Everyday Heroes & Your Backup Team
Wondering what products are important to have for everyday use and what products should be their back up team? Everyday products provide support and nutrition to your skin and help to maintain your skin's barrier function, pH levels and the homeostasis of your skin’s microbiome.
pH of the skin
pH refers to “potential of hydrogen”. It concerns the activity of hydrogen ions (ions are molecules that carry a positive or negative charge) in a water-based solution. Hydrogen makes up two thirds of water, water being two hydrogen molecules plus an oxygen molecule, H²o.
The skin’s pH is between 4.5 to 6, sitting more on the lower acidic to neutral side, and this is considered normal/healthy.
The pH levels of your everyday skincare hero products should sit around pH 4.5 to 7.
A pH of 2 is very acidic, products that are more on the acidic side are exfoliants and peels, a pH of 7 is neutral, which is where water sits and a pH of 12 is very alkaline.
You may have noticed products can be listed as “pH-balanced”, this refers to products that are formulated with a pH that falls within the normal pH range, being between pH 4 and pH 7.
The skin has a protective film on its surface that’s known as its acid mantle. The acid mantle plays a vital role by working with skin-natural ingredients like ceramides, cholesterol, enzymes, sweat, and even our skin’s own oil to protect skin’s surface and lower layers from external threats.
Skin’s acidic pH also plays a role in keeping its delicate microbiome balanced. An acidic microbiome makes it more difficult for harmful pathogens to multiply, but lets the good stuff flourish.
Skin microbiome
This term refers to the microorganisms (bacteria, fungi and viruses) that naturally reside on the skin. This makes up your skin's physical barrier and prevents invasion of pathogens. Keeping your skin microbiome in homeostasis (also known as balanced).
Barrier function of the skin
Physically, it protects from external threats such as infectious agents, chemicals, systemic toxicity and allergens. Internally, the skin helps to maintain homeostasis and protects from enhanced loss of water from the body.
Everyday Heroes
A basic rule of thumb for your skin is you want to ensure you are cleansing, feeding, nourishing and protecting your skin everyday.
Cleanser
Designed to remove dirt, oil, debris and bacteria build up without stripping your skin barrier. Your cleanser should be free of SLS, SLES, synthetic fragrances, aluminum, mineral oils, parabens and harsh foaming agents.
Some of our favorite cleansers are:
Osmosis Cleanse 200ml $93.00
Osmosis Purify 200ml $93.00
DMK Enbioment cleanser $88.00
Medik8 Lipid cleansing oil $52.00
Medik8 Micellar mousse $49.00
Serum
These serums will be your feeding and nourishing products, providing you with antioxidants, hyaluronic acid, vitamin A’s, B’s, C’s and E’s.
Antioxidants and Hyaluronic acid are required for prevention and repair of environmental damage and maintaining skin hydration to ensure the skin’s barrier can function optimally.
Osmosis Vitamin A range contains retinaldehyde, it is gentler on the skin than retinol or retinoic acid, making it great for those with sensitive skin, it also has antibacterial properties perfect for treating bacteria causing acne and it only requires a one conversion step for cell entry compared to retinol esters or retinol which require two to three conversions.
Another bonus is that they are paired with other amazing ingredients like niacinamide and beta glucan which reduce inflammation and work in correcting langerhan cells functionality.
Vitamin C is required for the stimulation of collagen and elastin, assisting with remodelling of the skin. Great for scarring, pigmentation and vascularity.
Some of our favorite serums are:
DMK Beta gel $145.00
Medik8 Hydr8 B5 / B5 intense $79.00 / $99.00
Osmosis Rescue $224.00
Moisturiser and oils
With this step you want to be locking in the ingredients from your serums with emollients, occlusives or humectants and prevent the evaporation or loss of those feeding and nourishing ingredients applied beforehand.
An emollient provides a partial barrier to the skin but is also designed to soften the skin. Common emollients are oils, esters, stearic acid, lipids and fatty acids.
An occlusive is designed to create a barrier, helping to maintain moisture within the skin. A common occlusive that is also an emollient is stearic acid and zinc. Zinc is also required for anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties in acneic skin.
An humectant is designed to attract water, these products likely to contain hyaluronic acids, aloe leaf juice, glycerin and water itself.
Products in this range need to be selected with a few things in mind, they need to mimic your skin's natural sebaceous oil and contain non-comedogenic ingredients.
Some of our favorite moisturisers and oils are:
Medik8 Balance moisturiser $98.00
DMK Acu-Moist $49.00
DMK Betagen $154.00
DMK Melanotech Creme $115.00
DMK Seba-e Oil $77.00
Osmosis Immerse $140.00
Sunscreen
Protecting your skin is so important with 80% of ageing stemming from UV damage, there are chemical and physical form sunscreens that both have a different mechanism of action.
Chemical: This form of an sunscreen works by absorbing the sun rays, it does not leave a white cast on the skin and is formed of ingredients like xybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate, or octinoxate.
Physical: This form of sunscreen is a mineral sunscreen, and forms a shield and deflects the rays of the sun. Physical sunscreens are formed of ingredients like titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, or both. This is suitable for skin that is more sensitive.
Some of our favorite sunscreens are:
Osmosis Protect is a moisturiser that contains zinc oxide to protect against UVA rays $68.00
Medik8 Advanced Day Total Protect is a moisturiser and sunscreen in one $119.00
Propaira SPF 50+ $30.00
Medik8 Physical SPF 30 $78.00
Backup Team
Typical products that are your back up team are your specialty or treatment products designed to treat a specific condition like pigmentation, vascularity, rosacea or acne.
Exfoliants
Designed to be used once or twice a week, to sloth away redundant skin cells. The best kind of exfoliants do not contain harsh granules or over-stripping agents. They contain enzymes or acids that digest and soften the superficial debris, sebum and skin cells without creating micro tears or inflammation in the skin.
Some of our favorite exfoliants are:
Osmosis Polish $121.00
DMK Micro peel $91.00
Medik8 Blemish control pads $59.00
Dermaquest Clarifying wipes $69.00
Medik8 pore scrub $59.00 and one for our bearded men
Masks
Perfect for those treat yourself moments, for you to relax with a cup of tea or glass of wine but still aim to target specific concerns within your skin and maintain your results in between your clinic visits.
Some of our favorite masks are:
For ageing, hydration and barrier repair
DMK Hydrating masque $82.00
Mesoestetic Hydra vital factor k mask $198.00
Medik8 Bio-cellulose sheet masks $96.00
Osmosis Tropical mango mask $121.00
For congestion
DMK Acu masque $76.00
Medik8 Charcoal mask $78.00
Medik8 Natural clay mask $59.00
For congestion, ageing, hydration and barrier repair
DMK Home enzyme kit $155
Spot treatments
Designed to target those pesky pimples, from surface congestion to cystic congestion. These products generally contain acids or ingredients that create a pseudo heat to clear out the pore by reducing bacteria overgrowth and reducing inflammation.
Some of our favorite spot treatments are:
DMK Acu-klear $40.50 or Medik8 Blemish SOS $48.00 - for surface congestion
DMK Acu-therm $30.00 - for cystic congestion
Eye creams
Created with the delicate eye area in mind to help nourish, hydrate, repair, reduce puffiness, improve fine lines and wrinkles and brighten up the eye area. These can be slowly implemented into a home skin care routine and work up to using every day.
Some of our favorite eye creams are:
DMK Fine line $84.00
DMK Eye tone $98.00
DMK Eye web trial size $55.00
DMK Eye web full size $262.00
Osmosis Refresh $132.00
Osmosis Illuminate eye and lip treatment $150.00
Specialized serums & creams
These products are designed to treat specific concerns of rosacea, vascularity and pigmentary disorders. These creams and serums are completed as a course or seasonally depending on the skin condition being treated. Once the skin condition is resolved our lovely dermal clinician’s can guide you on how to maintain those results.
Some of our favorite specialized serums and creams are:
DMK Melanotech drops $145.00
DMK Pore reduction drops $72.50
DMK Enbioment serum and mist $243.00
DMK Super bright $138.00
DMK Red vein $92.00
Mesoestetic Cosmelan 2 cream $298.00
Find your Heroes
If you’re an existing client, don’t hesitate to contact our team for skincare recommendations. For all new clients, we recommend booking a consultation so we can discuss your skin concerns, goals and needs. You can book an online consult here.
Already know what you’re looking for? Happy shopping!