Oxygen has a very complicated love-hate relationship with our skin. You’ve probably heard about how antioxidants (a.k.a anti-oxidation) protect our skin from oxygen molecules in the air that causes wear and tear, disintegration and premature death of cells, causing premature skin aging. But on the other hand, every living cell in our body needs that very same oxygen in order to produce proteins and form new and healthy cells. So how do we give our skin the oxygen it needs without inviting damaging free radicals with it? Read on.

Oxygen facials have gotten so much media attention lately, not only because of the supposed benefits of oxygen for skin, but also because Madonna, Kate Middleton and Nicole Kidman are allegedly avid supporters of this. The theory goes like this: If oxygenating your body improves the health and appearance of your skin (the reason your skin assumes a more glowing complexion right after a rigorous workout), then applying it directly onto your skin through mists, masks, gels or facial creams would work even better. Sounds exciting? Maybe. However, several dermatologists don’t subscribe to the idea that the oxygen in the air has the same advantage as the oxygen being carried by our blood.

While the effectiveness of oxygen facial is still debatable, the idea of giving your skin the opportunity to breathe makes a lot of sense. I don’t mean this in a literal way (last I heard, skin doesn’t help us breathe in any way), but if you’ve ever slept with makeup on and wake up the next morning with a huge zit sitting on top of your nose, you’ll understand what I mean. So how do we achieve this? How do we ensure our skin can take in the good stuff and exhale the toxic ones? Simple: by removing makeup and product buildup at the end of the day, and only using products that won’t clog the natural mechanism of your pores, like Oxygenetix Oxygenating Moisturizer.

Oxygenating Moisturizer contains hyaluronic acid and sodium PCA, both ingredients are natural humectants (they naturally occur in the human skin) and known for their ability to absorb moisture from air and bind it to the skin. It lubricates the skin, reducing the look of dehydration lines and wrinkles. And because it’s easily absorbed by your skin, it won’t clog your pores, too. What’s more, this moisturizer contains antioxidant-rich grape seed extract and vitamin E, so that should shush your concerns about oxygen-induced free radicals. I don’t have sensitive skin (thank goodness!), but for those of you who do, it helps that this has aloe, an instant skin-soother and redness-reliever.

Overall, I really like this moisturizer, which makes sense because I’m also a fan of Oxygenetix’s foundation. I generally don’t like the feel of foundation on my face, but because this foundation is super light and doesn’t feel like I’m wearing anything at all, I use it when I absolutely have to wear one. But don’t just take my word for it. Try these products and see for yourself why everyone in our office is obsessed with them!

Thanks to my mother’s genes, I never had to suffer from acne breakouts, even during the peak of my puberty, when all my peers would spend half their waking hours pricking and prying on their zits. I on the other hand would feel horrified if I even get 1 or 2 around the chin area once every few months. What my skin is prone to, however, is something that no amount of pricking and prying can cure, even temporarily—and that is skin discoloration.

Blemish marks, brown spots, freckles, darkened areas—yeah, I have all of them. Sometimes, depending on the season, I would get a huge white patch at center of my forehead (of all places!). I can’t recall how many drugstore creams I used to treat my pigmented skin, only to find out that to address this issue, I had to know what’s causing it.

Few of the major causes of uneven skin tone are sun damage, acne scars, dry and flaky skin, hormonal changes, medication reactions and medical conditions. Once you know what’s causing the discoloration, you can now start deciding on your next course of action. As for me, it’s years of UV exposure. I must admit I wasn’t very adamant about the use of sunscreen until a year ago. So aside from applying sunscreen (and re-applying every 2 hours) every day, I’ve also started using exfoliating cleansers with glycolic or lactic acid in it to buff away the darkened layers of my skin. And to help hasten the process, I’ve also started using Sonya Dakar Hydrasoft Lotion – Discoloration as my moisturizer.

This hydrating cream doesn’t just smell so good and refreshing, it also feels super cool on the skin because it uses eucalyptus as its main ingredient. According to my research, eucalyptus oil has been used for centuries by aborigine ethnic groups to treat everything—from wounds and insect bites to asthma, sinus infections and colds to headaches, fever, inflammation and muscle aches. Today, several skin ointments contain eucalyptus oil because of its antibacterial, antiseptic and anti-parasitic qualities. It soothes burns and blisters, calms skin rashes and irritations, and treats acne, eczema and insect bites. It also cleanses the skin, clears blackheads and blemishes and evens out uneven skin tones.

Aside from these eucalyptus oil benefits, Hydrasoft Lotion also contains ceramides and vitamin E to hydrate the skin without the greasy feel, neutralize free radical damage and rebalance the skin’s pH level.

Thanks to today’s advanced products, skin discoloration can be easily treated even without going to your skin doctor. But remember, some discolored patches are not as harmless as it looks. Always keep an eye out for changes in shape, size and color as it could be a warning sign for cancer. Lastly, in case I haven’t mentioned this enough: NEVER forget to apply sunscreen!

At this time and age, everyone is petrified of the “W” word: Wrinkles. Yes, even twenty-something, non-smoking, sunblock-obsessed gals like me. You can blame the massive anti-aging crusades that permeate every advertisement on TV, radio, magazine and the Internet. Or, you can simply accept the fact that the world we live in today is just more polluted, more crowded and more demanding than it was 50 years ago—and is therefore making a bigger contribution to what we call as extrinsic aging, or aging caused by external, totally avoidable factors.

Extrinsic aging chooses no one. It doesn’t matter if you just celebrated your 29^th birthday a few days ago (ahem!). Everyone who’s exposed to today’s fast-paced, sleep-deprived, fast food-oriented lifestyle is at risk. In fact, as early as now, I’m already seeing my first few lines under my eyes. I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to sit here and waste any more time slacking off on my anti-aging routine. I won’t wait until my skin’s collagen and elastin production has dramatically dropped before I take any preventive measures.

While we can’t stop birthdays from adding years to our age, nor can we do anything about intrinsic aging (the inherent degenerative process we’re all bound to go through), there are a lot of steps that can be taken to thwart the effects of extrinsic aging and prevent wrinkles in your 20s—some of which are surprisingly doable with little effort. For starters, we can keep applying sunblock every 2 hours and avoid staying out in the sun too long. We can start reaching for vitamin-enriched fruits and vegetables instead of that microwaveable junk we eat for lunch. And we can definitely start using skin care products that contain potent anti-aging ingredients like retinol.

Retinol is one of the few ingredients out there that is clinically proven time and time again to really treat visible signs of aging like fine lines and deep wrinkles. As a vitamin A derivative, it combats the breakdown and weakening of skin-firming collagen that happens due to extrinsic and intrinsic aging. For the fine lines under my eye, I’m now trying the Murad Time Release Retinol Concentrate for Deep Wrinkles.  While it’s especially formulated to fight deep wrinkles, I chose this because it’s a targeted anti-wrinkle solution to problem areas. This is perfect if you’re not ready to go full-scale on retinol just yet.

This formula prides itself on two things. First, its formula is a rich concentration of powerful ingredients such as retinol, Matrixyl Synthe’6, hyaluronic acid and Ceramide-3. Second, to make sure these ingredients penetrate deep into the problem area, this product features a sustained release technology and a precision control applicator to micro-target deep creases and crow’s feet.  In case you’re wondering what the other ingredients mean, Matrixyl Synthe’6 is a youth-building peptide, which helps rebuild damaged collagen, while hyaluronic acid and Ceramide-3 attract and maintain essential moisture, restoring firmness and fullness and minimizing the appearance and formation of fine lines and wrinkles.

I’ve only used this a few times, apparently not long enough to see actual results yet. But with a formula as potent as this one, and with Dr. Murad at the helm, I’m confident it will nourish my dehydrated, fine line-infested under-eye area back to health in no time.