How often should I wash my face?

Cleansing is the first step in taking care of your skin. If you have oily skin, it should remove the excess oil without overstriping your skin of its natural oils. If you have dry skin, it should remove impurities while soothing and hydrating the skin, so with daily use it promotes soft, supple skin. If you have acne which often is accompanied with oil balance issues, it should help to decrease excess oil, unclog pores and treat the acne, while soothing the skin. Daily use should help minimize the appearance of pores and breakouts. If you have severely dry skin or skin thats somehow compromised, your cleanser should soothe and replenish moisture, while leaving it soft and clean. The appropriate cleanser for your specific skin type should leave your skin healthy, balanced and ready for the next treatment.

Estheticians are always warning people with oily skin to not wash more than twice a day for fear of over drying the skin, thereby creating two problems in one. While the standard recommendation for cleansing one's face to to wash twice a day, this is not necessary true for everyone. Severely dry skin will fair better with just one nightly washing, especially in the winter months.

Do you really need a separate eye cream?

Those we say no, throw some pretty harsh accusations as to why some say yes. As for me, I say, IT DEPENDS. It depends on the issue(s) of your eye area. It depends on your age. It depends on the active ingredient(s)in your face cream; it depends on the eye cream; it simply depends.

You do not need a separate eye cream if the area still have its youthful radiance. You do not need a separate eye cream if you are O.K with the way things are. You do not need an eye cream IF your face cream is effectively moisturizing your eye area to your satisfaction. I noticed the first sign of change in the skin around my eye area when I was in my early thirties. There it was, barely noticeably, but nevertheless, present--crepeness. The first sign that I was no longer in the youth category. Was I the only one who noticed, in all likelihood I was. Depending on genetics and other factors this first sign can come earlier or later in life. I immediately went into damage control. Let me just say, it is always better to be in preventative mode than damage control mode. However, the sooner you start in damage control,it's still a heck of a lot better than waiting till out-of-control mode.

There are so-so eye creams. What the heck did I just wasted my money on eye creams; and eye creams that do indeed make a difference. Depending on what ails your eye area, you need a cream specifically formulated to address that concern. It does not make any sense to get an eye cream for wrinkles when puffiness or dark circles are your concern. What would my eye area looked like had I waited another 10 years before using an eye cream? Would I, by then, have multiply issues? Who is to say, but one thing is for sure, an ounce of prevention.... Its easier to address one concern at a time, than, attempting to repair multiple issues after years of neglect.

Crepeness it one of the easiest and quickest to correct. Puffiness and dark circles take a bit longer. A combination of all three with define lines, is more challenging. There are no miracle pills/potions that's going to make you look 10 years younger overnight. You didn't wake up one morning looking 10 years older(well maybe). A good skin care routine means using the product according to directions and not just when you remember.

Because the eye area has no fat layer and very few oil glands, eye creams tend to be a bit more emollient, which may be too heavy for the rest of the face. A regular face cream will not address puffiness or dark circles. Also the active ingredient in some face cream will most definitely cause irritation to the delicate eye area and should not be used there. If an adult suffers from acne and is using a face cream to address that issue, this cream should not be use in the eye area. Extreme caution should be taken as well, if someone is using a face cream with resurfacing active ingredient, or a combination of any anti-aging ingredient. Yet an eye cream with the same active ingredient(s), with a gentler formulation will yield the results you are looking for, without the harshness, which in it self will only damage the delicate skin around the eyes.

The Creation

So, a very good customer of mine has introduced me the blogging and I've decided to try it, since I'm so bad at sending out newsletters; hopefully, I'll be better at this. This is a new and exciting endeavor for me. Here I am taking baby-steps. We'll see......

My blog will be your answer to all skin care and hair removal questions and in this issue we are going to take a look at Winter skincare.

Winter weather can ravish our skin, resulting in dryness, roughness, redness, flaking and even exaggerated fine lines. Most of us realize the need to change our skincare routine during these months, but are at a loss for what to do, besides simple layering on heavy moisturizers, often to little avail. The good news: There are smart, simple adjustments to your routine.

THE PROBLEM
Most of the unwanted skin changes we experience in winter comes from the severe drop in humidity during cold weather; with indoor heating further drying out our skin. Studies show that as humidity decreases, there is a dramatic slowdown in the shedding of our dead cells. In fact, after just one day of dry conditions, the water content of the skin significantly decreases. After three days, scaling is visible on the skin. Unfortunately, all of these changes are much more evident on our faces, hands and chest, which are generally several times rougher than the skin of the protected areas of our body, such as our lower backs. If your "baseline" is already dry (as we see in people with photo-damage or if you are using drying creams as part of an anti-aging or anti-acne regimen) you will be even more sensitive to these seasonal changes. So how can you make your skin look its best? Stay tune and I'll tell you.

Sunscreen Harzards - Part I

A necessary part of any healthy skin care routine, was the topic of interest last summer at the University of California Riverside. Researchers there found certain sunscreen ingredients may have the potential to produce skin-damaging free radicals if sunscreens containing these ingredients are not consistently reapplied to the skin during exposure to sunlight.

Lead by Kerry M. Hanson, a senior research scientist at UCR's Department of Chemistry, the research team discovered sunscreens containing high dosage of any of three sunscreen chemicals, (10% or above) - octyl methoxycinnamaate (drug name octinoxate), benzophenone-3 (drug name oxybenzone) and octocrylene - have the potential to produce Reactive Oxygen Species at a higher than normal rate after penetrating into the epidermis. Reactive Oxygen Species, or ROS, are the oxygen-based family of free radicals linked to inflammation, cell membrane and stratum corneum damage, and cancer.

Hanson's team found oxidizing ROS molecules are significantly reduced when the sunscreen ingredients are first applied, but once they leave the skin's surface and penetrate into the epidermis the ROS proliferate faster than normal. When the sunscreen is reapplied the quantity of ROS decreases again.

What is the best way to address this issue? Simply make a slight adjustment to your sunscreen routine. When used correctly, sunscreen still offers the best possible solution to skin exposed to UV rays. Here are some tips to help keep you protected and safe:

Wear broad-spectrum UV protection daily. Your sunscreen should be a minimum SPF 15 (SPF 12 for people of color) and offer protection against both UVA (aging rays) and UVB (burning rays).

Make sure your sunscreen contains a blend of antioxidants. Ingredients like Vitamins C and E, and Green Tea help neutralize ROS activity.

When applying sunscreen remember to use the "two finger rule". Spread an approximately 1/8th inch wide line of sunscreen down the length of your index and middle fingers. This should be enough to cover your face, ears, neck, throat and upper chest. If you apply less, the SPF value will be less, so you'll be more likely to burn or receive long term sun damage. Sprays are great for those hard to reach areas. NOTE: This rule applies to sunscreen in any form, whether it's a moisturizer, makeup or typical sunscreen base. So for those of you relying on a light application of foundation for your UV protection, it's safer to apply a separate sunscreen prior to putting on your makeup.

When swimming or perspiring, reapply sunscreen at least every two hours. And be sure to reapply sunscreen every time you towel off, even if the container says the sunscreen is resistant to sweat or water, just to be on the safe side.

Non-penetrating base. Use sunscreens that are in a silicone emulsion-base - and look for "reflective" sunscreen ingredients, such as micronized zinc oxide. This will allow the sunscreen to remain on the skin's surface longer.

Pairing sunscreens with vitamin E, C and soothing Green Tea, as well as other free-radical fighting anti-oxidants goes beyond just protection against the damaging effect of the sun, these added antioxidants help revive skin depleted by UV lights.

A Preventative Approach to Wrinkles

Not all wrinkles are caused by the same factors. Lines like crow's feet, horizontal forehead lines, frown lines and lip lines are all called "dynamic lines." They form as a result of certain repetitive facial expressions. When we smile the muscles around our eyes contract. These muscles pull down the overlying skin, and over time, the lines that form when we smile start to show up, even when our face is at rest--"crows feet." A peptide called Argireline, has the ability to lessen the intensity of muscle contractions. This ever-so-subtly lessens skin movement with facial expressions. Over time, there can be a significant lessening in the apperance of expression lines. In addition to Argireline, Colhibin and Elhibin, are very effective at preventing collagen and elastin fiber breakdown and lessening wrinkle appearance. High-grade silica, the same ingredient that is very popular in minerial makeup, helps to create an optical illusion that makes skin instantly appear smoother. By incorporating these ingredients in one product, you will notice an immediate lessening of visible expression lines while getting the cumulative long-term improvement in your appearance.

The Power of Retinol

You may have noticed that retinol has become extremely popular. It can be found in many highly touted moisturizers, anti-aging and anti-acne products. But, due to the irritaion associated with retinol, commercially marketed products contain very low levels, ranging from about 0.03% to 0.007%. Retinol is believed to be converted to tretinoin after the retinol is applied to the skin surface.

Many of us are fascinated to read about new ingredients in skin care, yet frustrated when we experience little or no improvement from products that make lofty claims. If you are looking for products which will very likely give you visible improvement in your appearance, our medical grade formulations are just the thing for you. High levels of beneficial active ingredients are painstakeingly combined in gentle botantical preparations.

Our Retinol Drop is a very effctive anti-aging skin clearing product. Retinol is an OTC version of tretinoin(the prescription cream Retina-A). Our Retinol Drop incorporates a very high level of retinol:0.3%. This is a least ten times the strength found in most commercially available retinol products, but it should not irritate your skin, because of the unique formulation. Our unique proprietary molecular film technology ensures top level effectiveness without irritation. This makes our Retinol Drop feel a bit like liquid silk. You need only to apply it very sparingly to see results and it may be use as a target spot treatment, as well. Regular use of Retinol Drop is very beneficial in lessening the appearance of photo-damange(rough, flaking, and uneven skin),as well as acne. Continured use of Retinol Drop will diminish the appearance of fine lines, help even skin tone and lessen visibla age spots.