Page 47 - Retail Pharmacy Assistants - November 2020

Pharmacy assistants know well that navigating the world of skin care with customers on a quest for better skin requires quite some expertise. This is because the variables and products that contribute to good or poor skin, or something in between, are numerous and most certainly not homogenous. Factors such as environment, diet, air, water, sun exposure, health, illness, stress, exercise, mindset, cleansing/creaming and procedures all affect the skin differently, but that’s not to say there aren’t certain universal keepers for good skin. Pharmacist Lia Mahony of Tamworth Discount Drugstore in the New England region of NSW tells Retail Pharmacy Assistants that pharmacists and pharmacy assistants have an important role to play in talking up the skin benefits of exercise, diet and a healthy lifestyle/mindset when people seek advice on creams, lotions, a regime or a procedure as a panacea for all skin ills, “which people tend to do”. “I always use myself as an example, as I have noticeably fair skin, which makes for a conversation starting point,” she said. “I then try to maintain a conversation and ask questions, rather than saying ‘that’s the problem and this is the solution’, a habit that pharmacists tend to fall into. I think more of a conversational approach would go a long way to growing the profession.” She adds that the “impact of the environment on the skin shouldn’t be underestimated”. “The impact of a hot and humid environment on the skin can be very different to a drought environment, and the environment at hand can also affect the skin whether indoors, outdoors, during or after exercise,” Ms Mahoney said. “This extends to the quality of water and quantity of water drunk, which also affects the skin, either to the positive or the negative.” Nutritionist, health expert and author Lee Holmes of superchargedfood.com tells Retail Pharmacy Assistants that hydration regulates body temperature and, to benefit the skin SKIN CARE 45 optimally, should take place before, during and after exercise in amounts appropriate to the age and gender of a person, as well as the type of exercise they’re undertaking. “The point is that there are many variables at play in terms of the state of one’s skin, and it isn’t that easy to attribute good or bad skin to any one or a variety of external factors,” Ms Mahoney said. She adds that different types of skin will also respond differently “to exercise, the environment and other external conditions”. “I mean, even in my family, our different skin types show up so differently in different environments and under different conditions – from the fair skin that my son and I share, to my husband’s bulletproof olive skin.” Exercise cuts stress impact Exercise has been extensively documented for reducing stress and anxiety linked to skin conditions such as eczema and acne, Ms Mahoney says. Specifically, it levels out the stress hormone cortisol, which makes for more peace of mind and fewer skin flare-ups. She emphasises, though, that stress and anxiety reduction is “multifactorial” and what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for the next one. “People have a tendency to realise something is helping their skin in a certain way and then to overdo it, like over-exercising or overdoing it with a type of diet as a form of therapy, while others might say, ‘Oh blow it, I’m not doing anything again’,” Ms Mahoney said. “Broadly speaking, it’s important for people not to get hooked on anything, and to maintain a balanced lifestyle that includes healthy eating and balanced exercise, exposure to the sun, and social activity, etc. “Yes, anything extreme, from exercise to diet, should be avoided, even if the activity seems to bring good results initially.” TO PAGE 46 RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • NOV 2020