By Siddhi Jain

New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANSlife) Leading skin specialist and dermatologist Dr Rashmi Shetty says that Indians were always admired for their beautiful skin but as our lifestyles modernized, nutrition and skin started feeling the heat.

In a telephonic conversation with IANSlife, Dr Shetty specifies where we are going wrong in skincare.

What are the leading factors that cause unhealthy skin especially for Indian skin?

Dr Shetty: First is lifestyle because Indians were always admired for the beautiful skin we had and the way we aged later than the rest of the world, not just because genetically we have a pigmented brown skin. It was because of the lifestyle we led -- we ate clean, we never kept the food for the next day, we didn't eat too much outside food.

In every household people woke up early in the morning, slept at a particular time, therefore the hormonal secretions were well maintained. It led to our skin being nice.

Why the Indian skin is going bad is because we are completely aping the the world.

Glowing skin has become everyone's want, but glow comes from a good texture and even tone and a healthy body.

One needs to work hard to get their nutrition right, lifestyle right, mood right and of course skincare right.

What makeup products must we avoid for better skin?

Dr Shetty: A lot of the times we use products which are meant for the Western skin, made by the Westerners.

It is mostly very humid and very dusty here, but we see many layers (of makeup) on the face. We don't need as many creams and serums and toners, because it's mostly a dusty and sticky environment. You need to do what suits your ambience, temperature and humidity.

You say we must focus on skincare as opposed to makeup.

Dr Shetty: Who doesn't want to have flawless skin? Makeup is beautiful, you can add a little colour to the lip, to the cheek and to your eyelids. Enhance your beauty with makeup, but don't use it to cover up. Take good care of your skin. Any painting looks good on a clean canvas.

Some tips so makeup doesn't harm skin.

Dr Shetty: Use products from a reputed company, they are usually well-researched. Remove makeup before you go to bed. Use a good remover. While applying the makeup base, use your fingers or a disposable sponge, not a brush. Save the brush for an eyeshadow, blush and the like.

Your take on beauty supplements.

Dr Shetty: Getting the nutrients out of nutrition is difficult even if you are taking a balanced diet. So beauty supplements will give you a measured, consistent daily dose of the essential nutrition required for skin and hair. I recommend them but be watchful of what you are taking.

On September 15, Dr Shetty will conduct a beauty training session at September Fest 2019, Phoenix MarketCity and Palladium (Chennai)on methods to achieve flawless skin and hair. She has been in cosmetic medicine for over 20 years.

Siddhi Jain can be contacted at siddhi.j@ians.in.