People who apply skin care products to their face or even have regular facials might still suffer from skin irritation or dryness, a dermatologist said, adding that the problem could be an acid-base imbalance of the skin.
Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital’s Cosmetic Center director Tang Hao-yueh (唐豪悅) said many people, particularly women, like to wear water-resistant cosmetics and sunscreen during the day and use many different types of skin cleansers to wash it off at night, but over-cleansing or applying the wrong products can easily cause an acid-base imbalance.
The sebum on the surface of the skin is normally mildly acidic, so when people over-cleanse their skin with alkaline cleansing products, it can increase sebum production and allow bacteria to grow more easily or cause acne, pimples or inflammation of the skin, she said.
Studies have shown that it takes one to three hours for the skin to restore its natural acid-base balance, Tang said, adding that most skin cleansing products are alkaline, so they might irritate the skin or make it too dry when they remove oil from its surface.
She suggested that people avoid over-cleansing their skin with alkaline products and avoid applying too much skin lightening products because they usually irritate the skin, especially when the skin is in poor condition or overly sensitive.
People should also avoid using exfoliating products too frequently, because they can damage the natural protective layer on the skin’s surface, she said.
Tung said people should try to apply cleansing and moisturizing products that are more close to the skin’s natural pH level, adding that if they are worried about the effects of a new cleansing product on their skin, they should wait a while after using the product to see if irritation, itchiness or dryness occur before applying other skincare products.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all