Q + A WITH ESTHETICIAN CALLIE MOHAWK

This is my first Q + A styled post and I hope you enjoy it! Callie Mohawk with Habit Skin Care was able to answer a few questions about skincare, check them out below! 

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Callie (full name Callista) and I’ve been practicing esthetics for 12 years. I love being in the treatment room, but I have found a passion in helping people cultivate their homecare habits. I grew up in Overland Park, Kansas which is a suburb of the Kansas City area. My husband and I dated for a year long distance before I moved to Coeur D’ Alene in 2014. We share our home in Idaho with our two dogs and two cats. I am a self described ambivert, in that I love spending time with people but I recharge best with some quite time at home. I love slow mornings with my husband and black coffee. 

What’s a simple routine for someone who doesn’t feel like they have time to take care of their skin?

First off, I would like to say that skincare does not need to take up a ton of your time. Your routine can be as long or as short as you like (most take between 2-5 minutes), but being consistent is what is the most important. I find that those clients who feel that they don’t have time in the evenings to do their skincare are waiting until right before they go to bed to do their routine. If that’s the case for you, I recommend doing your routine as soon as you are home for the night.

Now all that being said, the basic routine that I recommend for almost every skin type is cleansing morning and night, using an antioxidant protection and a SPF during the day (EVERY DAY!), and always moisturizing in the evening after you cleanse. 

So what’s the deal with dermaplaning? What is it and how can it benefit our skin?

Dermaplaning is a gentle and effective exfoliation treatment that uses a sterile blade. It removes the outmost layers of dead skin along with vellus hair, aka “peach fuzz”. Not only does it leave your skin extremely soft and smooth, but it also allows for better product absorption which result in better product efficacy. 

Are Clarisonics good for your skin? 

In my opinion Clarisonics are not good for our skin. They are designed to give the skin a deeper cleanse, however they end up becoming more of a manual exfoliation and they can strip the skin of its natural protective barrier. The side effects that this can cause are redness, irritation, sensitivity, dryness, dehydration, and breakouts. A more effective and gentle option would be the double cleanse method. With double cleansing the first cleanse is meant to remove makeup and skincare products along with dirt and oil build up. Once that cleanser is removed, you follow up with a second cleanse to thoroughly cleanse the skin itself. 

How do you combat breakouts?

This is a tough one to answer because breakouts can be caused for many different reasons. The one thing I don’t recommend is over drying your skin if it’s breaking out. That can lead to your skin producing an over abundance of oil to try and moisturize itself, which may make your breakouts worse. If you are suffering from breakouts I would recommend seeing an esthetician who can analyze your skin and who can help you find out what is causing the breakouts. Once you figure out the cause, you can figure out the best way to treat them. 

How do you prep dry skin for foundations to avoid cracking? (No matter what moisturizer I use this happens.)

Unfortunately makeup application is not my forte. As far as skin prep for the best foundation application, I would consult with a makeup artist. However, if you are not exfoliating regularly your moisturizer may not be penetrating and properly moisturizing your skin. You may be a good candidate for dermaplaning! 

Any advice for hormonal breakouts, including and herbal supplements that could help?

Unfortunately, hormonal breakouts can be difficult to treat. Since they are being hormonally driven, it is hard to treat them topically. Being consistent with your homecare is the best place to start. I personally struggle with hormonal breakouts and I have had really great results taking Zinc daily. Zinc has been shown to reduce almost all of the know causes of acne. It kills acne causing bacteria and will reduce the inflammatory response when bacteria invades a blocked pore. Zinc is also a DHT (an androgen hormone) blocker, so it can help the effect DHT has on the skin and can reduce the amount of oil the skin produces. Zinc also can reduce the production of keratin, a protein that binds skin cells together. Too much keratin prevents skin cells from shedding and can result in blocked pores.

What are treatments that prevent wrinkles or help to smooth existing wrinkles?

Over 80% of premature aging is caused by lifestyle choices such as sun exposure, smoking, or poor skincare habits. My number one recommendation for wrinkle prevention is wearing SPF on our faces every day, 365 days a year. UVA rays or “aging” rays can penetrate clouds as well as windows. That means you can get exposure sitting in your office, driving in your car or even on cold and cloudy days. The rays from the sun breakdown our collagen and elastin causing sagging in the skin and wrinkles. Combining an antioxidant serum underneath your SPF will protect your skin from free radical damage. Free radicals are created by things such as environmental pollution or cigarette smoke and they attack our heathy skin cells.

Chemical peels are one of the more effective ways I like to treat existing wrinkles. They work by applying a chemical solution to the skin the causes the dead skin to slough off over the course of a few days. They reveal brighter, smoother and younger looking skin and some even stimulate collagen production. 

Did you like this stye of post? Leave me a comment below or send me a message letting me know! 

xx nichole