because obviously when you open it
and smell it you might think that it's gone awful
and have a bit of a bumpy ride to your door.
And I think this one as well for
it's such a reasonable price point
that I just think it's a really good serum
and because it does what it's supposed to do
the smell doesn't bother me.
So my next step is my moisturizer.
This is the Aspect Phytostat 9.
It's actually a really kind of generous sized pump bottle.
This is just a really good all rounder moisturizer.
It helps with pigmentation.
It helps with dehydration.
It's really hydrating and nourishing,
but it's not too heavy and thick
because I do have oilier skin,
I'd love to wear rich creams
and all that kind of stuff.
But if I do that in the morning,
my face will just be completely dripping and shining
by three in the afternoon.
To compensate for the smell of these two.
This one smells beautiful.
It's just has that really nice day cream smell
that you expect from like
a really nice spooky high-end cream.
This one here is a pump,
so it just pumps out and you just want a pill sized amount.
It's just, yeah, just over the good all round that one,
that pretty much finishes up my morning routine.
I obviously finish with my Ultra Violette Clean Screen.
SPF should always be the last step
in your skincare routine,
but I do put that on underneath my makeup.
So just like one, sorry,
just one pump of that is enough to cover your face
and neck as well.
And then I would apply my makeup.
One thing I actually only learned just the other day
is that we're actually supposed to be
reapplying sunscreen every two hours
throughout the day for maximum protection.
Most of us don't have time to take off our makeup,
put sunscreen on and redo eye makeup every two hours.
So what I'd actually do
for a bit of added protection,
obviously it's not the full protection
that an SPF sunscreen will give you.
But this is actually
a Youngblood mineral powder foundation.
I've obviously had this for quite a while,
so it's a little bit worn out
cause it's a mineral powder.
It actually does have a little bit of SPF protection in it.
So just kind of topping up with that throughout the day,
which I like to top up anyway,
but I guess so many compliments
people being like,
how does your skin just looks really natural and glowy.
And this is my secret.
It's not one that you can use
in the car on the way to work.
Because it is a little bit powdery.
I have chance to many a morning
and ended up with a little kind of patches
I just now have makeup on the table.
That's something that I usually do at home over the sink,
but yeah, cause it does
have that little bit of an SPF protection.
It just does add to that protection throughout the day
and it's stuff you'd better than wearing nothing at all.
I literally pretty much I'm actually petrified
because I'm wearing a white shirt.
- [Woman] Oh, this is strenuous.
- Honestly, this shit is amazing.
It's actually amazing online nighttime routine.
I cleanse with the Dermalisentic cleanser.
I don't use vitamin C at night.
I then apply my vitamin B and then I apply my retinol.
Now retinol or vitamin A
as it's also known
is probably the most powerful,
active skincare ingredient on the market.
It helps with anti-aging cause it
promotes the production of collagen in the skin.
It also helps with pigmentation
because in producing those new skin cells,
it's helping to kind of break down
the pigmentation and re rejuvenate your skin
helps with your overall skin tone and texture.
Yeah, it's probably the most potent ingredient,
but because it is so potent so active,
it can cause some irritation
and I don't have overly sensitive skin,
but I'm quite sensitive to retinol,
which is (beep) not good.
Are you allowed swearing in these videos?
You are.
obviously it is so effective,
but I need to be really careful
because if I've used it before
and I really liked flaked around,
which is what it's supposed to make you flake.
Cause it is kind of producing new skin cells.
But obviously it's not an ideal reaction.
You don't wanna have flaking all the time.
The cosmeceutical masters at Medik8
have actually brought in this range called Crystal Retinal.
This is the number three.
But there's actually four in the range.
I started on the one.
And didn't have any adverse reactions or anything from that.
And now I'm ready to start the three,
which is a 0.3%.
Then they have a six, which is 0.6%.
And then the number 10 is their strongest in the range.
And that's 1% and 1% is
I'm pretty sure the strongest strength of retinal
you can get without a prescription.
So I use that at night,
retinal should only ever be used at night
because it can cause your skin
to be more sensitive to the sun,
which SPF is always important,
but extra, extra important when using a retinal.
This one is actually more of a cream solution.
So just a little bit, I won't use too much of it now.
I don't wanna waste it.
So just that again,
all around your face,
I'm avoiding the delicate skin around your eyes.
Again, there's special retinals for the eye area.
The skin is really different
around your eyes compared to the rest of your face.
It's also, I think a pretty good price.
I think retinals can be really expensive.
This one here is not too bad.
And I think I just really liked that.
It's easy.
You start on the line and you work your way up to the 10.
If your skin can tolerate it,
if not unit kinda just stick on
where your skin sits at.
So that's a really great product as well
that you use at night.
The next product I wanna talk about
is the Alpha-H Liquid Gold.
I don't think this one really needs much introduction.
I was really skeptical of the hype about this product,
but now that I use it once a week,
I actually think it's pretty amazing as well.
It's mainly made from glycolic acid.
Now, glycolic acid, again, is gonna resurface your skin.
It's gonna help brighten your skin tone,
lightened up your pigmentation,
but is a little bit stronger than the lactic acid.
So this isn't something that I personally would wanna use
more than once a week,
cause it can be a little bit,
drying on certain skin types.
I just use that once a week.
At night after cleansing, I don't use my vitamin B.
I don't use my retinal with this one.
Definitely not the retinal
after using that your skin would be super, super tingley.
So I just use that.
Yeah. once a week after cleansing,
I don't put a moisturizer on afterwards.
You can, if your skin is kind of feeling
a little bit too tingley,
but Alpha-H actually recommend that using it
on its own without anything afterwards
is actually gonna give you a more intense treatment,
but really is like an overnight facial.
Like you wake up in the morning
and your skin just, just so kind of smooth
and kind of plumping glowing.
A lot of people use this every second day.
I don't think I would use it every second day,
but that's just maybe my skin type.
That's obviously quite a lengthy routine.
I always say love skincare and love of these products.
If you don't have the time
or even the final financial justification
to purchase all these products.
If you were gonna just buy one product
to try and help with your pigmentation
and help brighten up that skin tone,
even out the skin tone,
then this Dermalist all serum
really is what the name says.
It is everything in one.
It doesn't actually have a retinal in it,
but it really just does tick all the boxes.
It helps with your skin tone,
helps with pigmentation,
helps with anti-aging,
helps to moisturize your skin,
helps with skin tone, skin texture.
So it is just an awesome all in one.
It's amazing.
And even when nights,
if I come home, I'm a bit late
and I'm a bit tired
and I just really can't be asked with all of that.
I just put this one
and at least I know that
it's still having a great effect on my skin
and it's still doing all the things that I needed to do.
And this one is a pump bottle and it's really nice.
This one smells beautiful as well.
It's a really nice
a creamy milky texture
and this one's all organic vegan,
Australian made Australian owned.
Like it literally ticks every single skincare product box
that you would want that cruelty-free
sulfate-free, paraben-free, alcohol-free this is everything.
The lady that actually made it,
is actually, I think like
15, 20 years working in the industry.
And she's been the last five years developing this.
So yeah, it's really awesome.
This is actually, this whole brand is actually amazing.
Like have you tried this cleanser, so good.
But it's so important to protect your skin from the sun.
The sun causes so much UVA and UVB damage.
It causes pigmentation, wrinkles, sunspots, age spots,
burning your skin damages your skin
and damages the layers of your skin.
So then your skin barrier strength is compromised.
So you're more susceptible to
aging and acne and breakouts
and bacteria on the skin.
So it's so important to protect your skin from the sun.
Using SPF is the number one way you can do that.
If you have already a little bit damage
is too little too late, the damage has been done.
Then there are some really amazing products
that you can use to help further protect your skin
prevent your pigmentation from getting any worse
and also to try and reduce the appearance
of that pigmentation and stop it from getting worse
as you get older.
Thank you so much for watching.
I really hope you enjoyed this video.
If you did, please hit the like button.
And if you have any questions about pigmentation
or any of the products we've spoken about today,
please feel free to leave some comments below.
We'd be happy to get back to you.
Thanks for watching.
(upbeat music)