ZO Medical Skincare

As a cosmetic doctor, I am often asked by my patient’s which moisturiser I recommend. My answer is “None, I am totally against the use of moisturisers. They do more harm than good”. I would go so far as to say that they actually age the skin.

We all want beautiful skin. So what is the definition of beautiful skin? Beautiful skin is healthy skin which is smooth, firm, taut, even coloured, well hydrated and strong. When skin is functioning normally it produces collagen and elastin.

What I am going to say next may sound a little controversial because as women we have all been preconditioned to use moisturiser. Why? Because our mothers and grandmothers used moisturisers and have told is that this is the key to healthy skin. Wrong!

Skin issues such as acne, rosacea and uneven pigmentation may be caused by the use of, or overuse of the wrong products for your skin, particularly moisturisers. When your skin is young and healthy and functioning normally it self moisturises. By the time we reach our thirties, skin looses its vitality and collagen and elastin production decreases.

When you apply a moisturiser to your skin instead of plumping your skin, the skin cells start to get lazy. The skin cells on the surface ( epidermis) send a message to the cells in the dermis to slow down. The cells which should be active in the dermis hibernate and become dormant. Your skin stops rejuvenating and repairing itself and the skin cell cycle slows down from 6 weeks to 8,12 weeks and even longer. This results in clogged pores, dull, tired and lack lustre skin.

When a patient comes into my clinic and tells me they have sensitive skin, the first thing that springs to mind is overuse of moisturisers. Sensitive skin is misinterpreted as dryness when in fact the problem is roughness. What your skin needs needs is actually an exfoliant. Moisturising has the opposite effect of exfoliating – it sticks on dead skin cells. This leads to an artificially plumped outer dead layer of skin and then a feeling of sensitivity when it is disrupted for example on washing.

My patients at Cosmeticdoctor, see significant benefits from the ZO SkinHealth and Medical range of prescription products. Undoubtedly in the early stages there are side effects such as redness, flaking and dryness until your skin builds a tolerance to Vitamin A creams. When you apply Obagi ZO SkinHealth and Medical products to your skin. collagen and elastin is produced and your skin produces its own moisturiser called natural moisturising factor.

Key to skin health is maintaining water, lipid protein balance and normal exfoliation and this can only be achieved using products with active Vitamin A. When products containing retinol are applied to the skin, the cells function normally, make collagen and elastin and skin produces its own hydration.