It’s all about the eyes baby. We are so excited 4 new eye creams have arrived and they truly are amazing! Until now, the Valmont Prime Contour has been the mack daddy of all creams. Great for brightening, lifing, puffines and dark circles. We always test everything else against this bad boy, but at $190 per oz it was a bit steep for some folks. This year we discovered a new eye cream from Darphin…, Stimulskin Eye Cream $130 for .5oz. If crows feet are your challenge, this is the one for you. Next up are 3 new anti-wrinkle eye treatments from Valmont. I didn’t think it possible but they out did themselves. Cyto complex I, II and III. I is for an all over tightening effect, like a topical botox. $190 .5 oz. Cyto II is all about lifting droopy lids. this one is shocking, my eye lids are sitting in a diiferent place after 3 weeks use, $200 .5 oz and then the Cyto III $220 .5 oz. This is great for stimulating collagen production. If you get injections this will help them to last longer. You may find that you can eliminate the need for botox around the eyes with this treatment. I’m using II on my upper lids and III under my eyes and crows feet area. Wanna play with some samples? Just ask at your next visit. These treatments rock.
Got Holiday Face?
January 25, 2012
Ok, who else has holiday face? Seems like everyone, ourselves included, had too many sweets, way too much rich food and not enough sleep for the past month. Now our skin is suffering.
Sugar alone can cause crazy amounts of damage to the skin. Glycation happens when your blood sugar goes up rapidly and it attaches to your collagen. It stiffens it and turns it brown like creme brulee. Glycation of the collagen fibers makes the skin stiff and inflexible. This in turn contributes to deep wrinkles that make you look old. It also drives up insulin levels which contribute to acne. Dairy also plays a role, increasing certain hormones, like androgen, also increases acne.
If you are puffy, irritated, congested and all around not happy with your skin, get in here for some skin intervention.
Do I need to use a separate Neck Cream?
November 15, 2011
This is a great question. In a word the answer is yes.
Many of us who take care of our face tend to neglect our decollete and neck. Often when giving a facial I can feel a line of demarcation on the jawline, where the cleansing and exfoliation stop. Our skin shows signs of aging starting in our 30′s, one obvious sign is a wrinkled chest. I call it the tree, you know the one big wrinkle with several little shoots coming off in many directions.
The skin on our chest and neck have less sebaceous glands than our face, so already we have less oil. Even if we do put sunscreen on our face many of us, (including myself) didn’t extend it down as far as we needed to. Most neck neck creams are formulated a bit richer than face creams and tend to have better results in that delicate area. Consistent use will give you the best results long term.
When I wash my face at night with my Tu-el cleansing oil and herbalizer I make sure to wash my decollete and follow with my Valmont DNA repair serum and finish with the Valmont Neck Cream. We also carry a beautiful neck cream from Guinot that many of our clients are quite happy with as well.
During the day you must use your SPF all the way down, anywhere that is showing skin is where you should be applying your potions. Happy necking!
UVA (ages) UVB (burns)
October 17, 2011
It’s officially fall today, 46 when I got up this morning and sunny and crisp right now. I had a new client this morning and when I asked if she is wearing sunscreen everyday said I only wear it when it is sunny!
I want to clarify a few misconceptions regarding UVA.
- It is approximately the same strength year round
- Is full strength year round
- Penetrates glass
- Is in fluorescent light bulbs
- Strong at any altitude
- Damages deeper in the skin than UVB
If you can change your mindset about sunscreen and think of it as anti-aging perhaps you won’t hesitate to use it daily!
5 Vain Reasons to Quit Smoking
August 16, 2011
Ok I admit it, as a young woman in my early 20′s I smoked. I started on the weekends in high school rebelling against my parents who were ardent non-smokers. It continued until I was 25 when I finally quit. There are endless reasons to quit, mainly it can give you cancer and kill you.
Oddly that wasn’t enough of a reason for me. What resonated with me strongest was that I wasn’t a rebel after all but a corporate dupe, even with my organic cigarettes. In additon I saw a documentary on the aging effects of smoking on the skin. That it would age my skin and age me faster really struck me. I might not die for a while but I would look like crap pretty quickly. So with lots of help from my ex-husband I changed my routine and quit. Best thing I have ever done for myself.
For those of you thinking of quitting, here are some great reasons that are pure vanity. Maybe this will be the trigger for you or someone close to you who smokes, second hand smoking is just as bad for you if not worse.
1. ACNE!Smokers have a higher incidence of acne, some studies have shown up to 43% of smokers have acne. Smoking introduces toxic chemicals to the body which slow down blood circulation to the cells.
When smoking you increase the production of free radicals. These have a direct bearing on the blood circulation to skin cells. The skin’s ability to heal and regenerate is blocked. The toxins released in cigarette smoke results in pores getting clogged, and this promotes bacterial growth in the pores. All of which contribute to growth of skin eruptions in the form of acne, zits and pimples.
2. Wrinkles! Smoking speeds up aging, studies have shown smokers to look 1.4 years older than non-smokers. Again, cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide, which displaces the oxygen in your skin, and nicotine, which reduces blood flow, leaving skin dry and discolored. Cigarette smoking also depletes many nutrients, including vitamin C, which helps protect and repair skin damage.
Smoking also increases production of an enzyme which breaks down the supply of collagen to the skin’s structure. Collagen supply is vital to the skin’s elasticity. It decreases with age but smoking accelerates the process.
3. Skin Cancer! Most of you are aware that UV contributes to skin cancer, but it turns out that smoking triples your risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma. Enough said.
4. Psoriasis! Psoriasis is an auto-immune disorder, so many non-smokers are affected smoking or not. However if you do smoke the chances go higher with each additional year you smoke. Up to 10 years your risk is 20%, 11-20 years up to 60%.
5. Stained Teeth! Yellow teeth that fall out sooner rather than later. Sexy for sure.
What can Vitamin C do for your skin?
August 8, 2011
Many people tend to think of Vitamin C only when cold and flu season rolls around. But did you know that Vitamin C is truly one of the unsung heroes in the skin care ingredient world?
Vitamin C improves skin appearance and visually lessens wrinkles by :
- Increasing dermal thickness by stimulating collagen synthesis
- Protecting Natural Killer (NK) cells of immune system
- Lightening the appearance of age-spots
- Strengthens capillary walls
Vitamin C serum is a must if you are a smoker, even if you are an occasional smoker. Of course you should quit, but until then use it twice a day. One drag of cigarette smoke (yours or second hand) kills 50,000 NK Cells. NK Cells are at the front line in the protection against cancer. Many of my clients that smoke notice a reduction in the overall redness of their skin when using it consistently.
An important tip to label reading if you currently use any Vitamin C skin care products, look for the key word “Ascorb” as in Ascorbic, Ascorbyl, Ascorbate. All forms are enzymatically transformed into bio-available L-ascorbic acid after absorption into the skin.
I’m not crazy about using L-Ascorbic Acid directly on the skin, it can be very irritating and unstable. Unstable Vitamin C can oxidize lipids, which in plain English means it can contribute to black heads. A few of my favorite forms of Vitamin C you will see on labels are Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate and Ascorbyl Palmitate. A simple way to determine if your Vitamin C serum or cream is stable is that when you apply it there is no tingle or burning.
A few of our favorite Vitamin C products are Tu’el’s Crystal C Serum, Valmont’s Infinite Radiance Essence and Cream as well as the DNA Repair Serum and our Moisture Replenishing Cream.