What I’ve Been Reading November 28, 2013

It’s been awhile since I wrote a post sharing the various articles I’ve been reading.  This week I finally found time to sit down and go through all my emails and catch-up on my skincare reading.  Here are my favorite articles that I’ve read lately:

• I never grow tired of articles that try to dispel myths about sun protection.  The Skin Cancer Foundation has done a great job debunking very common sunscreen and sun myths in their article  Skin Cancer Myths vs. Facts.
• Still think your lipstick is poisoning you?  Let the Personal Care website explain the facts behind the seemingly scary statistics in their article Cosmetics Info: Lead in Lipstick.
• I’m still waiting for real winter to arrive where I live, but if your area of the world is cold be sure to check out Dr. Jessica Wu’s tips on ways to hydrate your skin from the inside out in her article Feed Your Face: What to Eat to Fight Dry Skin.
• New Beauty shares some interesting information in 4 Reasons Hyperpigmentation Is On the Rise.
• Ever wonder what a facial in France is like?  Renee Rouleau had one and spills the beans.
• Want to make your own beauty products but don’t know where to start?  Fabulous make-up artist Lisa Eldridge shows you how to take commonly found foods and transform them into beauty indulgences.
• I’ve written about glycation and the skin before (see my post Skincare Terms Explained: Glycation for more information), and now you can learn more from Kris Campbell’s Skin Inc. article Glycation and the Skin.
• Also check out the Skin Inc. article Botanical Ingredients for the Medical Spa for ways to integrate new ingredients into your esthetics practice.

And last, but definitely not least, my favorite article from those that I’ve read lately is The Wall Street Journal piece: Grooming Secrets of the NBA.  Even if you’re not a basketball fan this is a fun read.  I think I might start getting some skincare ideas from professional male athletes :).

Read any good beauty or skin related articles lately?  If you have please share below.

Image from mysweetindulgence.com, found on Pinterest

2 Book Reviews November 12, 2013

Can You Get Hooked On Lip Balm?  by thebeautybrains.com

and

 Age-less by Fredric Brandt, MD

Chances are if you follow skincare and beauty news you’ve heard of Dr. Fredric Brandt.  He is quoted extensively in glossy fashion magazines, and his name pops up all over The New York Times (such as here or here  or here and here to name just a few articles).   A celebrity cosmetic dermatologist who works in both NYC and Miami, Dr. Brandt was one of the first doctors in the US to use Botox and fillers.  He has helped shape the face (pun intended) of today’s cosmetic dermatology and thriving Botox and filler culture.  Of course he also has his own successful line of skincare products.  His book that I am reviewing here; Age-Less, isn’t new at all; it was published in 2002, making parts of it already obsolete, particularly the sections about collagen fillers.  But there is enough well-thought out skincare advice here that I wanted to share my thoughts about the book with my readers.

This book is short and to the point; it was very readable and relatable.  I think that when a doctor is writing a book for the general public the readability factor is a utmost importance so that anyone can clearly understand the points they are trying to make instead of getting bogged down in scientific information.  The subtitle to this book is: The definitive guide to Botox, collagen, lasers, peels, and other solutions for flawless skin, but what I found most topical about the book was the straight-up skincare advice.  As with all books by dermatologists this book begins with a section about how the skin functions and continues with clear-cut information about what ages our skin.  Much to my liking Dr. Brandt takes the time to discuss the importance of protecting one’s skin from the sun and explains what an SPF rating means (though some of this information is outdated since the FDA finally changed their SPF requirements).  For instance he writes on page 16:

This next piece of advice is almost simplistic, but since I am constantly given a multitude of excuses for being sunburned, I think it bears repeating.  First, everyone needs to consider sunblock as vital as toothpaste and as indispensable as those pricey antiaging creams.  No sunblock will offer you complete protection from the sun – you’d need to go outside covered with a metal cage to accomplish that – but the options today are so wonderfully diverse that it’s truly inexcusable not to use one.

The home care advice that Dr. Brandt dispenses is succinct and very helpful.  He also goes over prominent skincare ingredients and how they help the skin.  The skincare ingredient information you can find in a multitude of sources, but if you are confused about how to care for your skin at home this book can help you get started with a simple and effective home care regime.  I did like the fact that Dr. Brandt explains how regular facials can help your skin (page 38):

Unlike our European counterparts, we are not a nation that values pampering rituals like facials.  Usually, as the aesthetician is busy slathering our faces with multiple potions and lotions, we’re busy thinking there must be something more productive that we should be doing instead.  The many new day spas that opened in the mid-1990s increased interest in facials, adding a sense of urgency and obligation to facials as a crucial step in a skin care routine.  There are many benefits to having regular facials.  The pores get professionally cleansed, the facial massage stimulates the skin’s microcirculation, and the concentrated percentages of active ingredients that are applied are a rare treat.  And, of course, anything that makes you feel this relaxed is going to have a positive effect on your skin.

If facials make you feel great, then by all means indulge.  Just remember that a facial is a supplementary treatment, not a replacement for a consistent home care routine.  Your facialist may truly be amazing, but the benefits received from one treatment will not carry you until your next appointment unless you do your share at home.

I couldn’t have said it better myself!

A large section of the book deals with the benefits of Botox and of fillers.  While the information about Botox is still topical there have been so many advances in the world of fillers that most of the information in the book is already outdated.

My favorite part of the book is at the end – befores and afters.  I am a sucker for a good makeover.  Here Dr. Brandt takes four different women and shows how injections of Botox and filler can rejuvenate one’s appearance. What is nice about this chapter of the book is that not only does Dr. Brandt explain why and how he chose to do what he did for these patients, but each patient also explains what she thought about the process and results.  If you are considering non-surgical facial rejuvenation (which I fully endorse when done by the right physician) the stories in this book, and most importantly the photos, will be helpful for you in making your decision.

Can You Get Hooked On Lip Balm?

If you are interested in skincare and science, figuring out the truth behind beauty companies’ claims, and making sure that you buy the most effective beauty products you need to be following the blog The Beauty Brains.  I’ve promoted this blog before in my blog for the simple reason that it is one of the best sources on the web for truthful information about the beauty industry.  The creators of the blog are cosmetic chemists so they really know what they are writing about.  There is definitely not an ounce of beauty bs on this site which I love.

The forces behind The Beauty Brains have written a few books; the one I am reviewing here – Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm? – which was published in 2011.  The book is divided into sections: hair, skin, make-up, the beauty industry, and cosmetic concerns and perilous products.  At the very back of the book they even explain how to read a beauty product label which is of utmost importance if you want to be a savvy beauty consumer and not be duped by the beauty industry.  Each section of the book contains questions sent in by blog readers followed by a short, but very much effective, answer.  The questions really run the gamut from: Do pore strips really work? to Is it safe to use lipstick on your cheeks? or How to pop a pimple and top five causes of darkened armpits.  The problems and issues covered in the book are real life dilemmas and not at all esoteric.

While I liked the skincare section a lot (truth be told I wasn’t as interested in the hair or fragrance sections) I thought questions and answers in the beauty industry and perilous products sections were the most topical since those sections very clearly teach readers what to believe and what not to believe when it comes to the beauty industry.  On top of that these sections of the book really cut through all the noise and nonsense that surrounds the beauty industry and confuses consumers.  As I already mentioned above, reading this book (or the blog) makes you a much more savvy beauty consumer which in the end saves you lots of money and time.  The advice here is down-to-earth and clearly understandable.  The book is also a malleable read since you can skip around just reading the questions and answers that interest you the most or you can take the time to go through the whole book word by word.  Either way, the book won’t take you a long time to get through.  It is also a good reference book to have at home so you can look up common beauty questions without having to surf the web to find answers.

Bottom Line:  I enjoyed reading both of these books and am happy to have them as part of home beauty library for future reference.

Images from bookdepository.co.uk and http://www.ebay.com

Do Men and Women Have Different Skin? November 7, 2013

Since November is Men’s Health Awareness Month or Movember I thought it was time to try to answer the question: do men and women really have different skin?

There are skincare lines made just for men and even spas that cater to a mostly male clientele.  Now is this a necessity or simply a marketing choice?  If you’re a man or if you want to buy a skincare gift for a man in your life do you need to purchase the gift from a skincare line that markets to men?  I have to say that spas and skincare lines that promote their products or services just to men are simply using a marketing strategy because when it comes down to it while there are differences between men and women skin that doesn’t mean that if you are a man you need to seek out a skincare line that is supposedly formulated just to your skin.  What is interesting, in my opinion, in the how the whole field for men’s make-up, cosmetic procedures, and spa services has grown and continues to grow.  More and more men are realizing the importance of caring for their skin on a daily basis and are embracing cosmetic procedures and services normally just done on women in order to look and feel their best.

The Nitty-Gritty: How Men and Women’s Skin Differs

The Dermalogica website sums up with differences between men and women’s skin thusly:

Besides having facial hair, there are structural differences between a man’s skin and a woman’s. Androgen (testosterone) stimulation causes an increase in skin thickness, which accounts for why a man’s skin is about 25% thicker than a woman’s. In addition to being thicker, a man’s skin texture is tougher.  …

Regardless of age, men also have a higher collagen density than women. Because collagen content is directly related to the signs of skin aging, it has been said a woman’s skin is about 15 years older than a man’s of the same age. However, men are less sun savvy than women, meaning they don’t use sunscreens, and could contribute to why the “15 year” skin age difference is not readily noticed. UV damage from the sun can add years to a man’s skin and negate the benefit of slowed intrinsic aging.

These differences are further expanded upon in The International Dermal Institute article Is a Man’s Skin Really Different?.  For instance:

Loss of Collagen
The physical signs of aging in adults, such as wrinkles and laxity to the tissue, are closely related to the collagen content of the skin. Both men and women lose about one percent of their collagen per year after their 30th birthday. For women, however, this escalates significantly in the first five years after menopause then slows down to a loss of two percent per year.

Texture
From a superficial perspective, the texture of a man’s skin is very different than a woman’s. The texture (on a man) is rougher, and the Stratum Corneum is thicker. There is also a difference in the composition of sebum and its production. After puberty, sebum production is greater in males than in females, which is attributed to androgen secretions and accounts for why men have longer lasting acne. The cells in a man’s sebaceous glands have more positive receptors for androgens, which explains why they produce more sebum. Interestingly, redness, proliferation of the sebaceous glands and swelling of the skin on the nose, (a condition known as rhinophyma that is found in extreme cases of rosacea) is only seen in males. It is unknown if this condition is controlled by androgens in a similar capacity as sebum production.

Do Men and Women Need Different Skincare Products?

So now that we’ve established that there are indeed differences in men and women’s skin do men and women really need difference skincare products?  I would answer that question with a resounding no.  Discovery Fit and Health agrees:

On a biological level, yes, men’s and women’s skin differ. The male of our species tends to boast a thicker epidural layer with larger pores that clog with dirt and oil more easily. Men also lose collagen, a skin-strengthening protein, at a slower rate than women. There’s also the whole issue of facial hair, as men usually have to factor in shaving their face regularly, which can further scrape and damage skin.

Differences in actual cleansers, however, generally amount more to marketing. Women’s skin care products have long dominated the market, and cleansers aimed at men generally revolve around looking and smelling more masculine: more spice, less fruit, more dark or clinical color schemes on the labeling. Top that off with a no-nonsense name like “MenScience Daily Face Wash,” and you have a real chance at scoring a slice of the $19.7 billion men’s grooming industry. Underneath all of this, there’s very little difference between most male facial cleansers and their female or unisex counterparts.

The real factors that determine which cleanser is right for you have more to do with your individual skin type, be it normal, dry, oily, combination or sensitive. Beyond that, consider the ingredients in your cleanser product as well as its role in your overall skin care regiment.

(From Do Men and Women Need Different Cleansers?)

When it comes down to caring for their skin men need to do the same things women do – determine their skincare issues, figure out what skin conditions they need or want to to treat, and look for products with the right ingredients in order to treat and keep their skin in its best shape.  If you like a certain product from a skincare line aimed at men then by all means use it, but there is no need to seek out skincare products targeted at men.

Make-up, Spa, and Cosmetic Services for Men

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post what I see as a very interesting phenomena is the increased use of make-up by men and the number of men who receive spa services and undergo cosmetic procedures.  The rise in the use of make-up by men is actually a world-wide occurrence spanning Asia, Europe, and the US.  Famous and influential fashion designers such as Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford have created their own beauty lines just for men.  All over the world men are embracing spa services that were once thought to be just for women (read about how Brazilian men as well as UK men are adopting this trend).  And finally in the US cosmetic procedures performed by doctors are on the rise for men.

Bottom Line:  If Movember is supposed to raise awareness about men’s health perhaps it can help raise some awareness about men’s skincare as well.  Don’t fall for slick packaging and seductive advertising, men don’t need different skincare products than women.  You just need to find the right products for your skin.  Remember to use your sunscreen daily, and if you feel that a little concealer and bronzer would help you look your best by all means start using them.

Sources and Further Reading:

• Is Men’s Skin Really Different From Women’s? – Details
• Allure Man: Moisturizers Even a Guy Will Use
• Allure Man: Adventures in Clarisonic Land
• The Spa Man – a UK website devoted to spa culture and skincare aimed exclusively at men
• ManFace – another UK blog devoted to men’s beauty and grooming
• For a myriad of topics connected to male spa customers and men’s skin check out the August, 2013 issue of LNE&Spa
• Tom Ford for Men: Skincare and Grooming – Ask Men

Image Golconde by Rene Magritte (from http://www.masterworksfinearts.com)