Skin Care Terms:
That Certain Something

Aired on Lifetime Television
Sunday, June 4 and September 24
Show 315

A lot of products promise they will do some wonderful things, and they have some pretty big words to go along with these promises. Sometimes you feel like you need a degree in chemistry to understand it all. We found a good place to start. The term salicylic acid sounds like a high school science experiment. It's actually a pimple fighter, which helps to slow skin cell shedding in follicles, and prevent pores from clogging. You have probably heard the term SPF, but you may not know it stands for sun protection factor, a scale used to tell how good a product is at blocking the sun's harmful rays. If you have ever had too much sun, you know you have to slough off that peeling tan. The term exfoliate refers to products that help remove dead skin cells. When you're through with that chore, chances are you will use an emollient, which is a cream that helps make skin softer. And if only we all had moist youthful skin, that's why we use retinol, a vitamin A derivative that repairs and stimulates the skin's natural wrinkle fighters. And one of the most important beauty words is one you are probably familiar with, hydration. Drink water. Eight big glasses a day. This will help give you that certain something you're looking for.