SPECIAL CASES
For countless thousands of years most people were born, lived and died a
matter of a few miles from where their ancestors had been born, lived and
died, and skins naturally evolved to cope with the conditions and climates of
particular parts of the world. Soft, pale ‘Irish’ skin was perfectly suited to
the damp mists and moderate temperatures of that country; and Asian and
African skins to high temperatures, humidity and baking sun. But
transportation and emigration, which has been taking place for three hundred
years or so and has greatly increased in the present century, have now placed
pale skins in baking climates and dark skins in cold ones. Adapting to life in
climates they were not ‘made’ for can cause difficulties.
‘Irish’ or Celtic skin
Pale, delicate skin often accompanying very dark or reddish hair is
frequently found in people of Irish and Scottish descent. It is smooth and
blemish-free, the stuff that poems are penned to in its prime. It often
becomes translucent and beautiful in old age, but this softness, lack of
color (and often oil) can bring problems with early loss of elasticity,
premature wrinkling, and a tendency to react irritably to beauty treatments
like waxing and electrolysis. It can also collapse under the strain of
pregnancy, leaving stretch marks and loss of elasticity on the
abdominal area.
Emigration in the past means these skins are often placed in hot parts of the
States and Australia where strong sun will encourage the early ageing tendency
and can bring major skin problems. Heat and increased surface circulation can
lead to obvious veins on the surface of this soft skin. ‘Irish’ skin needs a
gentle touch and plenty of protection from extreme weather conditions, central
heating or air conditioning. . . and moisturizing at all times.
Oriental skin
The sebum output of Oriental skin can be as variable as that of Caucasian
skins, but it is genetically stronger and more resilient, so ageing comes
later cry late if it’s sheltered from hot sun. This is usually a fine, smooth,
even-toned skin and the facial structure is markedly less angular than the
European with flat cheekbones and small nose which can mean less character
lines around mouth and eyes. Although this skin can usually cope with hot sun,
it lacks the red tones of tanned Caucasian skins and can become muddy-looking
and suffer from pigmentation patching when exposed to the rays.
Asian skin
A strong skin that basically takes a lot of wear and tear without showing
signs of age. In Asia it easily acclimatises to the heat and rainy seasons,
but in Britain and northern European countries it can become very dry and
suffer from pigmentation problems on cheeks, nose and forehead from a
combination of climate changes, central heating and strip lighting. Mrs. Pun of
Shahnaz Herbal in London finds ‘lack of time’ is a beauty problem for her
Asian and British clients. ‘In India women are more beauty orientated. They
have massage, use oils and Ayurvedic medicine (an ancient Hindu health system
which makes use of the powers of nature, special diets, massage with herbal
oils and meditation for the maintenance of health, energy and youthful looks).
Ordinary working girls will spend money on treatments for beauty, body and
soul. . . even very poor women care about their looks, use oils and will, for
instance, take a piece of charcoal from the fire and use it to remove every
trace of hair from their legs.
Afro-Caribbean skin...
The description ‘black skin’ can cover the spectrum from ivory to deep jet
(there are thirty-four to thirty-eight recognized shades of black skin), but
generally black skin has larger pigment granules than Caucasian and thus has a
greater natural protection against ageing and damaging UV rays. Black skins
have a higher oil secretion than Caucasian skins, which is also anti-ageing,
but can bring possible texture and eruption troubles from time to time.
The continual shedding of dead skin cells which lack color and don’t show up
too much on a white skin can be very obvious on black skins and rich
emollients are essential to prevent an ashy tone, particularly in winter in
northern climates where weather conditions and central heating accelerate the
problem.
Uneven pigmentation may be a problem. Basically this means that there are many
skin tones on one face. Skin lighteners may sometimes be used on small, darker
patches, but this should only be done after taking expert advice and using
special products that contain less than two per cent hydroquinone which is a
strong lightening agent and should be used with caution. Even quite minor
damage to black skin a bad mosquito bite or a small cut can heal leaving
darker or lighter patches of skin. Vitiligo which again may be hardly
noticeable on many white skins can be very obvious on dark skin. Camouflage
cosmetics can be a great help where there are any pigmentation problems.
