8 things you never knew about skin

If you can’t face what you see in the mirror each day, has some solutions from experts

their belly to “stimulate the flow of qi (vital energy) to promote balance and harmony within the body, based on traditional Chinese medicine philosophy”.

2Moisturiser

alone won’t combat ageing

“No amount of bathing our skin in moisturiser will prevent wrinkles,” said Dr Penelope Tympanidis, consultant dermatologist and founder of Dermaperfect.

“Active ingredients in skin care, such as Retinol or Vitamin C, will make the difference.”

3Dry skin can lead to infections

Dr Uliana Gout, president of the British College of Aesthetic Medicine and founder of London Aesthetic Medicine Clinic, said: “Dry and cracked skin which is not managed properly increases risk of fungal, bacterial and viral skin infections.”

Dr Gout recommends upping hydration levels from September onwards with a moisturising face cream, saying: “My favourite ingredients these days are hyaluronic acid moisturisers. They are expensive but well worth the improvement they offer us.” 4Dry Abi Cleeve, MD at Ultrasun UK and founder of SkinSense, is a fan of hyaluronic acid for dehydrated skin, which differs from dry skin.

She said: “Choose products formulated for dry skin, which needs a constant hydration flow.

“Dehydrated skin is a condition. Environmental pollutants dry out skin continuously, so incorporate hyaluronic acid, which is able to hold 1000 times its weight in water.”

skin and dehydrated skin aren’t the same thing 5The “pinch test” can identify dehydrated skin

Even if it’s not flaky, your skin could still be lacking in moisture and there’s a quick trick you can do to find out.

“You can tell if your skin is dehydrated by doing a pinch test,” said facialist Abigail James, who is working with Holland & Barrett.

“Using your thumb and forefinger, pinch about an inch of skin on the face – not pulling outwards but pushing in along the contour of the face. If you’re dehydrated, the skin can look a little crepey. A dehydrated skin can also look dull and dry and feel taught.”

6Your lips are especially prone to moisture loss

“More moisture is lost through the lips than any other part of the body, which can cause them to become particularly chapped and dry,” said LloydsPharmacy pharmacist Pareena Patel.

“While it can be tempting to keep licking the lips or even picking off the dry skin, this can actually make it worse. The best treatment is regularly applying lip balm – particularly one with beeswax in.”

7Combination skin is a bit of a myth

If you’ve noticed you have an oily T-zone but dry cheeks, you’ve probably been told you’ve got “combination skin”.

But that could be a result of the products you’re using, says Dr Mary Sommerlad, dermatologist on behalf of Cetraben. She added: “It is unusual to have extremes of this. If you do, it may be because you are using products that do not suit your skin type.

“Using products designed for oily skin which contain high levels of salicylic acid will dry and irritate your skin if you have normal skin, leading to your normal areas of skin appearing dry and feeling uncomfortable.”

8Most skin ageing is caused by external factors

“Only three per cent of our skin’s ageing process happens because of ‘ intrinsic’ factors such as genetics,” said Dr Bhavjit Kaur, cosmetic doctor and co-founder of Health & Aesthetics Clinic.

“Extrinsic factors like UV exposure, smoking, pollution, poor diet and too much alcohol speed up the process.”

Dr Kaur recommends hero ingredients such as Vitamin C, niacinamide and ferulic acid to fight free radicals, and, of course, sunscreen.