Roughing It

If you are one of those people that consider ‘roughing it’ bad room service, I won’t suggest a camping holiday in the middle of Okavango Delta. For me a bit of the outdoor life is always a lot of fun and compensates for the discomfort. Not that I can’t relish and enjoy a five star hotel with all its luxury and ostentatious service. There is nothing like good service to make you feel important, and we all like to be treated as if we are real VIP’s. However, the real downside of roughing it is that you never seem to take care of your skin the way you should.

Aside from not shaving and ‘giving your skin a rest’, you can hang out and not even comb your hair if you don’t feel like it. Jokes aside, after a few days of camping I came back to the rat race rested and destressed, but oh boy, my skin had taken a hammering.

On closer inspection I realised that the result of all that relaxing had clogged my skin and pores appeared larger than before. Time to repair and rejuvenate! Besides, being treated at Skin Renewal is a different kind of holiday and relaxation while the buzz of the city recedes and all is peaceful and quiet.

Enlarged Pores

It is caused by genetics and age. A naturally oily skin protects against wrinkles, but it does make skin more prone to dirt collecting in the pores and mixing with the natural skin oil, and causing expansion of the pore’s diameter.

With ageing, sun damage and decreased elasticity of the skin can cause pores to dilate. The skin thickens, causing tiny cells to collect around the edge of the pores and make them look larger. Blackheads are also a contributor, and avoiding those is another good reason to ensure skin is clean but well nourished.

To reduce the appearance of large pores, cleansing the debris and excess oil will improve the skin’s appearance, and this can be done with a low-strength topical medication or face wash that contains AHA or BHA.  Exfoliation, which can be done at home or at Skin Renewal is another good way of reducing pore size.

Treatments

3D Skin Rejuvenation

At Skin Renewal one of my favourite treatments is their signature 3D Skin Rejuvenation which treat all problem areas and is great for your skin. Part of this treatment includes Laser Genesis for pore improvement, but this is more than just a facial.

Extraction Peel

Improving congested skin, and getting skin clean and fresh looking, could involve an extraction peel which is a combination of a salicylic acid with gentle steaming and extractions to improve skin appearance and is essential for treating pores.

Beta Hydroxy Peels

At Skin Renewal they use the Lamelle range of Beta Hydroxy acid Peels. It is a quick procedure, and more importantly, there is no downtime afterwards and you can carry on with your normal routine. A few treatments are recommended, about two weeks apart, but after each treatment a difference can be seen. Even acne scars become less noticeable and acne breakouts may be reduced.

It is suitable for all skin types and all age groups can be treated, which is an advantage for younger people as teenagers tend to suffer either from a few pimples (that according to them, will ruin the rest of their life), or acne of varying severity.

Benefits

By removing the dead skin cells that cause clogging and a dull looking skin, fresh skin is exposed.

When skin is clean, it can absorb nutrients better, so the active ingredients in your daily skin products will be absorbed and transported to the deeper skin cells where they are needed.

I like it already – from a better looking skin, reduced pores and all the creams I conscientiously apply every day; it all just works better.

And please don’t forget a good sunscreen after a peel. Even better, if you can avoid sun exposure after treatment, it doesn’t mean you don’t have to wear sunscreen, but it does mean that any other side effects of sun damage is avoided.

So you can still have dinner by candle light at the hotel, or by campfire light in the bush, and look drop dead gorgeous.

Mens skin

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