Archive for December, 2009

Emergency Skin Care

Monday, December 21st, 2009

I remember a few years ago I got it…the “crud” as some call it. Chest & sinus congestion with laryngitis. Oh happy day! Not your normal cold, this lasted well over 10 days of being too sick to work. This also meant, honestly, I was too sick to do much more than lay around, drink fluids and take medications (both allopathic and “non-traditional”/herbal). It meant I wasn’t washing my face morning and night and obviously not doing an at-home facial or even simply exfoliating. How did my skin look? IN NEED! Adding to this, I had gone on a camping trip (where I caught the bug) the weekend before I got sick, so I wasn’t able to take great care of my skin in that situation either. What this all amounts to is: My skin needed some emergency care!

Whenever you are temporarily unable to take care of your skin, you can do a few things on the back end to help your skin look its best.

  1. Drink a lot of water. It helps clear your skin and keep your organs moving toxins along. Even if you weren’t sick but still weren’t taking care of your skin, drinking more water will benefit your whole body, including your deprived skin.
  2. Get back into your twice daily cleansing routine ASAP. Without giving your skin a general cleanse morning and night, you are asking for trouble eventually. When your circumstances change (ie: you’re feeling better after an illness), just do it!
  3. Exfoliate at the least; give yourself an at-home facial at best. The at-home facial involves a (clay-based) mask. The addition of the mask after exfoliation will help to revive your skin and put moisture back on the surface.
  4. Exfoliate (preferably with Yonka’s Gommage) 3 days in a row. Once is fine, but if your skin is in need (especially if it’s breaking out), exfoliating consecutively will help to snap it back into shape. It improves circulation, gets rid of dead skin and excess oil, and improves texture immediately.
  5. Get a professional facial. For some this is not possible, but if you can, do. During a facial your aesthetician will be able to assess your specific needs and give your depleted skin everything it needs.

Getting your skin back in shape after (hopefully only a temporary) absence from care isn’t so hard to do. It just takes a few steps every day and your skin will be glowing again in no time!

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Facial Brushes: Yes or No?

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Recently a client wrote and asked:

Hi Carolyn, Question for you…what’s your take on the clarisonic machine? Good for skin? Irritating to skin? I’m having a mixed reaction and wondered what you thought. Thanks!

I am not a fan of brush machines on the face. I don’t use one in my facials (lots of aestheticians do) and I don’t recommend them for my client’s home use.

Here is an excerpt from my 2nd book, Skin Care A to Z, that explains my opinion in full:

Facial Brushes
The sales clerk at my department store told me to start using a facial
b rush because it would reach into my pores to clean them better.
Facial brushes do have the ability to reach down into the pores.
Therefore they can cause damage, like particles in scrubs. Presumably,
the reason you are using the brush in the first place is for exfoliation
benefits, yet you can exfoliate in other ways without causing harm
to your skin. Of course it depends on the actual brush and what type
of bristles it has. I’m sure there are some facial brushes that won’t cause
any harm to your skin, but why use them? They harbor bacteria, they
can cause irritation, and then there is the potential to “reach into your
pores” and do some real damage. Use brushes on your body if you
want to—this skin is far less susceptible to irritation than on your face.
But bottom line, I don’t recommend using these brushes on your face.

A good use for a facial brush would be under a beard or even just
a moustache. Due to the dense hair growth, the skin underneath doesn’t
get any action and certainly little if any exfoliation. This can cause
itching and possibly bumps under the skin, although you may not be
aware of their existence.

To exfoliate the area under a beard or moustache, take a facial
brush and gently nudge it underneath the hair onto your skin. Use
this brushing technique prior to washing your face. Gently massage
with the brush until you can feel the stimulation on the surface of
your skin. Go over the entire area under your facial hair. Afterwards,
take some cleanser and wash your face as you normally do, paying
extra attention to the areas you just brushed, and work the cleanser
into your facial hair. Be sure to get a thorough rinse to finish. Use your
spray toner, and moisturize your skin as usual. Do try to get some
moisturizer under your beard, but don’t glob it on there. Just massage
a little bit into the hair to help moisturize the skin you brushed
underneath. By using a facial brush under your beard, you are benefiting
the skin by exfoliating that untouched area.

HOT TIP: Brush your teeth, not your face.

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