Diet Change – An Important Factor In Effective Acne Treatment

While there are some folks who still insist that there is no link between diet and acne, most skin care professionals will disagree. Acne break outs start as the result of your body’s attempt to rid itself of a hormone overload, by sending the excess out through your skin in sebum oil. To maintain that there is no impact from adding even more of this stuff, through your food, would seem counter intuitive.

Most of us first experience acne, at some point or another during our teenage years. During this time, our hormone production runs wild and our bodies react by sending the excess out through our skin. Acne pimples start by having too much sebum oil on your skin.

So, if you’re already overloaded with hormones, does it really make any sense to make matters worse with your dietary intake? Dairy products, for example, will do just that. Did you know that Regular milk contains fifty-nine different hormones from the cow and even more hormones from the steroids that she was given to stimulate milk production. An effective acne diet should severely limit, or, probably even better, eliminate dairy from your diet.

And, if your acne has followed you into your adult years, while emotional stress can create a hormone imbalance, another probable cause is a low tolerance for the chemicals that are used in processed foods. Your body’s reaction to these toxins is much the same as it is for hormones. Not surprisingly, it reacts the same way by sending them out in the sebum oil that then starts your acne outbreaks.

An effective diet for acne prone skin should therefore also eliminate most processed foods to remove another root cause of extra sebum production.

Bottom line, acne starts on the inside of your body. Eliminate that internal cause, and the external result will be a significant difference in your skin.

What Skin Care does Simon Cowell use?

It may not be too outrageous to suggest that the “free world” may soon be broken down into two primary groups, those whose life revolves around maintaining their current status on Facebook or twitter from their iPhones, and those for whom American Idol represents the ultimate in “must see” TV.

While I don’t own an iPhone, I must admit that I am drawn, in some surreal way, to enjoying the sadistic whims of Simon, Randy, Kara and whoever, in my weekly dose of Idol.

It was while watching this weeks auditions from Chicago that I realised how much American Idol and the world of Skin Care have in common.

12,000 hopefuls were quickly reduced to two days worth of 60sec auditions which resulted in 37 Golden passes to the next round in Hollywood.

And, while all the Idol winners over the last eight years may have achieved their fifteen minutes of fame, they are still only just starting out in the entertainment world and have yet to have become true household names.

In the same way, my “Google Alerts” present me with a daily ration of hundreds of Skin Care hopeful product announcements. Most of them are destined to fall by the wayside long before they reach “Hollywood” and, even then, for the survivors, the real competition is only just starting.

In a true manifestation of Parkinsons Second Law, so many of the “rising stars” of Skin Care crash and burn as they reach what is their their true potential, long before they ascend to the marketeer hyped false reality with which they entered.

As attractive as it may sound, an anti-wrinkle cream, featuring a new wonder ingredient refined from camel dung and riding on the endorsement of a publicity seeking, second tier personality may not end up being a winner or even something worthwhile spending your money on. The successful skin care companies who have been around for years, have survived for a reason. They started, like Idol winners, by first learning their craft so that they can now demonstrate a pedigree built from proven quality, value and performance.

Forget Liposuction … Lose Your Cellulite on The Beach!

Luckier than most perhaps, I had the good fortune to visit Brasil several times in a previous life including one, very memorable trip during Carneval.

The beauty of the dancers in the Samba processions is legendary and the subject of much photographic record over the years. However, its not just the dancers, Brasilian ladies in general maintain a much more sylph like profile than their North American or European counterparts.

Whats their secret, and can it work for you too?

Brasilian women spend much of their time on the beach, so it’s no wonder that their secret to cellulite-free skin can be found there. Just a handful of ordinary sand can do wonders for cellulite when rubbed across the skin with a lubricant such as vegetable oil (or even sea water) just a few times per week.

Not convinced? Here’s how it works?

The sand massage improves circulation by helping to unsettle the deposits of fat that collect in the problem areas of the body, such as the thighs, buttocks or abdomen. The coarse nature of the sand allows for this movement, and for those of you not so close to the beach, a substitute like cornmeal, finely crushed salt or even sugar will also do the trick. And, as a double bonus, fighting cellulite in this way also allows you to exfoliate at the same time, giving you a healthier glow to your skin by bringing new skin cells to the surface.

Cellulite removal can also be further increased with the help of massage. A hand-held massage brush with either wooden or rubber pegs feels great and is inexpensive. Massages used daily help with cellulite removal.

Once you’ve completed the treatment, the broken up fat will begin to look for a new place to rest in the body. You can avoid this by drinking lots of water both before and after your scrub or massage. Which we all know is another one of the prime requirements for maintaining a healthy, beautiful glowing skin tone too.

See you on the beach!

(But don’t forget that broad spectrum UV sun protection)

Successful Skin Care Product Formulation is about The Carriers, not The Actives!

I was browsing through the website of a very well known and respected skin care manufacturer the other day and came across a fascinating statement. They proudly claim that their product formulations carry thirty percent active ingredients!

At first glance this may, especially for the uninitiated, appear to be a very positive marketing pitch. After all, if thirty percent of that product is actives then it just has to be good, right?

Wrong!!

Quite the opposite in fact.

The art of formulating really effective skin care products is to use just enough active ingredients to achieve the desired result, and only just enough. The professional formulator should strive to understand and follow the natural processes related to the skins metabolism, using them to their advantage rather than working against them.

A really good skin care product is not so much about the active ingredients but the carriers they employ. In many cases, using the right carriers can mean that a product need only contain one percent, or even less, actives.

This may, at first, seem counter-intuitive but if you stop and think about it for a minute you can begin to grasp the logic.

Thirty percent is like using a very large hammer to crack a walnut. Yes, you will get to the desired result, but the damage to the container, your skin in this case, can be far in excess of what was actually required to achieve the desired objective.

There is, however, one small caveat before you go rushing off to find skin care products with low active percentages. Not all manufacturers limit their active contents to protect your skin, some do it to protect their profit margins. Buying their products is just throwing your money down the drain. The trick is to figure out who does which.

“Paraben Free” Carries a Cost

Here again, I choose to reproduce an article published elsewhere in the hope that it reaches some of you who may otherwise not see it.

Published today in CosmeticsDesign.com was the following article by Kate Bird:

Paraben-free claims could backfire in 2010

By Katie Bird , 04-Jan-2010

Eat less chocolate, start going to the gym, cut down on the alcohol, boycott paraben-containing cosmetics…
January 1 will have seen a number of resolutions for the coming year. Although we are familiar with resolutions relating to diet and fitness, number four may have been adopted with more festive fervor this year than the cosmetics industry would have wished for.

Although much of this can be put down to misinformation and media hype, the blame does not totally lie at the door of ignorance and scare stories.

Many companies have been quick to pick up on the mileage of plying the concerned consumer with ‘free from’ products, particularly in the case of parabens, even though the official line is that they pose no health risk.

Beiersdorf, for example, offers a number of paraben-free products including its basic skin moisturising cream that comes in the iconic blue tin with the white Nivea scroll. However, the company is by no means 100 hundred percent paraben-free.

Arguably, if the German personal care giant really believed parabens were a danger to human health it would not be offering them in any of its products.

Why then is the personal care company advertising one of its flagship products as paraben free? Because a growing consumer base – and therefore growing potential retail dollars – are looking for paraben-free products.

Beiersdorf is by no means alone, many of the major players now offer ranges that are marketed on the back of their paraben-free status, alongside paraben-containing formulations.

The usual line here is ‘choice’. Consumers should be able to choose whether they want to purchase paraben-containing cosmetics or not. We should trust consumers enough to allow them to make an informed choice about whether or not they wish to continue using these products.

However, informed choice is impossible if there is no information. And, although the body of research, particularly animal studies, is growing, there is little evidence to suggest the compounds have any negative health effects on humans.

Furthermore, companies offering ‘free from’ products are inevitably fueling the idea that such ingredients should be avoided.

After all, if such a large number of companies are taking them out of products there must be something wrong with them, right? Well no, not if the rest of their brands still contain them.

The paraben-free products offered by many of these companies, is likely to push more consumers to adopt an anti-paraben stance, in turn making the majority of products offered by the company unacceptable to this new consumer group.

When the tipping point is reached, and the industry is forced to seriously defend its use of an ingredient that is currently supported by large bodies of evidence, the plaintive cry of misinformation and media scare stories may fall on deaf ears.

Clearly, resolutions are not always kept, but the industry may well find itself forced to at look the way it deals with contentious ingredients during the course of 2010.

Winter SkinCare Tips for Dogs

Here’s another one of those items that I just couldn’t let slip by.

Picked up today from the Skin Care & Beauty Blog.

With winter comes snow, mud and dirty dogs! Take care of your pet’s skin and coat with the following winter care tips from the American Humane Association:

1. All dogs (except for the truly hairless breeds) require frequent brushing regardless of coat type. Brushing is very important to your dog’s health and happiness. Brushing stimulates the skin by removing dead skin flakes, encourages natural oil production, removes irritating debris and encourages blood flow to the skin. It also uncovers skin and coat troubles, such as dandruff, parasites or dry or brittle fur, which may indicate an illness. Failing to brush your dog regularly may result in mats, which breed bacteria and infections and can be very painful for your dog.

2. Dogs should be bathed regularly. Brushing before a bath is recommended, as it breaks down dirt, grime and debris so the shampoo will clean more effectively (and it might also relax the dog). Don’t wash dogs outside; the frigid water from a garden hose is extremely uncomfortable and can make them sick.

3. Treat your dog to a visit with a professional groomer periodically. Dogs with coats that need regular trimming — such as poodles and Shih Tzus — can be professionally groomed every four to six weeks. Many mixed-breed dogs and those with multi-length coats — such as golden retrievers, many spaniels and sheep dogs — can get a professional grooming every six to 12 weeks. Dogs with uniform-length coats — such as Labs, and beagles — can visit a professional every 12 to 16 weeks, but can get by with home brushings. A professional can identify and remove mats safely. In addition, nail clipping, ear-hair removal and anal-sac expression are safer when performed by a trained professional. Professional groomers also have the tools and experience to safely cut and style your dog’s coat.

4. Inspect your dog’s ears frequently. Clean inside the ear only when you see dirt, wax or debris. Use an unexpired canine ear-wash solution and cotton balls to clean the ear (do not use cotton swabs). Squirt the solution into the dog’s ear canal and massage the base of the ear canal for 20 seconds. Then use cotton balls to remove the wax, but only as far down as you can see. Stop immediately if your dog cries, bites or exhibits any sign of pain.

5. Perform inspections of your dog’s skin and coat. Because your dog is covered in fur that can hide medical and grooming problems, you should inspect every inch of the skin and coat with your eyes and fingers. Regular brushing will make the inspection easier because dirt, mats and tangles won’t get in your way. Look for any changes or abnormalities, such as bites, parasites, injuries, lumps or changes in the skin’s color or texture.

6. Remember, it’s cold outside! Dogs with short hair and dogs that get cold easily should wear coats or sweaters while on a walk to keep them warm. You can also cover their feet with booties to protect their pads from salt or chemical de-icers. Wipe off any salt that might get on their stomach to keep them from licking it off.

Why Use Dead Sea Mineral Components in SkinCare?

The skin is a semi permeable membrane that responds to osmotic pressure by either absorbing moisture or releasing waste. The minerals in Dead Sea water can act as important catalysts in the numerous metabolic processes involved.

The careful inclusion and exploitation of Dead Sea Minerals in Skin Care formulations can be used to encourage these metabolic processes to behave in an optimal fashion for the benefit of the skin. The concentration range required to activate need only be small. At 0.5%, or even less, they can support cell functioning and enhance these metabolic processes.

And, why use Dead Sea mineral components in oily acne skin care?

There is no life in the waters of the Dead Sea. This means it is capable of killing microorganisms. If correctly used, Dead Sea water, mud or salts offer excellent potential as natural antimicrobials for acne prone skin. To achieve this however, the presence of Dead Sea raw materials does need to be a little more substantial.

A good SkinCare formulator makes highly effective use of Dead Sea Minerals, but only where their use is appropriate!

So, tell me about Dead Sea Minerals, Osmotic Pressure and SkinCare?

Inside the body there is a physiological fluid which has a typical salinity of 0.9% (just like the saline solution that is often used in hospitals to compensate for fluid loss).

On the surface of the skin (the outside of the membrane), we can use either a higher salt concentration and create a “HYPER-tonic” fluid, such as Mediterranean see water or Dead Sea water or, the opposite, a “HYPO- tonic” medium such as a completely salt free gel.

The effect on the surface membrane is also opposite. The skin has a permanent tendency to try to even out the salt concentration on either side of the membrane. This creates an osmotic pressure to “get things moving” around the skin.

So, dipping into the salty sea means that the body fluids want to go out of the skin. From an osmotic point of view, you may say that the fluids from inside “want to go out and reduce the salinity on the outside”. This does create a slight drying effect (which you may feel shortly after swimming) but it is also energizing, because all the waste removal is also increased and the metabolism is enhanced.

Thus, the “careful” use of Dead Sea Minerals in Skin Care products produces the same effect. Osmotic pressure helps to clear impurities and promote a healthier skin. “Careful” is an important consideration however. Just adding a heap of Dead Sea Minerals to a Skin Care product can have negative effects and cause new problems, not the least of which is overdrying the skin.

For completeness, we should also describe the the opposite osmotic effect. In cases where a very hydrating effect is required, which is very useful after, for example, “a burn”. During a burn, the heat causes contraction of the skin cells and the pores. They close and do not allow the permanent evaporation to take place normally – which may mean, at a time of a more serious burn – the formation of a blister. In this case, a salt free gel will try to enter through the skin’s membrane and even out the salinity on the inside. It creates a “plumping effect” on the skin, which softens and becomes hydrated. The pores “open up” and evaporation is enabled again. The blisters do not form and the cooling effect of the gel (which acts as an artificial sweat, especially if a ventilator, or better still, an air conditioner blows cold air in its direction) means little or no pain is felt and the discomfort of the burn may very quickly disappear.

What are the Minerals found in The Dead Sea?

All together the Dead Sea contains over 21 minerals which have been proven to beautify the skin and keep it healthy and youthful. Even plants growing along the shores of the Dead Sea have a high concentration of vitamins, minerals and valuable oils which are used in dermatology cosmetics and medicine.

The major minerals found in Dead Sea water or mud are actually those which are essential for the proper functioning of skin cells, making a significant contribution to maintaining a healthy, beautiful skin

Magnesium – A therapeutic mineral which helps the healing of skin tissue, acts as an antiallergenic agent on the skin, improves cell metabolism, stimulates protein synthesis and facilitates energy production.

Bromine – Soothes your skin with anti-inflammatory properties, calms and relaxes muscles and calms skin nerves.

Iodine – improves functioning of the thyroid gland and helps the skin cells’ metabolic exchanges.

Sulfur – Is a known therapeutic mineral. It contains certain essential vitamins and is a natural disinfectant and antibacterial agent – thus making it effective against acne. It has also been shown effective in helping relieve symptoms of skin disorders such as Psoriasis and Eczema.

Potassium – is a key moisture regulator and helps preserve a neutral skin environment. Signs of potassium deficiency include abnormally dry skin and acne as well as flare ups of Psoriasis.

Calcium – is the building block for corrective tissue under the skin’s surface and plays an important role in cell protection. It regulates cell membrane permeability (absorption and oil production) and normalizes skin cells’ differentiation.

Sodium – this Dead Sea mineral improves the skin cells metabolism, relieves muscle cramps and stiffness while maintaining a neutral environment within skin cells.

Zinc – This mineral is important for the natural regulation of cell growth and regeneration. It also facilitates cell renewal and stimulates collagen and elastin synthesis (renews skin). A great antioxidant this mineral is a free radicals scavenger. It also improves sebo-regulation (anti-acne properties), anti-inflammatory properties and is a natural UV ray blocker.

Strontium – has effective anti-itching properties, reduces the signs of irritant contact dermatitis (a common problem for those with sensitive skin who regularly use cosmetics)

Manganese – Well known for powerful antioxidant properties out of all minerals. It also increases skin microcirculation (which promotes better anti-aging effects) and improves the condition of connective tissues.

Lithium – this Dead Sea mineral increases the effectiveness of bath salt treatment for psoriasis.

Boron – replenishment of the Boron mineral helps to relieve the symptoms of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

New Year, New Attitude ….. New Skin!

Many people today are just plain confused by the sheer number of skin care products and options on the market. There are a few folks, the lucky ones, who are blessed with a beautiful radiant skin. Having been born this way, they are the people who could never even wash their skin and yet it would still look perfect. For the rest of us, this is just not a reality, go just one day without washing your skin and by the next morning the whole world will be able to see the results of your neglect!

While, for most of us, a perfect skin seems like some kind of fairy tale, you definitely can achieve changes to your skin. Whether you have oily, dry, sensitive, or mature skin, there are products out there to help you cope with what you were born with.

However, be assured that there is no panacea, no one miracle product out there for everybody. What may work wonders for one skin may do nothing for another. Our skin is very unique and different, and although many people may suffer from the same condition (for example acne, seborrhea, hyper-pigmentation) one product may react completely different from one person to the next.

Self diagnosis is seldom the most successful approach. You need the help of a Skin Care professional. If you haven’t been for a while, make this your first New Year Resolution.

If you own a car, you know that it needs a professional service from time to time. And, it invariably seems to drive better when you get it back. The same goes for the skin you own. Go treat yourself and have a wonderful facial with an experienced esthetician. They will examine your skin and recommend the products in their spa that best suit you. In most cases the skin care products they recommended will work just great. But again, not everything works for everyone. You may still have to search for the right product that works best with your skin. But don’t give up, that beautiful skin you envy so much is not totally unattainable!

However, remember that if you want to ensure the health of your skin for the years to come you must treat it well.

Too many people take for granted this precious organ we call our skin. Everyone washes their hair, conditions it, and trims or styles it if it is looking shabby. So, how could we then neglect our skin so much? Not wash it, don’t exfoliate and just let our skin thicken and form comedones, or let it bake in the sun without protection so it can start looking nice and crispy!

And then we wonder, why am I getting all these fine lines, pigmentation, and blackheads … wrinkles!

Get the point? Our skin needs regular attention just like the rest of our body. Make that time to give your skin the daily care it needs and it will reward your efforts. You will never regret paying attention to it!

George Burns once said: “I look to the future because that’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life“.

Look to your skin, its your future!