Understanding How the Skin Works and Caring for It

As our body’s largest organ, our skin needs to be protected and nourished.  Just by following a basic skin care regime it is possible to protect the skin from everyday wear and tear and assist in combating environmental stresses such as pollution, sun and wind, exposure, lack of sleep, poor diet choices and work or lifestyle pressures.

However, with so many cosmeceutical and cosmetic companies advertising and promoting their products in the media, most often making a plethora of extraordinary (and often inaccurate) claims of being “the best, the latest or the cheapest”  – choosing the right product for your skin can be time-consuming and sometimes downright frustrating.

So how does our skin function, and what can be done to maintain, correct or perfect this amazing, hard-working organ?

Scientific research into the skin and its function indicates that there is an abundance of cell-to-cell communication. If we can deliver active ingredients to the deeper layers of the epidermis (stratum spinosum) we are in turn supplying these cells with all the nutrients they require to function in optimal health and to make their return journey to the outer most layer of our skin (stratum corneum) easier, thus providing you with a balanced, healthy and glowing complexion.

DERMAVIDUALS is synonymous with working effectively on the dermal membrane structure of the skin. So much so, Dermaviduals has patented the DMS components of their product range.

Free of emulsifiers, preservatives, parabens, fragrances, mineral oils, silicones, dyes and amines, the products are formed with a base called Dermal Membrane Structure (DMS).

DMS stands for:

• Derma
• Membrane
• Structure

What is Derma Membrane Structure?

DMS is the basic principle behind Dermaviduals. DMS is used as a preventative treatment that aims to maintain the skin barrier in its natural and intact condition. The products contain a composition (DMS) to resemble the membrane structure of the natural skin barrier and so correspond to the principles of Corneotherapy. Like the stratum corneum (horny layer) of the skin, Dermaviduals products contain:

All of which combine to form the skins protective barrier.

The stratum corneum looks like a brick wall. The dead horny cells are the bricks and the lipids (oils) between the cells form the mortar. These lipids determine the effectiveness of the protection layer of your skin. If the skin barrier is disordered, the skin has an undesirable look and feel, and is more susceptible to penetration of foreign substances because of its irritated state. Therefore it is important to maintain the natural skin barrier preventively using creams containing DMS so as to avoid the breakdown of the stratum corneum’s protective components. Also when the skins protective layer is intact, your skin’s ability to hold its natural hydration will be balanced. Therefore, barrier disorders, which could cause havoc on the skin and its regeneration, are avoided.

All Dermaviduals products are free from:

• Preservatives and parabens- may not be tolerated and can cause irritations
• Perfumes – should be restricted to the skin’s surface only and avoided in creams, which penetrate into the skin. They are the Number 1 cause of irritation of the skin
• Mineral oils – may have occlusive effects and therefore affect the natural activity of the skin to produce its own protective substances
• Emulsifiers – may influence the integrity of the skin barrier and cause the loss of natural protective factors when cleansing the skin
• Amines – frequently are accompanying substances of so called anionic emulsifiers and stress the skin especially if they belong to the group of alkanolamines.
• Silicones – frequently accompany substances of products containing emulsifiers and create a superficial smooth feeling on the skin.

Being free of these ingredients allows the products to have a proactive and positive effect on the protection of the acid mantle (the surface or protective layer of your skin), regeneration of the skin and increasing your natural hydration, so as not to cause a breakdown with the skin’s natural defence system and maintaining the homeostasis of the skin.

 Disrupted skin barrier

 Principle to repair skin barrier ‘bilayer to bilayer’

The serums developed are encapsulated in liposomal membranes, which merge with the barrier layers of the skin and allow for transportation of actives through the stratum corneum. The active agents are then released and penetrate through the skin barrier, providing an accurate and responsive delivery system. This is the Dermaviduals difference.

The Derma Membrane Structure Properties

Unlike conventional creams, Dermaviduals creams possess neither oil-in-water nor water-in-oil properties. Due to their special bilayer structure, they integrate with ease with the skins lipids.

Usually creams based on either O/W or W/O emulsions, are homogenised and stabilised with the help of emulsifiers. Emulsifiers may build up within the skin and dissolve skin lipids when skin comes into contact with water (wash out effect). This in turn counteracts or even ruins the desired effects of the original emulsion.

However the DMS creams can be seen mimicking and integrating with the stratum corneum.

dermaviduals® membranes (free of emulsifiers) ensures penetration of active ingredients	Skin barrier membranes (from stratum corneum) matches the dermaviduals creams	Conventional emulsifier containing cream.Emulsifiers can cause barrier disturbance making penetration far less effective

As you can see, the products match the composition of the skin, hence penetrating more effectively than an emulsifying cream – which sits on the surface of the skin, offering only short term results.

You will be amazed at what you will learn about your skin from a Dermaviduals qualified skin treatment therapist. We understand skin like no one else.