Hyperpigmentation is darkening and discolouration of the skin. Red, brown, pink or even purple-looking spots, clusters or streaks on the surface of the skin are examples of hyperpigmentation. Acne, sun exposure, eczema, psoriasis, and contact dermatitis can all cause hyperpigmentation.
Why do we treat it in the winter?
Winter is the best time for the skin recovery process. Our skin is usually less tanned and this is very important when starting de-pigmentation treatments as well as the skin being less susceptible to side effects such as burns & redness.
During winter our skin has less moisture so it becomes much dryer. Dry skin leads to irritated skin and when the skin barrier is compromised, it lacks the ability to hold onto oil and water. The skin starts to become itchy, and that scratching leads to a rash. As the cycle persists, this leads to inflammation and hyperpigmentation. So treating the issue before it gets worse will ensure you can confidently flaunt your skin 365 days a year.
We also tend to spend more time indoors in the winter as well as there being shorter days so less sun exposure happens naturally, and this helps speed up recovery.
Treating pigmentation can be done in a number of ways and will depend on the severity of the condition, your skin type and your budget.
For non-invasive in-salon treatments, we recommend a combination of AHA/BHA layered peels, RED light therapy and vitamin infusions.
AHA/BHA layered peels, combine the benefits of lactic and salicylic acid at specific dosage. A bespoke combination of both acids can be tailored to achieve desired results.
Red light is a narrow, isolated form of natural light to give the appropriate intensity and wavelength for light therapy. The intensity of red light used in therapy is much higher than you would naturally get from sunlight and, it’s not damaging like sunlight can be! Red light acts as an anti-inflammatory agent, which is part of what causes hyperpigmentation. In addition, red light has a long enough wavelength to penetrate the epidermis (outermost layer of the skin) and reach the dermis (the middle layer of the skin). This enables it to reach fibroblasts, special types of cells that sit beneath the skin and manufacture collagen – a protein that helps tighten and firm the skin and heal wounds.
Infusing vitamins into the dermis of your skin will help keep your skin nourished, hydrated and maintain its ability to repair itself.
Vitamin C has been known to help decrease hyperpigmentation. Because vitamin C is a powerful nutrient, it also aids in the production of collagen which is essential to maintain hydration and strength of the skin.
At home maintenance comes in many different bottles, speak to your therapist about the best options for you. To play favourites, here's our top picks to reduce pigmentation at home.
Enlighten, by Synergie Skin, is a topical treatment for pigmentation and sun damage. It contains tyrosinase inhibitors to reduce the activity of melanin producing cells limiting our hyperpigmentation struggles. Enlighten does this while also using the most natural products such as Liquorice extract.
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that protects our cells from UV damage while also being a vital part in the production of collagen creating firmer fresh skin. It includes a tyrosinase inhibitor that creates brighter skin and reduces hyperpigmentation. This product can assist with the transition of seasons as it helps the production of collagen and hydration.
As we know in summer we are basking up all the warmth we can, trying to get our tan on. SPF protection is a must during summer to protect us but what about winter? We don’t usually hear about SPF protection through winter as the cold blocks out our inbuilt need for sunscreen, it almost feels like there are no UV rays that can affect us but this is not true.
Sun protection is just as important in winter as it is in summer. At Bare Beauty House we stock Synergie Skin and one of their most popular products is Uberzinc. Uberzinc is a daily moisturiser that contains 21% of Mineral Zinc Oxide. Uberzinc has a perfect blend of ingredients including zinc, green tea and lycopene all which create a moisturiser focusing on keeping our skin stable and safe from UV rays. Uberzinc is a great choice as a daily SPF moisturiser to wear throughout the year.
There are a variety of in salon treatments and at home maintenance products to be used, but for the best results we recommend a combination of both. Your therapist will be able to prescribe what's going to work best for you. Remember no two skins are alike so dont think following the same routine as your friend who had amazing results will work the same way for you. Get personalized advice!
This will save you time, get you the results you want quicker and ultimately save you money!
Book in for a complimentary skincare consultation with us today to see
When creating those stunning Easter baskets for your kiddies to plow through, use recycled shredded paper or dry leaves. Using newspapers can create an edgy look and using leaves can create a more interactive hands on experience. The same thing goes if you decide to get gifts! Use recycled wrapping paper to try and limit the footprint of waste we leave during this holiday.
Dyed eggs are a beautiful Easter tradition full of colour and celebration. The dyes we use can pollute and poison the earth. To create a greener Easter, make your own dyes from organic products, this also makes sure that you can eat the eggs after! Using bright berries or veggies is a fun experiment at creating your own dyes.
The link below has a method for creating stunning dyes and patterns.
https://www.greenchildmagazine.com/natural-easter-egg-dyes/
Something we love to celebrate over Easter is chocolate! This delicious bean has been transformed in so many different ways and combined with infinite flavors. Chocolate is often covered in foil or plastic in most mass production brands. Going to local businesses gives you the best quality chocolate while also supporting local businesses in your area. I've found when I have gone to my local chocolate shop they use paper bags to hand over the goods. Keeping my tummy and the earth happy!
However you celebrate and however you decide to be a little greener this easter we wish you a very happy Easter holiday, filled with loads of “remember when”.
The Team at Bare Beauty House
When you think of the hair and beauty industry, it does dominate as a more female centralised career path. However there are still issues within equality and the opportunities that come with the industry. Naomi, Bare Beauty House’s founder, finds that the industry is “dominated by male artistic directors and product companies. Men have been lifted up more through the industry which is disappointing as it is a more female dominated area”.
Think Paul Mitchel, Kevin Murphy, & Tony & Guy, just to name the top three that come to mind.
This imbalance is seen across all industries especially when it comes to powerful roles. Last year we saw some positive changes towards females and parliamentary roles. Samoa and Estonia have elected their first female prime minister. Confronting the out of date belief that women are not suitable for power. In the past couple of years feminists and activists have made stands to fight for equal rights for women and those who also face bias. Creating and editing legislation and bills assists certain communities and people of the world from future bias and mistreatment. It is creating a permanent, sustainable and maintainable tomorrow.
This year we look too celebrating the struggle of feminists fighting for environmental justice around the globe. An example are women farmers in India who are trying to secure land to create lives that are empowered, self-resilient, sustainable and to create change. Last year in India the government decided to raise the legal age of marriage from 18-21 in the belief that the legislation will bring parity in the age of marriage between men and women. This decision led to a amendment of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, which was introduced into parliament.
At our salon we open our doors to all kinds of people. We make sure that every client is treated with the same respect and experience no matter their race, religion, age, gender or sexual preference. Our team of fewer than 10 are all at different stages in life. A few have teenagers, toddlers or a baby on the way. Two of us are training to either advance our skills or are just starting out. Due to us all being different ages and ethnicities we must learn to understand and support the wide range of events each of us go through. Although we are all different we have all had some of the same experiences growing up and how we are treated day to day.
To keep us and our clients feeling safe the salon has an anti discrimination policy and Our founder, Naomi, ensures all staff are not only aware of this but adhere to it by the strictest standard. This isn't hard as we all have shared values and a certain level of respect for one another , but its nice to know there is a baseline expectation for everyone who comes into the salon. Naomi also makes sure we support other Female entrepreneurs and business owners to help build a community of successful women in the area. We strive for female success in all aspects of life, whatever that looks like for each individual person. Naomi had her share of struggles and she found difficulty in finding other like minded business women. Since relocating her salon from Rose Bay to Manly, Naomi feels as though she has found her tribe who are on the same journey with her business wise and sustainability wise.
We must continue to fight for equality, biodiversity and ultimately a sustainable world for everyone and everything to thrive in!
On the beauty side of things we expect this colourful embrace to continue into the year. Bright fresh nails will flow through the year to pay tribute to our beautiful seasons. Early 2000’s inspired French tips have started making a come back but with a twist of colour. Our skin is the largest organ in our body and is our bodies first line of defence. Due to living in Australia our skin requires different assistance than other countries. We are tinted by our glowing sun and engulfed in the salts from our beaches. It is time to perfect a skin care routine that will last you a life time. After vigorous tanning trying to catch up after lockdown, a good skin care routine will give your skin the nourishment it needs. This year we deserve to have fresh healthy skin full of life and radiating good energy. Hello Vitamin infusions and light therapy!
All in all 2022 is all about you. Your hair, your skin and your ability to be you. At Bare Beauty House we strive to help you understand yourself on the outside so you feel your best on the inside.
With this in mind, we are bringing in new treatments such as vitamin infusions and light therapy throughout the year. For those of you who don’t know about Vitamin infusions, it is a mini facial in itself where we cleanse and exfoliate your skin and then using an ultra sonic micro therapy device paired with the vitamins that your skins craving, massage and infuse the vitamins into your skin. The sound therapy device helps push the ingredients deep into your skin allowing a deeper cleanse and vitamin infusion which results in longer lasting, visible results where you will leave the salon absolutely glowing!
Light Therapy, as many of you probably know, has many benefits. One of which is stimulating cellular activity, including the fibroblasts that produce collagen, a substance that gives young skin its plump look. Collagen production helps minimise fine lines and wrinkles, treat sun-damage and stretch marks, and reduce redness. Our in salon light therapy treatments will use different coloured lights to target the varied skin concerns. The light therapy treatments have no downtime, so you can be back out in the sun with no concerns, as well as being able to have a light therapy treatment every 48 hours for maximum results!
We also partner with ‘Sustainable Salons’ to provide an eco friendly approach to the removal of waste. Together we have kept 69kg of plastics out of landfill, 138kg of paper recycled and have recycled 100kg of metals. We also look at the more humanitarian side of life and have provided over 169,000 meals to those in need and we actually couldn’t do that without you. The meals are provided by donating the profit from the sales of recycled aluminium and paper used in your services!
At Bare Beauty House we focus on informing clients and being a voice in the hair and beauty industry. Naomi Browner, our founder, is due to be a speaker at this years hair festival (covid pending) and will help educate our industry about the more sustainable approach to hair and beauty.
This year we also have ‘Earth Day’ in April, ‘Clean up Australia’ in March and following that we have National Plant a Tree Day & Plastic free July. For every one of these events we will have different campaigns to help provide support and knowledge to our local community and industry.
Using our clean products, partnering with the right waste removal services and being an advocate for positive change within our industry collectively helps us to become a sustainability leader within the industry and ultimately achieve our goal of continued commitment to the environment and surrounding community.
The build up of dead skin cells leads to razor bumps and ingrown hairs when you shave, so exfoliating the dead skin cells away stops the bumps and ingrown hairs from from forming in the first place. Black men can benefit the most from exfoliation as it will get rid of the dead skin cells that make dark skin look ashy and clogged.
If you have a beard, exfoliation will keep beard dandruff away, improve your skin texture, keep your hair follicles clear and healthy and encourage strong beard growth. With all hair growth, ensuring the skin around the follicle is healthy will ensure healthy strong hair.
Back to the exfoliation. What can you use to exfoliate?
We recommend using either Mediscrub or Cleansing Dust by Synergie Skin once or twice a week. A common myth is that we need to exfoliate every day and this is not the case. You can cause more harm than good exfoliating too often. The trick to exfoliating is finding the right exfoliant for your skin type.
Cleansing dust is a deeply purifying cleanser that is both effective and gentle on the skin.
Granulated rice particles contain ferric acid and allantoin to gently exfoliate, soothe and brighten your skin while CoEnzyme Q10 helps to reverse free radical damage (that that nasty pollution and environmental build up) Great for all skin types who want a gentle and effective exfoliant.
Mediscrub is a deeply exfoliating facial scrub with crystals almost chemically identical to sapphire. These natural crystals are used to effectively remove dead skin cells, remove black heads and improve dull skin. It feels a lot more granular and is perfect for skin that has a lot of blocked pores, blackheads and looking quite dull.
If you are exfoliating before you shave, never after always before you should opt for a gentler exfoliant as shaving is already quite a rigorous exfoliation of the face. What you want to do is remove any dead skin cells beforehand so you can shave with less pressure and there’s also less chance of irritation.
For all you bearded men out there, we know the skin under your beard can become dry and flaky and extremely itchy. The best way to exfoliate the skin under your beard is with a beard exfoliator brush. The brush will lift all the ready to flake skin from your face and you won’t have to battle with trying to remove the particles from a scrub that will get trapped in your beard.
After using your brush, cleanse your face well and apply a beard oil to nourish your beard and the skin underneath it will help reduce the amount of beard dandruff you have to out up with.
So by now you should understand what exfoliator will work for you, how often you should exfoliate and what to do about exfoliating with or without a beard. Your on your way to smoother, fresher skin!
Just remember, for a better exfoliation, dont scrub harder just scrub for longer and limit your exfoliation sessions to twice a week. Consistency is key so give yourself 4 weeks of routinely exfoliating and you will be amazed at the difference!