1. If you have really acne prone skin, try to keep the bangs laden with product and hair spray away from your forehead by using a bobby pin to create bangs that gracefully sweep across the forehead without touching the skin. You would need to have long bangs for that move.

2. Wash your hands before applying your skin care after styling your hair. If it is not too difficult, you could also wash your face after styling your hair (but be careful if you are a really messy face washer). I had a roommate in college who when finished washing her face it looked like a title wave had hit the entire bathroom counter. If this sounds like you, use a clean, soft wash cloth, so you don’t mess up your perfectly sculpted hair.

3. Use a preventative benzoyl peroxide product if you are not allergic. Keep it at a low percentage if you don’t have acne, but have noticed a few bumps appear due to some products you just used. I used the BPO only at night, every other night.

4. Use a gentle scrub a few times a week. I used the FarmHouse Fresh One Fine Day Face Polish, smells so good but I wouldn’t normally recommend this to people who are really acne prone.

5. Continue with good skin care at home.

So a few days of this and I can say with a smile that those few bumps are now gone. Cheers to beautiful skin and beautiful hair.

1. I know that this seems totally obvious, but apply a good moisturizer every day. Do this right after the shower and before the skin is totally dry. Use a good facial moisturizer (not a body moisturizer on your face), and also apply a body moisturizer to the rest of your skin.
2. I recommend a humectant (or hydrator that attracts moisture to the skin) for your face. I love Advanced B5, but products that contain a high level of Sodium Hyaluronate or Hyaluronic Acid is what I am looking for.
3. About the shower: Don’t shower more than once a day, take shorter showers or baths, and take cooler or room-temperature showers. Hot showers, hot tubs, steam rooms, saunas can all strip our bodies of oils.
4. Have you ever had to use the soaps from hotel rooms! Traditional soaps and highly foaming cleansers can dry your skin out like nothing else. Try using body gel and cleansers that are pH balanced for the skin.
5. Washing dishes in really hot water and using dish washing soap is my problem today. I am going to break out my gloves to help save my hands. Use gloves when doing the dishes.
6. Moisturizers that contain alpha hydroxy acids can help build more natural lipids in the skin.
7. Be constisant. Treat dry skin EVERYDAY!
8. Get a hydrating facial.

Dairy Products

Well, let me explain it this way. The cows that give milk are pregnant and milking most of their lives. These pregnant cows have hormones that come out in their milk, the same way a nursing mother gives hormones to her baby when breastfeeding. When I am consulting with clients sometimes they say “well I don’t drink milk that has BST or rGBH in it, I drink organic milk”. I am not talking about hormones that man has injected into the cows. I am talking about the naturally occurring hormones that come from pregnant and nursing cows, therefore even organic milk might not be a good idea for those who have acne. There is no such thing as hormone free dairy products.

Dairy contains hormones that “turn on” the oil glands. The reaction is similar to premenstrual breakouts. Dairy does not effect everyone. Personally, I can have dairy products with no problems at all. I believe that dairy effects my husband (in more ways than one) and that his skin suffers as a result. I have seen many many client’s skin clear up by getting off all dairy products. The way to find out if you are one who’s acne might be effected my dairy, the best way is to take it out or your diet for a month. If your skin gets better than keep on the diet, if your skin had absolutely no reaction at all then resuming dairy should be fine.

There are two ways to handle dairy restriction.

The first (and simplest) is to just stop consuming all milk, cream, cheese, ice cream, butter, sour cream, cheeseburgers, pizza – anything that contains or is made from milk.

It is best to avoid “anything that comes from the south end of the cow”.

The second way is to find dairy-like substitutes for whatever you are missing. Soy products are the most convenient and include substitutes for milk, creamer, chocolate milk, ice cream, cheeses of various types and even butter substitutes. A lot of my non-dairy consuming clients like Almond milk too.

The genes you were born with could also be the cause. For some women it could also be the type of makeup, moisturizer and cosmetics they are using.

So, if you struggle with hormonal acne, hereditary acne or acne cosmetica (due to make up and other cosmetics) don’t despair. You can still have clear, healthy skin. It takes commitment, time, and also an understanding of acne. There is no cure, therefore you need to continue to use products that will keep the acne at bay.

This is going to the the first of many posts about the possible causes of acne. I say possible because what may cause one person to break out might not necessarily be the cause for another person. When I am sitting with a client going over a consultation, I feel like an investigator, asking tons of questions and trying to formulate a reason (besides hereditary which is a big factor) that might be causing their flair ups.

With hair removal, you might be trading one complexion issue (facial hair) for another (clogged pores or breakouts). Why does this happen?! Waxing, tweezing, threading, shaving and depilatories can make skin tissue swell, sending acne-causing bacteria and skin cells deeper into pores.

An itchy type rash may occur after waxing, this is not acne. This happened to me right after my first wax and every wax since then. It is an adverse reaction and usually goes away in a day or two. I always applied 1% hydrocortisone cream after waxing.

To reduce bacteria on the skin, clean hairy areas thoroughly before de-fuzzing and use products labeled “noncomedogenic,” which means they won’t clog your pores. I would also use some benzoyl peroxide a day or two after waxing just to keep the acne at bay.

Wow, it’s been forever since I posted here! I thought a little post on aging was in order (as yesterday I got a color and cut, painted my nails and gave myself a teeth whitening and mini facial). I am 33 and trying, like most of you reading this to keep my youthful appearance. So, there are some very important things you need to know if you are trying to stay young looking as long as possible.

1. I can not stress this one enough, and I am always surprised to see how many clients are not using SUNSCREEN EVERYDAY. They care enough about their skin to come in for facials on a pretty regular basis, but for whatever reason they don’t understand how very important sunscreen is. I recommend an spf 30 physical sunblock (physical means it is primarily Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide and it reflects harmful sun rays). I use the new ZinClear SPF 30 Nude…LOVE! Sun damage is the number 1 cause of external aging.

2. A topical antioxidant is like a multi-vitamin for your face. Antioxidants inhibit the inflammatory reactions that lead to aging. Some antioxidants I love are Co-Enzyme Q10, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Green tea and Grapeseed. There are lots of good ones out there. I have had a long time love affair with C-Lipoic Antioxidant Serum. It gives you a tingle sensation at first, but you get used to it. Antioxidants only need to be applied once a day.

3. Use a moisturizer my friends. Not a cheap one that will clog your pores (or an expensive one that will clog your pores). You need to protect and repair the barrier function of your skin. I am not saying to slather shea butter or cocoa butter all over your face. Also keep the body lotions on your body. I don’t like to hear that my clients are putting Vaseoline Intensive care on their face. If your skin is dehydrated, products will not penetrate to where they need to go. A best seller at Balance Skin Care (and my personal must have) is Revive Cream.

3. What is chemical exfoliation you ask? Well, ingredients like alpha hydroxy acids help to accelerate cell renewal, smooth out rough texture of the skin, and help the appearance of wrinkles. Exfoliation is one of my favorite things, and it is the gospel I preach to all my clients. A nice creamy Glycolic Cleanser is a good way to use a chemical exfoliator. I also like AHA creams that you leave on the skin. I am pregnant right now, so no Glycolic acid for me.

4. Did you know we can actually stimulate our collagen? Actifirm TS, ASC III and Alpha Hydroxy Acids and communicate to our dermal layer to stimulate the formulation of collagen. A good product for such stimulation of the dermal layer would be Collage Activating Complex.

5. Now for my very favorite. This is the product I would take with me (besides sunscreen of course) if I had to go to a desert island. I have been using this peptide product for 5 years straight and believe me, when I run out you can see it on my face. My wrinkles do come back with in a few days. What peptides do is influence skin to behave like younger skin. It helps with elasticity, expression lines, reducing puffiness and other helpful changes. I have to admit, I have a hard time getting my clients on my very favorite product because of the cost. At a little under $200 a bottle I can see why. However, I will continue to love and use Peptide Mobilizer until I find an even better miracle to replace it.

So that is my anti-aging rundown.

Breathable Coverage Foundation