Skin Care at 23…

Life Lessons: Skin Care at 23…

After having worked at The Sullivan Centre for almost a year now, I truly feel like I have learned many valuable life lessons. One of the most important things that I am now aware of is the importance of skin care. As someone who is in her early twenties, I was oblivious to the necessity and complexities of skin care. I knew that I should wash my face and put sunscreen on when outside for long periods of time, but that was where my knowledge ended.

I truly feel that many young people are unaware of what they should be doing to protect and care for their face and skin. Within my first week at The Sullivan Centre, I approached Dina, our wonderful skin care specialist, and told her some horrific news … for the past eight summers, I had been a lifeguard and swim coach. The years before that, I was a dedicated pool rat; spring and fall consisted of weeks of soccer. Sun exposure had been an almost daily occurrence for most of my life. Dina informed me that work should begin immediately to attempt to save my skin for the future.

Daily exfoliation, moisturizing creams, sunscreen, and a few peels and microderms were necessary for the rescue. While I knew that I had already done some damage to my skin, it was not until about a month into my new skin care regimen that I realized how big of a difference it had made. I was not truly aware of the poor condition my skin had been in … it wasn’t that my old skin was bad, but how much better the new skin was.

I am also much more aware of the faces around me and can tell the difference between who takes care of their skin and who does not. I especially notice who protects their face from the sun and who does not. I am coaching swim team again this summer, and the parents all laugh, because now I lather on lotion and wear my hat and sunglasses every morning at practice, which would have been a rare thing in the past. But now I know.

Not only do I know, but I have seen the difference that sun protection and skin care can make. And yes, I still have a tan and some freckles, but both are greatly reduced compared to previous years. I truly feel that it is necessary for more young adults my age, as well as teenagers, to speak with someone as knowledgeable as Dina to learn how to protect their skin. We as a generation have been led to believe that a tan is desirable, not dangerous … at least not now.

Most of us also assume that since we have nice skin now, we always will, and that we do not need to do much to maintain it … which is a complete falsehood. So this is my thank you to Dina and all of The Sullivan Centre staff who have helped to teach me at a young age how best to protect and care for my face and skin. So take me up on my challenge, bring a teenager or young adult in for a complimentary VISIA Skin Care Analysis and consultation with Dina. Tell her Courtney sent you.