Let’s Talk About Toners – Again June 12, 2013

Sometimes it is necessary to revisit subjects I’ve already blogged about in the past once I come upon new and/or relevant information about the subject.  So today we’ll be revisiting the subject of toners (see the links below for my previous posts on the subject).

In my first post about toners I explained (back in February, 2010 but the information still holds true):

When you don’t need a toner:    I don’t think that you need a toner every night in order to make sure that you have removed all your make-up or cleanser.  Using  a good make-up remover and the proper cleanser is definitely more than enough in order to make sure that your make-up is all off (the only place you might feel the need to go over again would be the eye area since waterproof eye make-up can be hard to remove).  If after washing your face you feel that you still have cleanser on your face than switch your cleanser.  A properly formulated facial cleanser will certainly wash off your face easily without leaving residue behind.

The claim that toners will close your pores is a silly claim.  First of all, there is no need to seal your pores shut.  Toners will give you a temporary tightening effect but why do you need that anyhow?

The issue of your skin’s pH level being disrupted because of cleansing is really only a problem if you use soap, which is very alkaline, to wash your face.  If you use a facial wash or cleanser you won’t have to deal with the issue of your skin’s pH being disrupted.

When you could consider using a toner:  There are lots of toners available that can actually hydrate the skin and even leave behind a number of beneficial antioxidants.  These types of toner are good for use during the summer when your skin feels more oily and you don’t feel that you need to moisturize (your skin isn’t actually producing more oil during the summer; it just feels that way because of the increased humidity in the air).   In addition, there are some people who don’t feel the need to use a lot of moisturizer ever so using a toner could be a great way to add some moisture to the skin and get some antioxidant benefits as well.

If you have combination skin (oily T-zone, normal skin everywhere else) you might consider using a toner with witch hazel extract, lactic acid, or salicylic acid just on your T-zone.  But don’t go overboard since too much toner with the above mentioned ingredients can be drying.  Use them on as needed basis and no more than once a day.

Some toners have ingredients that can actually soothe the skin and reduce inflammation so using a product like that if you have sensitive skin might be a good option.

Recently I came across two articles to expand on what I had written above.   The New York Times article Toner, Often Met With A Shrug, Is Having Its Moment explains:

As temperatures climb, our thoughts turn to toner: that post-cleansing, pre-moisturizing, cooling concoction treasured in adolescence (Sea Breeze, Bonne Bell Ten O Six) for its ability to remove facial grime onto a cotton ball. Some insist that even in adulthood, their beauty routine would be incomplete without it. Others think it’s an unnecessary step, scoffing that toner, while often refreshing, doesn’t offer any real benefits to the complexion.

“Before cleansers became so effective, people needed to do what cleansers could not, which is why people gravitated towards toners,” said Dr. Joshua Zeichner, the director of the cosmetic and clinical research department of dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical. “But formulation and technology has helped the cleanser evolve to the point that they’re so good, you don’t need the toner.”  …

They may not be the BB cream of tomorrow, but “toners have a bad rap,” said Dr. Paul Frank, a cosmetic dermatologist and the founder of the Fifth Avenue Dermatology Surgery and Laser Center. “They used to be associated with pimply skin and were alcohol-based or made to control the production of oil while rebalancing the skin’s pH levels,” he said. “Like anything else, they’ve dramatically changed. They’re now used as a second stage of cleansing, and treat a variety of issues. They can exfoliate, reduce redness, fight aging and brighten the skin.”

Besides preparing the skin to receive the benefits of products applied after, he said, they can soften and smooth the skin, and serve as a delivery system for antioxidants, vitamin B derivatives, retinoid and even glycolic acid.

And Allure explains just how to use a toner properly in Do You Really Need A Toner?:

When should we use them? “As the weather warms up, even combination skin tends to break out, so toners with salicylic acid can be really helpful for gently unclogging your pores and preventing summer breakouts. They are even great in the winter, when the ambient air is dry,” says [Erin] Gilbert [a New York City dermatologist]. “I like to recommend toning while traveling,” says Harper. “The air in-flight is so drying, and a toner will cleanse, hydrate, and leave you feeling refreshed.”

Can a toner be hydrating enough to replace your daily moisturizer? ”They are not exactly a replacement,” says Harper. “I tell my patients with extremely oily skin that they can sometimes get away with skipping a moisturizer in the summertime if they use a toner instead,” adds Gilbert. “A toner can be hydrating enough, but don’t forget sunscreen.”

Recently I rediscovered my toner since my skin was feeling very dehydrated.  Now after cleansing I apply Epionce Balancing Toner to my face with a cotton pad (I hate spritzing my face with toner though that is an option.  I always seem to get toner in my eyes and mouth when I spritz – yuck).  In the morning I apply my Vitamin C serum (currently I am using Tecniche SupremeC Serum) afterwards and in the evening I apply my exfoliating serum after the toner while my skin is still a little damp.  I definitely feel that my skin is better hydrated since I added that step to my skincare routine.

Do you use a toner?  Is this a must step in your skincare routine?  Share your thoughts below!

My Previous Posts:

• Toner: What Is It?  Do You Need One?
• Thanks The Beauty Brains! Or Skin and PH – Part II
• Facial Waters: What Are They?

Products to Consider Trying:

• Epionce Toners
• Dermalogica Toners
• Joy Mist by Tecniche
• Skinceuticals Toners
• PCA Skin Toners

Image from Epionce.com

Ayurveda Skincare June 6, 2013

 

I thought I would use this post as a way to introduce the theory and practice of Ayurvedic skincare to my readers.  Keep in mind that this post is just an introduction since subject and practice of Ayurvedic skincare is complicated and involved.  I hope that this post can give everyone a “taste” of what it means to practice Ayurvedic skincare.

What is Ayurveda?

The Chopra Center website provides an excellent explanation about Ayurveda:

Ayurveda is a 5,000-year-old system of natural healing that has its origins in the Vedic culture of India. Although suppressed during years of foreign occupation, Ayurveda has been enjoying a major resurgence in both its native land and throughout the world. Tibetan medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine both have their roots in Ayurveda. Early Greek medicine also embraced many concepts originally described in the classical ayurvedic medical texts dating back thousands of years.

More than a mere system of treating illness, Ayurveda is a science of life (Ayur = life,Veda = science or knowledge). It offers a body of wisdom designed to help people stay vital while realizing their full human potential. Providing guidelines on ideal daily and seasonal routines, diet, behavior and the proper use of our senses, Ayurveda reminds us that health is the balanced and dynamic integration between our environment, body, mind, and spirit.

Recognizing that human beings are part of nature, Ayurveda describes three fundamental energies that govern our inner and outer environments: movement, transformation, and structure. Known in Sanskrit as Vata (Wind), Pitta (Fire), and Kapha (Earth), these primary forces are responsible for the characteristics of our mind and body. Each of us has a unique proportion of these three forces that shapes our nature. If Vata is dominant in our system, we tend to be thin, light, enthusiastic, energetic, and changeable. If Pitta predominates in our nature, we tend to be intense, intelligent, and goal-oriented and we have a strong appetite for life. When Kapha prevails, we tend to be easy-going, methodical, and nurturing. Although each of us has all three forces, most people have one or two elements that predominate.

For each element, there is a balanced and imbalance expression. When Vata is balanced, a person is lively and creative, but when there is too much movement in the system, a person tends to experience anxiety, insomnia, dry skin, constipation, and difficulty focusing. When Pitta is functioning in a balanced manner, a person is warm, friendly, disciplined, a good leader, and a good speaker. When Pitta is out of balance, a person tends to be compulsive and irritable and may suffer from indigestion or an inflammatory condition. When Kapha is balanced, a person is sweet, supportive, and stable but when Kapha is out of balance, a person may experience sluggishness, weight gain, and sinus congestion.

An important goal of Ayurveda is to identify a person’s ideal state of balance, determine where they are out of balance, and offer interventions using diet, herbs, aromatherapy, massage treatments, music, and meditation to reestablish balance.

Ayurveda and Skincare

Just as all people (and the state of their health) can be divided into the three dosha types – vata, pitta, and kappa – so can our skin.  Once you determine your Ayurvedic skin type then you can start to treat your skin accordingly.  So for example:

Vata Skin Type
If vata is predominant the skin of a person is dry, rough, cold, wrinkled and thin with fine pores. Vata skin may age faster, and tends to be dry, rough and flaky when out of balance.
Vata Skin Care and treatment
Vata skin is typically dry and delicate, and tends to lose tone and plumpness prematurely unless nourished on a regular basis. For Vata skin to stay youthful, skin care products used should be very nurturing and should include some essential oils or herbs in combination, which can nourish the skin and rehydrate it. Some treatment approaches to vata skin care includes having sufficient sleep, eating regular meals that will help balance Vata and nourish the skin and avoiding physical and emotional stress.

Pitta Skin Type
If pitta is predominant, the skin is fair, sensitive, soft, warm, and of medium thickness, less tolerant to hot food and burns easily. When out of balance, Pitta skin can flare up in rashes, rosacea, acne, or sunspots.
Pitta Skin Care and treatment
Pitta skin is generally sensitive, especially to the sun, and needs protection to stay in balance.The Pitta skin type needs both cooling and nurturing. Tanning treatments and therapies that expose skin to steam for extended periods of time should be avoided.

Kapha Skin Type
If the constitution is of kapha dosha the skin of a person is oily, cold, heavy, soft, slow, dense, dull, lubricating and thick with a tendency towards large pores and proneness to cystic acne.
Kapha Skin Care and treatment
Toxins are the bane of people with Kapha skin. This is because of its oily nature which attracts impurities. The skin should be cleansed from the inside and the outside, or else the skin breaks out because of toxin build-up. Kapha skin needs to get both internal detoxification and external detoxification on a regular basis.

(From Skin – Skin Care and Skin Treatments, Ayurvedic Skin Care)

Furthermore, remember that Ayurveda comes to treat the body as a whole not just your skin issues.  So keep in mind that treating your skin according to Ayurvedic principles isn’t just about what you put on your skin, it is also about what you eat and other lifestyle choices.:

Ayurveda’s holistic approach to health aims at treating the entire individual, not just a symptom or specific ailment.

The Ayurvedic approach to health encompasses all aspects of a person’s way of living. From nutrition to mindset and from exercise to sleeping patterns, the Ayurvedic approach takes into account not just the person individually, but also the environment that he lives in.

When it comes to skin care, the quality and youthfulness of a person’s skin is viewed as a reflection of one’s health. A person who has acne will therefore not just be treated to get rid of the blemish itself, but rather the blemishes will be looked at as a symptom of a deeper underlying condition. A treatment plan will then be suggested that correlates the person’s constitution, or his dosha.

Digestion, elimination, nutrition and metabolism all affect the quality of skin, according to Ayurveda. If any of these processes are out of balance, it will show up through the quality of the skin. An Ayurvedic approach to skin care will therefore intend to restore balance to any or all of the systems that are interrupting the body’s natural desire to healthy skin.

The quality of the skin is determined by a person’s dosha, or constitution. The three doshas are vata, pitta and kapha. While each person has all three within herself, usually one or two are more dominant, which creates certain imbalances. Therefore in order to restore health to the skin, the doshas must first be balanced.

The overall concept when it comes to Ayurveda and skin care is to choose a skin care regimen that matches the kind of skin a person has.

According to Ayurveda, if a person has oily skin, it is largely due to an imbalance in the kapha dosha. A treatment of oil-free cleansers and cooling tonics like cucumbers and lemons might be recommended. In addition, heavy and rich foods, and make-up that clogs pores should be avoided and instead should be replaced by light foods and light make-up. Exercise to release toxins through the pores and to get rid of excess oil is also recommended.

If a person has dry skin, a strongly vata condition, the treatment plan looks quite different. Oil-based cleansers and moisturizers are instead encouraged and a diet with a modest amount of healthy fats like olive oil, sesame oil and ghee are also recommended.

When it comes to Ayurvedic skin care, natural is best. Ayurvedic skin care products as well as Ayurvedic skin care practices rely only on natural ingredients, chemical-free processing methods and holistic regimens.

Some of most commonly-used Ayurvedic skin care ingredients are sandalwood, sesame seed oil, macadamia nut oil, lime oil, lemon oil, clary sage, sunflower seed oil, Gotu Kola, other essential oils, herbs and botanicals.

(From Live Strong – Ayurveda Skin Care)

 

I know this post just provided the briefest of introductions to Ayurvedic skincare.  Below I’ve listed more sources for learning about Ayurveda.  If you’ve ever treated your skin according to Ayurvedic principles please share your experiences below.

 

Further Reading:

• 7 Ayurvedic Skin Care Tips for Healthy and Glowing Skin –  Mind Body Green
• Ayurveda and Dosha Types for Beginners – Mind Body Glow
• Ayurveda, Explained – The Gloss
• 9 Ayurvedic Tips for Skin – Style Craze

Ayurvedic Skincare Lines:

There are numerous Ayurvedic skincare lines available.  I haven’t tried any, but a simple Google search produced an impressive number of sources:

• Pratima
• OmVeda
• Sundari
• Ayurda
• Bindi
• RasaSara
• Shankara

Quizes to Determine Your Dosha:

• Pratima Skin Analysis
• Chopra Center Dosha Quiz
• Diagnostic Test for TriDosha

Image from http://www.mindbodygreen.com

Adding Coconut Oil to Your Beauty Regime May 28, 2013

Lately it seems everywhere you turn you find information about coconut oil – how to cook with it and how to use it as a beauty product/ingredient.  So I decided to do some of my own experiments with coconut oil to see if it lived up to the hype.

I have to say that I had long thought of coconut oil as an ingredient that was very bad for one’s health.  I can’t say when and why this idea got into my head, but it took until last year when I purchased the vegan cookbook Vegan Soul Kitchen  by Bryant Terry that I began to rethink my anti-coconut oil position.  I noticed that many recipes in the book called for coconut oil.  As Myra Kornfeld explains in her forward to the cookbook:

Byrant is not afraid to use the long-vilified coconut oil, an extraordinarily healthy and delicious oil that only in the last decade has been getting attention for its wonderful properties.

What exactly was the controversy about coconut oil and just what are those wonderful properties that coconut oil possesses?  The article Once a Villain, Coconut Oil Charms the Health Food World from The New York Times explains:

According to Thomas Brenna, a professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University who has extensively reviewed the literature on coconut oil, a considerable part of its stigma can be traced to one major factor.

“Most of the studies involving coconut oil were done with partially hydrogenated coconut oil, which researchers used because they needed to raise the cholesterol levels of their rabbits in order to collect certain data,” Dr. Brenna said. “Virgin coconut oil, which has not been chemically treated, is a different thing in terms of a health risk perspective. And maybe it isn’t so bad for you after all.”

Partial hydrogenation creates dreaded trans fats. It also destroys many of the good essential fatty acids, antioxidants and other positive components present in virgin coconut oil. And while it’s true that most of the fats in virgin coconut oil are saturated, opinions are changing on whether saturated fats are the arterial villains they were made out to be. “I think we in the nutrition field are beginning to say that saturated fats are not so bad, and the evidence that said they were is not so strong,” Dr. Brenna said.

Plus, it turns out, not all saturated fats are created equal.

Marisa Moore, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, a nonprofit association of nutritionists, said, “Different types of saturated fats behave differently.”

The main saturated fat in coconut oil is lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid. Lauric acid increases levels of good HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, and bad LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, in the blood, but is not thought to negatively affect the overall ratio of the two.

She went on to say that while it is still uncertain whether coconut oil is actively beneficial the way olive oil is, small amounts probably are not harmful. The new federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that no more than 10 percent of total dietary calories a day come from saturated fat. For a 2,000-calorie diet, that’s about 20 grams.

Any number of health claims have been made for lauric acid. According to proponents, it’s a wonder substance with possible antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiviral properties that could also, in theory, combat H.I.V., clear up acne and speed up your metabolism. Researchers are skeptical.

“There are a lot of claims that coconut oil may have health benefits, but there is no concrete scientific data yet to support this,” said Dr. Daniel Hwang, a research molecular biologist specializing in lauric acid at the Western Human Nutrition Research Center at the University of California, Davis.

But, he added, “Coconut is good food, in moderation.”

And just how does coconut oil help the skin?  The article The Surprising Health Benefits of Coconut Oil from the Dr. Oz Show website explains:

Is coconut oil good for my skin and hair?

We tell our patients that from the time of infancy through the senior years,  coconut oil is a wonderful moisturizer for skin and hair. It has good amounts of the antioxidant vitamin E, which is very protective. If you are using on the skin regularly, it is best to try to find an organic coconut oil, to reduce the absorption of toxins and pesticides through your skin.

We even recommend new parents massage infants with coconut oil after a bath. One 2005 study of 120 babies showed that a coconut oil massage is safe and has health benefits.

Allure asked Dr. Jeannette Graf to explain the benefits of coconut oil for the skin (from the article Is Coconut Oil Worth the Hype?):

“Coconut oil is made up of anti-inflammatory dietary fatty acids, which are important for skin health. When applied topically, it has wonderful moisturizing properties for the skin, increasing elasticity and emolliency. In addition, coconut oil enhances wound healing and has antioxidant properties. Studies have also shown that the lauric acid in the oil has antimicrobial activity against P. Acnes [bacteria], so it’s a potential treatment for acne and adult atopic dermatis,” she says.

On his TV show Dr. Oz recommends using coconut oil on your skin if you suffer from eczema, psoriasis, or a fungal infection.

Interestingly enough in her book Heal Your Skin Dr. Ava Shamban advises against using coconut oil on acne prone or oily skin.  Unfortunately she does not explain why.

Personal Experience

I had no trouble finding coconut oil at one of my local grocery stores though I did not realize I needed to purchase virgin coconut oil.  Next time I’ll make sure to buy that kind of coconut oil.  Anyhow, after reading all the beauty uses for coconut oil in the sources listed below I decided to try a few of them out for myself.  Some uses worked better than others for me.

I have very thick, curly, very frizzy hair so I was excited about using coconut oil as a hair moisturizer/conditioner.  I applied the oil onto both wet and dry hair.  Neither application helped my hair.  My hair didn’t feel any softer and my frizz didn’t go anywhere.  (I have been on a search for a product that will control my hair almost my entire life; I have yet to find something)  I have to say I was disappointed that coconut oil did not work for me as a hair conditioner.

I tried coconut oil as a body moisturizer.  The problem with this was getting the right quantity.  Sometimes I put too little, sometimes I put too much.  If I put too much I felt greasy afterwards.  When I did hit on the right amount my skin felt good but no better or no worse than after using my regular body moisturizer.

I tried using coconut oil as an eye make-up remover.  I found it much too greasy and not that effective.  I’ll stick to using my jojoba oil for removing my eye make-up.

I did use coconut oil directly on my face as a moisturizer a few times in the evenings before bed and felt that my skin was soft in the morning.  But I am still completely paranoid that putting coconut oil on my face will make me break out even though I keep reading the opposite is true.  What can I say?  Old ideas take a long time to disappear.   I don’t know if I will use coconut oil again as a facial moisturizer.  (Of course one of the advantages of using coconut oil as a moisturizer is that is it quite cost effective.)

Now for the ways I liked using coconut oil and will continue to use it – in the shower instead of soap or a shaving cream to shave my legs.  Using coconut oil to shave cut down on irritation and my legs did feel very soft afterwards.

As a lip moisturizer.  I’ve been using coconut oil directly on my lips before bed and really like how it both feels and works.

So now it is your turn – do you incorporate coconut oil into your beauty regime?  If yes, comment below and explain how.

Further Reading:

• Coconut Oil for Skin, Hair, Body: 6 Things to Know About the Super Ingredient – Huffington Post
• 10 Amazing Beauty Tricks with Coconut Oil – Prevention
• 101 Uses for Coconut Oil - Wellness Mama
• Why I Love Using Coconut Oil – Family Sponge
• Kris Carr explains why she loves to cook with coconut oil
• There are no end to recipes using coconut oil, but here is one from the vegan blog I follow Healthy, Happy, Life:  Basic Vegan Vanilla Baking Batter 

Image from endlessbeauty.com

Skincare Terms Explained: Glycation May 13, 2013

In July, 2012 I wrote a post all about how terrible sugar is for the skin.  This post is going to expand on the term “glycation” and explain what exactly that process is and how it relates to the skin.  But basically, it all comes back to the same thing again – sugar ruins our skin (and our health).

In her book Heal Your Skin Dr. Ava Shamban explains just what glycation is (page 22 in the paperback edition):

As delicious as sugar may seem to your taste buds, it can be extremely destructive to your skin.  A spike in your blood sugar levels – which can come from eating processed foods or foods with too much refined sugar – can leave too much sugar circulating in your body.  A process called glycation and the formation of advanced glycation end products are the results.

Glycation is a process whereby a sugar molecule, such as glucose or fructose, is added to collagen and elastin fibers, proteins found in the extracellular matrix, which surrounds skin cells.  This makes the collagen stiff, as it is now cross linked in an abnormal way.  In addition, the enzymes that normally remodel collagen no longer have access to the protein, and it can no longer be remodeled in a normal continual fashion.  When the process occurs, the skin appears prematurely aged.

Glycation damages collagen in other organs in the body, too, including the blood vessel walls.  When this occurs, the skin doesn’t remodel in the same way as before, prematurely aging the tissue.

Dr. Peter Pugliese discusses the subject of glycation extensively in his book Physiology of the Skin, 3rd edition (written with Dr. Draelos) in chapters 30 and 31.  A lot of the information from the book was also published in two articles in Skin Inc.: Physiology of the Skin: The Impact of Glycation on the Skin, Part I and Part II.  I urge you to read both articles if you want a very in-depth and scientific description of the glycation process (there are also lots of pictures and chemical equations).  Suffice it to say though Dr. Pugliese’s explanations are welcome they can be a bit overwhelming for those of us who still have upsetting flashbacks to high school chemistry (I still cringe when I think about the periodic table; I was a poor chemistry student to say the least) so I’ll just quote the summary here:

Glycation is the non-enzymatic joining of a sugar and a protein, or a lipid. It is a process that occurs naturally in foods, especially when cooked. The Maillard reaction is one of these processes that starts by forming a Shiff base and proceeds to forming multiple chemicals called advanced glycation end-products, or AGEs, that have adverse effects on a person’s biological processes. AGEs can link up with many proteins and denature them or alter them to be nonfunctional, cross-linked collagens, which is an AGE protein complex responsible for stiffness of the skin.
Skin collagen has a long half-life; these cross-linked forms do not go away and are not fully reversible at present. Elastin is another long-lived protein that is easily glycated and lasts a long time. Denatured elastin is associated with slackened skin. AGEs have cellular receptors known as RAGEs that initiate inflammatory reactions when activated by an AGE complex. These reactions tend to be chronic and are associated with arterial diseases, metabolic disorders and rheumatoid arthritis. Once they are started, the AGE-RAGE system will accelerate and perpetuate itself.
In the skin, glycation accounts for accelerated aging, yellowing and stiffness of the skin, and decreased circulation. Skin cannot look young and healthy with glycation products. Treatment is best started with prevention by diet control, reducing total calories, avoiding high sugar foods and not cooking at high temperatures. Supplements such as aminoguanidine, pyridoxamine, carnosine and benfotiamine are excellent glycation preventors. A new class of drugs called glycation breakers is being developed to correct the existing glycation protein complexes associated with many chronic diseases. They will truly be the youth drugs of the future.

In my previous post about the subject of sugar and how it negatively impacts the skin I shared with my readers how hard I have found it to cutback on sugar in my diet.  I also started noticing how sugar lurks in all sorts of foods; I try to read food labels more carefully now.  But after researching this post I realize that I also have to be careful about the method of how I cook my food since foods cooked at high temperatures (broiled, barbecued) can negatively impact your health and skin as well.  I wish I had the will power (and the time) to become a raw food vegan, but in the meantime I’ll still keep working on cutting down on how much sugar I consume.

Further Reading:

• If I do say so myself my post One of the Worst Foods For Your Skin has both plenty of good information and references about the subject of sugar and the skin
• Why Your Sweet Tooth Isn’t So Sweet – For Your Skin:  Refinery 29
• Your Skin on Sugar: Total Beauty
• Kris Carr (read my review of one of her books) gives her fans a peek into her pantry.  Inspiration for very healthy vegan eating.

Image from rokderm.com

What Are Free Radicals? April 23, 2013

I’ve written about the importance of incorporating a cream or serum with antioxidants into your daily skincare routine in this blog before (see the list below of my related posts), but when I came across the following information about free radicals I thought I should address the subject of antioxidants from a different angle.  That angle, of course, would be to address the issue of free radicals more in-depth.

In their book Physiology of the Skin Drs. Draelos and Pugliese devote an entire chapter (chapter 8) to the subject of free radicals and the skin (those words also happen to be the title of the chapter).  I want to highlight some of the more accessible parts of the chapter (page 163):

A free radical is any atom or molecule that has one or more unpaired electrons and is capable of independent existence.  Oxygen, then, is a free radical.  In fact, oxygen is a diradical, which means it has two unpaired electrons.

Here, simplified, is the secret of the free radical – one or more unpaired electrons in a molecule or atom that can exist independently, and can react actively with other nearby molecules to alter or destroy them.  An example will make this concept more graphic and easier to remember.

Water contains hydrogen and oxygen.  It is a very simple molecule, and is written in chemical notation as either H2O or HOH.  The hydrogen atoms exactly balance the electronic charges in the oxygen atom to give us one molecule of water.  If only one molecule of hydrogen would react with the oxygen molecule, a free radical would exist, the deadly hydroxyl radical ·OH.  The little dot to the left of the “OH” formula means it is a free radical.  This ·OH is called the hydroxyl radical and is a very nasty free radical because it reacts immediately with any molecule adjacent to it to alter or destroy it.  It is a blessing that oxygen does not react with hydrogen in this manner to form hydroxyl radicals because life would be impossible if it did.

The chapter goes into great detail about oxygen – its chemistry, the molecule itself, the process and repercussions of oxidation, and oxidative stress.  On page 171 there is a graph that clearly shows how free radicals affect cells by damaging DNA, nerves, and all body tissues.  According to the book “it is the oxygen that you breathe which ultimately destroys your body”.

At the end of chapter eight in their book the doctors discuss a few specific ways free radicals specifically impact the skin and how to combat these subsequent skin problems.  The skin issues discussed are: skin inflammation, photo-damaged skin (sun damage), and aging skin.  For example when it comes to skin inflammation the doctors explain (page 177):

Any inflammatory response will involve free radical formation – no ifs, ands or buts.  If you see a red area that is tender and hot, it is inflamed and seething with free radical activity.  Superoxide radical, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radical will be there.  Iron will react with the superoxide and peroxide to form hydroxyl radicals, and produce great tissue destruction.

In her book Simple Skin Beauty Dr. Ellen Marmur explains, in easier to understand terms, how the sun damages our DNA and how the sun produces free radicals (page 138 in the hardcover copy):

Free radicals may sound like some kind of rock band, but they are toxic by-products in the body.  To make a very long and complex scientific phenomenon short, this is how they are produced through UV damage to cell’s DNA.

A photon (the sun’s laser beam) zaps through the cell membrane and cytoplasm, through the nuclear membrane (the safe, womb-like center of the cell), and hits the DNA.  Imagine DNA as being like two pieces of spaghetti laid parallel, with crosshatches all the way along like a ladder, then rolled up and twisted like an intricately knotted cuff link.  When a photon burns a hole into the DNA knot, it starts to unravel and the two sides of the ladder begin opening up.  The immune system immediately sends out enzymes to fix the problem.  (Enzymes are proteins that act as workers in the body, fixing damage by causing chemical reactions.)  One enzyme comes in and gobbles up the damaged portion; then it creates a new DNA rung to fix that ladder.  Another enzyme double-checks it, another seals it together, and another wraps it up into a nice, perfect knot again.  All these chemical reactions done to reconstruct damaged DNA give off toxic oxygen by-products, or free radicals.  Oxygen can be stable, with two electrons in its orbit, or, if it has only one electron (as free radicals do), it’s on fire – trying to steal an electron from another molecule in order to become stable.  An unstable oxygen molecule races around like a toddler with a pair of scissors or a Tasmanian devil, causing destruction to anything it its path until it runs out of energy.  Antioxidants quench and destroy that toxic free radical.

Suggestions for combating these free radical induced skin problems include the use of sunscreens with antioxidants in them, taking multiple vitamins daily, using Retin-A, getting regular exercise, and avoiding stress.  Of course all those tips not only will help your skin stay healthy but your body as well.  Just keep the following in mind when it comes to skincare products, antioxidants, and combating free radical damage:

Any client with aging skin should be approached with the fact that treatment is a lifelong reality.  There are no easy fixes and no miracle products.  It takes time to age, and time to restore the skin to normal.  Good and effective anti-aging products address the free radical problem by containing antioxidants at levels that prove they work.  Do not buy a product that has not been tested for antioxidant activity.  Beware of products that have antioxidants listed at the end of the ingredients; they are low in concentration and are useless.  …

In addition, do not smoke cigarettes; they produce an alarming amount of free oxygen radicals that damage both the lungs and the skin.  Avoid sun exposure as much as is practical.  Use sunscreens that provide both UVA and UVB photoprotection whether working indoors or outdoors.  Increase dietary intake of fruits and vegetables at each meal, remembering to eat them freshly picked and raw to optimize nutritional content.  Unripened and preserved fruits and vegetables do not have the antioxidant levels found in fresh vine ripened varieties.

(Physiology of the Skin, pages 178 – 179)

My Related Posts:

• Skincare Tip: Add Antioxidant To Your Home Skincare Routine
• Inflammation: The Ultimate Skin Enemy?
• The Vitamin C Breakdown
• Ingredient Spotlight: Green Tea

I haven’t read this book yet, but it turns out that there is a whole book devoted to the subject of antioxidants and skin aptly titled Antioxidants and the Skin.

Image from docstoc.com

Dry, Cracked Heels: Causes and Treatments April 17, 2013

Dry skin on the heels, even cracked skin, is a fairly common problem that can be treated at home.  Be sure to give your feet some extra TLC year round, not just in the summer when you are wearing sandals.

Causes

So just what causes dry, cracked skin on our heels and feet?  There are more than a few causes for this condition, but first let’s remember everything our feet do for us on a daily basis.  The Skin Inc. article Sole Searching by Vicki Malo gives great overview on this issue:

The amount of pressure exerted on the feet gives a good indication that the skin on the soles must be very different than on the rest of the body.

The skin of the soles

The skin of the epidermis on the soles of the feet is much thicker; up to 1.4 mm and comprised of five distinct layers. It has to be thicker to withstand the amount of stress and pressure placed on the soles with every step. There’s more: The skin on the soles of the feet has an additional layer in the epidermis, and the skin cells are packed together in a strong, congruent membrane. The skin on the bottom of the feet also has four times more sweat glands, but does not have hair or sebaceous glands. Due to these functional features of the skin on the soles of the feet, it does not respond as readily to typical skin care techniques practiced elsewhere on the body.

The outermost layer of the epidermis, known as the stratum corneum, is crucial to the skin barrier. Made up of overlapping layers of cells, the stratum corneum keeps vital nutrients in, and damaging substances and elements out. Healthy skin keeps in moisture and protects against the entry of bacteria, fungus or viruses. Unhealthy or dry skin creates a portal of entry, leaving the skin traumatized and unable to perform its job of protection.

Lifestyle and foot issues

So why do you see so many clients with dry skin on their feet? A lot of the reason has to do with lifestyle. Today’s is a fast-paced, high-stress, super-sized lifestyle. Lack of exercise, and a diet high in sugars and simple carbohydrates can lead to a breakdown in the circulation of the lower limbs and increased incidences of diabetes. Lifestyle is the greatest contributor to developing chronic venous insufficiencies (CVI). Venous insufficiencies lead to a disruption in the function of the skin, breaking it down at an intercellular level. There are no capillaries in the epidermis; however, the skin is nourished by diffusion from the capillaries in the underlying dermis. If the capillaries are compromised, proper blood supply (nourishment) cannot be provided to the epidermis of the skin. Impaired elimination of metabolic waste due to CVI impairs the sweat glands, diminishing sweat production on the bottom of the feet. The tissue disturbances further cause a breakdown of the lipids, which are responsible for holding the cells together. The breakdown of the lipids causes the hydrolipid film to break down, leading to transdermal water loss. The skin loses elasticity and has less potential for regeneration. The intercellular water loss compromises the integrity of the skin leading to micro lesions, such as dry skin. Micro lesions are a portal of entry and can cause skin issues, such as athlete’s foot.

There are many other reasons that one can suffer from dry heels and feet such as cold weather, indoor heating, improper foot care, and standing on your feet all day.  There are even specific Ayurvedia explanations for dry and cracked heels:

Painful, cracked and dry heels is a predominant cosmetic problem and has been termed as Padadari in Ayurveda and has been explained inKshudra Rogas in Sushruta Samhita. There are innumerable remedies for cracked foot in Ayurveda and let’s have a look at the promising Ayurvedic essential oils for healing heel fissures.

Causes for cracks or fissures: Human foot is the powerful part of the body helping one to withstand all severe climatic conditions and roam around, yet it is this part of the body that is often neglected. Cracks on foot have no age limit and it can affect anyone for that matter irrelevant of the sex, color and origin. The major causes for cracks or heel fissures are:

• Cracks are occupational especially for farmers and other people who are involved in laborious tasks that demand standing always, which lead to huge pressure on the foot forcing it to develop cracks.
• Prolonged standing on hard floor and this is the reason why most of the homemakers develop cracks.
• Dry, dull and lifeless skin that lacks moisture, especially during winter has the tendency to develop cracks.
• Uncomfortable, not so fitting or open back footwear compels pressure on the foot, while widening and deepening the cracks.
• Obesity or excess accumulation of fat and deficiency of essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals.
• Dry, hot, humid and tropical climatic conditions make your feet dull, dry and hard paving way to develop cracks.
• Aging and skin conditions like psoriasis, eczema, athlete’s foot etc.
• High exposure of feet to dust, dirt, germs and other harmful organisms leading to infection in the foot.
• Excess sweating of feet or other causal illnesses like thyroid and diabetes can also cause cracks on the foot.

Symptoms: Cracks generally appear on the external or outer walls of the heels, when it is thick and dry. The symptoms of cracked foot are dry, itchy and painful heels with flaky and red patches and partition of skin looking like root hairs. When left unnoticed, fissures may start bleeding with excruciating pain and might even lead to developing Calluses, Cellulites, and Lymphangitis etc. Anyone with cracked feet will have greater discomfort while walking and the cracks can act as a dangerous channel for bacteria, virus, fungi and other harmful organisms to enter into the body and complicate the situation.

(From Ayurvedic Treatment for Cracked Foot – Essential Depot)

Treatment Options

Now that we know the cause of dry and cracked heels what about the cure?

If you simply suffer from dry skin on your heels and feet you need to use a moisturizer with gentle acids in it in order to exfoliate and hydrate your feet.  Apply nightly after soaking your feet or taking a shower.  You can even wear cotton socks during the night if you want to in order to help the moisturizer penetrate deeper into your feet.

For very rough feet you can purchase a callous remover lotion or gel that is applied to the feet for about five to ten minutes.  After that time has elapsed file the skin gently with a pumice stone or foot file.  Finish with a moisturizer.

If your feet are cracked you need to use a product formulated for such a condition so that your skin can heal.

Bottom Line:  Though dry and cracked heels are an unpleasant phenomena this is a common skin condition that can be treated at home.  The key to proper treatment is finding the right product for you and using it daily.

Products:

• I use either Philosophy Soul Owner or Epionce Medical Barrier Cream on my feet nightly.  See this post of mine on how to use these products.
• I came across this foot care brand called Footlogix that sounds intriguing though I haven’t tried it myself.
• The website One Good Thing by Jillee recommends this product for curing cracked heels.
• About.com recommends two different products for curing cracked heels.

At Home Treatments:

I found a few different at home treatment protocols that I thought were relevant to share:

• Ayurvedic Treatment for Cracked Heels
• 8 Tips for Dry, Cracked Heels
• For nail professionals: The Therapeutic Mani-Pedi Treatment – Skin Inc.

Image from nerdygaga.com

How to Treat a Dry, Itchy Scalp April 2, 2013

Not so long ago I shared my struggles with my skin; skin issues that occurred after moving back to Israel from Chicago in late August. Bottom line – my skin went psycho, and it took months to get things under control. In part I blamed the hard water in Israel for my skin misfortunes. I mentioned in that post that not only had things gone haywire with my skin when I moved but my scalp was dry, itchy, irritated, and flaky as well. This was not the first time I had suffered from a dry, itchy scalp, but it was definitely the worst I had experienced. (In the past I even received a prescription shampoo from a dermatologist for the problem. The shampoo made the itch go away but my hair started falling out at an alarming rate so I stopped using it.) As a matter of fact my scalp was so itchy that I thought I was losing my mind. There are many things that can make a person crazy, but I rank an itchy scalp within the top ten. Anyhow, I definitely think that the hard water in Israel was to blame for my dry and itchy scalp. Regular shampoo (I shampoo every other day) did nothing good for me. I had to find a solution quick so I bought a medicated shampoo that greatly helped my situation. By now I’ve cycled through a few different shampoos that were either for sensitive scalp or dandruff or both. We also put a filter on our water pipes, and now things are under control with my dry, itchy, and flaky scalp. When I looked for a shampoo to help my problem I looked for ingredients like urea, salicylic acid, and zinc all of which are known to exfoliate and sooth. Of course there are other ingredients as well that can help combat this vexing problem. See below for more details. (By the way, have you noticed that the moment someone mentions or you start to read about an itchy scalp you start to feel itchy? Same goes for lice for me.)

Causes of an Itchy Scalp

Let’s be clear – an itchy, red, and flaky scalp are not caused by poor hygiene. You are not dirty if you suffer from this problem. There are a few different causes for an itchy scalp. The Live Strong website explains in the article What Are the Causes of Itchy Scalp in Women? (I’m not sure why women are singled out here since both men and women can have itchy scalps):

Dry Scalp Skin

One of the most common causes of an itchy scalp in women is simply dried out scalp skin. Your scalp can become dry because of regular exposure to very cold or very hot weather, using hair driers too frequently and even showering or bathing in extremely hot water or spending a lot of time in the sauna. Dry scalp skin can particularly be a problem in the winter when your skin is subjected to cold, windy weather outside and dry indoor heating in buildings for days and weeks on end.

Hair Washing

Both washing your hair too seldom and too often can cause your scalp to become itchy. If you don’t wash your hair often enough, dead skin cells, oils and potentially skin-irritating substances can accumulate on the scalp. On the other hand, washing your hair too frequently — particularly with harsh shampoos or soaps — can cause the skin on your head to dry out and also become itchy. In addition, if you use too much shampoo while washing your hair, a residue can be left behind that may also act as a skin irritant.

Dandruff

Dandruff, also known as Pityriasis simplex capillitii, is a skin condition in which the scalp produces and sheds off excessive amounts of dead skin cells, making the scalp itchy. Dandruff can be caused by a wide variety of factors — exposure to temperature extremes, mild skin infections and overactive sebaceous cells in the scalp producing too much sebum, the oily substance that prevents the hair and scalp from drying out.

Dermatitis

Dermatitis refers to a condition that makes your skin red, inflamed and itchy. There are two types of dermatitis that can affect your scalp, making it itchy: contact dermatitis and seborrheic dermatitis. Contact dermatitis develops when the scalp skin reacts to a substance that it has come into contact with — for instance, a hair dye, shampoo, soap, hairspray or any other hair product. You might be allergic to a compound contained in the product, or you could be reacting to the high amount of alcohol that makes up the inactive ingredients of many haircare items. High concentrations of alcohol on the skin can cause it dry out quickly and become irritated and itchy. Seborrheic dermatitis is a skin condition characterized by the overproduction of skin cells on the scalp, face, forehead, chest, neck and often abdomen and excessive dandruff. Seborrheic dermatitis can develop due to immune disorders, fungal infections and as a reaction to environmental factors. Dr. Anupam Biswas, writing for the website Health Cave, reports that genetics may also play a role.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease that can cause thick, itchy patches of red or silvery scaly skin to develop on various parts of the scalp, as well as on the elbows, knees and lower back. It may be caused either by the abnormally excessive production of skin cells or, as MayoClinic.com reports, by an immune system dysfunction caused by environmental or hereditary factors.

Infection

Both fungal and bacterial infections can result in an itchy, red scalp. Tinea capitis is an infection of the fungus dermophyte which infects and inflames hair shafts and causes the production of dead, flaky skin cells resembling dandruff, while lichen planus is another scalp-affecting fungal infection. Folliculitis, commonly caused by the bacteria staphylococcus aureus, is another type of infection that can cause itching and discomfort.

Other Causes

A number of other, more unusual factors can also cause your scalp to become itchy such as a head louse infection, also known as pediculosis capitis, too much stress in your daily life, a sunburn that causes damage on the scalp and results in the buildup of itchy, dead cells or the development of acne on the scalp.

The article What is Causing Your Itchy Scalp? on Daily Glow further expands on the causes mentioned above:

Dandruff is the most common culprit to blame for an itchy scalp. “The medical condition of dandruff is caused by an overgrowth of yeast,” says Jessica Wu, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Southern California Medical School and the author of Feed Your Face. The yeast normally live on your scalp and in other hairy areas, such as the eyebrows, the ears, and men’s beards. “With changes in body chemistry, the yeast overgrow and feed on your dead skin cells and oils,” says Dr. Wu, “which causes the itching and flaking.”

To properly control dandruff, you need to eliminate its fungal component without creating more irritation and redness, says Ilyse Lefkowicz, M.D., a dermatologist for Head & Shoulders North America.

For mild cases, Wu suggests using an over-the-counter shampoo that contains selenium, zinc pyrithione, or tea tree oil, all of which help control yeast. “If your scalp is not itchy but more flaky, then try a salicylic acid shampoo to reduce buildup,” she says. More stubborn cases may require a prescription antifungal shampoo or cortisone foam, or, for especially severe cases, anti-yeast pills, Wu says.

Scalp itch can also result from trips to the hair salon, says cosmetic chemist Ni’Kita Wilson, vice president of research and innovation for Englewood Lab. “Repeated chemical hair treatments like permanent color, relaxers, and keratin treatments can sap your scalp of moisture,” she says.

Another culprit could be a daily blow-drying habit, says Dr. Lefkowicz. The excessive heat can irritate and dry out the scalp. “Avoid using the hair dryer at its hottest setting, especially when hair is very wet,” she says. “That’s actually the hair’s most fragile state.”

An itchy scalp can also be an allergic reaction to certain hair products, says Wu. “Some products, such as hair sprays, contain ingredients that tighten as they dry,” she says. “This causes a slight pulling sensation on the scalp, leading to itchiness.”

Don’t Scratch — Moisturize Instead

Sometimes the root of the problem is environmental, Lefkowicz says. “Other factors that contribute to scalp irritations include exposure to cool environments with low humidity, and the effects of wind and sun.”

According to Lefkowicz, the way back to a healthy scalp (and healthy, shiny hair) begins with upping the moisture. Avoid hot water when washing your hair, she says, because it can strip the natural oils from your scalp, making it very dry and sensitive.

“Look for moisturizing and protective ingredients like dimethicone, a silicone compound that smooths the hair surface, making it shiny,” Lefkowicz says. She also recommends using a good conditioner to soothe the scalp and leave hair moisturized.

When to Worry About an Itchy Scalp

Sometimes an itchy scalp can be a red flag signaling other, more serious medical conditions. If your scalp develops thick, scaly patches that hurt, crack, or bleed, Wu says, you may have psoriasis — a chronic autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. If, along with the itchiness, your hair is falling out or breaking, you may have ringworm. If any oozing occurs, or a crust develops or pus appears on the scalp, you could be suffering from a staph infection. Your safest bet is to consult your doctor with any concerns about an itchy scalp.

As mentioned in the information above (and from my personal experience which I shared) an itchy scalp can be treated with OTC hair products. But if you feel that you might have scalp psoriasis for instance please see a doctor since prescription products might be needed to treat this condition and offer you relief.

For some people simply being vigilant about exfoliating and moisturizing their scalp can offer the needed relief that they need from a dry and itchy scalp. Allure explains how to go about exfoliating your scalp:

You can try at-home scalp exfoliants, such as Kiehl’s Deep Micro-Exfoliating Scalp Treatment or Rescue EMS Exfoliating Shampoo, or if you’re feeling crafty, you can also create your own. Start with a clarifying shampoo (we likeFekkai Apple Cider Clarifying Shampoo) mixed with an equal amount of natural exfoliant such as cornmeal or ground almonds. Add a few drops of your preferred essential oil—peppermint stimulates blood flow, lavender and vitamin E soothe, and tea tree acts as an antiseptic to fight dandruff. Massage the mixture into your scalp for three minutes, rinse, condition, and voilà! If you don’t shampoo frequently or have oily hair, exfoliate every other week. Otherwise, you just need to do it once a month to maintain a healthy scalp.

If you have any tips on how to treat a dry, itchy scalp please share below. Just remember – there are numerous solutions to this very frustrating problem so there is no need to suffer long-term.

Further Reading:

• More information about ingredients and products that can soothe an itching scalp: Useful for Itching and Flaking: Dermarest and Scalpicin from Future Derm
• 8 Ways to Fight Dandruff and Itchy Scalp - The Beauty Brains
• Scalp Psoriasis vs. Seborrheic Dermatitis – The Mayo Clinic
• Seborrheic Dermatitis – The Mayo Clinic
• I haven’t tried these products for sensitive scalps, but La Roche-Posay is one of my favorite skincare companies. I’m not sure where these products are actually available, but they sound intriguing.
• I’m a fan of Tecniche skincare and I just got an email with information about a new product for theirs – S1 Serum Scalp Therapy. The product is meant to nourish a healthy scalp and promote healthy, strong hair.
• My current shampoo is this one from Vichy. (I could only find it online in French)
• Since Dr. Jessica Wu is quoted above I thought I would remind readers of my review of her book

Image from spryliving.com

Do Your Skincare Products Get Absorbed Into Your Bloodstream? March 19, 2013

There is a persistent beauty myth circulating that the products you place on your skin penetrate into your bloodstream (see this article I found online as a perfect example of the perpetuation of this myth).  Sometimes beauty myths like this are promoted by the natural and organic beauty industry in order to sell their products, but, frankly in my opinion, this is a scare tactic and it irks me greatly.  (And please don’t get me started on the EWG and their Skin Deep website.  I am not the only one who is annoyed by the EWG.  See this post from The Beauty Brains for their perspective and an excellent, in my opinion again, explanation on how the EWG uses a little data in order to reach scary conclusions and create hysteria among consumers).

So just what are the facts about skincare product absorption into our bloodstream? This post will rely heavily on information from The Beauty Brains website since they have addressed this issue numerous times in varying permutations.  In the post Natural Bias on the Beauty Brains they explain:

… it is not true that whatever you put on your skin gets absorbed into your body. Skin is designed to keep things out of your body. It is an excellent barrier to almost all chemicals. This is why doctors still have to give you shots or you have to take pills for most medicines. Some drugs, like those delivered through nicotine patches really work, but overall very few chemicals can penetrate your skin and get into your system!

And again in the post How Can You Stop Chemicals From Penetrating the Skin?:

Raylene really needs to know…I don’t like the idea of chemicals in cosmetics getting into my body. Is there anyway to block this? 

The Beauty Brains respond:

Since most ingredients don’t penetrate skin this isn’t really an issue. That’s because most chemicals are too large to diffuse through the skin. (Read this post on how much chemical exposure do you really get from cosmetics.)  In fact, you need special dermal patches, formulated with penetration enhancers, to get things like nicotine and sea sickness drugs through your skin and into your blood.

In the post The Impermeable Facts of Skin Penetration and Absorption from the website Personal Care Nathan Rivas does a great job breaking down the intricacies of this issue.  It turns out that this site does not allow other bloggers to copy and paste information from their articles free of charge.  The article offers an excellent explanation on this issue, so much so that the part I wanted to share here would have cost me $212 to do so.  Instead I urge you to click the above link to the article and read it since I do not have $212 to spend in order to share the information here .

But just how much chemical exposure do we get each year from our beauty products?  The Beauty Brains explains in the post How Much Chemical Exposure Do You Really Get From Cosmetics?:

A few months ago we examined the question of whether your cosmetics were poisoning you. In this article we de-bunked the claim that you absorbed 5 pounds of damaging chemicals a year. This is just nonsense and not supported by science.

However, we recently found some published research about how much chemical exposure the average person gets each day from common products. Remember, this is how much you’re EXPOSED which is different than how much your body absorbs. How do you compare to the average person?

Chemical exposure per day from cosmetics

1. Lipstick: 0.024 g
2. Spray perfume: 0.53 g
3. Liquid foundation: 0.67 g
4. Solid antiperspirant: 0.79
5. Face cream: 2.05 g
6. Hairspray: 3.57 g
7. Skin lotion: 8.70 g
8. Shampoo: 12.8 g
9. Body wash: 14.5 g

Cosmetic chemical absorption

So, if you use all of these products every single day for a year, you are exposed to over 35 pounds of chemicals. Of course, many of these products are mainly water so if you subtract out the water, your non-water chemical exposure is about 5 pounds in a year.

That would mean if it were true that you absorbed 5 pounds of chemicals from cosmetics each year, your body would be absorbing everything put on your body. We know this isn’t true since we see bubbles washed down the drain and we have to remove make-up every night

Bottom Line:  The next time someone or a company tells you that the chemicals in the skincare product you are using are being absorbed into your bloodstream you will now know that this is just a persistent beauty myth.  Our skin functions as a protective barrier that keeps out chemicals instead of letting them in.  Very few chemicals penetrate our skin let alone get absorbed into our bloodstream.

Further Related Reading:

• How Deep Do Skin Care Actives Have to Go to Work? - Personal Care
• Do Cosmetics Really Cause Cancer?  - The Beauty Brains
• Do Cosmetic Ingredients Really Absorb Into The Blood Stream in 26 Seconds? – The Beauty Brains
• 9 Beauty Myths, Busted!  - Shape Magazine
• 7 Sources for Cosmetic Ingredient Information – The Beauty Brains
• My post – All Your Skin Does For You: Functions of the Skin

Image from http://www.aip.org

My Beauty Regrets February 12, 2013

This post was inspired by two separate posts I read online.  The first was Beauty Regrets I Wish I Knew In My 20s from My Beauty Bunny and the other was ATB Learning Curve: 10 Beauty Lessons I Learnt in My 20s from Addicted to Blush.  (Full disclosure – I found the second post since my blog is mentioned in the post.  Before then I did not know of this blog, but I am finding it quite fun to read a beauty blog from India)  Though I am well past my 20s, and nearing 40 more and more with each passing day, I did find parallels in my beauty regime to what the ladies mentioned in their posts.

Overall I try not to have regrets when it comes to anything or everything in my life.  But try as I might, of course, I do still have regrets.  Mine mostly revolve around something I should have said to someone or something I shouldn’t have said to someone.  I’m a work in progress but aren’t we all?

So without any further delays my beauty regrets are as follows:

• Not taking sun protection more seriously sooner.  I started using a moisturizer with SPF in it back in high school (or at least I think I did, maybe it was college), but now I know I didn’t use enough and I never reapplied.  I have the sun damage to prove it.  In the last few years I’ve become a sunscreen fanatic, and I am never without a sunscreen at all times so that I can reapply.  Many people think I am insane because of my sunscreen fanaticism, but I don’t care .
• I wish I had learned about skincare ingredients sooner.  Until I started studying esthetics about five years ago I got all my beauty information from glossy fashion magazines.  Not that those magazines cannot provide helpful information for the consumer, but they are certainly just one perspective on a complicated and far-reaching subject.  Once I started my esthetic training I discovered a wealth of publications for estheticians that I currently read and blogs that help me sort through all the beauty mumble jumble out there (for a list look at the right hand side of my home page under “links I love”).  I also started reading lots of books by dermatologists which I have found very informative (look under “book reviews” for my reviews).  Better informed you are the better choices you make when it comes to taking care of your skin.  Lastly, always remember to keep an open mind.  I am constantly learning new things from my fellow estheticians, the reading I do, and from taking care of different client’s skin.
• I wish I had understood the link between skin health, particularly acne, and food earlier.  Last year I read quite a few books about skin health/beauty and food.  What I found most fascinating was the information about an alkaline diet and skin health.  (You can find more information about this in my two earlier posts Is An Alkaline Diet Good for Your Skin? and Book Review: Stop Aging, Start Living)  I also wish I had realized sooner how awful sugar is for your skin and health.  I am still trying to break my sugar addiction.  (For more information on how terrible sugar is for your skin see this post of mine)
• I regret not doing chemical peels sooner.  Chemical peels are a great way to treat a myriad of skincare conditions including, though not limited to, hyperpigmentation, acne, and fine lines.  (For more information about chemical peels see my post 13 Reasons You Should Get a Chemical Peel from an Esthetician)
• I wish I had learned to apply make-up earlier.  I’ve reached the point in my life were I really look better with some make-up on instead of none.  It took me years and years and years to get over being intimidated by make-up, any make-up.  I can’t say that I am great at applying make-up, but I do have simple routine down pat.  Make-up is also a great way to be creative without having regrets since you can simply wash your face and be done.  (I recently discovered Lisa Eldridge’s make-up tutorials.  Check them out!)

So what are your beauty regrets?  Share below!

Image from http://www.underconsideration.com

Hard Water and Your Skin January 16, 2013

A few months ago I moved from Chicago to Israel and my skin went insane.  I had breakouts galore and overall my skin went from looking nice to a complete disaster.  Now try going to esthetician job interviews when your skin actually looks like it needs the help of an esthetician.  Not pretty.  (Luckily I found bosses who understood what was going on with my skin and overlooked it, hiring me anyhow).  I’ve written about the issue of your skin going psycho in the past so I had a pretty good idea of what was causing my skin woes.  I also met other people who had moved around the same time I had and were experiencing similar skincare issues.  So I realized that what was going on wasn’t completely personal.  In my case I blamed the following issues for my skin issues: change in the climate I was living in, different food, stress, and hard water.  In order to treat my skin, specifically my breakouts, I started using my strongest skincare products (Retin-A and salicylic acid serum from Epionce) more often than I had before.  As with many skincare problems my skin started to calm down around the three month mark of being in my new home.  Of course I still have breakouts occasionally but nothing like when I first moved.  I’ve also recently adjusted my skincare routine because of the winter.

What happened got me thinking about how hard water affects our skin so I decided to investigate and share what I learned with my readers.*

eHow explains how hard water hurts your skin in the online article The Effects of Hard Water on Skin:

Hard water is comprised of high concentrations of undissolved minerals, such as calcium carbonate and dolomite. Although hard water contains these elements, it is not detrimental to your health, but it is harsh on your skin.  …

Damage to Healthy Skin Cells

• Hard water can cause damage to healthy skin cells. The elements such as zinc, lead, magnesium and calcium found undissolved in hard water will break down the elastin and collagen found in healthy skin cells. When this happens, the skin becomes vulnerable to sun damage through harmful ultraviolet rays.

Acne

• Since hard water is composed of undissolved minerals, acne can occur on a more frequent basis. Hard water dries out the skin, depriving it of natural oils. This causes skin irritation, which leads to acne breakouts.

Dry Skin

• The insoluble minerals found in hard water wind up settling on the surface of the skin and cause itchiness and dryness. In severe cases, the skin will become inflamed, crack, and bleed.

Ineffective on Germs

• Skin is more prone to germs when washed with hard water because it actually coats the skin with a dull film, due to the insoluble minerals in it. When this happens, the body’s natural oils are unable to reach the epidermis of the skin, and this leads to failure in the skin’s natural antimicrobial properties.

Self magazine investigates the issue even further in the article Is Your Water Causing You to Break Out?:

The problem with hard water is that its high mineral content prevents it from properly reacting with soap and, instead of triggering a lather, it creates a soapy layer on the skin. This not only clogs pores, but also irritates the skin, making it itchy, flaky and dry.

“These impurities in water make it difficult for soap and shampoo to wash off, leading to dryness of the skin and scalp, which directly irritate skin and cause redness and rosacea,” says Dr. Dennis Gross, Manhattan                                    dermatologist and founder of the Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare product line.

There’s also a correlation between hard water and skin disorders, like eczema. “The minerals, such as calcium, that are found in higher concentration may cause loss of moisture in the skin, which can lead to irritating conditions, such as eczema,” says New York dermatologist Dr. Eric Schweiger. Research at the University of Nottingham found that, out of over 7,500 school-age children, eczema was significantly more common for those living in hard water areas than those living in soft water areas.

It’s not just a matter of converting hard water to soft, which can be achieved with an at-home filtration system, because this does not take care of the heavy metals–like iron, zinc, magnesium, copper and lead–that cause skin issues. “An at-home filtration system is not an effective means of safeguarding the skin because the heavy metals are microscopic and present in the actual solution of the water,” says Dr. Gross.

So what are these heavy metals actually doing to our skin?

According to Dr. Gross, the impurities cause a chemical reaction with the skin’s natural oils, changing the consistency of the oil from a liquid to a wax, which in turn, clogs the pores and leads to acne. They have the same response to creams, even those that are non-comedogenic.

“After the face is washed and dried, the impurities from water still remain on the face and cling to the skin,” says Dr. Gross. “Even though these creams are formulated with oil-like substances specifically created to not block pores, when the creams come in contact with water impurities left on the face (after it has been washed and patted dry), the remaining impurities cause the oil-like substances to clog the pores.”

Also, the impurities found in tap water can act as free radicals, which bond with healthy skin cells and then destroy them. This in turn leads to the breakdown of collagen and leads to the formation of fine lines and wrinkles.  …

But Dr. Gross thinks it’s just a matter of time until dermatologists start considering the havoc water is wreaking on our skin. He wasn’t concerned much with water, either, until the skin woes of patients at his Manhattan practice led him to investigate further. “They would return from trips in the U.S. or abroad with irritated skin–even though they were using the exact same skincare regimen,” he said. Concluding that their skin issues resulted from the variation of city water, Dr. Gross began running lab tests on tap water nationwide. “I was shocked by the variation of heavy metal content from city to city,” he says.

In his research, Dr. Gross found that each metal pointed to a certain skin issue. He considers iron–with high amounts in Los Angeles, Park City, and New York–to be the most detrimental metal found in tap water because the accumulated deposits get energized by the sun, which has been linked to some cases of skin cancer. But for those individuals who are breakout prone, he says that calcium and magnesium are the two elements that will cause the most damage. “Both of these elements cause one’s own oils to become comedogenic and form waxy plugs that clog pores and lead to further breakouts, inflammation, flare-ups and irritation,” he said.

Some, after making this discovery, have quit tap water cold turkey–opting to cleanse with anhydrous (no water necessary) products or bottled water (so Paris Hilton). Washing with distilled water often leaves those unaccustomed with a “slippery” feeling, as the water instantly lathers and dismantles the soap scum later that lingers on skin.

But for those who can’t resist that refreshing rush of H20 pouring down on their faces in the shower each morning, they can opt for products that contain chelators, an organic complex that sequesters the heavy metals on the surface of the skin, preventing them from penetrating into the pores and causing damage. Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare’s Hydra-Pure Intense Moisture Cream is infused with Dr. Gross’s Chelating Complex, which he says “is likened to washing your face with pure H20.”

Personally I don’t think any of my skincare products have chelators in them, but I am going to try to be more vigilant about using toner (I have quite a few and forget to use them all the time) after cleansing in order to make sure that I have removed some of the mineral deposits left on my skin.  One day I would like to get a filter for our water, but in the meantime I’ll just have to get creative.

Further Reading:

• Chemistry of Hard and Soft Water – About.com
• Is It Better to Shower with Hard or Soft Water? - Oprah
• Is Tap Water Harming Your Skin? – Renee Rouleau
• Stress and Your Skin
• Why Are Minerals Good in Clay But Bad In Hard Water? – The Beauty Brains

*I also need to add that my hair and scalp has been a complete disaster since I moved because of the hard water where I live.  I still haven’t figure out how to fix that issue.

Image from personal.psu.edu