by shared confusion, worldwide. My team and I want to clear up that confusion for you here and now! We don’t want you to take our word for it. We want you to know all the facts.
Wanting Beautiful Skin
We understand the distress that skin problems can cause. Many of us feel a blow to our self-esteem when our skin doesn’t look and feel beautiful. At any age, that can be crushing. On top of that, what makes this utterly maddening, for us and for you, is that solutions can seem impossible to find. That’s not because solutions don’t exist, but rather because too often the truth or reality is mired in misleading information, myths, false pretext, and poor product formulations.
You’re often told that all-natural is the way to go, or that there is a new miracle ingredient that is best for your skin, or that this one product is the answer, or that whatever product the celebrity you admire is using is what you should be using, and on and on. The industry uses all of these methods to assure you that you will be doing the best thing for your skin, and that you won’t be hurting your skin … and then the next promises and miracle products or plant extracts start gaining attention in traditional and social media … and the cycle continues.
We understand why all that marketing makes it tempting and how easy it is to be seduced by it. All of us here at Paula’s Choice Skincare have gone through this ourselves. That’s why we are so dedicated to researching and discovering what really works and what doesn’t work for skin based on scientific studies and medical textbooks, not on fabrications or made-up claims. This is how all of us here at Paula’s Choice Skincare have resolved our skin problems, and how we’ve helped millions of people around the world address their problems. For that, we are not only proud, but also privileged to have lived our dream and to continue to do so every day.
We can assure you with complete certainty that the results for all of us have been nothing short of astounding—and we know you can experience the same real results without all the puffery or pretense! We know those are bold statements, but hang in there with us—you’ll find it well worth your while.
We Worry About You
Why are we worried? Because we know how much of the information you’ve read or heard about skincare is more often than not incomplete, one-sided, just plain wrong, or what amounts to nothing more than fear-mongering. That makes us worry about how you will decide what to use and what not to use on your skin. You can’t get the best skin of your life based on myths and fabrications. It’s absolutely frustrating to us to see consumers stuck in the middle, being pushed and pulled by such disparate, maddening information and hoping the next product they buy, or facial they get, or medical procedure they have will finally be the answer. It’s a vicious merry-go-round that isn’t all that merry and is hard to get off.
Much of the information out there is unreliable and spurious, and not only won’t help you take the best care of your skin, but can also make matters worse and consistently waste your money, two things we can’t abide.
We could wax poetic about the past and present senseless, impractical myths and bad skincare advice that has and still does run rampant in every corner of the cosmetics industry. Everything we reveal in this book will help you find your way through and come out of the maze of confusion. You will be empowered to start doing what is best for your skin! This book factually demonstrates exactly how you can do that, whether you use Paula’s Choice Skincare products or someone else’s. If we’ve succeeded, perhaps you’ll even have a little fun along the way! But first, a bit more background.…
Age, Skin Color, and Race Are Not Skin Types!
There are several aspects to understanding your skin type, but first you must understand that your age, skin color, and race are not as important as other factors. I know that may be hard to believe, especially considering how often you’ve read statements to the contrary, but it’s 100% true. It isn’t that older skin isn’t different from younger skin or that darker skin color isn’t different from lighter skin color, it’s just that when it comes to how you take care of your skin and what you should and shouldn’t do, these factors—age of your skin and color of your skin—don’t matter.
What does matter are the skin concerns you’re dealing with and your skin type. You can be 60 and have oily skin with breakouts and sun damage, but understand that someone can have the exact same issues at age 30.
The types of ingredients and products that treat dry skin, oily skin, rosacea, wrinkles, acne, blackheads, skin discolorations, uneven skin tone, red marks from breakouts, sensitive skin, sun damage (everyone has sun damage), eczema, combination skin, and on and on are essentially the SAME (with only minor exceptions)for everyone.
Think about it like your diet. What’s healthy or unhealthy to eat is generally the same for everyone. Adding more green, leafy vegetables and fruit to your diet is healthy, regardless of your age or race. Likewise, chocolate cake and hydrogenated fats can’t be considered health foods for anyone, regardless of their age or race.
Research has clearly established the types of skincare formulas that can work wonders and likewise those that are badly formulated and can make matters worse. This is true no matter who you are, how old you are, what race you are, or where you live. We discuss skin type further in Chapter 3, Skin Type vs. Skin Concern.
Setting Realistic Expectations and Goals
This section of our book may not be easy for some of you because we’re about to discuss the limitations of skincare. People do want to believe in miracle products and in miracle ingredients that will replace the need for cosmetic surgery or cosmetic corrective procedures. We wish we could tell you otherwise, but such products just don’t exist. It’s not that there aren’t brilliantly formulated, remarkable products to consider—it’s just that they all have limitations (and that includes my products).
It’s our devout promise that we will never mislead you or exaggerate the truth. Unfortunately—and we know from our own experience—it’s far easier to believe in the exaggerations and the hype hoping, just hoping, that there is some truth in it. So, while the information we present in this section may be somewhat disappointing for you, it is vitally important for you to stop the endless search for and temptation to buy yet another product claiming miraculous results.
It’s important to realize that skincare products have limitations, despite the claims made in the advertisements you’ve seen, articles you’ve read, or what you’ve been told by salespeople, dermatologists, aestheticians, or your friends. Skincare products cannot replace what cosmetic corrective procedures or face-lifts can do. They can make a phenomenal difference, especially when you consistently use great products and keep your skin protected from the sun (daylight) 365 days a year, but they cannot give you the kind of results you keep pinning your hopes on.
Skincare products can’t stop time and they can’t dramatically turn the clock back. You aren’t going to lift a sagging neck, jaw line, or under-eye area with skincare products. You also aren’t going to erase deep wrinkles or the effects of advanced sun damage. Again, skincare can provide impressive improvements, but it’s always within the parameters of physiological reality. Understanding the limitations and knowing what’s possible (and not possible) will not only save you from one disappointment after another, but also keep you from wasting a lot of money along the way. We discuss this in greater detail and provide key information about cosmetic corrective and surgical procedures in Chapter 13, Botox, Fillers, Lasers, and Surgery.
You’ve probably heard the saying that if you repeat a lie often enough it becomes accepted as fact. Well, the beauty industry is no exception. Throughout this book you will learn only the facts about what research says is best for your skin, in ways that will surprise you and often give you dramatic results (almost overnight), especially once you stop using
