Archive for the Skin Care Category
Posted on March 30, 2010 with 1 Comment
With temperatures warming and Spring in the air, its time to consider what you need to do for adequate skin care. A couple of the areas we need to consider are preventing and treating sunburn as well as keeping your face moisturized.
Spring Skin Care
Many dermatologis consider damage by constant or chronic exposure to the sun as one of the most damaging environmental factors on tissue. UVA and UVB rays can burn skin and accelerate free-radical damage from oxidization which is considered a primary cause of pre-mature skin aging.
When out in the sun, you should:
- Wear light, protective clothing…don’t forget your neck!
- Use an SPF 25 or better sunscreen. Make sure you cover arms, face, legs and hands as well.
- Be prepared to treat sunburn with an effective sunburn relief product
- Keep skin moisturized
- Drink lots of fluids (preferably non-alcoholic)
While prevention is always the best cure for sunburn, its important to treat sunburn effectively for the skin to recover. Using productd that have emu oil can help replenish lost hydration as well as help prevent inflammation and infection. Menthol or peppermint can help soothe itching and burning and provide a cooling relief to the burning. Our recommended product is Dermal EM® Sunburn Relief from RegenVal Labs.
On the flip side, keeping your skin mositurized is important. Wind, heat, salt and dry air can dry tissue making it tight itchy and flaky. The best way to replenish hydration is with lotions that contain hyaluronic acid. It instantly hydrates and moisturizes; and used with firming and anti-aging agents, helps your skin stay smooth soft and young looking. Our recommended product is Skin Tight® lotion from Nourish products.
Posted on December 29, 2009 with No Comments
Why the puffiness?
We often associate puffy eyes with crying or lack of sleep, but there are other common reasons for the bags that seem to accumulate during stressful times or when we age.
Puffiness or “bags under our eyes” are generally caused by a combination of physiological events happening upon us at once - combined with some genetic and hereditary poor luck.
Chronic puffy eyes are seen as the accumulation of fluid build-up below the eye sockets. This can be the result of lack of sleep, stress, chemical or caffeine use, or lack of physical exercise.
Associated discoloration can leave symptoms of “dark circles” under the eyes that are often an associated symptom caused by damaged or leaking capillaries that seep blood into underlying and thin tissue beneath the eyes.
A secondary cause is gravity and free-radical aging and damage. Natural aging and gravity pull down on thin tissue layers beneath the eyes and cause sagging. Adrenal fluid can accumulate in sagging skin and produce a baggy or puffy appearance.
What solutions are available?
While the proverbial solution for puffy eyes is the cold steak from the refrigerator, there are additional options to consider. But, by the way, the cold steak can be helpful. The cold meat helps reduce swelling and helps coagulate any light bleeding the may be occurring. My preference is using frozen peas…easier to handle and not as messy.
For general long term treatment however, using a cream for reducing puffy eyes and dark circles is recommended. They typically address multiple symptoms or causes simultaneously.
First, they help reduce swelling and fluid build-up. Two, they can help clear or fade discoloration resulting from light bleeding. Three, they often having firming agents that strengthen and firm sagging tissue beneath. Fourth, they use anti-oxidants to help protect and heal damaged cells, blood vessels and lymphatic fluid systems. Fifth, keeping the skin moisturized. Lack of moisture causes the skin to dry-out becoming thinner, wrinkled and less able to regenerate.
All in the effort to not only address the immediate reduction of symptoms, but to help prevent chronic problems with thin or thinning tissue and re-occurrence.
Posted on October 19, 2009 with 5 Comments
For many of us it only took a matter of a few days as we saw temperatures drop from the mid-60’s to the mid-30’s as colder, drier weather hit us fast. Chicago, Buffalo, and Philadelphia are being hit with the earliest snow falls on record (even New England played football in the snow this weekend!), and the cold, dry air is drying-out skin just as fast.
With that said, here is a short primer on why our skin gets dry when fall and winter hits. Well, for one, colder air is
Moisturizing Dry Skin
less dense than warm air. Therefore, it is unable to hold as much moisture or water molecules. Cold air - as in “canadian fronts” - often brings with it wind that “wisks” away moisture and tends to dry-out tissue - causing oils and water vapor to evaporate more quickly.
An interesting observation for those who have swimming pools or jaccuzis…as with many folks we know, we cover our pool during the winter. We keep the pump and filter going, but cover the entire pool with a floating plastic sheet. I assumed this was to keep the leaves and debris out of the pool and the cleaner. Well this is in-part true, but I was informed by our local “pool expert” that the primary reason for the covers is to lessen evaporation. He told me the cold, windy weather would cause as much, if not more, evaporation than the heat and sun during the summer.
Well, that is what happens to our skin! So, what do what should you do? Here are a couple of ideas our staff and consultants suggest:
- Keep your skin moisturized. While this may seem an obvious first note, it is difficult for most folks to do. First, you start your day with a hot shower (which depletes oils and moisture), then you go out into the cold, dry air - often windy, too. So, by the time you get to work or school, you face is tight, and the skin on your hands hurt or are notiably dry and flaking. The best thing to do is pat dry following a shower and immediately apply a light moisturizing lotion. We recommend those that contain ingredients like aloe, lanolin and/or emu oil. Generally an emu oil lotion is not greasy, is absorbed deeply into the skin, and lasts much or most of the day.
- Stay hydrated - Again, kind of an obvious issue, but for any of you who like to snow ski know, you can easily become dehydrated without knowing it because of the cooler temperatures.
- Use vitamin supplements - There is a bit of debate as to whether most folks need a daily supplement for their ski, nails or hair. Personally I think it is a good idea - and there is no evidence that it hurts - none that I know of, anyway. I believe this especially holds true during the winter. Our diets change, level of active outdoor activities decline, and our skin and hair are constantly exposed to a barrage of UV rays and cold air. Help keep your skin elastic and healthy by boosting up on some supplements.
You know your skin best. What you do during the winter generally has an impact as you enter the spring and summer. Care should be taken now to avoid wrinkles, dry patches, skin rash, and flaking. While careful care can be given to protect your skin, a little bit of prevention can help reduce the rate at which your skin ages and helps to keep your complexion smooth and soft.
Posted on July 13, 2009 with 1 Comment
Skin rashes are any disturbance in the skin that causes it to change in texture or color. They are often accompanied by some level of discomfort brought on by the itching and swelling - and in some cases pain and soreness. Skin rashes may be generalized and occur all over the body or they may be localized and occur isolated to one small area.
Treatment for Skin Rashes
Skin rashes are caused by a myriad of reasons. They could be the symptoms of certain chronic illnesses, especially systemic varieties such as Lupus and Lyme disease. Irritants and abrasions from chemicals and other external sources as well as allergic reactions can also result in a rash on the skin.
Different microbes including fungi, bacteria, and viruses or microscopic parasites such as mites, sand flies and lice can also cause skin to breakout and become infected or result in open wounds if not treated.
(This product can be purchased at www.skinenergizer.com by clicking on this link: Emu Oil)
How Emu Oil Helps Treat Skin Rashes?
Emu oil is a topical product that helps reduce discomfort and irritation associated with a rashes, abrasions, burns or itchiness - while it helps promote proper healing. Emu oil has natural components that are proven to reduce pain and swelling.
It also contains components that encourage the regeneration of healthy skin - a key benefit for reducing irritated tissue and stopping itching. It has natural properties - Omega 3’s and Vitamin E - that help reduce the growth of bacteria and other microbes that can worsen the condition - it is an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-microbial.
It penetrates deep into the skin tissue to treat well below the skin’s surface. When paired with other elements such as Vitamin E, it also helps carry these important ingredients deep within the dermal and subcutaneous layers of tissue allowing for maximum penetration and therefore maximum effectiveness.
Emu oil is simply amazing when it comes to healing skin rashes and lessening their discomfort. It is also an effective part of regular skin maintenance that helps to prevent irritations from ever starting.
It helps to ward off viruses, bacteria, and other potentially harmful microscopic organisms. It keeps the skin properly moisturized without leaving a greasy film making it ideal for use any time and every time.
Posted on June 15, 2009 with 4 Comments
In the first post on smoother skin, we talked about the “top 3″ of proper care - cleansing, hydrating (moisturizing), and treating. Each are equally important to prevent enlarged pores, avoid rashes and keep your complexion soft and smooth.
Not to get to detailed, but we (the consuming public and manufacturers) can break down each of these areas and take a closer look at some things that work and some that don’t - and why.
There are a lot of skin care products for smoother skin - they come in a wide range of applications, mix of ingredients and a multitude of bases. The market has been segmented to the extreme as everyone looks for the miracle product that will make us look younger. Cream, abrasions, exfoliators and moisturizers all vie for the dollar you are going to spend.
But do they work?…do they help?…really? Well as a researcher, formulator and manufacturer, I would argue that it depends on the ingredients and what your goal is. I’m ot trying to talk in circles, but that’s what it boils down to.
For instance, moisturizers have been considered a regimen staple going back a long time. I remember my Mom applying a mask every night. The general purpose is to rehydrate the tissue. Even years ago, we recognized dryness and tightening and believed re-hydration was good. In fact, it was and is. The cool thing now is we have so many more effective ingredients than 40 years ago.
In the past 10 years, the most popular ingredient for moisturizers has become Hyaluronic Acid. It has found its was into wrinkle creams, solutions for skin rashes, burn treatments, and for chronic or acute drying. It is naturally found in our cells and becomes increasingly depleted as we age.
Many biologist and dermatologists believe it is the accumulated effects of free-radical damage that causes us to lose and produce less hyaluronic acid. If so, it certainly is a convenient response to why tissue becomes thin, dry, and wrinkled as we continue to age. So, to re-hydrate and moisturize look for creams or serums with Hyaluronic Acid. The effects are almost immediate.
Another couple of ingredients to loo for are Aloe and Emu Oil. Aloe most of us are familiar with. It makes a great base for a cream - especially serums. Its widely used in beauty and anti-aging products - working well for facial and wrinkle solutions, especially as an eye smoother.
Emu oil is less well known, but has become a premier (and fairly expensive) ingredient for pitted acne scar treatment, burns, and stretchmarks. I’ve put up a few posts regarding Emu Oil, and at the risk of oft repeating myself, it is great. It has been used for years in Australia and New Zealand for wound healing. It deep moisturizes, and clinical studies have shown it is super-effective at both repairing and improving the complexion. A pretty good combo.
So, there are a few things you should look for when considering products for smoother skin. Each help soften, reduce enlarged pores, help retian moisture, and in some cases, help purify tissue to rid bacteria, oil and dirt.
Tags: aloe, emu oil, hyaluronic acid, moisturizers, Scars, skin care products, skin rashes, smoother skin, wrinkles
Category: Ingredients, Skin Care, Skin Products, Smooth Complexion
