The mysterious skincare dilemma 

Have you ever been around someone who has insanely healthy, clear skin?  You can’t help but ask what they use to make their skin look so gosh darn amazing. What’s their “secret sauce” to get these type of results?  You purchase the identical skin care routine, and wait for the results to appear in the mirror. But it’s been weeks, or maybe even months, and your skin is nowhere as healthy and clear as you had hoped it would be.  You saw the results with your own eyes, so why isn’t your skin doing the same thing with the same products? What gives? The answer actually lies within you!

When it comes to our skin, and body for that matter, it is not a one size fits all situation.  

Every part of our body is unique to our individual selves. We are so customized, that no two people in the world have the exact same fingerprints, identical twins don’t even share the same set of prints.  Our taste buds are also distinctive.  Some people are super tasters, meaning they have more taste buds and have a heightened sense of taste.  Internally, yep you guessed it, completely tailor-made.  Our microbiome, the gang of bacteria that lives in our gut, colonize in our body the moment we are born.  As we navigate through life, the numbers and types of bacteria will begin to increase and change.  If you have ever suffered from the stomach flu, or eaten that “questionable” sushi from the gas station, then you are all too familiar with an imbalance of bad bacteria running through your normally very balanced microbiome.  A healthy, happy gut is extremely important as it governs everything from your mood, appetite, immune system, internal and external inflammation and yes, even your skin.  

You’re just my type  

You are custom built from the floor up, inside and out, your skin is no different.  First  things first, we need to determine your skin type.  Your skin type is genetic.  If your skin drives you crazy, you have your parents thank for that.  Your skin type doesn’t really change unless you have a huge hormonal shift, but that’s another conversation for another day.  For now, let’s figure out what skin type you have. 

Your skin type will fall under one of five categories:

• Normal Skin – Exactly what it sounds like…normal!  Not too oily, not too dry.  It has a perfect mixture of oil and hydration, free of breakouts, even in tone and texture.  This is the skin type you are striving for, if you got it, flaunt it!  But don’t get cocky or lazy, normal skin does take work.  It’s all about proper maintenance to keep this skin type in check.
  
• Oily Skin –  If you wash your face and immediately start to see that “shine” come through, congratulations!  You have oily skin.  This means is that you have super active sebaceous glands (aka oil glands).  Your skin produces more sebum(or oil) than a normal skin does.  Although that extra oil can be beyond frustrating, remember that oily skin tends to show less fine lines and wrinkles due to dehydration…with every negative there’s a positive right?!?
  
• Dry Skin – Does your skin always feel sort of tight?  Especially after cleansing?  Does it have a dull appearance and feel rough to the touch in certain places?  You my friend, have dry skin.  In the medical world dry skin is referred to as Xeroderma, use it today in a sentence to impress your friends!  Think oily skin, but in reverse.  Your oil glands are a bit on the sluggish side, and pores tend to be a little smaller.  This can give the skin more of a Snapchat filter smooth appearance, which is awesome.  However, this skin type can cause your skin to easily crack, peel, become itchy, irritated, or inflamed…not awesome.
  
• Combination Skin – It’s time to get in the zone with this skin type, your t-zone that is!  Think of a capital “T “or lower case “t”, or an upside-down “t or T” or just the center of your face, that is your t-zone.  Just like you, t-zone placement, shape and size will be unique.  Combination skin sees two worlds colliding, oily throughout the t-zone and dry everywhere else.  Balance is the name of the game when you have this skin type.
  
• Sensitive Skin – Can you feel the burn?  If your answer is “all day everyday” then you have sensitive skin.  This is the skin type that is easily irritated and is more reactive than normal skin.  It’s pretty common to see sensitive skin alongside acne, rosacea or contact dermatitis which is a type of red, itchy rash.  But don’t get it twisted, it can show up by itself as well.  Less is more with this sensitive skin, try not to overwhelm it.

I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in

So you have determined your skin type, but I can almost hear you through my laptop; “My skin feels all the things!  Not just one!”  You are totally correct.  While you are born with one specific skin type, your skin can and will change regularly. These changes are known as skin conditions.  Some of the most common skin conditions are:

• Dehydration – skin lacking water, not oil, WATER
• Acne and breakouts – whiteheads, blackheads, zits…you know what I’m talking about
• Hyperpigmentation – back in the day grandma might have called them liver spots, we just call it hyperpigmentation now
• Sensitized –  sunburns are a great example of this 
• Aging/premature aging – fine lines, wrinkles, thin skin, crows feet…you catch my drift

Where do skin conditions come from?

Skin conditions occur due to internal and external factors.  

Internal factors include: 

• Stress – can cause skin rashes, trigger a flare-up of fever blisters, right before your tinder date no less, and can cause breakouts.
  
• Hormones – think puberty, pregnancy and menopause.  Fun fact for the ladies, you can typically figure out what side you are ovulating on by noticing what side of your jawline has more breakouts during your cycle.
  
• Diet – a healthy diet can help with clear skin, drinking lots of water will definitely help increase your hydration levels.  However, everything in moderation, because pizza is pretty darn tasty.
  
• Sleep – lack of sleep creates a stress hormone called cortisol. This can cause inflammation in the skin.  It can lead to conditions like acne, psoriasis, and even eczema.  Make sure your catching your zzz’s.
  
• Intrinsic aging – another one we can thank our parents for, our genetic aging process.  About 10% of our aging process happens intrinsically from genetics.

External factors include: 

• Climate – are you country living or a city slicker? This will play a huge factor in types of pollutants that you and your skin will encounter daily.
  
• The elements – from fall to winter, from spring to summer our skin will react and change with every season.  Chapped skin in the winter, and dealing with humidity and heat in the summer, the weather will keep your skin on its toes.
  
• UV exposure – sitting in the sun feels so good, but those UV rays cause something that is known as extrinsic aging which makes up for about 90% of your aging process.  It’s not just the suns fault, don’t forget about the blue light that is glowing off your laptop or smartphone as you’re reading this witty yet informative blog.  Concentrated sources of blue light energy can cause skin damage as well.
  
• Skincare and/or makeup ingredients – products that are packed with unnecessary ingredients such as artificial fragrance and colorants, mineral oil do zero favors for your skin.  You could be using products that are responsible for creating breakouts, congestion and irritation on your skin.

Hishi goes more than skin deep

This is what makes Hishi one of a kind, because it’s custom skincare made just for you!  Understanding how unique you are inside and out is vastly important when it comes to treating and taking care of our skin, and Hishi takes every single skin type and skin condition into consideration when creating your one of a kind formula.  The quick quiz gets down to the nitty gritty on all things you, resulting in a product that is made and designed specifically to fit you and your skins unique and personal needs.  From where you live, to how old you are and so much more, there are thousands of formulations that will be targeting your very unique and specific skin needs.  Plus it comes in a super cute bottle with your name on it, I mean come on!  It’s easy to see why one size fits all skincare is a thing of the past, and Hishi is part of your future.