Do You Need to Wait In-Between Applying Skincare Products?

July 4th, 2011 by askanesthetician

 

Should your morning or evening skincare routine be a waiting game?  Is there  really a need to wait a certain period of time between applying your skincare products?

The answer is both yes and no.

 

Yes, you need to wait

 

Why?  First off, if the product itself in its instructions tells you to wait after applying it and before applying another product I would follow those instructions.  For instance, once I had a face primer that said to wait about 10 or 15 minutes after application before applying your make-up.  It took that long for the product to be absorbed.  It also was really annoying, and I ended up giving the product away.  So most of the time when a product’s instructions tell you to wait before applying anything else it is usually because that product needs to fully absorb into the skin and applying anything on top of it would hinder that absorption.  If that absorption doesn’t happen the next products you apply won’t go on as you want them to.  Products can even flake or roll of the skin.  Or if you apply a wet product on skin that is already damp or wet from a previous product you could end up with a big mess.
Another reason for waiting in-between applying skincare products can be for comfort.  I’ll explain.  It could be that if you apply one product on top of another quickly you could experience uncomfortable tingling.  If you do experience tingling after applying skincare products one on top of the other quickly than apply one at a time and take a moment to do another activity in-between applying each product – such as brushing your teeth, putting in your contacts, getting dressed, etc.  It can be frustrating to have to apply your products piece meal but if the end result is comfortable and beautiful then it is worth it.

 

No, you don’t need to wait

 

If you use skincare products that absorb quickly into your skin then just go ahead and apply them one on top of the other without waiting.  As long as you don’t experience any discomfort and have any bad side effects like product
pilling or rolling off your face than go ahead and apply quickly.

 

A few general skincare product application tips:

 

  • Apply the products with the thinnest consistency first, like serums, before moisturizers and creams.
  • Apply products with the least amount of color before those with more color.
  • Apply skincare treatment products, like antioxidant serums or retinols, directly to your skin after cleansing, then moisturizer, sunscreen, and finally your make-up.

 

For more skincare product application tips see Allure‘s article about how to best apply skincare products.

 

For more of my posts on skincare and make-up please visit my blog: Ask an Esthetician.

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Bronzers and Self-Tanners: How to Get a Safe Glow

June 30th, 2011 by askanesthetician

 

Any kind of tan a sign of damage to your skin.  There is no such thing as a safe tan – period.  So what do you do if you want a glow or a tan during the summer or even year round?  Time to break out the bronzer and self tanner.   Last year I wrote a post, The Only Way to Tan: Fake It, with lots of references on how to get a great fake tan.  This year I’m updating that information so that hopefully everyone can find a great self-tanning or bronzer product for themselves.

Bronzer

If you want to start off faking your tan a little bit at a time try a bronzer.  When you use bronzer on your face you control how much product is applied so you can decide just how sun-kissed you want to look.  Bronzer comes in a few different formulas.  Though powder bronzer is great for someone with normal to oily skin since it helps to create a matte finish it really powder bronzer can be used on any skin type since it blends so easily.  You can use powder bronzer on your temples, cheeks, and bridge of the nose; also blend a little down your neck and onto your chest.  Remember to blend well with a big fluffy powder brush so it looks natural.  Cream bronzer is good for someone with normal to dry skin since it leaves the skin with a luminescence that might be too much for skin that already has a shine to it.  Because of the bit of shine that cream bronzer usually has don’t put it on the bridge of your nose.  Instead stick to applying it to your temples and cheekbones.  Finally if you choose a gel or serum bronzer these formulas are light enough to be applied all over your face and down your neck. 

The above illustration is a perfect example of how you can look with the proper application of bronzer.  Here are two simple lessons to help you master applying bronzer:  Blushing Bronze: All-Over Glow Technique and  Blushing Bronze: Burn Technique.  Allure also offers up: How to Avoid the Biggest Bronzer Mistakes, Get the Perfect Glow, and even a video on how to apply bronzer with fabulous tips.

  

Self-Tanner

I’ll admit that I am can be intimidated by most self-tanners.  I pretty much only feel comfortable letting a professional give me a spray tan or with using a gradual self-tanner like Jergens.  But I am here to say that in this respect – please don’t be like me.  There are so many self-tanning products on the market – everyone should give self-tanning a try at least once.  Proper self-tanning does require a few extra steps such as making sure you’ve properly exfoliated (make your own exfoliator by mixing household sugar and olive oil) and moisturized before applying the product.  Plus you need to make sure that you apply the product everywhere you want it, including the tops on your feet for example, but not places you don’t, like your palms.  (Read Cat’s post YES, YOU PROBABLY COULD BE BETTER-LOOKING: This Self-Tanner Changed My Life!  from xoJane for some self-tanner tips)

Now that you’ve decided to take the self-tanning plunge which product should you choose.  For that decision I suggest turning to my favorite beauty magazine Allure and their article The Top 8 Idiot-Proof Self Tanners for help.

One of the newest ways to apply self-tanner at home is with an airbrush system; you become your own spray tan tech.  This is quick and clean way to apply your self-tanner for a natural glow.  I’ve heard of two systems: Luminess Tan and Temptu Summer Skin.  If anyone has tried either of these system I would love to hear how the experience was.

So once again – there is no such thing as a safe tan but there is also no reason to remain pale all through the summer if you don’t want to.  Get out your bronzer and blend away or slather yourself down with self-tanner!  Just remember get a safe glow this summer.

For more of my posts on skincare and make-up please visit my blog Ask an Esthetician.

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Pollution and Your Skin

March 17th, 2011 by askanesthetician

How often do you think about pollution?  Outdoor pollution or even indoor pollution?  If you are lucky enough to live in a place that is not adversely affected by pollution you might rarely give it a second thought.  Well today is a good time to give some thought to protecting both yourself and your skin on a daily basis from pollution.

Pollution is one of the top five causes of skin aging.  I’ll repeat that – pollution is one of the top five causes of skin aging.  Just because you don’t live in a place that has smog warnings (like LA for instance) or obvious air pollution don’t forget that car exhaust is greatly affecting your skin.  According to a recent post on Daily Beauty Reporter Blog on allure.com German scientists have actually proved that exposure to air pollution over time can cause skin aging.  Furthermore:

Carbon particles, along with polyaromatic hydrocarbons (byproducts of burning fuel), are the main culprits. Both are released as a result of traffic pollution, and both, thanks to the way they just happen to bind with the skin, cause aging. In fact, the study, which was published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, found that the more airborne particles around, the more age spots appeared.

Another skincare issue that can be affected by pollution is actually acne.  In 2004 Italian researchers reported that living in an urban environment can expose one to significant pollutants such as benzenes which can lead to elevations in IGF-1 blood levels.  IGF-1, aka insulin-like growth factor-1, is an anabolic hormone involved in growth and development and usually increases around puberty; this hormone plays a role in acne formation.  Perhaps increased urban pollution and the fact that pollution can lead to increased IGF-1 levels might help partially explain the rise in adult acne.  There has even been research in the past that indicates that there are higher rates of acne in urban environments as opposed to rural ones.  Could pollution be a factor?  If you live in a city or near a city and suffer from acne you might want to consider taking steps to protect your skin from pollution as part of your anti-acne regime.

And pollution doesn’t come just from the outside.  Unfortunately our homes and offices are also filled with pollutants that come from electronics, carpets, paint emissions, heating and cooling units, and finishes on furniture.   Please keep that in mind as well.

Just how does all this pollution negatively affect our skin?  Exposure to pollution leads to free radical damage which ages your skin by breaking down the collagen in your skin.  What exactly are free radicals?  Dr. Leslie Baumann very succinctly explains what free radicals are:

So just what is a free radical? In a nutshell, it’s an oxygen molecule that has been stripped of one of its electrons … meaning that it’s on the hunt for replacement electrons. As a result of that hunt, free radicals attack vital skin components like collagen, resulting in skin aging.

So what is the solution to all this free radical damage?  Antioxidants – applied topically in skincare products and consumed in foods.  What are antioxidants?  Once again I’ll quote Dr. Leslie Baumann:

Antioxidants calm free radicals by delivering the electrons they seek – and as a result, they also stave off free radicals’ aging effects. Get them through your diet (through green tea, dark chocolate, and lots of fruits and veggies, particularly berries and pomegranates) or topically with skin-care ingredients like coenzyme Q10, green tea, coffeeberry, and idebenone.

Antioxidants do even more than what is mentioned above.  For a more comprehensive look at how antioxidants help your skin please see my post:  Skincare Tip: Add Antioxidants to Your Home Skincare Regime.

The bottom line is this – while we can try to cut down on our carbon footprint by leading environmental friendly lives our skin and our health is still being affected daily by both indoor and outdoor pollution.  Protect yourself by eating a healthy diet filled with fruits and vegetables and protect your skin by applying a topical antioxidant serum every morning after you cleanse your face but before applying your moisturizer, sunscreen, and make-up. 

Some of my favorite antioxidant serums:

 

Sources and Further Reading:

 

For more of my posts on skincare please visit my blog: Ask an Esthetician

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New Trends in Anti-Aging Procedures: “Vampire” Facelift and Ultherapy

March 16th, 2011 by askanesthetician

I recently read with great interest two articles about new in office anti-aging procedures.  The first article was in Harper’s Bazaar, and it was about a new nonsurgical browlift called Ultherapy.  The second article was in The New York Times Skin Deep series about a new trend in facelifts called the “vampire facelift”.    Neither of these procedures are surgical or invasive.  The so-called vampire facelift falls under the category of “liquid facelifts” which is a facial rejuvenation procedure that normally means fillers and Botox are used to create a temporary change in the appearance of one’s face without surgery.   Ultherapy uses ultrasound technology and heat to lift the brows and rejuvenate one’s appearance.

I’ll begin by discussing the vampire facelift.   Let me quote The New York Times article in order to further explain the vampire facelift:

[this procedure] entails having blood drawn from your arm, then spun in a centrifuge to separate out the platelets. They are then injected into your face, with the hope of stimulating new collagen production. Selphyl, as the system is called, arrived on the booming facial-rejuvenation market in 2009, and is now used by roughly 300 doctors nationwide in the name of beauty, said Sanjay Batra, the chief executive of Aesthetic Factors, which manufactures the Selphyl system.

Why would someone choose to pursue this procedure as opposed to having Botox and fillers injected into their face? 

Ghoulish as the procedure sounds, some patients prefer the idea of using their own blood rather than a neurotoxin or synthetic filler to rejuvenate their faces. “We all want to look better,” said Joan Sarlo, 56, who underwent a Selphyl “vamp-lift” performed by Dr. Lisa A. Zdinak, a Manhattan-based doctor whose specialty is ophthalmic plastic surgery. But the “less unnatural the better,” Ms. Sarlo said. “What could be better than your own blood?”

Some doctors say that fillers taken from one’s body are less likely to cause irregularities and bumps in thin-skinned areas than synthetic ones like Sculptra Aesthetic. But at this point, it’s hard to tell whether “platelet-rich fibrin matrix,” or P.R.F.M. (the medical term for the golden-hued platelets that Selphyl extracts), is an effective filler for hollowed-out cheeks and wrinkles.

But for me the crux of any cosmetic procedure comes down to safety and proof that the procedure is safe through FDA approval as opposed to testimonials and heresy.  And here is where things get messy, excuse the pun, with the vampire facelift:

What’s more, doctors and consumers aren’t clear on where Selphyl stands with the F.D.A. In a YouTube video featuring Dr. John Argerson, a board-certified family medicine doctor who works out of Refine MediSpa in Johnson City, Tenn., tells consumers that Selphyl is a “newly F.D.A.-approved filler” for nose-to-lip folds. And in a December 2009 article in Dermatology Times, a trade publication, Dr. Ranella Hirsch, a board-certified dermatologist, said Selphyl is “a new F.D.A. approved dermal filler.” This week, Dr. Hirsch, who doesn’t use Selphyl in her practice, said that she couldn’t explain why she misspoke, adding in an e-mail that “the lack of clarity between F.D.A. approval versus F.D.A. clearance to market is a key point.”

Indeed. The F.D.A. has not approved or cleared P.R.F.M. derived in a Selphyl centrifuge to be marketed for facial rejuvenation. In 2002, the agency cleared a blood-collection system called Fibrinet, whose platelet-rich byproducts orthopedic doctors then used to speed tissue repair. In 2009, this same machine was born again as Selphyl, and since then, the company promoted it as a way to “reverse the natural aging process.” This week, Shelly Burgess, an F.D.A. spokeswoman, said that Selphyl’s maker would have to file an amendment to get clearance to market its blood collection system in a new way, and no such amendment could be found at this writing.

Asked whether Aesthetic Factors’ marketing of Selphyl for cosmetic rejuvenation violated any F.D.A. policy, Ms. Burgess simply wrote, “As a regulatory agency we would not discuss whether a firm’s claims violate our regulations.”

In light of the fact that there is little to no clinical data that this procedure works as claimed, and furthermore since the FDA has neither cleared nor approved this procedure I would steer clear of doing it until there is such approval.  There are so many safe options for liquid facelifts that there is really no need to try something that is still in trial stages.  Who knows?  Maybe 15 years from now a vampire facelift will be the norm but until then I would suggest that you proceed with caution.

 

Ultherapy is very different from the vampire facelift described above.  This procedure uses ultrasound heat on your forehead in order to greatly increase collagen production beneath the skin’s surface.  As collagen production increases in that area of your face your brow firms.  Immediately after getting the treatment you will see a smoothing effect, and as your collagen production increases over time your results will improve in the months to come.  And what might be the best news of all, these results are pretty much permanent though some patients may need a touch up in a year.  Ultherapy costs somewhere between $1,000 to $4,000 and has been cleared by the FDA for use on the forehead (according to the Harper’s Bazaar article).  If the machine is used incorrectly a burn could result because of the intense heat generated by the machine.  That heat can also make the procedure less than comfortable.  Overall as an option for slowing down the aging process in this one specific area Ultherapy sounds promising.

One more note – it turns out both of these procedures have been featured on The Rachael Ray Show , How to Look 10 Years Younger,  which has made me wonder – do I need to start watching The Rachael Ray Show in order to keep up with cosmetic procedure trends?  I always thought her show was all about cooking.

For more of my posts on all things skincare, beauty, and even make-up please visit my blog Ask an Esthetician.

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What Does the Future Hold for Home Beauty?

March 3rd, 2011 by askanesthetician

My March issue of Allure arrived a few weeks ago, and since it is the 20th anniversary issue of the magazine it is overflowing with useful and fun information .  There is a beauty timeline for the last 20 years, an interesting article about the five top American beauty innovators, a comprehensive survey about what Americans consider beautiful, and an article about the power of beauty amidst the devastation of the earthquake in Haiti (unfortunately that last article is not online).  But what really caught my attention was an article entitled Bath to the Future all about the future of home beauty and other beauty innovations making their way to our lives.

I found it fascinating to read the article and to think about what products will one day be available for home use.  Additionally, I think it will be extra interesting to revisit this article in another 10 to 20 years to see which products actually are available and which just remained an idea in the end. 

A few of the beauty ideas mentioned in the article were particularly interesting to me.  Lets start with sun protection.  New homes will soon be built with SmartGlass which will screen out more than 99% of the UVA and UVB rays.  There will also be glass that changes from clear to tinted with the switch of a button thus eliminating the need for privacy shades.  Homes will have spray-tan like booths that will dispense sunscreen and anti-aging creams all over the body.  And even more interesting, to me at least, is the idea that there will be a sunscreen pill one day.  Well sort of a sunscreen pill.  The pill will work in our bodies from the inside out to repair cell damage caused by UV rays.

Get ready for smoother, plumper skin without the need for injections.  In the future when you need fillers you will be able to stick a hyaluronic acid gel patch onto your skin at night in order to plump your skin by the morning.  And a wipe on botulinum toxin, called Revance, will be available to wipe on your crow’s-feet (the wrinkles by your eyes) at home in order to smooth those wrinkles.

There will be home lasers that kill hair follicles just like laser hair removal at spas and medical offices.  Over a period of time they would remove hair permanently.  In addition, there will be an all-purpose device for home use that will deliver a slew of therapies – radio-frequency, ultrasound, laser, and light – that will treat a large number of common skincare and body issues like acne, sun spots, thinning hair, and fine lines and wrinkles.  In addition, there will even be a laser pen for home use that will remove age spots and skin growths.

And get ready for a sensor that reads your skin in order to let you know if your skin is oily, lacking moisture, and how much redness your skin has.  Or a magnifying mirror that is built into your existing mirror.  You will be able to touch a screen that contains a tiny camera in order to zoom in onto your own image.  That screen can also track your appearance over time and even allow you to play around with your features in order to see how you would look after cosmetic surgery.  You could even have personalized make-up lessons in your bathroom.  Make-up instructions would pop up on your bathroom computer and you would watch a step-by-step video instructing you on to apply your make-up.

I don’t know about you, but I am actually very excited to see what the future holds in terms of beauty innovations.  Bring it on!

For more of my posts on skincare, make-up, plastic surgery, and beauty issues please visit my blog:  Ask an Esthetician

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How to Properly Remove Your Make-Up

November 1st, 2010 by askanesthetician

Ok – so even if you don’t always follow this advice everyone knows how important it is to thoroughly remove your make-up and properly cleanse your face at the end of the day.  I already wrote a post about how to properly wash your face - Is There a Correct Way to Wash Your Face?  – and recommended some make-up removers as part of that post.  Truthfully, I am still searching for the perfect eye make-up remover since I normally wear both waterproof eyeliner and mascara and they are very tough to remove.

If you want to make sure that your face is properly clean before applying your bedtime serums and moisturizers you need to do a double cleanse.  First you need to thoroughly remove your make-up and then you need to wash with your cleanser of choice. 

So what are the best products for make-up removal?  I am very partial to cleansing oils.  Oil dissolves oil so these products are great at removing make-up and will not dry out your skin.  An added bonus, and take this from me as someone who has been breaking out for 20 plus years, they will not clog your pores.  You apply the cleansing oil to dry skin, massage into skin, wet your face, and rinse.

Two of my favorite cleansing oils are:

 

Jane Iredale has an intriguing make-up removal product, the Magic Mitt, that claims to remove all make-up when just water is applied to the mitt.  I haven’t tried the product, but I would be very interested in getting feedback on it from someone who has.

 

Eye Make-Up Removal

I do find that even when I use my cleansing oil I need to go back over my eyes with an eye make-up remover to properly remove all my eye make-up (like I stated above I use waterproof eye make-up which is difficult to remove).  It is important to be gentle when removing eye make-up.  If you yank, pull, or tug too hard or too much on the area around your eyes you risk damaging the elastin fibers in that area and causing premature sagging there.  So the next time you remove your eye make-up observe yourself in the mirror and see if you are being too harsh when removing your make-up.  Then adjust your routine accordingly.  You can dip a q-tip in your eye make-up remover in order to make sure that you get rid of every last remnent of make-up in that area.

 

Sources and Further Reading

 

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Can You Get Rid of Cellulite?

October 27th, 2010 by askanesthetician

 

 

Is there any comfort in the fact that anyone can get cellulite?    Thin people get cellulite, rich people get cellulite, beautiful people get cellulite.  About 85% of women over the age of 18 have some degree of cellulite on their upper legs, buttocks, and abdomens.  It can affect you regardless of ethnicity, age, race, weight, and lifestyle choices because cellulite is mostly a genetic disorder.   This lumpy appearance on our thighs, some call it the cottage cheese look, is caused by fat cells bulging upwards – a function of the structure of how the fat and skin fit together.  Our epidermis, the top layer of our skin, has fibrous anchors that go down to the fat layer of our skin, and it is these connections that cause the dimpling appearance of cellulite.  While losing weight may help improve the appearance of cellulite on some people there are many other factors involved in the formation of cellulite that make it a huge challenge to treat.  Of course that doesn’t mean that Americans aren’t willing to try – by 2012 it is estimated that Americans will spend more than $215 on anti-cellulite treatments.

 

Myths About Cellulite

There are so many ideas out there about what causes cellulite and how to treat it.  In a piece on her website Paula Begoun debunks a number of  the biggest cellulite myths:

Drinking water helps: If water could change skin structure and reduce fat I assure you no one would have cellulite, or would be overweight for that matter. Drinking water probably is beneficial (although there is really no research showing how much is healthy versus unhealthy) but there is no research showing water consumption will impact fat anywhere on your body, let alone the dimples on your thighs.

Arguments for high water intake are generally based on the assumption that because our bodies consist mostly of wa-ter (50-70% of body weight, about forty-two liters) and our blood, muscles, brain, and bones are made up mainly of wa-ter (85%, 80%, 75%, and 25%, respectively), we therefore need at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day. But assumptions aren’t science and this one is a non-sequitur; it is similar to arguing that since our cars run on gasoline, they always need a full tank to run efficiently. (Source: American Journal of Physiology—Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology, November 2002, pages 993-1004)

Water retention causes cellulite: It’s ironic that low water intake is considered a possible cause of cellulite, and the polar opposite—retaining too much water—is thought to be a factor as well. There is lots of speculation of how water retention can affect cellulite but there is no actual research supporting this notion. Further, fat cells actually contain only about 10% water, so claiming to eliminate excess water won’t make a difference and any measurable result would be transient at best. It is true that water retention can make you look bloated and feel like you’ve gained weight, but water itself doesn’t impact fat or the appearance of cellulite. (Source: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, November 2003, pages 817-821)Eating a specialized diet can help: A healthy diet that encourages weight loss may help your entire body look better. How-ever, because weight in and of itself is not a cause of cellulite, dieting won’t change the skin structure of your thighs, which causes the dimpled contours to show. For some people cellulite is made worse by the accumulation of extra fat. In those cases, weight reduction may decrease the total area and depth of cellulite. (Source: Clinical Dermatology, July-August 2004, pages 303-309)

Exercise can help: Exercise helps almost every system in the human body, but it won’t necessarily impact the appearance of cellulite. Exercise doesn’t improve skin structure and it can’t affect localized areas of fat. In other words, you can’t spot reduce fat accumulation in a specific area. (Source: British Journal of Plastic Surgery, April 2004, pages 222-227)

Detoxifying the body reduces the appearance of cellulite: Detoxifying the body for consumers has taken on the meaning of purging it of pollutants or any other problem substances in the environment or in the foods we eat. In terms of the way this concept has been mass marketed, there is little research showing credible efficacy as to whether or not detoxification of the body is even possible. However, “detoxifying” the body as it is used in the scientific community describes the process of reducing cellular damage primarily by antioxidants or enzymes that prevent certain abnormal or undesirable cell func-tions from taking place. There is no doubt this is helpful for the body. Whether or not this reduces cellulite is completely unknown because skin structure and fat accumulation are not caused by toxins in the environment. Furthermore, there are no studies showing toxins of any kind prevent fat from being broken down. (Sources: Journal of Endotoxin Research, April 2005, pages 69-84 and Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, May 2003, pages 258-264

Treatment Options

 

Cellulite treatment options fall into two main categories:  topical products and machines.  I’ll also mention mesotherapy which are injections.

 

Topical Products

In my opinion, topical creams that claim to treat cellulite are pretty much a big waste of your money.  I’m certainly not alone in my opinion.  Ellen Marmur, MD in her book Simple Skin Beauty, page 213 writes:

As with most topicals, any visible results wash off or fade away fast.  Again, if any one of these really worked, it would be the hottest product on the market.  …  My advice:  save your money, let the cellulite battle go, and buy yourself a beautiful pair of shoes.  That will have a much better payoff.

 Furthermore, Paula Begoun states:

As far as skin-care products for the body are concerned, the litany of options is mesmerizing. Yet there is almost no uniformity between formulas. It would appear, if the claims are to be believed, a wide variety of unrelated plant extracts can deflate or break down fat and/or restructure skin. Looking at the research, however, most articles suggest there is little hope that anything rubbed on the skin can change fat deposits or radically improve the appearance of cellulite.

The hope that botanicals have the answer is odd because not one study points to what concentration of an ingredient needs to be in a formulation, what physiochemical characteristics particular to each active ingredient need to be present, or whether or not these ingredients retain any standardized properties between batches. (Sources: Dermatologic Surgery, July 2005, pages 866-872 and The European Journal of Dermatology, December 2000, pages 596–603)

So as tempting as it is to think that you can solve your cellulite problem with a cream – skip it.   At best these creams and lotions very temporarily reduce the appearance of cellulite.   But there is one thing to keep in mind – a fake tan will make your cellulite less noticeable.  So thinking to invest in a good self-tanner is actually a viable option in order to disguise your cellulite temporarily.  (For a very thorough breakdown of both ingredients and products that claim to treat cellulite see Paula Begoun’s article)

What about in office treatments?

 

First let me talk about mesotherapy which I would advise against.

To read the rest of this post please visit my blog:  http://askanesthetician.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/can-you-get-rid-of-cellulite/

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Nuritional Supplements for Your Skin: Worth Trying?

October 20th, 2010 by askanesthetician

I’ve been debating a long time about how to approach this subject on my blog.  Though I definitely think that the subject needs to addressed I’ve never been quite sure how to approach it mainly because the scope of the subject is so large.   But I finally decided that it is time to take the plunge and write this post.

There are quite a few things that need to be mentioned here.  One is the issue of a healthy diet and how to affects your skin.  Another entirely separate issue is that of supplements, in pill form or drink form, that claim to address all sorts of skin issues from acne to aging.   I actually already wrote two posts debunking the idea that you can drink collagen in order to get smoother skin (see my posts Can You Drink Your Way to Firmer Skin?  and Taste Test) and have even addressed the issue of diet and acne in an earlier post, but I felt it was time to delve a bit deeper into the issue.

Healthy Diet = Healthy Skin?

Everyone of us already knows that in order to stay healthy we should, ideally follow, a healthy diet.  At the very least we should reduce our intake of fast food, fatty foods, and excessive amounts of sugar and processed foods.  So if we follow a healthy diet will this be reflected in our skin?  Many experts would say yes.  But just what are we supposed to eat in order to maintain a youthful glow?  Well that opens up a lot of room for debate.   One of the biggest advocates for eating a certain diet in order to get and then maintain beautiful skin is Dr. Perricone.  His books are widely available if you want to check out his ideas and food plans. 

In an article for her Beauty Bulletin – The Best Foods for Beautiful Skin - Paula Begoun recommends eating berries, salmon, walnuts, whole grains, and yogurt (among other foods) in order to maintain healthy skin.  Much of that advice is reflected in Chapter 4: Beauty and The Buffet of celebrity esthetician Kate Somerville’s book Complexion Perfection!.  Somerville, like Begoun, tells her readers to eat salmon, whole grains, and berries.  Additionally, Somerville also recommends eating black beans, almonds, flaxseed, and sweet potatoes (plus other foods).  A one day sample menu for healthy eating is even provided in her book.

But my favorite advice about diet and your skin comes from Dr. Amy Wechsler’s wonderful book The Mind Beauty Connection.  (I highly recommend this book if you want to better understand how stress and lifestyle choices affect your skin)  Chapter 7 of the book is entitled The Beauty Buffet and Bar: Optimum Diet Choices for Beautiful Skin, and the chapter does an excellent job in explaining why certain foods may positively impact the appearance of your skin and how a healthy diet can help the health of your skin.  While rereading this chapter of Wechsler’s book for the writing of this post I was struck by both the logic and insight of what she wrote time and again.   I think it is a good idea to share some quotes from the above mentioned chapter (pages 167-169): 

There is no magic pill, potion, formula for beauty.  Too many things coalesce in our bodies to produce either the results we want or don’t want. … There is … plenty of scientific proof about eating certain foods to support your skin and health, while avoiding others that can sabotage your beauty goals.  Don’t panic:  The point is not for you to do anything too unrealistic, such as suddenly savor wheatgrass juice or spoon flaxseed oil in your mouth every morning.  …  Remember, this isn’t about going on a specific diet.  It’s ultimately up to you to make modifications in how you eat so you can move over to a lifetime of healthy eating – and limitless beauty.  As with any healthy eating guidelines, the goal here is to supply your cells and systems with the raw materials they need to function efficiently and optimally, inside and out.  You don’t want to give your body any excuse to age prematurely, so you need to be sure that at any given time ti has all the resources it requires to stay alive, hydrated, and nourished to the max. 

Nutritional medicine is a rapidly growing area of research that will continue to gain momentum as we learn more and more about the connections between nutrition and health – not just in relation to skin health, but all kinds of health concerns.  In fact, the link between nutrition and diseases like obesity, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease are well documented.  I expect us to learn more and more about the powerful influences diet can have on our skin health and ability to slow down the inevitable decline we call aging and its appearance on our bodies.  Because we know that oxidative stress, inflammation, and, to a lesser extent, genetics, are the chief agers in our bodies, and because they spur chronic conditions that wear us down physically, gaining the upper hand on these as best we can is key.  And if diet can help this in any way, then we should be paying attention.

I also want to note that there is no single approach to optimizing health and beauty, and that diet alone is not the answer.  …  The combination of proven skin-care techniques, relaxation therapies to dampen stress, exercise, restful sleep, and diet are all important and play a part in your looks on the inside and the outside.  It would be impossible to say which of these factors is more important than the other.  They all bear weight, and perhaps which one carries the most depends on the individual, especially as they relate to a person’s genetics and other lifestyle choices.

 

Like Begoun and Somerville, Dr. Wechsler also recommends eating berries, nuts, and salmon, among other foods.  (I am starting to sense a theme here)  Furthermore, Dr. Wechsler is a big advocate of drinking lots of green tea throughout the day and taking a multivitamin.

What About Nutritional Supplements?

More than one well-known skincare expert/source sells nutritional supplements than claim, as already mentioned, to clear your skin or prevent aging.  To name just a few, you can buy supplements from Perricone MD , Murad, and Kate Somerville.  (As an esthetician I do not recommend a certain diet or any supplements to my clients.  That is an area that is well outside my expertise.  If a client does ask me about such issues I recommend that they look at Dr. Perricone’s books or Dr. Wechsler’s book and leave the final decision on what to do up to the individual.)  It definitely is alluring to think that all you need to do is pop a few pills a day, recommended by a skincare expert no less, in order to look beautiful.  Yet let me debunk that idea.  Once again I’ll quote from The Mind Beauty Connection (page 194):

 The Truth About Vitamin C and E Supplements and Skin Vitamins:

What about individual nutrients or special skin-health formulas that claim to improve skin?  These grab-bag concoctions, which are mostly a mix of antioxidants, are hugely popular.  However, there’s minimal proof of payoff, at least right now.  Oodles of isolated antioxidants like vitamins C and E and phyto-chemicals like those found in green tea have been dazzling in the test tube.  When fed to lab animals, they have been marvelous at protecting against sun damage, wrinkles, and cancer; making skin softer, moister, and smoother; and halting inflammation and signs of agin.  Those effects almost disappear when single-nutrient pills are tested in people.  Green tea polyphenol pills, for example, protect mice skin from UV damage and skin cancer but do nada for human skin.  In a topic form, however green tea is anti-inflammatory and photoprotective.

In fact, studies of isolated antioxidant pills in humans have overall been not only disappointing but actually worrisome.  Disappointing because the supplements haven’t staved off health trouble.  Worrisome because studies have shown that people with various diseases, from heart problems to liver aliments, who took vitamins A, E, and/or beta-carotene supplements, either to try and stop the disease or keep it from coming back, had a greater risk of dying than those who didn’t.

Punch line: The more research we do on antioxidants, the more it looks like the work best in our bodies when they are consumed with other vitamins, minerals, and probably other components we haven’t even discovered yet.  All of the antioxidants nutrients you need come packaged together whenever you eat a stalk of broccoli or a juicy plum or a slice of multigrain walnut- raisin bread.  Put simply:  Eat whole foods.

 

Need further proof?  During the months I was contemplating how to write this post I came across a great article in the The New York Times by Alex Kuczynski called The Beauty-From-Within Market.  Kuczynski concisely addresses just these issues:  how Americans love the idea of nutritional supplements and if they really work:

Americans take pills to scrub our arteries, to relax us for airplane flights, to deforest our nasal passages of mucus and to remoisten our tear ducts. We take pills to sharpen our memory, to forget the awful things that have happened to us, to revitalize our libidos and to fall into a stuporous, amnesiac, refrigerator-clearing sleep.

Like children wishing for magical results in a fairy tale, we can now also take pills to make us pretty. These are supplements sold at yoga studios, department stores, hair salons, some dermatology offices and even on QVC; they promise to even skin tone, reduce lines and wrinkles, shrink pores and offer protection from the sun. Along with food and drink that promote external beauty, these are part of what is known as the beauty-from-within industry, and it’s growing fast.  …

The global beauty-from-within market – comprising beauty foods, beverages and oral beauty supplements – totaled $5.9 billion in 2008 and $6.3 billion in 2009, and is projected to be up to $6.8 billion in 2010, according to Datamonitor, a market research company that studies the skin care market. (To compare, the global skin care market – which includes cleaners, moisturizers and anything you apply to the surface of your skin — is projected to reach $65.7 billion in 2010.)

 

Kuczynski tried the supplement Glisodin and didn’t see much of result with her skin.  She also interviewed two experts for her article (of course when I saw that one of the experts interviewed was Dr. Wechsler I was very happy):

Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University… is the queen of skepticism on the purported beauty benefits of supplements. “Lecture time,” Nestle said. “If you eat any kind of reasonable diet you will not have deficiencies that can be addressed by vitamins. All you are going to do is pee them out.”

The irony, she said, is that people who have little need for supplementary vitamins and minerals are the ones most predisposed to take them. “People with disposable income to spend on vitamins, who are interested in their health and well-being, these are the people who need them the least,” she said. And people who care about their skin enough to take beauty vitamins are also probably wearing sunscreen and using moisturizer. “It is very hard to demonstrate health in people who are already healthy,” she said. And it is also difficult to gauge improved dermatological health in people who already practice good skin habits.

The chief problem with beauty supplements,  said [Dr. Amy Wechsler, a dermatologist in Manhattan], is that no matter how effective the delivery system, very little nutrients can reach the skin from a pill. In other words, my skin wasn’t going to look as poreless and pure … Lady Gaga’s, just from popping a pill.

“It is very American to put hope in a bottle,” Wechsler said. “And it is also very American to try to sell that hope.”

 

Bottom Line:  Eat a healthy diet, destress, and practice good skincare habits and routines.   Don’t expect great changes from a pill. 

Further reading:  Though I did not incorporate this article into my above post it does tie in perfectly with the theme:  The Truth About Beauty Beverages:  Do Certain Drinks Deliver Beauty Benefits – Or Is That Wishful Thinking?  Experts Weigh In  -  Web MD

For more of my posts on all things skincare please visit my blog:  http://askanesthetician.wordpress.com

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Another Reason to Love Tim Gunn: He Helps Those with Psoriasis

October 13th, 2010 by askanesthetician

I’m a huge Project Runway fan.  I realized that I’ve actually seen every episode of every season except for the very first episode of the first season of the show.  I think this season of the show has turned out to be one of the best, and my favorite contestant is definitely Mondo (who I really hope wins it all).  Anyhow, any fan of Project Runway must have an opinion about Tim Gunn who functions as a mentor to the fashion designers on the show.  Personally I think Tim Gunn is great.  I even read his new book which was interesting to say the least (I mean how many people describe themselves as “asexual”?  If you like Tim Gunn read this book; you can read it in a day or two.  Gunn definitely has some mother issues to work out, but I do appreciate his honesty and integrity.)

But back to skincare issues.  I read a Skin Inc. online article about how Tim Gunn and Dr. Susan C. Taylor (who wrote the book Rx for Brown Skin) are helping people with psoriasis ( Tim Gunn Hosts Online Style Resource for Clients with Psoriasis).  Amgen and Pfizer have launched an online resource center called Address Your Psoriasis! for people suffering from psoriasis with an emphasis on style:  making good fabric choices and finding clothes that are comfortable and breathable.  By teaming up with Tim Gunn and making these tips available online the creators of the website hope to help psoriasis sufferers look good and feel confident about their appearance.

Why is looking good such an issue for psoriasis sufferers?  Let me explain (I’ll quote from the website):

 

Psoriasis is a noncontagious chronic disease in which the immune system causes the skin cells to grow at an accelerated rate. 

Approximately 7.5 million American adults suffer from psoriasis. Although there are several types of psoriasis, approximately 80 percent of patients have plaque psoriasis.

Psoriasis is commonly diagnosed in early adulthood. Certain people may be genetically predisposed to develop psoriasis. A “trigger” often seems to cause symptoms to appear. These triggers may include emotional stress, injury to the skin, some types of infection, or reaction to certain drugs.

While there are several types of psoriasis, the most common form is plaque psoriasis. Approximately 80 percent of patients suffer from plaque psoriasis, which is characterized by skin lesions that appear as patches of thick, red, or inflamed skin covered with silvery scales. Instead of being shed, skin cells pile up, causing painful and itchy patches, which are also referred to as plaques.

While the exact cause of plaque psoriasis is unknown, we know that it is a disease involving the immune system. Certain cells in the immune system become overactive and release proteins called cytokines. Overproduction of these cytokines plays a large role in causing inflammation that leads to development of often painful and sometimes debilitating skin plaques.

In addition to the skin symptoms, plaque psoriasis can also negatively impact people’s lives in other ways. It can:

  • Interfere with basic functions, such as sleeping, using hands, and walking, as well as sitting or standing for long periods of time.
  • Impact a person’s job performance, with many patients reporting missed time from work due to their condition.
  • Cause people to feel helpless, embarrassed, angry, frustrated, and/or self-conscious. This distress may lead to feelings of social isolation.

 

The better you look, the better you feel, right?  I’ve always believed that was true.  Since psoriasis can affect self-esteem so severely I was very happy to see these free online tips that can really help anyone with the condition feel much better about their appearance.   And now I have even more reasons to love Tim Gunn.

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Treat Your Mouth – Stay Youthful?

October 5th, 2010 by askanesthetician

I just read an article in the September 2010 issue of W about estheticians who massage their client’s muscles inside their upper lip, cheek, and jaw in order to promote blood circulation, relaxation, oxygenation to the skin cells, and encourage movement in the neck, head, and jaw.  All this results, according to the claims, in a tighter, smoother complexion and better absorption of skincare products.  The technique is known as Buccaling and is borrowed from Rolfing the body alignment method.

Though this sounds intriguing I have to admit that before I came across this article I had never heard of this technique anywhere – not in the professional literature that I read or from other estheticians or clients.  Does this work as it says it will?  I can’t answer that question at the moment.

But this idea dovetails into another issue I read about.  This time I read an article in Harper’s Bazaar about the real way to look younger – get a dental face-lift.  As we age our teeth wear down and our jaw recedes resulting in a more hollow look to your face.  So in order to fill in those collapsing areas individually sculpted veneers are applied to upper and lower teeth which lifts the cheeks, plumps the lips, and helps bring volume back to the face.  It turns out this is a subtle change that can have a big effect on your appearance in the end, and since veneers can last 15 years or more the results are relatively long lasting. 

Once again I can’t comment on this procedure, but it is interesting and frankly makes a lot of sense to me.  I guess now there is more than one good reason to see a good dentist (and develop a good relationship with them).  Who knows?  Maybe the fountain of youth really does exist and it lies in our mouths.

For more of my posts on all things skincare please visit my blog: http://askanesthetician.wordpress.com

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