By: Krista Hansen, Esthetics Instructor | Oliver Finley Academy

My journey in skincare began in my teens. 

I was always trying something new on my skin and hair, not knowing anything about skincare products or products for the hair. 

Some of the things that I did I just laugh about today. Like the time I put egg whites in my hair and tried to rinse it with hot water, (what a mess, not a good thing). 

When I was young I always wanted to be a teacher. I never dreamed that my fascination with skincare and teaching would end up blending together in later life. I decided to go to Esthetics school after my kids were older, I was so scared to go to school alone that I made my oldest daughter go with me. I loved learning about the science of the skin, I found it so interesting. 

After graduating from Esthetics school;

I went to work in a brand new Spa. It was a lot of fun helping my clients with their skincare needs and seeing the improvements in their skin and their self-confidence. Later, the school that I attended, got ahold of me and wanted me to come back to teach in the Esthetics department. At first, I hesitated to go teach. I felt like I did not have enough knowledge for that, so I avoided the phone calls from the school. Finally one day I answered their call and they just wanted to talk to me. I couldn’t believe it…I was enrolled in school that following Monday! 

I look back at how green I was when I was first teaching. After two years of teaching at the school, I decided to go to college and learn more about the subjects I was teaching, chemistry (inorganic and organic), anatomy and physiology, nutrition, and my other classes for elementary education.  I ended up with two degrees, one in Biology with an emphasis in health care and my physiology degree. 

I love people and helping to make a difference in their lives. I have built so many relationships in this industry and LOVE sharing my knowledge with my students. I am very passionate about treating the largest organ of the human body and making a difference in people’s lives.

For me, the most intriguing thing I’ve learned about the skin is how it ages, and skin cancer. 

Did you know that 85 percent of our skin aging is “extrinsic”? 

That means aging from external sources and it is controllable. That leaves 15 percent aging due to heredity that is not controllable. 

Wow! We can control how our skin ages by a large percent! Of the 85 percent extrinsic aging, 80 percent is due to the sun. Most of our damage occurs before we turn 18 years old. The UV rays age our skin so rapidly causing collagen and elastin damage which leads to sagging skin, rhytids (wrinkles), hyperpigmentation, tactile roughness, senile purpura, solar comedones, seborrheic keratosis, actinic keratoses (pre-cancerous lesions), free radicals, and skin cancers. 

So when people ask me “what is the best anti-aging product I can purchase?” I always respond with SUNSCREEN! Use it daily, even on a cloudy day. 

Make sure you get a sunscreen that has both physical and chemical ingredients in it called a broad-spectrum sunscreen. The physical ingredients, such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. These are like little mirrors in the surface of the skin reflecting the UV rays. While the chemical sunscreen ingredients absorb and neutralize the UV rays. 

You don’t need to purchase a sunscreen with an SPF (sun protection factor) over 50 either. Sunscreens over that number are irritating to the skin and the protection is very minimal over 50 anyhow.

Talk to an esthetician about which sunscreen formula would be best for you.