Skincare

We stock a wide range of skin care products from soap substitutes and emollients to barrier creams and moisturisers, and wipes to swabs.  All our products are sourced from leading manufacturers that are constantly developing new reliable innovative products to aid and promote good, pro active skin care.

The skin is the largest organ of the body, being 10% of the body mass.  It has the primary function of providing a barrier between the internal body structures and the environment.  The structure and functions of a persons skin changes over time and reflects the cumulative effects of ageing, trauma, conditional and environmental changes. 

Care of skin is of prime importance, if skin is compromised it can have a dramatic effect on a person’s well being.  The skin changes over time and these changes can vary, from changes in elasticity, to excessive moisture, to drier and reduced tissue mass. These are both intrinsic and extrinsic:

Intrinsic	Extrinsic
Dryness	Continence
Atrophy	Smoking
Reduced elasticity	Environmental pollutants
Wrinkling	Ultra violet light (uvl)
Pigmented and other blemishes	Radiotherapy / chemotherapy
Chronic venous / arterial insufficiency	Decreased Mobility
Known skin conditions	Chronic illness
Previous skin damage	Dehydration
	Poor nutrition
	Drug therapy
	Wound
	High level of exudate

These changes can be influenced by many factors from ageing, to being bed bound, to wheel chair use, to inability to move or alter position, to chronic illness, to continence, to name a few, and all impact on the efficient function of the skin. 

• Different parts of the body require different cleansing and skin care, and display different symptoms.
• Reddened skin – increased damage to underlying blood vessels and potentially separating fragile skin layers.
• Dry skin – less tolerant to tissue distortion and is thus more vulnerable to breakdown and increased breaks / cracks forming.
• Excessively moist skin – prolonged exposure to excessive moisture increases the risk of damage from mace ration, friction and shear forces.

The use of soap products and detergents I.e bars of soap, bubble bath / foam can strip essential lipids from the epidermal barrier.  Many of these products are alcohol based which also has drying effect.  The ph level of normal skin is 5.5.  Most soap is highly alkaline and removes the natural oils that keep the skin hydrated.  An added hazard when using bars of soap is the risk of cross infection.  Use of soap substitutes and barrier creams reduces the incidence of dryness, redness and flaking of their skin.

 

Please visit our web shop for more information www.incodirect.co.uk or call our Customer Service Team on 01253 881 290