Enjoy Your Chocolate This Valentine's Day!

I wrote about the connection between various foods and Adult Acne breakouts. Naturally, the time around Valentine's Day brings up questions about the chocolate-breakout connection. Dermatologists have long poo-pooed the idea that there is a connection between the two, and I think it's because the focus was always on the chocolate -- that is, the cocoa.  There's more here than meets the eye!

Think about this: when are you most likely to eat chocolate? Around your period!  And when do you break out the most? You get the idea...

However, and this is a big however, with mounting evidence that there is indeed a connection between dairy and some acne conditions, and between sugar and increased inflammation in the body leading to worsening of existing acne conditions, chocolate is starting to be seen under a new light.

Scarf Attack! How Your Winter Breakouts Can Be Prevented

Do you have new jawline and neck breakouts that are bad enough to have you running to your doctor?  Don’t go making an appointment just yet… This winter is cold but the weather keeps fluctuating.  Sometimes it's humid with snow, sometimes bitter cold and dry. Nothing else bears the brunt of freezing cold like your skin. But you know what, while everyone is familiar with the drying and chapping effects of frigid winds, very few people take into account how the weather might affect adult acne.  What makes winter different, why would adult acne breakouts be any different than now?

The answer is friction.

Multi Masking Skincare for Adult Acne

Multi-Task?  Multi-Mask !

I’d like to talk this week about a kind of multi-tasking, from the perspective of dealing with skin that seems like it's in some sort of identity crisis. How do we deal with different parts of our face doing different things, even when our skincare routine is as optimal as can be? 

This may surprise you: only 10% of the world’s population has truly dry skin, ie, doesn’t produce enough oil to keep it lubricated and healthy, while only 10% of the world’s population produces way too much oil.  Everyone else falls into the wide spectrum in between. 

This is why my clinical instructor in beauty school first introduced us to the world of skincare with this adage:

 “There ain't no such thing as Normal Skin”

Introducing an Ingrown Hair solution you can't resist!

Summer’s Coming !

Get your skin bikini-ready before summer !

I’ve been waxing bikini lines for the better part of the last 23 years.  Along the way I’ve not only become quite expert at the famed Brazilian Bikini Wax (thank you veddy much), I’ve also honed an expertise in Adult Acne.  Both of these have given me tremendous insight into the formation, and treatment, of the dreaded ingrown hairs and body acne, whether formed as a consequence of waxing or simply an oily skin condition. 

The Workout Breakout Connection

It seems as though every blog and website on the planet is talking about New Year's exercise resolutions right now... While keeping up with healthy habits is very crucial, it's also important to not neglect your skin! It's still early in the year and we're all reevaluating our habits and/or making resolutions, but I also wanted to make sure to catch you at this time to help with preventing the acne breakouts that can result from your new workout schedule.

Adult acne flareups that occur when working out can actually come from several factors, such as: not using the right skincare products for your skin type or skin concerns, wiping sweat away with the wrong materials, or not knowing when to fit in your skincare routine between workout sessions.  To help clear things up :), here are a few things to keep in mind:

Getting Rid Of Ingrown Hair Irritation

I've covered the topics of body exfoliation, what to know before you get waxed, and how to treat and prevent body acne breakouts, but ingrown hairs can be persistent and frustrating to deal with if you don't know how to properly reduce them! Many of the same products and regimens used for breakouts on other areas of the body also apply in the case of ingrown hairs around the bikini line.  However, the blemishes that occur there are not always the same type for everyone.

What Causes Ingrown Hairs?

So you have the new swimsuit and are contemplating wearing it on that up-coming vacation... But, one thing you can't forget or ignore is the bikini line! 

Some people are more prone to ingrown hairs on the bikini line than others. What kind of ingrowns you get definitely makes a difference when it comes to how to get rid of them.

How do you get ingrown hairs?

Ingrown hairs are basically caused by three things: 

8 Facts About Wax

While I'm an Adult Acne and Rosacea Skincare Specialist, I used to perform waxing services at my location in Chicago. Brazilian and bikini waxes were very popular at my facial and waxing studio, but over the years, I have actually realized that many women don't really know much about the waxing and hair growth process, even those who have been getting waxed for years! 

With winter coming to an end and many people looking forward to their sunny Spring Break vacations this month, you might want to take these waxing facts into consideration before your next appointment. And if you're new to waxing, these pointers will help you have a much more manageable appointment. 

Make sure to follow these tips for an easier (and less painful!) waxing experience.

       

        Your waxing cycle (and that other cycle)...

A Year-Round Routine For Dry Skin

In my previous post about how to identify sensitive skin, I mentioned that only 10% of the entire world's population truly has dry skin. The rest who experience dryness actually have dehydrated skin.

Truly dry skin lacks oil and has less natural ability to keep water within the skin. The skin uses oil to lubricate itself and to keep water from escaping. Because pores expand to accommodate a larger oil flow, the indicator of truly dry skin is very small pores. Dry skin is typically thin, delicate, and can sometimes become slightly congested due to a lack of momentum of oil. In this case, not enough oil is produced to push out of the pores, which can result in some oil becoming stuck and solidifying by mixing with dead skin cells. However, with truly dry skin this is actually not very common.

Skincare Q&A: Pregnancy-Related Acne Issues

As an online esthetician, I'm always answering questions about adult acne, ingrown hair problems, rosacea, or general skin sensitivities. So! I thought that I would feature a skincare Q&A on my blog to address some of these issues.

There are some questions that are sent to me via email or through ChickRx, a now-defunct site where anyone could ask questions that relate to various lifestyle topics and experts (like myself) would offer valuable advice or suggestions. If you have any questions that you would like to ask (or have featured on the blog), please don't hesitate to speak out in the comments below! If you would rather have a question be answered privately, I am always available by email. :)

This week's Skincare Q&A features concerns of pregnancy-related adult acne and beauty issues. 

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"I recently found out that I'm pregnant. Do I need to worry about what's in my skincare and beauty products? Should I switch to all-natural? What about the products that contain Salicylic Acid or BPO?"

Skincare Q&A: Treating Adult Acne With Drugstore Brands

As an online esthetician, I'm always answering questions about adult acne, ingrown hair problems, rosacea, or general skin sensitivities. So! I thought that I would feature a skincare Q&A on my blog to address some of these issues.

There are some questions that are sent to me via email or through the now-defunct ChickRx, a site where anyone could ask questions that related to various lifestyle topics, and experts (like myself) could offer valuable advice or suggestions. If you have any questions that you would like to ask (or have featured on the blog), please don't hesitate to speak out in the comments below! If you would rather have a question be answered privately, I am always available by email. :)

This week's Skincare Q&A features questions about drugstore brands, why it's so difficult to find products that work for getting your skin clear, and how to pick the best acne treatment suited for your skin type.

How To Give Yourself A Great Facial At Home

The best way to maintain the results of your facials is with regular care at home. With the right products, you can achieve fabulous skin with this weekly regimen. This facial is also great right before a special occasion or an evening out, as it will ensure a more even and longer lasting makeup application.

The wonderful thing about this at-home facial is that most of the steps can be done in the shower or the bath. For extra relaxation, try an aromatherapy bath. Scented massage oils, or better yet, pure essential oils are perfect for a calming soak, especially when mixed with powdered dry milk beforehand to  better disperse the oils in the water. For the shower, simply place a few drops of essential oil with water in a small bowl and place it on your radiator or heating vent.  Try putting on some Celtic or Native American music, or sounds of nature, like ocean waves or thunder storms.

How To Determine If Cleansing Wipes Are Right For You

There always seems to be a new beauty product that caters to the woman-on-the-go who has such a busy life with managing work, socializing, and personal or family time that setting aside a few moments to wash her face at the beginning or end of the day is a terribly daunting task. 

And even if there are a few precious moments, it's just way too easy getting caught up being lazy or tired!

This is where the facial cleansing wipe comes in. I'm often asked about cleansing wipes and how they might be a substitute for washing your face with cleanser from a bottle.

Soothing Your Scary Skin

Halloween festivities have come to an end, and everyone had a great time, but why is your skin still in scary mode?

In the day or two after Halloween, you might notice that your skin has broken out in little red bumps or has become irritated. If you wore face paint, costume makeup, or even applied lipstick on your face as part of an outfit, there is a huge possibility that the oils and dyes in those products are causing your scary skin.

Face paint and costume makeup are chockful of oils and waxes that can be highly pore-clogging. When the natural oils in your pores aren't able to be freely distributed and are instead held back by other oils or waxes from beauty products, this excess oil will become stuck in your pores. The result of this oil abundance creates inflammation of your pore linings which then leads to swelling, redness, and, sometimes, pain.

Skincare Q&A: Birth Control and Adult Acne

As an online esthetician, I'm always answering questions about adult acne, ingrown hair problems, rosacea, or general skin sensitivities. So! I thought that I would feature a skincare Q&A on my blog to address some of these issues.

There are some questions that are sent to me via email or through ChickRx, a now-defunct site for women where anyone could ask questions relating to various lifestyle topics, and experts (like myself) could offer valuable advice. If you have any questions that you would like to ask (or have featured on the blog), please don't hesitate to speak out in the comments below! If you would rather have a question be answered privately, I am always available by email. :)


This week's Skincare Q&A will feature questions about birth control and its relationship to breakouts, adult acne, and more...

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Corporate Acne and Stress: Part 1

"How Can I Stress Less About Work?" (Part 1 & Part 2), talked about managing the stress that many of my clients ask me about, as the economy has produced a new kind of work force that is full of women under pressure. The subject of workplace stress is especially pertinent to my business. As a specialist in Adult Acne, I get quite a few clients coming in to see me because of the stress caused by their jobs.

Contrary to what conventional wisdom would hold, since the economy blew up in 2008 not one person has come to me for a facial to feel better or to prepare the skin to look better for an interview. Everyone who has come to me for help with Adult Acne is typically working a 9-5 (or later) job. So why did my business as an Acne Specialist boom after the 2008 recession?

What makes this recession different from all others are the layoffs that created a smaller workforce doing double to triple the work. This is what has affected the average client who has come through my door in the last 4-5 years. As middle management with MBAs were laid off, those working under them got promoted from within, at very little above their previous salary. Having no real experience in leadership or management, these (usually) women are under tremendous pressure to turn out numbers like their predecessors while supervising former colleagues.

The result?

Days on end of terrified supervisors behaving badly, creating an environment where if someone willing and able to do the work of more than one person wants to keep her job, she'd better comply. She may be more valuable than the supervisor, but she's not irreplaceable. She wants to flee or fight back, but she can't. As valuable as she is, she can still lose her job. And with companies enjoying this new found money-saving work force doing more work at less pay, why should they hire anyone else? No wonder there are little-to-no job openings. So! The worker has to keep her fight or flight response inside and take that stress home.