I am a medical perfectionist. Okay stop laughing. I'm a hypochondriac. Which just means that I like to fix every single health problem that I have.
Since skin is my passion, perfecting my own skin is my life's work. Right now I'm dealing with a hodgepodge of skin issues that make me very unhappy. Have irritations on my skin really does affect my mood. But they also allow me to experiment with a wide variety of treatments.
First up, I tried the one that maybe you've heard before: Pre-Natal vitamins for hair, skin and nails. I do see a shine to my hair and my nails are stronger than ever. But my skin didn't get better or worse. Next, probiotics. I've heard about them for about a year from my beautiful massage therapist client Jenny. Then I started seeing commercials touting their miracle benefits. I've been taking them for about a month and haven't felt anything (except the occasional heartburn). I did notice in a magazine that Eminence is touting their probiotic skin care line. http://www.amazon.com/Eminence-VitaSkin-Skin-Probiotic-Masque/dp/B004D7I7CO
Onto Omega 3s which change your heart and your life, supposedly. I will attest to the fact that when I briefly took Lovaza (prescription version of Omega 3s) I had the softest skin ever. I've been trying to get about 3G of Omega 3s a day and I've noticed my skin softening. Now the bain of my existence: Hormonal Acne. It's been a big problem for me in the past two months. I stopped hormonal birth control back in February (I'd been on it for 10 years, seemed like enough time) and expected my skin to explode.
Nothing happened, oddly enough, except for increased oil production around my nose. Then in August my face started to fall off. I've been on the roller coaster ride of battling hormonal acne flair-up since then. One will pop up just as soon as another one has healed. Just in case you aren't familiar with it, hormonal acne is very similar to cystic acne, in that it is often deep, angry and painful.
I'm going to give the probiotics and Omega 3s two more months and then I'm going to try the next beauty health product on my todo list: Cod Liver Oil. Yup, that stuff from when our grandparents were kids. It's Omega 3s plus Vitamin A. Vitamin A helps your skin cells shed and renew themselves (that's what RetinA is). I'll report back in the New Year on whether or not I've seen a change from Cod Liver Oil!
http://beautyeditor.ca/2010/09/02/the-single-best-product-evah-for-your-skin-is-not-in-fact-an-actual-skincare-product/
Showing posts with label Skin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skin. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Travel beauty
I'm not a huge fan of travel because a. I have the best bed
in the world b. Anthony Bourdain has shown me the world already!
But if you do have to travel, here are some great tips on
being beautiful while you travel.
My favorite tip from the article is about doubling up on
your Omega 3s.
"three Omega-3 capsules twice a day on the day of
the flight, and the same the next day. It’s a natural anti-inflammatory, will
help prevent blood clots (see above) and works magic on your skin."
The number one thing to remember when traveling is water.
Get your hydration internally by drinking plenty before, during and after your
flight. Don't forget the external hydration by using a moisturizer and facial
spritz on the flight. You'll probably want to skip any heavy foundation or
powders before you board. Then I'd recommend a light moisturizer once every 5
hours while you are on the plane. My favorite is Dermalogica's
Active Moist. You can also bring a facial spritz like Dermalogica's
Multi-Active Toner. Not everyone needs to spend money on toner, but if you
travel a lot or have dry skin, then toner can be great for refreshing your skin
throughout the day (or flight).
I also love the tip about a hydrating mask after you land.
Wouldn't that be the best way to relax in the hotel after a long flight? My
favorite simple hydrating mask is Aloe Vera, but if you aren't into the DIY, I
love Dermalogica's
Multi-Vitamin Power Mask. It has hydration from Vitamins C & E,
plus some very gentle exfoliation from Vitamin A.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Cosmetically Elegant
Cosmetically Elegant. The first time I heard that term was in a skin care seminar for Skin Medica. They were talking about how many women don't use Retin A from the doctor because the consistency is not that great. So true! Everyone I know has a half-used tube of RetinA that they've tried to use in their product closet. You can't throw it out because it is so expensive! But I never used it because it smelled so bad. RetinA is the Catch22 of beauty products.
SkinMedica and other skin care lines put Retinol (a derivative of Retin A) in lotions that smell pretty and feel good going on. That simple step allows for much greater patient compliance. I know it's true for me. As soon as I got Retinol in a night cream that didn't smell like dirty feet, I used it all up!
Which got me thinking about other things that have to be cosmetically elegant in order for me to use them. Apple products are the first ones that came to my mind. Sure I use a PC all day, and I'm not a snob so if anyone has an extra PC lying around, I'll take it. But I love sitting down and using my Macbook and my (just died last week) iMac. The whole user experience is so smooth. That's why Steve Jobs is an evil genius. He makes products that are significantly nicer to use than other computer manufacturers and then charges a premium for that. Damn him!
SkinMedica and other skin care lines put Retinol (a derivative of Retin A) in lotions that smell pretty and feel good going on. That simple step allows for much greater patient compliance. I know it's true for me. As soon as I got Retinol in a night cream that didn't smell like dirty feet, I used it all up!
Which got me thinking about other things that have to be cosmetically elegant in order for me to use them. Apple products are the first ones that came to my mind. Sure I use a PC all day, and I'm not a snob so if anyone has an extra PC lying around, I'll take it. But I love sitting down and using my Macbook and my (just died last week) iMac. The whole user experience is so smooth. That's why Steve Jobs is an evil genius. He makes products that are significantly nicer to use than other computer manufacturers and then charges a premium for that. Damn him!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Oily Skin Care Tips from Rita
A lot of people with oily skin think that they don't have to moisturize. Not true! Sometimes, if your skin is oily, you might use products that dry up the oil and then over-dry your skin. Then you skin becomes more oily, you use more products and it gets even more dry. It's a vicious downward spiral.
Make sure you find a light, oil-free moisturizer that will give your skin proper hydration and help control oil. One of my favorites is from Dermalogica, Activ Moist. It's oil free and also has lavendar for extra anti-bacterial properties.
Check out more tips on caring for oily skin from my boss Rita:
http://www.hormones-beauty-health.com/skin-care/the-best-moisturizer-for-oily-skin/
Make sure you find a light, oil-free moisturizer that will give your skin proper hydration and help control oil. One of my favorites is from Dermalogica, Activ Moist. It's oil free and also has lavendar for extra anti-bacterial properties.
Check out more tips on caring for oily skin from my boss Rita:
http://www.hormones-beauty-health.com/skin-care/the-best-moisturizer-for-oily-skin/
Thursday, August 4, 2011
How To Treat a Sunburn from Rita
Even though we are in the tail end of summer, I thought I would share these tips from my boss on how to treat a sunburn.
Number one tip: Fresh Aloe in the fridge!
http://www.spamagazine.com/articles/beauty/expert-corner-how-treat-sunburn
Number one tip: Fresh Aloe in the fridge!
http://www.spamagazine.com/articles/beauty/expert-corner-how-treat-sunburn
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Fluffy products
I LOVE this article I found on Totalbeauty.com.
http://www.totalbeauty.com/content/gallery/unnecessary-beauty-products
It's about 9 unnecessary skin care products. I don't agree with everything the author says, but for the most part, my beauty philosophy is always less is more. You don't have to buy a skin care system, you don't have to spend a million dollars to get the best skin care, you don't have to use products just because the beauty magazines tell you to use them. You do however have to: go to a facialist regularly, use high quality facial products, and wear sunscreen every day.
Here are the 9 "unnecessary" skin care products and my thoughts:
1. Separate creams for face, neck and chest: Most women forget that they even have a neck and chest when applying moisturizers and SPF. I would be thrilled if my all my clients remembered to put their creams on their face, neck and chest, let alone get them to buy a separate cream. There is a great separate cream for neck and chest problem areas that Revision makes called Nectifirm that is targeted for that specific area. If you have a problem in that area, then by all means, you can buy a specific cream for that area. Sure, your facial moisturizer will work there. But targeted creams will work better. Just like eye creams work better around the eyes.
2. Super expensive skin care products: I don't think you need to buy crazy expensive skin care products, especially if you are in your 20s and have normal skin. But if you have problem skin (acne, dry skin, rosacea) or are over 30, you should invest in, at the very least, a great moisturizer with SPF 30, a fabulous night time cream with Retinol and a face wash that doesn't irritate your skin. Sometimes the more expensive products are less irritating, because they use higher quality ingredients. Unfortunately, a lot of skin irritation is trial and error.
3. Toner: Ha! No on toner. Unless you have oily skin or enlarged pores (then it's an astringent). Or you need a little light hydration. My war on toner continues....
4. Hydrating serums: I just discovered that I'm not really a serum person. Either you are or you aren't. They are great for people with really dry, dehydrated, aging skin. But if you have combo, normal or oily skin, serums probably aren't for you.
5. Creams for specific body parts: This one I disagree with, only because there are lotions that work on my legs, but just aren't strong enough for my feet. LacHydrinFive. That's the most amazing lotion I have ever found for my cracked dry heels. You can use it on your legs, it's fine, but it works best on your super dry feet and elbows.
6. Age-reversing products: I love this point because it talks about how products aren't really going to work wonders, unless you have a strong active ingredient, like Retinol.
7. Body firming products: Okay everyone knows that these products are bunk and don't work right?
8. Sunscreen over SPF 30: It's okay to wear something that's higher than 30, just don't be fooled into thinking that it's amazing stuff. SPF 30 is the most effective SPF that you can get.
9. Facial masks: Here's the only point where the author and I really disagree. Facial masks are great at a spa, especially after a chemical peel, as a soothing treatment. As at home treatments, they can be crucial for clients with problem skin, especially acne clients, to help them maintain their skin in-between visits to the facialist. Kinerase makes a great mask specifically for acneic skin called the Kinerase Clear Skin Regulating Mask.
http://www.totalbeauty.com/content/gallery/unnecessary-beauty-products
It's about 9 unnecessary skin care products. I don't agree with everything the author says, but for the most part, my beauty philosophy is always less is more. You don't have to buy a skin care system, you don't have to spend a million dollars to get the best skin care, you don't have to use products just because the beauty magazines tell you to use them. You do however have to: go to a facialist regularly, use high quality facial products, and wear sunscreen every day.
Here are the 9 "unnecessary" skin care products and my thoughts:
1. Separate creams for face, neck and chest: Most women forget that they even have a neck and chest when applying moisturizers and SPF. I would be thrilled if my all my clients remembered to put their creams on their face, neck and chest, let alone get them to buy a separate cream. There is a great separate cream for neck and chest problem areas that Revision makes called Nectifirm that is targeted for that specific area. If you have a problem in that area, then by all means, you can buy a specific cream for that area. Sure, your facial moisturizer will work there. But targeted creams will work better. Just like eye creams work better around the eyes.
2. Super expensive skin care products: I don't think you need to buy crazy expensive skin care products, especially if you are in your 20s and have normal skin. But if you have problem skin (acne, dry skin, rosacea) or are over 30, you should invest in, at the very least, a great moisturizer with SPF 30, a fabulous night time cream with Retinol and a face wash that doesn't irritate your skin. Sometimes the more expensive products are less irritating, because they use higher quality ingredients. Unfortunately, a lot of skin irritation is trial and error.
3. Toner: Ha! No on toner. Unless you have oily skin or enlarged pores (then it's an astringent). Or you need a little light hydration. My war on toner continues....
4. Hydrating serums: I just discovered that I'm not really a serum person. Either you are or you aren't. They are great for people with really dry, dehydrated, aging skin. But if you have combo, normal or oily skin, serums probably aren't for you.
5. Creams for specific body parts: This one I disagree with, only because there are lotions that work on my legs, but just aren't strong enough for my feet. LacHydrinFive. That's the most amazing lotion I have ever found for my cracked dry heels. You can use it on your legs, it's fine, but it works best on your super dry feet and elbows.
6. Age-reversing products: I love this point because it talks about how products aren't really going to work wonders, unless you have a strong active ingredient, like Retinol.
7. Body firming products: Okay everyone knows that these products are bunk and don't work right?
8. Sunscreen over SPF 30: It's okay to wear something that's higher than 30, just don't be fooled into thinking that it's amazing stuff. SPF 30 is the most effective SPF that you can get.
9. Facial masks: Here's the only point where the author and I really disagree. Facial masks are great at a spa, especially after a chemical peel, as a soothing treatment. As at home treatments, they can be crucial for clients with problem skin, especially acne clients, to help them maintain their skin in-between visits to the facialist. Kinerase makes a great mask specifically for acneic skin called the Kinerase Clear Skin Regulating Mask.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Awesome Product Alert: Revision Brightening Facial Wash
Freckles. I've had them as long as I can remember. And hated them for a very long time. Not to the point where I used lemon juice (that's what my friends recommended to me as a kid) but I never thought they were cute or becoming. Then I turned 12 and a guy at a theme park told me that some man was going to fall in love with me because of my freckles. I must've blushed furiously, stammered something and then walked away awkwardly as any tween would do if they were told such a thing. Of course it changed my whole perspective on freckles. I vowed to embrace them. And find a man to love me because of them.
Later as I entered my twenties and thirties, the freckles started getting worse and worse. I was dillengent about applying sunscreen but nothing seemed to keep the skin discoloration at bay. I met my boyfriend Paul and he got glasses after we had been dating for 3 years. The first thing he said when he put on the glasses was how he never noticed that I had freckles. Seriously? At that point, I was more than ready to give up on my freckles.
I've been searching for just the right brightening system to use on my freckles for a while now. I'm not a fan of hydroquinone since it can irritate your skin if you over use it. Instead I've been looking for more natural solutions for brightening such as White Tea, Licorice and Shitake Mushrooms. I tried brightening products from Aveda and Dermalogica, but I didn't like the smells and didn't see that much of a difference.
My boss Rita took one look at my face and steered me in the direction of Revision, a brand that markets itself to dermatologists. She recommended the "Brightening Facial Wash" and gave me a small sample to try at home. The first thing I noticed is that a little bit goes a long way with this face wash. I have noticed that about more expensive products that on a cost per use, they typically end up being cheaper. I started using a nickel size (what they recommend) but a dime size is more than enough. I loved the creamy consistency that turned into a foaming cleanser; to me that's the best of both worlds with the cream giving extra hydration and the foaming action doing an extra job of cleansing. The smell was one of my favorite parts of the cleanser, a very light orange scent that was neither too medicinal or acidic. The product washed off easily and left my skin feeling soft and supple, not tight the way that typical foaming cleansers leave my skin.
I broke my cardinal rule of not touching my face the first time I used it because my skin felt so soft. I've experienced mild breakouts from using the product because the alpha & beta hydroxy acids are unclogging my pores, but nothing compared to the other times I've used face washes with salycilic acid. I love the combination of ingredients: Glycolic & Salycilic Acid (exfoliation), Vitamin E (hydration), White Tea & Licorice (lightening). After about a week of using the product, I have noticed a small amount of lightening; already I love how different my skin's texture feels (more hydrated and smoother).
One last note on the packaging: Revision comes in all black packaging with silver lettering. I know, it's just a package. But to me, nice packaging makes a difference. Beauty products are all about the entire user experience. And I have to say, I absolutely love the Revision packaging. From the cardboard box that it comes in, to the simple black plastic bottle with the label stamped on (rather than stickered on which always looks so cheap to me). Also the fact that it is black is great since Paul and I are going to be sharing this face wash. Sometimes there is something to be said for unisex packaging (Paul Mitchell is a great example). So many men can't be bothered to buy their own beauty products and instead just steal their wives/girlfriends products. This is one product that I'm happy to have Paul steal since I know it will do such great things for his face too!
Later as I entered my twenties and thirties, the freckles started getting worse and worse. I was dillengent about applying sunscreen but nothing seemed to keep the skin discoloration at bay. I met my boyfriend Paul and he got glasses after we had been dating for 3 years. The first thing he said when he put on the glasses was how he never noticed that I had freckles. Seriously? At that point, I was more than ready to give up on my freckles.
I've been searching for just the right brightening system to use on my freckles for a while now. I'm not a fan of hydroquinone since it can irritate your skin if you over use it. Instead I've been looking for more natural solutions for brightening such as White Tea, Licorice and Shitake Mushrooms. I tried brightening products from Aveda and Dermalogica, but I didn't like the smells and didn't see that much of a difference.
My boss Rita took one look at my face and steered me in the direction of Revision, a brand that markets itself to dermatologists. She recommended the "Brightening Facial Wash" and gave me a small sample to try at home. The first thing I noticed is that a little bit goes a long way with this face wash. I have noticed that about more expensive products that on a cost per use, they typically end up being cheaper. I started using a nickel size (what they recommend) but a dime size is more than enough. I loved the creamy consistency that turned into a foaming cleanser; to me that's the best of both worlds with the cream giving extra hydration and the foaming action doing an extra job of cleansing. The smell was one of my favorite parts of the cleanser, a very light orange scent that was neither too medicinal or acidic. The product washed off easily and left my skin feeling soft and supple, not tight the way that typical foaming cleansers leave my skin.
I broke my cardinal rule of not touching my face the first time I used it because my skin felt so soft. I've experienced mild breakouts from using the product because the alpha & beta hydroxy acids are unclogging my pores, but nothing compared to the other times I've used face washes with salycilic acid. I love the combination of ingredients: Glycolic & Salycilic Acid (exfoliation), Vitamin E (hydration), White Tea & Licorice (lightening). After about a week of using the product, I have noticed a small amount of lightening; already I love how different my skin's texture feels (more hydrated and smoother).
One last note on the packaging: Revision comes in all black packaging with silver lettering. I know, it's just a package. But to me, nice packaging makes a difference. Beauty products are all about the entire user experience. And I have to say, I absolutely love the Revision packaging. From the cardboard box that it comes in, to the simple black plastic bottle with the label stamped on (rather than stickered on which always looks so cheap to me). Also the fact that it is black is great since Paul and I are going to be sharing this face wash. Sometimes there is something to be said for unisex packaging (Paul Mitchell is a great example). So many men can't be bothered to buy their own beauty products and instead just steal their wives/girlfriends products. This is one product that I'm happy to have Paul steal since I know it will do such great things for his face too!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Read Your Labels! And Eat Your Vegetables!
Everyone has that moment when they realize they made the right decision. I agonized for months trying to figure out if I really should go back to school to get my Esthetician license. The idea of leaving a cushy (albeit annoyingly political) corporate job for the uncertainty of being my own business owner was terrifying. I kept looking for signs that my choice to become an esthetician was the right one. I was looking for signs everywhere, in encouraging comments from co-workers ("you'll make more money then all of us someday!") or friends ("what a perfect fit!") even from the internet (articles about people following their dreams during a recession).
But the clearest sign and the moment when I knew I had made the right choice was when my teacher Ms. Angela picked up a skin care product on one of the very first days of Esthetician school and said, "To be successful in this industry, you need to be a label reader." She proceeded to lecture on the science and chemical compounds behind many popular ingredients in skin care products. Now it may seem strange to many people that my ah-ha moment came courtesy of an admonition similar to "Eat Your Vegetables". But I'm a label reader at heart. I can go into CVS and spend an hour or two browsing the hair and skin care aisles scanning the products for their ingredients. I knew what cyclomethicone was years before I worked in the hair care industry (thanks Dale!). I've been obsessed with active ingridients in skin care products ever since 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide saved my life in a way that 10% Benzoyl Peroxide never did. So I knew as soon as Ms. Angela told us to start reading labels that I had found the right industry.
How do you develop your own label reading skills? First things first, you have to have a healthy dose of skepticism to all the marketing BS on the front of the packaging. I worked for 10 years in marketing so I can call it BS. Mostly what they are calling out on the front is "New," "improved" and some made-up, focus-grouped word like "illuminactiv" that's supposed to make you think it's a new technology. But really it's just some made-up, focus-grouped word. Then you need to start looking at the top three ingridients of your favorite products. Nine times out of ten, the first ingredient is water, which I know is disheartening. But water is essential to life, so why wouldn't it be essential to your hair and skin care products? Ingredients are listed in descending order from most abundant to least abundant, so the ones that you care about, the ones that companies are spending the majority of their cost of goods on, are at the top.
Why does this matter? I know some skin creams that advertise a magical ingredient and then when you read the ingredients on the back of the package, that magical ingredient is near the bottom of the list. It pays to be a label reader and to start to learn the key ingredients that work with your skin and hair. For example, I like cyclomethicone in small doses on my hair, but I have to be careful if it is listed near the top of the ingredient list. Or if a product has salicylic acid, it's more than likely going to break me out. The more you know about ingredients, the smarter consumer you'll be.
Which brings me to the article that inspired this post. From the New York Times, a story about gold in skin care products.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/fashion/27skinWEB.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/fashion/27skinWEB.html
This type of stuff makes me so annoyed. It's about combining the latest trend (luxury! anti-recession!) with some scientific mumbo-jumbo to create the new must-have product. Only if you talk to dermatologists, they'll say there's no real proof that gold does anything for your skin. I'm sure the companies that market these products can dig up some dermatologists that say how amazing gold is for your skin. But the truth is probably something closer to the quote at the end of the article, "At best, they do nothing, and at worst, they can give you irritation of the skin." So before you rush out to buy the latest and the greatest product that is marketed to change your life, make sure you read the label and do your research.
Here's a pic of a label from my favorite sunblock, Blue Lizard.
The resolution's not that great, but trust me, the first ingredient is water. The other thing I want to point out is the active ingredients at the top. The best definition that I found on active ingredients is:
Here's a pic of a label from my favorite sunblock, Blue Lizard.
The resolution's not that great, but trust me, the first ingredient is water. The other thing I want to point out is the active ingredients at the top. The best definition that I found on active ingredients is:
"Components of a chemical product which (irrespective of their relative quantity) help directly in achieving its performance objectives."* In plain english, active ingredients give a product the ability to do what it says it's going to do. So when you are looking at skin care products, pay close attention to the active ingredients. This is especially important in Sunblocks, where they list whether the active ingredients are physical (e.g. titanium dioxide) or chemical. If you have problem skin, like acne, or sensitive skin, these active ingredients are where you are going to get the most bang for your buck. But don't always assume that the higher the active ingredients the better the product. I learned that lesson from 10% Benzoyl Peroxide which is too harsh for my skin. Look for the active ingredients and do your own testing to determine what is the right mix for your skin!
What if your product doesn't have any active ingredients? It doesn't mean that it's not going to do anything for your hair or skin. But what it probably means is that if you looked at your favorite moisturizer, for example, found the ingredients at the top of the ingredients list and then looked for something similar, you'd probably get the same effect on your skin. This doesn't take into account other factors, like smell or texture that you might like in particular about your favorite product. I'm just talking about boiling down products to the key element, ingredients. It's a different way of looking at your products. For example, my moisturizers that I like are all pretty much water and glycerin. And my dry shampoos that I love so much? Butane and starch.
So what are your favorite active ingredients? What key ingredients do your favorite products have? It's a fun exercise if you are like me and dream of being a beauty scientist!
*http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/active-ingredients.html
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Vegas Spa Show 2010
Shows are kind of a big deal in the beauty industry. They are where we all get together in one big conference hall to network, see the latest trends, buy products from brands that we don't usually get to buy from, get tons of education and generally get excited about being a beauty professional.
I had never even heard of beauty shows until I started at Wella 5 years ago. Then I had to work them, traveling to Chicago for the big annual hair show or going down to Long Beach for a smaller hair show. Exciting yes, but also exhausting. Standing on your feet for 8 hours a day for three days straight, smiling and selling the heck out of your brand. I also had a pretty fun job of going around and documenting what all of our competitors were doing so I ended up walking the show floor snapping pictures, writing notes and enjoying the energy of the show from a participant perspective.
The past two years I've been able to attend shows from the other side, first as a beauty student, then as an esthetician. I went to Vegas last year for the big yearly spa show when I didn't even know the difference between hard wax and soft. This year was a totally different experience. I shopped for specific products and went to education classes that are going to help me in my business. But my favorite part was walking the show floor thinking about all the things I was going to share on my blog about the show.
The three big trends that I saw were about health & wellness getting big, lash/brow conditioners and glamour entering the spa.
Health and wellness gets cool and goes big I spotted a brand of vegan skin care products called SpaRitual that looked yummy, Eminence (Hungarian brand that is all about natural fruity ingredients) was mobbed and a company was pushing nutraceuticals (drinks that are tasty and good for you). The general sense I had was that health and wellness brands were ready for prime-time. Up until now, the only natural brands that made a big splash in my mind on a national level were Aveda. If anyone has any favorite natural brands that you think are poised to go big, let me know!
Lash and brow conditioning everywhere! Last year all I saw was Revitalash in the lash and brow conditioner space. This year, there seemed to be plenty of competitors, including a brand that was pushing lash/brow conditioners as more of a beauty product than a cosmeceutical called Enormous Lash. Revitalash had a big banner at the entrance to the show so they seem to be in the lead amongst lash/brow conditioners. Also check back here over the next couple of months where I will be posting a progression of Lacey's (owner of Frenchy's) brow transformation since I purchased some Revitabrow for her. I'm thinking of trying Enormous Lash on my lashes although I'm kicking myself that I didn't get "Draw The Line" from Beauty Society. It's a liquid liner that functions as a lash conditioner. That was my biggest problem using Revitalash, actually remembering to use it at night. I think I would have a much better success rate if I could use it during the day as my black liquid liner. If anyone has another lash/brow conditioner that they love let me know!
Glamtastic comes into the spa: It wasn't a huge part of the show but since I love the glamour I found a couple of fun products such as a 24 carat gold facial mask and body glitter tattoos. Also spray tanning and teeth whitening manufacturers were everywhere. I think it's interesting that Spas are moving towards full-service beauty operators, expanding their services to include not just facial & body treatments but also beautification. What do you think? Would you go to your local spa for a spray tan or make-up? Or do you prefer to go to a specialist?
I ended up buying a high frequency machine, a Clarsonic Pro to incorporate into my facial services as well as test out to see if it works on those bumps on the back of my arm and also post-waxing bumpies, a glitter tattoo kit, some post-wax oil and my favorite purchase, tiny eyebrow wax sticks. I think I'm going to use the tiny eyebrow wax sticks to help with vajayjay stenciling as well as eyebrow shaping.
I also took a great class from Lori Nestore, the wax queen, on brazilians and guyzilians. She is really the coolest, all tatted up, with bright red hair and a super easy going personality. She's got that no-fear attitude that all us waxing gals need to copy! She lectured for over an hour on client consultation, product retailing, proper brazilian and guyzilian techniques, all while ripping hair off of a guy's and a girl's crotch (my new favorite way to talk about the neither regions). Plus I randomly bumped into Cindy, the owner of Pink Cheeks, at one of the booths. She has that same no-fear attitude that everyone wants from their favorite waxer. All in all the show was a great day of inspiration and shopping!
I had never even heard of beauty shows until I started at Wella 5 years ago. Then I had to work them, traveling to Chicago for the big annual hair show or going down to Long Beach for a smaller hair show. Exciting yes, but also exhausting. Standing on your feet for 8 hours a day for three days straight, smiling and selling the heck out of your brand. I also had a pretty fun job of going around and documenting what all of our competitors were doing so I ended up walking the show floor snapping pictures, writing notes and enjoying the energy of the show from a participant perspective.
The past two years I've been able to attend shows from the other side, first as a beauty student, then as an esthetician. I went to Vegas last year for the big yearly spa show when I didn't even know the difference between hard wax and soft. This year was a totally different experience. I shopped for specific products and went to education classes that are going to help me in my business. But my favorite part was walking the show floor thinking about all the things I was going to share on my blog about the show.
The three big trends that I saw were about health & wellness getting big, lash/brow conditioners and glamour entering the spa.
Health and wellness gets cool and goes big I spotted a brand of vegan skin care products called SpaRitual that looked yummy, Eminence (Hungarian brand that is all about natural fruity ingredients) was mobbed and a company was pushing nutraceuticals (drinks that are tasty and good for you). The general sense I had was that health and wellness brands were ready for prime-time. Up until now, the only natural brands that made a big splash in my mind on a national level were Aveda. If anyone has any favorite natural brands that you think are poised to go big, let me know!
Lash and brow conditioning everywhere! Last year all I saw was Revitalash in the lash and brow conditioner space. This year, there seemed to be plenty of competitors, including a brand that was pushing lash/brow conditioners as more of a beauty product than a cosmeceutical called Enormous Lash. Revitalash had a big banner at the entrance to the show so they seem to be in the lead amongst lash/brow conditioners. Also check back here over the next couple of months where I will be posting a progression of Lacey's (owner of Frenchy's) brow transformation since I purchased some Revitabrow for her. I'm thinking of trying Enormous Lash on my lashes although I'm kicking myself that I didn't get "Draw The Line" from Beauty Society. It's a liquid liner that functions as a lash conditioner. That was my biggest problem using Revitalash, actually remembering to use it at night. I think I would have a much better success rate if I could use it during the day as my black liquid liner. If anyone has another lash/brow conditioner that they love let me know!
Glamtastic comes into the spa: It wasn't a huge part of the show but since I love the glamour I found a couple of fun products such as a 24 carat gold facial mask and body glitter tattoos. Also spray tanning and teeth whitening manufacturers were everywhere. I think it's interesting that Spas are moving towards full-service beauty operators, expanding their services to include not just facial & body treatments but also beautification. What do you think? Would you go to your local spa for a spray tan or make-up? Or do you prefer to go to a specialist?
I ended up buying a high frequency machine, a Clarsonic Pro to incorporate into my facial services as well as test out to see if it works on those bumps on the back of my arm and also post-waxing bumpies, a glitter tattoo kit, some post-wax oil and my favorite purchase, tiny eyebrow wax sticks. I think I'm going to use the tiny eyebrow wax sticks to help with vajayjay stenciling as well as eyebrow shaping.
I also took a great class from Lori Nestore, the wax queen, on brazilians and guyzilians. She is really the coolest, all tatted up, with bright red hair and a super easy going personality. She's got that no-fear attitude that all us waxing gals need to copy! She lectured for over an hour on client consultation, product retailing, proper brazilian and guyzilian techniques, all while ripping hair off of a guy's and a girl's crotch (my new favorite way to talk about the neither regions). Plus I randomly bumped into Cindy, the owner of Pink Cheeks, at one of the booths. She has that same no-fear attitude that everyone wants from their favorite waxer. All in all the show was a great day of inspiration and shopping!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Let's Talk About: Adult Acne
Acne is one of those topics that I could talk for hours and hours about. I had good skin as a teenager, with the occasional flare-up. But then I moved to Los Angeles and my skin exploded. People who look at me today find it hard to believe, but I had acne everywhere. On my cheeks, on my chin, on my jaw, on my forehead. It was awful and humiliating and totally beyond my control. I tried everything. I started using Clearasil. Then I went to the dermatologist who first put me on RetinA and then switched me to oral anti-biotics. Nothing was working. I have a distinct memory of shopping at the Rock and Roll Ralph's over on Sunset (it's called that because of all the cool Hollywood types that shop there and it's next to Guitar Center) and literally being embarrassed to be out in public. I felt that everyone was staring at me because I was 23 and had the skin of a 16 year old.
Then my next store neighbor Jennifer recommended that I try Proactiv. I'm a huge late night infomercial fan, having bought approximately 10 items at 2am that make me think that there is possibility and hope that for $19.99 these items might in fact change my life. So I thought what the hell. I had to admit I had been watching the commercials. At the time, Jessica Simpson was the celebrity spokesperson. She seemed like she didn't have that bad of skin, but she was excited about the product. Back in the early 2000s, Proactiv used more user testimonials to sell their product, so I was convinced by both my neighbor Jennifer and the everyday women who swore it changed their life.
I got the package in the mail and started using it immediately. And nothing happened. For two and a half months. I think at that point I fell even deeper into a skin-related depression. It seemed as though nothing was going to work and I should just give up and run off to a nunnery. Except at the three month mark, my skin started to turn around. I continued to use Proactiv for six months and my skin was cleared up. From time to time in the past 12 years, I've used the repair lotion whenever I have a couple of zits or the sulphur mask as an overnight drying treatment. But I've never had to use it on a regular basis since my skin was basically clear. Not perfect by any means, but clear. I think once you've had acne and then it goes away, the bar is lowered so that you just want clear skin.
And then. Last month. My face exploded again. I got all these deep, painful, underground zits around my chin and jaw. You guys know the ones I'm talking about. You can't pop them but you try and try and try until it hurts. Yes I'm a terrible esthetician who totally pops their own zits and then tells my clients not to pick at their face. So I've been driven crazy in the past couple of weeks over my jaw and chin zits. My training let me know that pimples in that area is typically hormonally based, which makes sense since I've been messing with my birth control lately. Birth control is such a complicated thing for women. It helps acne, it causes acne, you just have to be very careful. And the big thing to remember is that the majority of adult acne cases are women, which is opposite of teenage acne, a male-dominated disease. Why? It has to do with hormones coursing through teenage boys and adult women.
I think what made my recent struggle with adult acne even more frustrating was that I've been going out on interviews to be an esthetician. My face is my fortune now. I need to have good skin in order to sell my knowledge and services. So I ran over to my esthetician friend Kelly and had her zap my skin with a high frequency machine. She also gave me a sample of Aryumedic's Retinol cream. And I zipped over to the mall to purchase my fail-safe drying cream, the Proactiv 6% Sulphur Mask. I'm happy that after two weeks all of these things have made a difference. I'm now at the scar, flakey, dried out stage, but I'm no longer experiencing new flare ups. It's such a relief to feel that I personally have control over my skin again.
To everyone out there who is suffering from some sort of skin disorder, I was in your corner before, and now even more so. I have to admit that this whole experience has reinforced my decision to leave the corporate world and become an esthetician. Some people questioned it, especially the idea that I wasn't really doing anything all that great with my life. But if I can help solve problems and make people feel better about themselves, I truly feel as though I'm doing God's work. Never underestimate the power of feeling good. Happy people don't start wars and do bad things to other people. They are too busy being happy and loving life. So if I can prevent just one bad thing from happening because I've made someone feel happy and confident and awesome, then my esthetics degree has paid for itself.
Just a quick note on Proactiv. If you visit Makeupalley.com and read reviews, you'll see that it gets three out of five lipsticks. Proactiv doesn't work for everyone. It's a low benzoyl peroxide system (2.5%) so if benzoyl peroxide doesn't work with your skin, then Proactiv isn't for you. I do recommend to everyone who is suffering from acne to give it a try for at least four months. That's the thing about acne. It's similar to other mysterious diseases (like migraines which some of you know I know a lot about). There isn't just one cure for everyone. You have to try different things and hope for the best that someday your cure is out there. The great thing is that there are so many options. Benzoyl Peroxide, Salicylic Acid, Tea Tree Oil, RetinA, Differin, Topical antibiotics, Oral antibiotics, Birth Control, High Frequency, Peels, changing your diet to add in more fresh fruit and vegetables and less processed foods and the big daddy of them all, Accutane. Even if you've tried everything that I've just listed, there's probably more stuff out for you to try. Don't give up. Don't ever give up. Because then you will have to run off to a nunnery. And I don't honestly even know if nunnery still exist.
Then my next store neighbor Jennifer recommended that I try Proactiv. I'm a huge late night infomercial fan, having bought approximately 10 items at 2am that make me think that there is possibility and hope that for $19.99 these items might in fact change my life. So I thought what the hell. I had to admit I had been watching the commercials. At the time, Jessica Simpson was the celebrity spokesperson. She seemed like she didn't have that bad of skin, but she was excited about the product. Back in the early 2000s, Proactiv used more user testimonials to sell their product, so I was convinced by both my neighbor Jennifer and the everyday women who swore it changed their life.
I got the package in the mail and started using it immediately. And nothing happened. For two and a half months. I think at that point I fell even deeper into a skin-related depression. It seemed as though nothing was going to work and I should just give up and run off to a nunnery. Except at the three month mark, my skin started to turn around. I continued to use Proactiv for six months and my skin was cleared up. From time to time in the past 12 years, I've used the repair lotion whenever I have a couple of zits or the sulphur mask as an overnight drying treatment. But I've never had to use it on a regular basis since my skin was basically clear. Not perfect by any means, but clear. I think once you've had acne and then it goes away, the bar is lowered so that you just want clear skin.
And then. Last month. My face exploded again. I got all these deep, painful, underground zits around my chin and jaw. You guys know the ones I'm talking about. You can't pop them but you try and try and try until it hurts. Yes I'm a terrible esthetician who totally pops their own zits and then tells my clients not to pick at their face. So I've been driven crazy in the past couple of weeks over my jaw and chin zits. My training let me know that pimples in that area is typically hormonally based, which makes sense since I've been messing with my birth control lately. Birth control is such a complicated thing for women. It helps acne, it causes acne, you just have to be very careful. And the big thing to remember is that the majority of adult acne cases are women, which is opposite of teenage acne, a male-dominated disease. Why? It has to do with hormones coursing through teenage boys and adult women.
I think what made my recent struggle with adult acne even more frustrating was that I've been going out on interviews to be an esthetician. My face is my fortune now. I need to have good skin in order to sell my knowledge and services. So I ran over to my esthetician friend Kelly and had her zap my skin with a high frequency machine. She also gave me a sample of Aryumedic's Retinol cream. And I zipped over to the mall to purchase my fail-safe drying cream, the Proactiv 6% Sulphur Mask. I'm happy that after two weeks all of these things have made a difference. I'm now at the scar, flakey, dried out stage, but I'm no longer experiencing new flare ups. It's such a relief to feel that I personally have control over my skin again.
To everyone out there who is suffering from some sort of skin disorder, I was in your corner before, and now even more so. I have to admit that this whole experience has reinforced my decision to leave the corporate world and become an esthetician. Some people questioned it, especially the idea that I wasn't really doing anything all that great with my life. But if I can help solve problems and make people feel better about themselves, I truly feel as though I'm doing God's work. Never underestimate the power of feeling good. Happy people don't start wars and do bad things to other people. They are too busy being happy and loving life. So if I can prevent just one bad thing from happening because I've made someone feel happy and confident and awesome, then my esthetics degree has paid for itself.
Just a quick note on Proactiv. If you visit Makeupalley.com and read reviews, you'll see that it gets three out of five lipsticks. Proactiv doesn't work for everyone. It's a low benzoyl peroxide system (2.5%) so if benzoyl peroxide doesn't work with your skin, then Proactiv isn't for you. I do recommend to everyone who is suffering from acne to give it a try for at least four months. That's the thing about acne. It's similar to other mysterious diseases (like migraines which some of you know I know a lot about). There isn't just one cure for everyone. You have to try different things and hope for the best that someday your cure is out there. The great thing is that there are so many options. Benzoyl Peroxide, Salicylic Acid, Tea Tree Oil, RetinA, Differin, Topical antibiotics, Oral antibiotics, Birth Control, High Frequency, Peels, changing your diet to add in more fresh fruit and vegetables and less processed foods and the big daddy of them all, Accutane. Even if you've tried everything that I've just listed, there's probably more stuff out for you to try. Don't give up. Don't ever give up. Because then you will have to run off to a nunnery. And I don't honestly even know if nunnery still exist.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
True or False: Mineral Oil Clogs Pores.
What I have learned over the years is that a very little oil goes a long way. So use it sparingly and experiment with what oils work with your skin. I love jojoba oil to remove my eye makeup. I use sweet almond oil for my face and body massages. And I am going to try the oil cleansing method out using 1 part castor oil to 4 parts jojoba. I will let everyone know how it turns out although technically if you see me and my skin looks good you will know!
Monday, January 25, 2010
The Sun and Your Skin
I admit it. I'm obsessed with sun protection. It started when I was a kid and I saw Elizabeth Taylor speak on Oprah. She said that she hasn't gone a day in her life without wearing something on her face (SPF or Makeup with SPF). She looked amazing at the time so I decided to follow Liz Taylor's rule and never walk out the door without at least something on my face.
I'm amazed whenever I still run into someone who doesn't wear SPF regularly or who tans at a tanning salon. For the amount of time we spend worrying about aging and buying anti-aging lotions and potions you would think that everyone had gotten the message. Spray tans aren't that great but maybe we need to start a revolution where pale is in and super cool. It used be back in the day that if you had a tan you were a poor laborer who couldn't afford not to be out in the sun all day long.
Check out an article on the sun and your skin from ASCP:
http://downloads.beautybyilana.com
I'm amazed whenever I still run into someone who doesn't wear SPF regularly or who tans at a tanning salon. For the amount of time we spend worrying about aging and buying anti-aging lotions and potions you would think that everyone had gotten the message. Spray tans aren't that great but maybe we need to start a revolution where pale is in and super cool. It used be back in the day that if you had a tan you were a poor laborer who couldn't afford not to be out in the sun all day long.
Check out an article on the sun and your skin from ASCP:
http://downloads.beautybyilana.com
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Product Alert: Olavie
I have to admit that I'm pretty cynical about beauty products. Working for a manufacturer didn't help since I saw all the marketing that went into the development and distribution of these products first hand. There was a lot of science, however there was a lot of marketing too.
That being said, I'm a beauty junkie at heart. What exactly does that mean? I'll buy any product at least once, if it has good packaging, an interesting story and a great smell. Yup those are the things that I care about. What about ingridients? Usually when you flip the bottles over, they have the exact same ingridients. Water is first and then, depending on the product, it's all pretty much the same. Try it, right now. Look at your favorite product and see if water is the first ingridient. 9 times out of 10 it is!!!
My favorite part of school was discovering that my teacher, Ms. Angela, was just as much a cynic as I was. But she said if you were going to be successful in the skin industry you would have to learn to be a label reader. Which is so true. And I'm giving the exact same advice to all of my readers and clients. Read your labels carefully. If it has what you are looking for, buy it. And if it fits your other criteria (mine happen to be smell, look of the packaging and story, in that order) then definitely buy it.
But back to me and my closet filled with products. Yup that's what it means to be a beauty junkie. You have a closet where you store all the products that have given you false hope through their marketing and smell and haven't done diddly in performance. But you hope and you hope and you hope that some day you will be able to figure out how to make the products work. So you keep them in your closet. For that some day. Or for an appropriate re-gifting opportunity.
My closet is looking the best that it's ever looked. Mostly because I don't work for a manufacturer anymore so I don't get free stuff. And also because I've managed to re-gift my product to several friends. Plus let's be honest. I'm not pulling down a steady paycheck just yet so spending on product that I'm not sure about doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
That being said, I'm a beauty junkie at heart. What exactly does that mean? I'll buy any product at least once, if it has good packaging, an interesting story and a great smell. Yup those are the things that I care about. What about ingridients? Usually when you flip the bottles over, they have the exact same ingridients. Water is first and then, depending on the product, it's all pretty much the same. Try it, right now. Look at your favorite product and see if water is the first ingridient. 9 times out of 10 it is!!!
My favorite part of school was discovering that my teacher, Ms. Angela, was just as much a cynic as I was. But she said if you were going to be successful in the skin industry you would have to learn to be a label reader. Which is so true. And I'm giving the exact same advice to all of my readers and clients. Read your labels carefully. If it has what you are looking for, buy it. And if it fits your other criteria (mine happen to be smell, look of the packaging and story, in that order) then definitely buy it.
But back to me and my closet filled with products. Yup that's what it means to be a beauty junkie. You have a closet where you store all the products that have given you false hope through their marketing and smell and haven't done diddly in performance. But you hope and you hope and you hope that some day you will be able to figure out how to make the products work. So you keep them in your closet. For that some day. Or for an appropriate re-gifting opportunity.
My closet is looking the best that it's ever looked. Mostly because I don't work for a manufacturer anymore so I don't get free stuff. And also because I've managed to re-gift my product to several friends. Plus let's be honest. I'm not pulling down a steady paycheck just yet so spending on product that I'm not sure about doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
But the whole point of this post is to share a new product that I discovered recently with you. I interviewed at a beautiful Beverly Hills spa called Allure Pilates Spa. They had a great retail section and so I tried out one of the products called Olavie. It's story has something to do with anti-oxidants and wine, although what really sold me was the classy packaging and the delicious smell (sort of white wine meets clean). Check them out, let me know what you think.
http://www.olavie.com/AboutUs.html
Also let me know what is in your product closet. Maybe we can work out a trade?
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Overexfoliation, a national epidemic
A friend passed on this link to a great article on Yahoo, 5 Skin Care Mistakes. My favorite part is that the number one mistake is over exfoliation. Stop. Right now. Put down that harsh scrub. You know you are using one. Probably St. Ives Apricot. That'll rip the skin right down to the bone. I'm not anti harsh exfoliation and huge scrubber pieces. For exfoliating the body, particularly the legs, they are great. But on your face you are doing more damage than good.
People with dry skin try to scrub all the flakes off. But then you keep your skin from being able hold any water so that makes your skin look worse! People with oily skin. OY! You know who you are. You tend to be the worst scrub offenders. The problem is that the more you scrub the more your skin fights back and then the oil problem/acne problem that you are trying to scrub away will never disappear. It's a downward spiral.
So what do you do if you put down the scrub? Pick up a wash cloth, preferably white so you can have it be as free of dyes as possible. Wash your face, definitely at night, and then rinse it off with a wash cloth. That's the best investment you can make into your skin. If you want to do a little more exfoliating, try a manual scrub like Dermalogica's Skin Prep. I like it because it has very gentle grains. You can use it once a week depending on your skin type. The best exfoliation, besides wash clothes, comes from chemical exfoliations, like peels. I just got a great Pumpkin Enzyme Peel for my clients that does an awesome job of true exfoliation, i.e. breaking down the cellular glue in your epidermis so that you can really take off old dead skin cells. When you scrub scrub scrub on your face with huge pieces of Walnut skin your not able to get that deep or be that gentle.
PS I like to link to Makeupalley.com whenever I talk about products. If you aren't a member you need to be! The best place on the web to get customer reviews of all your favorite beauty products.
People with dry skin try to scrub all the flakes off. But then you keep your skin from being able hold any water so that makes your skin look worse! People with oily skin. OY! You know who you are. You tend to be the worst scrub offenders. The problem is that the more you scrub the more your skin fights back and then the oil problem/acne problem that you are trying to scrub away will never disappear. It's a downward spiral.
So what do you do if you put down the scrub? Pick up a wash cloth, preferably white so you can have it be as free of dyes as possible. Wash your face, definitely at night, and then rinse it off with a wash cloth. That's the best investment you can make into your skin. If you want to do a little more exfoliating, try a manual scrub like Dermalogica's Skin Prep. I like it because it has very gentle grains. You can use it once a week depending on your skin type. The best exfoliation, besides wash clothes, comes from chemical exfoliations, like peels. I just got a great Pumpkin Enzyme Peel for my clients that does an awesome job of true exfoliation, i.e. breaking down the cellular glue in your epidermis so that you can really take off old dead skin cells. When you scrub scrub scrub on your face with huge pieces of Walnut skin your not able to get that deep or be that gentle.
PS I like to link to Makeupalley.com whenever I talk about products. If you aren't a member you need to be! The best place on the web to get customer reviews of all your favorite beauty products.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Awesome site alert: Skincea.com
I was cruising the internet looking for product reviews of night creams when I stumbled upon this awesome skin care site called Skincea. It's from a woman who has a similar story to mine: she struggled with adult acne in her twenties and became obsessed with skin care.
My favorite part of the site is her four golden rules (I might borrows some of these to add to my Beauty Philosophy post!)
1) LESS IS MORE this is so true about everything in life. If you read my post, My Beauty Philosophy, you'll see that I love the concept of less is more. Less product, less waste, less stuff, less drama. Simplify!
2) IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT this is a great idea that not too many people follow. Most everyone (including me!) wants to make things better, optimize, turn things into something awesome. That reminds me of my strength finder strength, Maximizer. I like to get the most out of everything. But sometimes stuff just doesn't need to be maximized.
3) INGREDIENTS ARE THE ONLY THING THAT MATTER this is sooooooo true! My beauty school teacher, Ms. Angela, told us that if you are going to be successful in this business you have to learn to become a label reader. This is what I'm going to educate my clients on. All you really need to know is what ingredients are going in your skin care, whether or not they are active (interacts with or effects cell tissue), and what ingredients work on your skin. A lot of trial and error and research goes into knowing your ingredients.
4) ALWAYS LOOK FOR PRODUCT REVIEWS I live and die by product reviews. Usually Amazon is my go-to place to read what the masses think about something. But for beauty products, I use two sites. Makeupalley.com and Drugstore.com are great places to read up on beauty products and what people/fashionistas think about the latest and greatest miracle skin cure.
Does anyone have any favorite product review or skin car sites? Let me know!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Toner - awesome or scam?
Admit it. You've always been a little bit mystified by toner. Really what does it do? I guess when you go to wipe your face after cleansing and you still see residue on the cotton pad, you are convinced of it's magical powers. But that could easily be solved by washing your face twice and making sure you use a wash cloth to wipe your face down. Toner does have a nice property of returning your face to a natural pH balance after you've disturbed it with cleanser. Skin is close to 4.5 on the pH scale and cleanser typically around 9. So toner helps calm your skin's alkalinity down.
But that's not the real reason you use toner. My reason? At least when I first tried using toner, it was because of Clinique. It was drilled into me from a very young age by the beauty magazines that in order to keep my skin looking perfect, I would need to do the three step approach: 1. Cleanse 2. Tone 3. Moisturize. Luckily Clinique had all the products that I needed! It didn't hurt that they had very simple, yet effective advertising. I was convinced so I asked my mom to take me to the Clinique counter and buy me their three step system. I was able to cleanse and moisturize on a regular basis. My beautiful Clinique toner sat there, day after day, mocking me for not using it. I didn't need to use it since my skin looked great just by cleansing and moisturizing. But I still felt bad.
My second failed attempt at using toner came when I broke out in my mid-twenties. This time it wasn't the beauty magazines but the late night infomercials that convinced me to give Proactiv's three-step system a try. 1. Cleanse 2. Tone 3. Medicate. After about three months my skin cleared up and has stayed clear to this day. Due only to the fact that I used 2.5% Benzoil Peroxide Cleanser and Treatment lotion and having nothing to do with their toner. Face 2, Toner 0.
Sometimes all it takes is a new way of looking at things. While I was in beauty school, I began spritzing toner on my clients at the end of the service, right before the moisturizer. I asked my teacher one day why, since I had such a negative experience with toner in the past. She told me that it's a great add on to your moisturizer, helping prep the skin to properly absorb any humectants. So I started trying it myself in my daily routine, giving my face a few spritzes before putting on my sunscreen. My face does feel more moisturized. Also, I like the smell (a very light, fruity, lavender) and the experience (it just makes me feel good whenever I spray it on, like a fancy face perfume!).
So toner has finally made it onto my face products shelf after almost twenty years of resisting. The one that I'm using is what I started using in school, Dermalogica's Multi-Active Toner (3.9 out of 5 stars on MUA).
It's got lavender, mint and arnica flower which makes it so yummy smelling. And it's got Aloe and Sodium PCA (a not so great sounding word for a humectant) for all your moisturizing needs. Plus it has a spray pump, which is something unique to most toner products that I've seen in the drugstore or tried over the years. You can buy it from me and get a discount (just give me a heads up before you come in for a service). Or you can always get Dermalogica products at Ulta.
Just one last thing: Multi-Active Toner is great for all skin types. Normal, Dry and even acneic. I know I just spent an entire paragraph talking about it's magical moisturizing properties. You would be surprised at the number of people with acneic skin that spend their life scrubbing, exfoliating and stripping their skin in the hopes that will cure their acne. What it really does is strip a much needed layer of oil from your skin. Then your skin gets angry and starts producing more oil and you get stuck in a downward spiral of breakouts that you can't control. So you scrub harder, strip more and make it worse. So for acenic skin, I would recommend a moisturizing toner and a great moisturizer so that you can put an end to the cycle. If you truly do have oily skin (without the acne), I mean really really oily skin, the kind that gets shiny an hour after you've powdered your nose, then I would recommend using an astringent to help get rid of the oil. Something like Kiehl's Herbal Blue Astringent (3.8 out of 5 stars on MUA).
But that's not the real reason you use toner. My reason? At least when I first tried using toner, it was because of Clinique. It was drilled into me from a very young age by the beauty magazines that in order to keep my skin looking perfect, I would need to do the three step approach: 1. Cleanse 2. Tone 3. Moisturize. Luckily Clinique had all the products that I needed! It didn't hurt that they had very simple, yet effective advertising. I was convinced so I asked my mom to take me to the Clinique counter and buy me their three step system. I was able to cleanse and moisturize on a regular basis. My beautiful Clinique toner sat there, day after day, mocking me for not using it. I didn't need to use it since my skin looked great just by cleansing and moisturizing. But I still felt bad.
My second failed attempt at using toner came when I broke out in my mid-twenties. This time it wasn't the beauty magazines but the late night infomercials that convinced me to give Proactiv's three-step system a try. 1. Cleanse 2. Tone 3. Medicate. After about three months my skin cleared up and has stayed clear to this day. Due only to the fact that I used 2.5% Benzoil Peroxide Cleanser and Treatment lotion and having nothing to do with their toner. Face 2, Toner 0.
Sometimes all it takes is a new way of looking at things. While I was in beauty school, I began spritzing toner on my clients at the end of the service, right before the moisturizer. I asked my teacher one day why, since I had such a negative experience with toner in the past. She told me that it's a great add on to your moisturizer, helping prep the skin to properly absorb any humectants. So I started trying it myself in my daily routine, giving my face a few spritzes before putting on my sunscreen. My face does feel more moisturized. Also, I like the smell (a very light, fruity, lavender) and the experience (it just makes me feel good whenever I spray it on, like a fancy face perfume!).
So toner has finally made it onto my face products shelf after almost twenty years of resisting. The one that I'm using is what I started using in school, Dermalogica's Multi-Active Toner (3.9 out of 5 stars on MUA).
It's got lavender, mint and arnica flower which makes it so yummy smelling. And it's got Aloe and Sodium PCA (a not so great sounding word for a humectant) for all your moisturizing needs. Plus it has a spray pump, which is something unique to most toner products that I've seen in the drugstore or tried over the years. You can buy it from me and get a discount (just give me a heads up before you come in for a service). Or you can always get Dermalogica products at Ulta.
Just one last thing: Multi-Active Toner is great for all skin types. Normal, Dry and even acneic. I know I just spent an entire paragraph talking about it's magical moisturizing properties. You would be surprised at the number of people with acneic skin that spend their life scrubbing, exfoliating and stripping their skin in the hopes that will cure their acne. What it really does is strip a much needed layer of oil from your skin. Then your skin gets angry and starts producing more oil and you get stuck in a downward spiral of breakouts that you can't control. So you scrub harder, strip more and make it worse. So for acenic skin, I would recommend a moisturizing toner and a great moisturizer so that you can put an end to the cycle. If you truly do have oily skin (without the acne), I mean really really oily skin, the kind that gets shiny an hour after you've powdered your nose, then I would recommend using an astringent to help get rid of the oil. Something like Kiehl's Herbal Blue Astringent (3.8 out of 5 stars on MUA).
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