Interview from the Berliner Sonntagsblatt with the founder Eva Silvana Kruck of myrto natural cosmetics
In this interview from the Berliner Sonntagsblatt (BS), the myrto Naturkosmetik founder Eva Silvana Kruck explains what "over-cared for" skin is, how you can recognize it and the causes behind it. You will find out what you can do with the right facial care against pimples, itching and redness. Finally, Eva gives care tips on how you can bring over-treated, problematic skin back into balance with holistic care and a little patience.
BS: How much care does the skin need?
Eva: Less is usually better. Good skin care requires just a few products that complement each other in terms of their effects. It is particularly important that only high-quality, skin-friendly ingredients are included – no fillers and no critical additives. The facial care should be adapted to the changing needs of the skin. The products should be specially recommended for your skin type, i.e. for sensitive, hypersensitive, dry, oily or combination skin.
BS: What does it actually mean when the skin is “over-cared for”?
Eva: Also known as “stewardesses disease” or “Rose Mouth” known skin disease is medically referred to as “perioral dermatitis” (POD). The rash is accompanied by red bumps around the mouth and a compromised skin barrier. The result: the skin can no longer bind moisture, it dries out more and more.
BS: How do you recognize over-groomed skin?
Eva: Redness, scaly or irritated skin around the mouth and chin area are typical. With perioral dermatitis, a narrow border around the lips remains without symptoms. There are also purulent red blisters, pimples or papules. In an advanced stage, the feeling of tension in the skin with burning and itching can also spread to the area around the eyes, the nostrils or the forehead.
BS: How does perioral dermatitis occur?
Eva: It's usually the multitude of unsuitable care products, also in connection with makeup. The more often the skin is rubbed with unsuitable creams and lotions, the worse it gets. The skin defends itself against “too much” of improper care. This is not a classic allergy to individual ingredients, but a temporary intolerance to any cosmetic product itself. Although perioral dermatitis is harmless and not contagious, it is very unpleasant and psychologically stressful for those affected.
BS: How can you distinguish overtreated skin from rosacea, neurodermatitis or acne?
Eva: Over-treated skin sometimes resembles rosacea, neurodermatitis or acne. However, rosacea is usually more extensive – in contrast to perioral dermatitis, which is more localized to the mouth and chin area. Unlike acne, no blackheads appear on over-treated skin.
BS: Do you often deal with customers whose skin is over-treated?
Eva: Yes, we are often contacted by customers who have the symptoms of over-treated skin. They often have a long odyssey of negative skin care experiences behind them, have previously received dermatological treatment and tried unsuccessfully pharmacy cosmetics.
BS: What is your advice to these women?
Eva: First of all, we recommend zero therapy - completely avoiding face creams, serums and other care products so that the skin can regenerate. In the first 2 weeks, an initial aggravation can occur, while the swollen horny layer dries out and the breeding ground for the pimple-causing bacteria is withdrawn. During this time, a lot of patience and self-discipline is required until the symptoms subside after about 6 weeks. To support the zero therapy, we recommend compresses with green or black tea, healing clay masks mixed only with water to support the detoxification of the skin, as well as an anti-inflammatory diet.
BS: What care do you recommend after zero therapy?
Eva: If the skin is slowly getting used to the right care products, we recommend our customers to start with just one product, e.g. B. with the skin-soothing Calming Serum. This should be used on its own for about a week, after which you can very carefully expand the care routine with additional products.
BS: What is special about myrto natural cosmetics? How does it differ from other cosmetics in the premium segment?
Eva: Our natural cosmetics are free of any skin-weakening additives. This is not just preservatives, alcohol and fragrances in facial care. It was essential for us from the beginning that all myrto creams and lotions are free of emulsifiers.
BS: Why are emulsifier-free products so important? What is the problem with common creams and lotions?
Eva: Common emulsifiers not only keep oily and watery components of a product together, they also have unpleasant side effects: they dissolve the fats the skin's own protective barrier, so that it is washed out the next time it comes into contact with water. Common emulsifiers weaken the protective function of the skin, they dry out the skin and promote impurities. Your skin will become increasingly drier the more often you apply sunscreen.
Instead of the usual emulsifiers, at myrto we use skin-identical phospholipids (INCI: Hydrogenated Phosphatidylcholine), which are part of every human cell membrane. In addition, pectin and beta-glucan from oats keep the myrto creams, lotions and serums stable and strengthen the skin's own immune protection.
Our aim is to use the myrto products to rebuild and strengthen the weakened skin barrier. This is the most important prerequisite for long-term youthful and healthy skin.
BS: Is it possible to have “over-treated skin” with the right products?
Eva: With proper, sensibly designed facial care with consistently skin-friendly ingredients, adapted to your individual skin type and the current skin situation, there is no “too much”.
Nevertheless, sensitive skin can react completely unexpectedly with irritation in the event of individual intolerance. In addition to skin-damaging additives in cosmetics, it is mostly care mistakes that underlie "over-cared for skin". This applies, for example, to comedogenic ingredients in skin that is prone to impurities, too high dosages of active ingredients, aggressive peelings or the daily use of chemical sunscreen filters.