The Sartorial Scientist - Skin Deep

From futurity.

I can hear the "uh-oh" coming from some of you.  Yes, let me get this straight and out of the way--this is the TSS version of a skin care post for busy, harried (science) grad students.  Because there's more to it than just grabbing the first-aid kit in case of minor lab accidents.

From salonnordic.

I'm talking about actually caring for your skin, if not daily, then weekly.

Again, I could hear your thoughts about the matter: "Who cares? I spend 10 hours a day in front of the lab bench, if not the office desk, so who's going to notice if I look like a million bucks?" Or, "Gee, I don't even have time on weekends to spare for myself because I have equipment-use time during those days and hell yeah if the instrument cares about my skin."  Even perhaps, "Vanity has no room in my intellectual pursuits."  And so forth.

But, as I've mentioned before, one can never emphasize enough about the three C's--comfort, color-coordination, and cleanliness.  Skin-care covers the 2 C's, comfort and cleanliness.

• Comfort - Neglected skin tends to wreck havoc on your concentration at a certain point with its complaints: itchiness, flaking, ulceration and pain. Sometimes, off-smells coming forth from your epidermis WILL turn off lab colleagues (hey, maybe it's a good thing?), but will certainly affect your already-rocky relationship with your thesis adviser.
• Cleanliness - Aside from improving your social standing in the lab (and increase your chances of being shown some mercy by your immediate superiors), having clean (and healthy) skin would also keep your lab peripherals tidy and potentially not affect your work. No more questions about whether that particular flake in your sample is your reagent or your dandruff.

Now, there are no hard and fast rules about skin-care except perhaps the adage "keep it simple."  For one thing, if you're not patient enough, the 7-step daily skin-care routine of Korean ladies (and men) will drive you insane.  But I have my own routine, with my favorite go-to brands which works for me.

1. Bath-time - I have dry skin, so the first thing I changed when I moved here (from tropical to dry) is that I changed my soap to a moisturizing shower cream.  At the moment, I swear by Yves Rocher's Jardins du Monde in California Almond.  I'm still looking for my ideal shampoo, but Yves Rocher's Anti-Dandruff Shampoo with Indian Cress has worked for me so far (no flaking and itchiness).
2. Moisturizing - As much as I want to splurge on taking care of my dry, sensitive skin, being a poor grad student means that I have to watch my budget.  For now, the blue can of Nivea cream does well, aside from regular application of Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse (pricey at 20€ a bottle, but a few drops go a long way since it spreads thinly and gets absorbed quickly). Routine: after shower, towel dry (but not completely), then spread on a bit of the Nuxe oil before sealing everything with Nivea cream. The Nuxe oil is very versatile, since you can apply this on the face and hair as well!
3. Face care - I like make-up per se, but I don't slap on the war paint on weekdays.  For one thing, there is no need to be so dressy in the lab--just keep everything simple! But, a little primping does wonders on days that are a bit gloomy (and that you need to do a progress report!).  For washing (Clearasil), I do that after my daily shower, followed by Nuxe oil and Nivea cream to moisturize.  If my skin looks great, I leave it at that, but I usually add on another moisturizer/medicine/make-up--a BB cream--to hide some splotchiness without looking too made up.  And when it comes to BB creams, I am picky--my ever-reliable Etude House Moistfull Collagen BB cream, or The Face Shop's matte BB emulsion. These Korean brands I have on hand still trump over the basic ones offered by European ones from Garnier or L'Oreal in terms of skin-color matching, moisturizing properties and the added bonuses (SPF for example).  The best one among the European BB's is Erborian, but it's still a bit pricey at 34€ (and is actually formulated in Korea, so go figure! They know their stuff!).
4. Masks - Occasionally, I treat myself with a cheapo mud mask or face mask. Sometimes, it comes in a small pot of yoghurt (unflavored), at other times, chocolate or Dead Sea salts from Montaigne Jeunesse (a pack goes 2.50€ a pop, good for 5 applications).

The list looks intimidating, but is not. But caveat emptor--this set works for me because I have dry, sensitive skin--however, you can find which specific products work well with your skin and your budget, not to mention your time. Some key products, you may need to invest because of special skin needs, but maintaining good skin...you don't need that much.  Maybe less caffeine and more restful sleep, perchance, in the near future. And more fruit.

And here's the hard truth about taking care of yourself--you need to set aside some time in your routine.  After-shower moisturizing care takes me around 3-5 minutes at the most.  Masks, if done, will need 10-15 minutes of my Sunday morning.

That's it for my major skin-care post in TSS. Next time, we'll talk about color-coordination. xx