Why Skincare Is Self-Care: Benefits, Routines, and Career Opportunities

Skin: Your largest organ. Your first line of defense against disease. Your body’s thermostat. The first thing people notice about you. The first thing you see when you look in the mirror. The everpresent, sensitive cloak that’s somehow part of you.

Caring for this integral intermediary between the inside of your body and its immediate environment is critical for your overall health.

Spectrum Advanced Aesthetics delves into the ways skincare supports holistic health and positions you, the esthetician, to help clients cultivate positive skincare routines and know when to consult professional skincare specialists for optimum skin health.

Is Skincare Considered Self-Care?
5 Reasons Why Skincare Is Self-Care and Not Only About Appearance
The Importance of Personalized Skincare Routines
4 Basic Steps To Build Your Ideal Skincare Routine
At-Home Care vs. Professional Skincare Treatments
The Role of Professional Guidance in Skincare
Passion for Skincare Meets Professional Training at Spectrum Advanced Aesthetics

Is Skincare Considered Self-Care?

When we think of prioritizing skincare, we might imagine a person who’s fussing endlessly over their appearance, preoccupied with superficial details, and working against nature to defy age. Sure, anyone can take skincare to an extreme, but in moderation, it’s a worthy endeavor that benefits everything related to a person’s health.

Caring intentionally for your skin doesn’t mean you’re shallow or frivolous. It’s a wholesome habit with the power to help keep you physically and emotionally healthy.

Spectrum Advanced Aesthetics can provide you with the education and expertise you need to become a competent advocate for the value of skincare as self-care.

5 Reasons Why Skincare Is Self-Care and Not Only About Appearance

The skin, or integument, is the body’s largest organ and, because of its complex structure, can perform multiple functions. Protection against injury and illness, regulation of physiological processes, and tactile sensation are just a few ways your skin supports overall physical health.

But skin is much more than an organ. It’s how you’re recognized, remembered, and, to some degree, evaluated. It influences how you view yourself and even how you approach life. So tending to your skin is also part of maintaining emotional well-being. Here are five ways skincare can benefit your whole person.

#1: Consistent Skincare Builds Confidence

Over time, consistent skincare habits help bring about gradual improvements in the skin’s health and appearance. As you track the positive results of your persistent efforts, a feeling of empowerment can redound to greater self-esteem and a healthier self-image. If low-self esteem used to hamper you in social situations, this confidence boost can allow you to more fully and positively interact with others.

#2: Skincare Can Be a Daily Ritual of Mindfulness

Once you’ve developed a routine, you’ll begin to see the value of the intentional pauses you take throughout the day to attend to your own well-being. The time you spend cleansing your face and applying skincare products is a perfect opportunity to:

Give structure to your day by practicing a positive routine
Clear your mind of stress and distractions
Focus on sensations as they bring about salubrious effects
Consider deeply the value and purpose of the small but impactful tasks that make up your skincare routine

What better way to draw your attention to the present moment than by refreshing and nourishing your skin?

#3: Skin Reflects Internal Health

The health status of the skin, as indicated by its appearance, is a barometer of conditions inside the body. For instance, when you’re fatigued from lack of sleep, you may notice dark circles under your eyes. Dehydration can cause dryness, itchiness, or tightness of the skin. Rashes or other irritations may arise in the event of an infection, allergic reaction, or medication side effect. The skin can also be a silent witness to various nutrient deficiencies.

This is not to mention ailments that may result from neglecting the skin. If you are conscientious about your skincare routine and notice a skin abnormality, you can at least rule out problems stemming from lack of care.

#4: Skincare Supports Long-Term Skin Health and Prevention

Preventive maintenance of the skin is the best way to support its manifold functions. It also helps diminish signs of aging and sun exposure, as well as acne and inflammation.

For example, a broad-spectrum sunscreen can protect your skin from ultraviolet light, thereby decreasing your risk of skin cancer. Paying attention to what you put into your body and correlating your skin’s condition with what you’ve ingested may keep you from an acne flare-up or other inflammatory activity within the skin.

#5: Skincare Encourages Self-Awareness

Skincare is not a haphazard chore. To do it at all, you must be attentive to your skin and its dynamic status. This means taking note of any abnormalities, such as lesions or discolorations, and getting medical help when you suspect it’s necessary.

When you’re busy with life, it can be easy to overlook your skin. If skincare is built into your routine, unhealthy changes won’t go unnoticed and untreated. At the same time, you’ll also be able to detect and appreciate signs of improvement in your well-tended skin. By taking responsibility for your skin, you become more aware of your own health needs and successes.

The Importance of Personalized Skincare Routines

While the general principles of skincare (such as the need for moisture, exfoliation, and sun protection) apply to everyone, each person has a unique health history that shapes their specific skin health needs. For this reason, skincare must be tailored to the individual to be effective.

Personal differences that influence the products that can be used in a skincare routine, their frequency, and effectiveness include:

Skin type: The products you use in your routine will depend on whether your skin is oily, dry, or a mix of the two; whether it’s sensitive or more robust. For example, oily skin needs a product that can reduce oil while maintaining moisture; dry skin needs something that can enhance oil production.
Age and life stage: As you grow older, your skin’s ability to retain moisture is diminished, making it more susceptible to damage. It also begins to lose elastin and collagen, resulting in wrinkles, sagging, and greater vulnerability to tears and moisture loss. The skincare routine for older clients, then, should take this into account and prioritize hydration and collagen supplementation. Regardless of age, your skin will undergo changes during distinct life stages as well. Whether you’re experiencing puberty, pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, or menopause, you’ll have to get to know your skin again as you endeavor to care adequately for it at these times.
Lifestyle such as stress levels, environment, and daily habits: If your lifestyle inevitably involves more sun exposure and higher stress (for example, if you work at a high-intensity, outdoor job), you’ll need to factor the need for extra protection into your skincare routine.
Hormonal changes: Hormones are directly involved in oil and protein production, moisture retention, and the regulation of inflammation. Hormonal imbalances in the body make themselves very conspicuous on the surface of the skin. To address these, consider causes other than just your skincare products. Stress and inadequate nutrition are major triggers of hormonal skin issues.‍
Underlying health conditions: Most underlying health conditions make their mark on the skin, but some are more obvious than others. Thyroid disorders, diabetes, liver disease, nutritional deficiencies, and autoimmune diseases are some of the main conditions that compromise skin health as well as inflict damage in other ways.

4 Basic Steps To Build the Ideal Skincare Routine

At Spectrum Advanced Aesthetics, we teach our students to create personalized skincare routines for clients of all skin types. Visit our website to learn more about what you’ll learn in our esthetician programs.

#1: Cleansing

During this foundational step, the skin is washed thoroughly to remove dirt, oil, and other contaminants. There are many types of cleansers on the market, including oils, creams, and foams. The cleanser chosen should be appropriate for the client’s skin type, gentle on the skin, and used consistently. Switching between cleansers can irritate the skin.

#2: Treating

This is where you’ll address your major skin complaints, such as excess oil, breakouts, dryness, redness, or discoloration. Professional guidance and/or thorough research can help you find the right concentration of the right active ingredient(s) to combat the specific problem affecting your skin type. It’s worth investing more money to find a serum or cream that helps instead of hurts.

#3: Moisturizing

Regardless of your skin type, hydration is essential. Inadequate hydration can negatively affect your skin’s appearance (dryness, flaking, etc.) and function (by compromising its ability to heal itself and protect against disease).

This step involves generous application of a moisturizer that feels good, nourishes and hydrates the skin, and has no unwanted side effects.

#4: Protecting

If you’re not in the habit of applying a daily sunscreen, this step might seem like overkill. Don’t you only need sunscreen for a day at the beach?

Actually, ultraviolet radiation is a major cause of changes within the DNA of skin cells that lead to cancer. Anything you do to block those cells from sunlight will protect them from damage, premature aging, and other long-term skin issues. Add sunscreen application to your skincare routine, and soon it’ll be as effortless as brushing your teeth.

At-Home Care vs. Professional Skincare Treatments

The skincare routine you follow at home can have tremendous effects on your skin health, but professional treatments, such as facials and advanced modalities, have their place as complementary measures to further progress toward your skincare goals. Whereas at-home care is a habit to cultivate day-in and day-out on your own, it’s often with the professional guidance or services of an esthetician.

Estheticians are trained to understand skin at a deeper level, apply treatments safely, and create personalized plans, so their support is invaluable for people who want the best results from their skincare regimen.

Here are some examples of procedures performed by estheticians and how they compare to equivalent home care measures.

Hydrafacials: Intended to rapidly hydrate the skin, this treatment includes all the steps of an ideal skincare routine. The nutrients infused with hydrafacial technology are able to penetrate deeper into the skin than with traditional mask treatments.
Microneedling: By stimulating collagen and elastin production, this technique treats wrinkles and scars and improves the texture of the skin. Results of microneedling are longer-lasting than those achieved by the use of serums or supplements containing collagen and/or retinoids.‍
Dermaplaning: By gently shaving off the top layers of skin in this exfoliative procedure, an esthetician can make the skin smoother, clearer, and better able to absorb care products. Like hydrafacials and microneedling, dermaplaning is a faster and more powerful method than chemical peels or abrasives for exfoliating the skin.

The Role of Professional Guidance in Skincare

Working with trained estheticians to establish a skincare routine and/or receive advanced treatments can improve outcomes and client satisfaction. Combine an esthetician’s expert advice, professional technique, and supportive treatments with the continuity of at-home care, and you have everything you need to help clients meet their goals.

Turning Interest in Skincare Into a Meaningful Career

As interest in skincare and esthetics as a field grows, so does the demand for knowledgeable professionals. With the right preparation, a passion for skincare can be channeled into a fulfilling career that helps others feel confident and cared for. Spectrum Advanced Aesthetics can be your bridge from passion to provider.

Passion for Skincare Meets Professional Training at Spectrum Advanced Aesthetic

Prepare yourself for an esthetician career by enrolling at Spectrum Advanced Aesthetics, a prime esthetician school in Portland. Choose from one of the following programs we offer our students:

Standard Esthetics
Advanced Esthetics
Nutrition-Certified Esthetician
Phlebotomy for Platelet-Rich Plasma

Learn from some of the best teachers in the industry and get hands-on experience with the most recent technologies and evidence-based protocols. Call us today, or visit our website to learn more.

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