By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
People believe healthy skin makes beauty and spend a lot of time, money and effort to improve their skin conditions. Many of them simply think that expensive and famous cosmetic products can help deal with skin damaged from ultraviolet rays, pollution and stress, but a skin care expert from the United Kingdom said that they first need to know where their problems originated.
``First, you need to know your skin type and condition,'' Eve Taylor told The Korea Times at W Seoul-Walkerhill in eastern Seoul. ``All that makeup is going to make them beautiful? No. Makeup is an optical illusion. They don't need all that heavy stuff. What they need is a balanced program.''
She believed that there is no one simple guideline for the improvement of skin problems as each individual has different skin conditions which are affected by various factors such as life style, weather, health condition and work environment.
``(In many expensive cosmetic products stores), each one would sell me a large amount of skin care, but not one would ask me, `do I sleep well or do I take medication?' They wouldn't give me the right products,'' she said.
The important thing is not only what to use but also how to use it properly depending on each person's different skin condition and, she said.
Taylor is a world-renowned expert in the science and practice of aromatherapy holding many professional positions within the aromatherapy and beauty industry.
She has been actively involved in skin care for more than 40 years. She also created and run one of the UK's first skin care product ranges containing essential oils under her own name. Her visit to Seoul is to promote and celebrate the launch of her products in W Seoul-Walkerhill's spa, Away Spa.
With her lengthy experience in the field, she said she can tell what skin problems people have by just looking at their face, believing that the face tells almost everything about them from personalities to health conditions and she wanted to share her experience with the staff in the spa to help them offer better treatment for customers.
As a general tip for anti-skin aging, she advised people to take proper prevention methods from very early stage.
``You should think about it when you are young. We can't go back 20 years. I've got this grandchild aged around 15 or 16. The time when she is thirty, she will have a lot of wrinkles if she ignores this knowledge. People think that putting lot of thick creams on their face is going to make it non-aging. No. You have a choice. Abuse your skin now and pay for it later,'' she said.
To resist the aging process, a term she preferred to use, she advised people to first change bad diet, quit smoking, have good night's sleep and reduce exposure to ultraviolet rays rather than seeking a miracle from cosmetic products.
She also recommended people go to spa and relax there with body, facial and wrap treatments to melt away their stress with a little extra pampering.
``But someone like a mother can't go to spa with little children. What she can afford is to take thirty minutes a day, shut herself in her bathroom and do treatment on herself. Good cleansing. She could put some oil on, relax in the bath, work on her feet and feel good. A half an hour a day out of her life is going to give her healthy skin and body,'' she said.