Perfect balance: the gentle art of skin cleansing. (innerbeauty).

Let's face it: Beauty has gotten harsh. New-and-improved, deep-cleaning, super-exfoliating, oil-sopping products abound. As a result, a new class of modern-day "skindromes" has turned up on the faces of over-zealous skin-regimen devotees.

In my work, I see more and more women with problems that result from the very products they use to improve their skin. Our beauty needs a sanctuary from this harsh world, and that sanctuary begins by rejecting the "do-something" impulse that leads to aggressive, often destructive skin care choices.

Sometimes it's what we don't do that makes us more attractive.

synthetic sins

When we assault our skin with harsh detergents, exfoliants, drying alcohols and synthetic oils, we can end up producing completely unintended results.

Skin constantly works to normalize its own surface moisture and pH level. Harsh products ravage it and tie up the skin's natural healing energy. And when the surface barrier of the skin is broken by abrasive products, a cascade of problems-from moisture loss and wrinkles to product and sun sensitivities--can result. Before you know it, you're caught in a vicious cycle of assault-recovery that requires increasingly harsh and unnatural maintenance tactics.

So how do we escape this merry-go-round of skin regimen overkill? By getting hip to harsh products and choosing smarter strategies.