We spoke with skin care specialist and Nutripuncture practitioner Helen Tee of Therapeutics Aroma. Her philosophy is holistic care to maintain good skin health, from the inside and the outside. A balanced diet and lifestyle and natural therapies and supplements like Nutripuncture and Activa respect our body while promoting health. Appropriate and meaningful skincare products are important to nourish and protect the skin from the outside.
Helen recommends Activa Vitamin C, Circulation and Woman and organic skincare products Centella and PHYTS.
What is good skincare?
Cleanse, tone and moisturize.
When should a skincare regime start?
At puberty, when the hormones change. When the next stage starts. If we can do a step before the change, it’s good. Because with a baby, you clean the baby before bedtime. When kids become more independent, at five, you can give them a cloth to sponge clean their skin. The process is ongoing, taking care of the delicate part of the face. But no need for skincare products. If they have this habit and when they are ten years old when their hormones start changing, it’s already part of what they do before bedtime, like brushing their teeth. Hormones don’t change overnight.
This question is asked by a lot of mothers and I don’t think you need to start so early because the skin is young, plump and rich. Unless they start sports like swimming. Some kids start to train as competitive swimmers as young as six years old. They will need sunblock.
When do we need to change our skincare regime?
Generally speaking, when the person is not happy with their skin. For instance, when the skin begins to look dull or feel rough. Perhaps they need something different. This is the time to see your skincare specialist.
It’s not that the skin gets accustomed to a product but the skin does change from time to time.
If they see a skincare specialist, they can get a very precise “prescription” for now and this now is good until you finish the bottle. Unless they have a very specific problem like they suddenly get a very sensitive skin. Then the product is only needed for the next two weeks, not until the last drop.
Do we need facials? And when would we need one?
To have better skin, in a natural way. When you feel you cannot manage the skin anymore. Or when you want continuous care.
A facial is also a professional treatment. The products are not available for the home. More concentrated.
I never say to someone that they need a facial. I suggest coming whenever they feel they want to. I want to empower people to take care of their own skin. When they travel they have to take care of their skin. And more and more, I have clients become expatriates. It’s a way to let them observe how to choose a skincare specialist. Education is power. Like Nutripuncture.
Only for a small group of people, they may need to come in more often – severe acne, sensitive skin or reactive skin.
With my regular clients, some have been coming for 15 years and since day one, they still come every month. They are so good and already use the best of the skincare so a facial already doesn’t make much of a difference. Why do they still come? One, they enjoy it. Two, it’s insurance. They want to have continuous support for their skin.
So everyone comes for a different reason. And I treat them like they are seeing me for the first time.
What is lymphatic drainage?
Lymphatic drainage is basically for people with congested skin. When we are angry or stressed or the diet is too stimulating for oily skin or provoke acne, there are a lot of toxins. How do we flush away the toxins in the face? So, lymphatic drainage. For a lymphatic drainage, you need to go to a specialist, to do a special massage. The easiest way is to apply essential oil blend face oil. Essential oils all have cleansing properties but for some people, they need more purifying and decongesting.
There is a lymphatic drainage sequence for Nutripuncture and this works from inside out.
I find it difficult to use moisturizer in Singapore. It seems to take longer to be absorbed and when you are out in the heat, it just melts. I feel like I’m wasting the products and not getting the benefits.
If a product is not easily absorbed, then we look at the compatibility.
First, we look at the cleansing because when the skin is well-cleansed, the product can be absorbed nicely. Sometimes it’s too tight, too dry, then it locks. It becomes a barrier to prevent further dehydration. Chemical products tend to lock the skin as well because there is a layer of chemicals on the surface of the skin.
Second, for skin like yours, which is fine, you need a more refined molecule product so that it can go in. Also because it’s so delicate, products can evaporate and you need to wear a “windbreaker”, like a day cream with shea butter.
And yes, in Singapore, there is a double dose, with the humidity and perspiration, from outside and inside. What you do, is take a cloth and press on the skin. There are many layers of skin so when you put on a serum, it goes deeper and when you put on an oil, it goes deeper further. It just takes five minutes and the moisturizer seals it in. When you dab the skin, you are just removing the moisture from the humidity and perspiration. That’s why you need a good moisturizer which hydrates the top layers of skin. Otherwise it just sits on top.
How does skincare differ in Singapore, than say, in a colder climate?
People who live in four seasons will automatically change their skincare. Not because they know but because the skin just cannot sustain it. Singapore doesn’t have a change of seasons but it has a change of lifestyle, a change of emotions, a change of health…for example, for people with mycoplasm for three or four months, their skin will change because they’ve been on antibiotics. This is a good time to see a skincare specialist and also support internally. It boils down to the external and internal environments.
Helen Tee
SRN, Cidesco, Aromatherapist & Chi Nei Tsang, Emmett Technique & Nutripuncture Practitioner
Therapeutics Aroma
Body, Mind & Spirit in Harmony
583 Orchard Road
#03-01/02 Forum the Shopping Mall
Singapore 238884
✆ +65 6737 7039
✉ taroma@singnet.com.sg
www.TherapeuticsAroma.com
Monday to Friday 11.00 am to 7.30 pm
Saturday 10.00 am to 6.00 pm
Closed Sundays and Public Holidays