Beauty Byline with Sanah: Getting Under Your (Dry) Skin

Sanah Sayani

In my line of work, you meet a lot of people with a lot of the same concerns. Now that the temperature is starting to drop, I’m being asked a lot of questions on dry and dehydrated skin. It’s important to note the two things are completely different: one is a skin type and one is a skin condition.

Most people fall into four skin types: oily, dry, normal and combination. Your skin type can change from season to season and over time with age. Dry skin is a type caused by the body’s inability to produce enough oil to keep your skin balanced. Dehydrated skin is a condition where you don’t have enough water in your skin. You can get dry skin from dehydration but chances are that can be fixed from hydration.

Ideally, you should visit a dermatologist or esthetician if you have any skin concerns, but you can self-diagnose based on symptoms. Pinch a small portion of your cheek and squeeze gently. If you noticing wrinkling and the skin doesn’t bounce back once you let go, your skin may be dehydrated. This condition typically makes the skin look dull and dry. Dehydration can cause itchiness, darker under-eye circles, sunken eyes with shadows, and increased appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Dry skin normally is itchy and scaly with redness and flakes. Dehydrated skin can be treated with proper nutrition and hydration and by eliminating smoking, caffeine and alcohol. Dry skin is much harder to treat because it is not effected by your lifestyle. You actually have to make the extra effort to moisturize and use products that lock in moisture.

I always have had dry skin. I’ve never had any acne issues, which can be caused by producing too much sebum (oil), leading to clogging of the pores. I also have dehydrated skin; up until recently, I was only drinking one or two glasses of water a day. I’m up to five now and I can see changes. Since I have dry skin, I’ve been applying oils and creams to balance out my skin. I use Eminence’s Stone Crop Body Oil mixed with a custom blend of oils I had a local bottler make for me. So far, the combination is working.

Another skin condition clients have been asking about is strawberry skin. This is typically caused by hair, dirt, or bacteria trapped under the skin, and can be fixed by a simple exfoliation. I have patches around my elbows and knees so I started using Eminence’s Stone Crop Body Scrub once a week. I put a little bit on an exfoliating glove and gently run it over the areas of concern. After three weeks, I’m noticing the black dots on my skin are disappearing. This just means the scrub loosened up the skin that was covering the hair or dirt, exposing the hair and removing the dirt. My skin is already looking healthier and the next time I wax, it should smooth. There is such a thing as over exfoliation, I did go on a bender a while back and would scrub my body every wash. Needless to say, within a few washes, my skin was raw and itchy. I stopped and it went back to normal. Make sure you listen to your body whenever you try something new; what works for me may not work for you. I would be happy to evaluate your skin and suggest the best course of action. Write to me!

Sanah Sayani is a master cosmetologist and owner of Thread Beauty Spa (4426 Hugh Howell Road in the Tucker Publix shopping center). Her monthly column seeks to answer readers’ beauty concerns; write to her at threadbeautyspa@gmail.com or drop by the shop to ask her in person!

Chambers is grateful for the community support that helped start the company and continues to fuel its growth and success. Management, board members, volunteers, cast, crew, and other supporters are all Tucker community members, and considered the “MST Family.” “It has been an astounding journey. Tucker is one place that refuses to see good things fail; they get behind it in every way. We started out with just a few folks. Pretty much the entire board was the cast of that first show because only a few people showed up to audition. But two hundred people showed up to see that show on opening night! That is unheard of in community theater. Now, we not only have a full board of directors, but we have a list of supporters who come back again and again to help with the heavy lifting. The acting talent is always outstanding, but those behind the scenes are the talent that makes the shows magical.”

What does Chambers think MST brings to the Tucker community? “We give Tucker what all live theater gives - an escape. We bring them into a makebelieve world where they can dream and hope and laugh, and sometimes cry. We give them something to talk about later. We allow Tucker to showcase hidden (or no-so-hidden) talents with their friends and neighbors. But mostly we give them the opportunity to come together as a community with one common purpose, to be entertained. In a world where divisions run deep, the escape of live theater is that much more important.”

To learn more about Main Street Theatre or to join its mailing list, visit mainstreettheatre.org. Follow it on Facebook, Instagram (@mainstreettheatre) and Twitter (@MSTTucker).