skincarevictoria.com

Here are five steps to a fresher, more youthful look. Before you start, you will have some investigating to do. Go online and look for Salon/Spas in your area. Check out the customer reviews and choose one with good ratings. Or ask your family, friends or co-workers for advice.

Then start your adventure, and have some fun. Why not do this with a friend. This is also a nice mother/daughter project. Get out your digital cameras and take “before” photos of each other, with or without makeup. Then in the next two weeks follow these steps and take “after” photos when you are finished.If you want to save some money, call the salon spa of your choice and see if there are any package deals or specials. You would be surprised how many salon/spas will offer discounts when you ask.

1. Have your brows professionally waxed and shaped. This is one way to take a few years off instantly. Go to your salon professional and let them know you would like a clean, natural look—not too thin. Removing excess hair and having a nice shaped brow opens the eye area and gives your entire face a lift. If you have hair on your upper lip, you should get that zapped as well. Yes, I know it’s painful—but only for a few seconds, and the results are worth it!
2. Have a facial. You don’t need the super duper 80-minute facial with warming mitts and foot massage, etc. etc. If you want the extra pampering, then go for it. Otherwise, a basic facial with steam and extractions will do just fine. Make sure the person performing it is a licensed esthetician. Facials revive otherwise dull skin and leave you with a fresh, healthy glow.
3. Maintain a Good Skincare Regimen. A great skin care regimen can improve the look and feel of your skin. Soaps are alkaline, and over time will strips the skin of its natural protective barrier, thus speeding up environmental damage and aging.  I recommend using skin care products that are specific to your skin type. My Personal Skin Care Assistant will help you select products that are just right for you. Just follow the easy steps: Make your choices in each category, and then click the Start Search button to display your personalized results. One of my favorite cleansers is IS Clinical Cleansing Complex, which is gentle and formulated for all skin types
4. A Little Makeup, Please. If you don’t usually wear foundation, you will be pleasantly surprised at how the right foundation can even out your skin tones. I like bareMinerals the best. These products are easy to match to your skin color and very easy to apply—just swirl the brush in a small amount of powder, tap the excess off the brush and buff your face starting at your forehead and brushing down below your jaw line, so you don’t get that mask effect (repeat once or twice until you get the look you want). Add a little bronzer or blush, some eye color and lip color and you’re done. If you don’t  have time for anything else, do your cheeks and lips. This will brighten your face and give you a more youthful appearance.
5. Change Your Hair Style. If you haven’t changed your hair style in a long time, this would be a great time to do it. Be a little adventurous. I know, I know. It’s hard to make too many changes at once. How about this: If you have long hair and wear it down, try wearing an easy up-do. I use a shine spray, put my hair in a pony tail, and then put a fancy jeweled clip over the top of my ponytail. It’s simple but classy. Add some highlights or lowlights, or get a new style cut. I also like the flat-iron styles for long hair. They are very chic and young looking as well.

There are lots of other things you can do with jewelry, accessories, etc.  The one thing that stands out for me is to wear earings. I try to choose colors and shapes that will compliment my makeup, coloring and clothing. It’s amazing how earings complete your look. But I will leave fashion advice to the fashionistas. My hope is that you pick up some great skin care habits. When your skin is happy it will thank you by looking fresher, brighter and younger—hopefully for a long time to come.

Let me know how you do. Send me your comments or your questions, and I’ll answer them in future blogs.

Don’t have time for makeup? One of my next posts will be a quick and easy (5- to 7-minute) makeup routine.

As an esthetician, I am a “double 0″ when it comes to pimples…I have a license to pop. Even as an esthetician, we can’t pop them all. The red papules and pustules should be left alone. These are usually a sign of  cystic acne, the most serious and painful type. This acne needs a dermatologist’s care, because there is usually infection involved. Popping pimples could spread the infection and worsen the condition.

In many cases it can also cause post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH). PIH happens when the skin becomes inflamed from the lesions themselves, or worse from manipulating those lesions. The darker your skin tone, the darker the pigment problem. PIH is not serious, but it is ugly and you hate it when it happens because it takes months to clear, and diligence to avoid in the future.

The first step is changing a longstanding bad habit. Some people love to pop pimples. They just can’t help themselves. They pop their own, and good grief, they pop pimples of their close friends and family members. If you are a pimple-popper, STOP IT IMMEDIATELY.

For an interesting poll on pimple poppers, visit  www.makeupandbeautyblog.com/skin-care/do-you-pop-other-peoples-pimples/

The next step is getting treatment for your skin problem. If you think the problem is a result of cystic acne, then you need to see a dermatologist first.  However, if it’s just congested skin with blackheads, regular facials with a licensed esthetician and a great home care routine can do wonders for you. Your skin care professional will make recommendations that will work in concert with the spa treatment products.

I’m working on having an eStore in the future, so I can make recommendations on great products.

For more information on PIH, visit http://acne.about.com/od/acnefaqs/f/whyextract.htm

Age spots, hyperpigmentation, sun damage, photodamage… it doesn’t matter how you say it. All you want to do is get rid of it.

If you are a Baby Boomer, you might have been one of those sun goddesses (or gods). You know who I’m talking about. These were the folks who took off for the beach as soon as school was out for the summer. The goal…get a rich, deep tan. This was such an obsession that we used sun tan oils. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we literally fried our skin back then. Skin cancer was not even a blip on our radar.

Now fast forward about 20 years, and one morning you wake up and look in the mirror and there is a dark spot on your face that wasn’t there before. What’s up with that!

Here is the quick explanation. Sun damage occurs in the dermis layer which is below the surface. We literally don’t know the damage is happening until years later when it reaches the outer layer and shows up as a spot. By the way, if you are one of those Boomers who spent hours in the sun when you were younger, it would be a great idea to find a good dermatologist and have a head-to-toe body check once a year. Get a recommendation from your family doctor or visit http://www.aad.org/findaderm/ (the American Academy of Dermatology) to find one in your area.

The good news is that you can improve sun damaged skin. Here are some things you can do:

• Get serious about your daily skin care routine:  Cleanse, tone and moisturize twice a day with skin care products that are specific to your skin type and formulated for use on the face. Never use soap on your face.

• Exfoliate twice a week at night and follow by toning and moisturizing.  Use a mild exfoliant and wash gently–let the product do the work. If you have very fair, sensitive skin, make sure your exfoliant is okay for use on sensitive skin. Regular exfoliation removes the dead skin cells and accelerates skin cell regeneration.

• Find a licensed esthetician and start to get regular skin care treatments specifically to improve sun damaged skin. (If you are in Palm Beach County, Florida, get in touch and I’ll take care of you myself!) Treatments can be in the form of deep cleansing facials, lactic acid peels, or microdermabrasion. I prefer lactic acid peels to glycolic acid because it is a little milder. Peels and microderm usually perform best if they are done in a series. For example, you might get a series of six peels, which you would do weekly or every two weeks. When the series is over, you would maintain your skin by doing monthly peels or facials.

• Over time, with regular facial treatments and doing your skin care homework, you will notice the problem areas lightening and evening out.

• Most importantly, from day one, you will want to use a good sunblock on your face daily. Depending upon your skin type, use 20 SPF or greater. Don’t worry about looking for moisturizer with sunblock. Find the moisturizer you love, use it, and then apply your sunblock—every day—without fail. If you spend more than one hour a day outdoors, you will need to carry sunblock with you and apply it during the day. Tinted sunblocks are great, and there are sun block powders available also. For additional protection, wear a hat when you’re in the sun. Have fun with this—buy yourself some funky hats and start wearing them. Sun protection should become a mission for you, and if you are diligent, you can keep future sun damage from returning.

Next post:  A safe way to tan

There is a certain tenacious quality about Baby Boomers. They are the collective “Peter Pan” of the 21st Century. You can’t even fathom how much money this generation has generated in the area of anti-aging. First of all, baby boomer women (and lots of men too) refuse to let their hair turn gray. On the flipside, some of them go for that chic Anderson Cooper look (women too). We don’t want wrinkles, eye bags or hairy eyebrows either.  If you are looking for a new venture, consider something geared to the baby boomer. If it’s more convenient, makes you feel better or look younger a baby boomer is looking for it!