Four West Ham United women’s team players have been named ambassadors for ZO Skin Health UK in a new initiative, aiming to promote good skin health habits.

ZO became the team’s official skincare partner and sponsor in 2019 and has since supported the players with expert skin health advice and tailored skincare regimes to give them the confidence to feel and play at their best. The new ambassadors, Grace Fisk, Katerina Svitkova, Maisy Barker, and Yui Hasegawa had their consultation with Dr Raul Cetto at Chadwell Heath training ground.

“I enjoy working with the players and most importantly being able to educate them in preventing and reversing skin damage. They are high-performance athletes and skin is the largest organ in our body. It’s important that players look after it in the same way they look after their joints and diet”, said Dr Cetto who was appointed as the team’s first ever skin consultant back in 2019.

Using state-of-the-art scanning technology, ZO Skin Health team were able to examine the players skin in extreme detail and unveil signs of damage that are not yet visible to the naked eye. “We can identify the early signs of damage and reverse them with ZO Skin Health products that work at the cellular level”, explained Dr Cetto.

Football players experience all different types of weather conditions during the course of a season, their skin is exposed to harsh weather, air pollution, and UV rays. This is why antioxidants are a vital part of the players’ skincare regimes. ZO’s exclusive slow-release antioxidant complex is designed to combat oxidative stress and prevent free radical damage and strengthen the protective barrier function.

During the consultation, the four players shared that despite spending hours on the training ground every day, they often forget to apply SPF protection. While for many people sunscreen is synonymous with summer holidays and pool days, according to Dr Cetto, UV radiation is the number one aggressor to the skin and responsible for the majority of the visible signs of ageing.

Long-wavelength UVA rays are present year-round, they can penetrate the deeper layers of the skin and pass through clouds and glass. This is why Dr Cetto recommended ZO Skin Health’s Sunscreen + Powder SPF 30 as the last step in the ambassadors’ regimes. The powder is formulated with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide to offer a physical protection against UVA and UVB rays, while the ZOX¹²® complex protects against free radical damage and and IR-A rays. Fractioned melanin protects against blue (HEV) light and gives a light buildable coverage. The compact brush format makes it easy and convenient to reapply sun protection throughout the day.

“Hopefully, the players will be our future advocates for skin health. We want to create awareness especially amongst young people so that they know how to prevent skin damage and embrace good skin health habits which can be as simple as washing your face and applying sun protection regularly”, added Dr Cetto.

We will be keeping track on the progress of the players over the coming months, so make sure to follow ZO Skin Health UK on our Instagram and Facebook channels to never miss an update!