When To See A Skin Professional: 5 Signs It's Time

Quick Summary

Wondering when to see a skin professional? A Dermal Clinician shares the signposts to watch for on your skincare journey. James Vivian covers when results stall at home, concerns that need more than skincare, and when a simple check-in is worth booking.

As a Dermal Clinician, I am obviously biased towards encouraging people to have their skin cared for by a professional, however, I am equally if not constantly becoming more aware that everyone does skincare differently and is at varying stops along their skincare journey.

Whether they are at the start or a long way along their skincare journey, clients often decide to reach out to a professional for guidance and for some it’s the perfect time, it’s well overdue, or for some could even be premature.

To help those of you wondering if or when the right time to turn to a professional may be, here are some skincare journey signposts to keep an eye out for.

Five Signs It’s Time To See A Skin Professional

1. You Have A Skin Concern(s), But No Real Interest Or Passion For The Skin

I firmly believe that for many people, skin is a passion or a hobby. It’s a double-edged sword as often the more you know the more confused this industry can make you but for a lot of people marrying their skin concerns with their interest in skin can be, when done well, a very rewarding experience.

For those of you without the interest, passion, or even time, putting your skin in the hands of a professional can have your skin behaving and your real interests better attended to.

2. You’ve Been Going At It Alone, But Not Getting Results Either Consistently Or At All

Believe it or not, skins are tricky – even for the professionals. So if you’ve been trying all the skincare, listening to all the advice, following all the skinfluencers and your skin is not where you want it to be, sometimes a little professional advice can go a long way.

3. Your Skin Is Getting Worse, Not Better

For people going it alone at home, it’s not uncommon to be unintentionally making your skin worse, rather than better. Think more breakouts, more dryness, more sensitivity, more redness, more texture.

This is why the most common new client we get to the clinic these days are clients whose skins have been getting worse, not better and I often think about what these skins would look like if they didn’t seek professional help when they did?!

4. Your Concerns Are Beyond What Skincare Can Do Alone

Skincare is incredible and it’s only getting more so. Traditionally, the industry used to say that 80% of the results you see on your skin is due to the skincare you use at home.

I interpreted that as 80% of the time you spend on your skin is at home, and 20% can be the time you spend seeing a professional as important as skincare is, especially when it comes to cleansing and sun protection, managing concerns such as hyperpigmentation, age management, scarring, and some forms of acne for example, really need professional attention in order to get the job done.

There are limits to what using skincare at home can achieve but a combination approach is always the way to go.

5. You’d Like To Confirm That You’re On The Right Track

In my experience, even the most avid and knowledgeable DIY-ers have learnt something skin-changing from checking in with a professional about what they’re up to.

When you check in with a professional you get advice specific to the skin you have, the products you use and the advice best suited.

Sometimes these sessions can result in a treatment to reset the skin so the skincare used at home can work its magic better (like extractions that skincare can’t budge) or even talking through appropriate options of a quarterly or bi-annual treatment to further support concerns and the skincare used to target them.