Friday, August 22, 2014

How to Get a Safe Tan!



It's fast, it's easy, it looks great and there's NO risk of burning! It's called an "airbrush" or "spray" tan! 

Here's how it works:
DHA (dihydroxyacetone) is the main ingredient in airbrush solutions and is derived from sugar beets or sugar cane. The tanning effect that you get with DHA is non-toxic - it reacts with the amino acids in the surface layers of the skin to produce the brown colour. 


The solution is poured into an airbrush gun and is applied by a trained professional so that you get even, all over colour. You are supplied with "sticky feet" so that you do not get product on the bottoms of your feet as you move from one position to the next, as well as a hair net, disposable undies and nose filters. You can of course wear your birthday suit or bring a swim suit/ bra & undies if you prefer- it's entirely up to your personal comfort level. I usually recommend wearing a thong so you can see how much colour developed on the skin, but braless is best so that you don't get thick tan lines! 

The Famous Question: "Will I look orange?" ....NO! This infamous "orange" look comes from the days when carotenoids were used in sunless tanning products, derived from carrots. Today's formulas have come a long way and I can whole-heartedly promise you - you will NOT look orange! Every product uses different percentages of DHA and different bronzing ingredients to create varying tones on the skin. Some use subtle green pigments to combat red skin tones, some use caramel bronzers and some are more chocolately/ dark brown. 

Usually solutions should be left on the skin over night, but over the past few years companies have developed "rapid" formulas that leave you with great colour, but allow you to shower only 2-3 hours after application. This is a major convenience factor, and a lot of my clients opt for the rapid formulas. 

Please visit http://skinstudiospa.com/body_care.html for more before and after tips for airbrush tanning. 

Don't forget! Airbrush tans do not protect your skin from the sun. It is still recommended to wear SPF on sun exposed skin! I recommend Eminence Organics' Tropical Vanilla Body Sunscreen.


Friday, August 15, 2014

Leave The Cooking Oils In The Kitchen



There seems to be an influx lately in people using straight oil (particularly coconut oil) in place of a moisturizer. Coconut oil has been shown to have all kinds of awesome benefits for the body: It's good for your brain health, it can help you lose weight, can help prevent infections, lower your risk for heart disease, and improves moisture content in skin and hair. 

So here's the thing you may not know: Skin care products should never be "one size fits all". Coconut oil is actually extremely comedogenic (pore clogging) and should not be used on oily or acne prone skin. Using coconut oil on these skin types can actually make skin conditions even worse, cause even more inflammation in the skin and create a perfect breeding ground for acne. 

So those of you with dry skin are thinking "I don't get breakouts and I use coconut oil all the time, so I'm good right?" True, for you it won't necessarily cause breakouts but over time, especially for those of you who are starting to notice your skin is aging, I bet it still doesn't feel as smooth and hydrated as it once did. Am I right? This is because the oil cannot penetrate beyond the epidermis (surface layers of the skin) due to it's large molecular structure. This means you're really only "moisturizing", or as we Estheticians like to call it, "lubricating" those surface layers, which is mostly just keratinized (dead) skin cells anyways! Oils also create an occlusive layer on the skin meaning it traps whatever moisture is in the skin, but it also doesn't let anything out. This means your skin cannot breathe so to speak and cannot perform it's natural functions. Again, this results in inflammation and a compromised skin barrier. Another thing that we are noticing in the treatment room, is that the skin doesn't seem to be able to effectively perform it's natural exfoliation process either, so the skin has a rough texture due to that layer of keratinized cells sitting, sort of "stuck" on the surface of the skin. As we age, our skin is already becoming less effective at exfoliating itself which is why exfoliating products are so important! (Hint: Try the Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant from Eminence Organics for gentle exfoliation.)

Going back to my point about skin care products taking a "one size fits all" approach.... There is a reason why professional skin care products have several ingredients in them, and those ingredients are processed to be "chirally correct", meaning they can actually be effective on the skin (the same reason you can't just rub a carrot on your face and expect the vitamins from the carrot to be transferred to the skin). The skin has several different needs in order to function perfectly, and as we age, those needs increase. Using one single "ingredient" cannot possibly give your skin all the vitamins, minerals, nutrients, fatty acids, ceramides etc etc etc that it needs! Using one single ingredient you may get the benefits of that one ingredient but your skin will still be malnourished. It's like if you ate broccoli all day everyday. We all know broccoli is awesome for you, but you need carbohydrates and protein and all that other good stuff too! So like I said earlier, if coconut oil can lock in moisture, we first need ingredients that are going to penetrate the dermis (deeper layers of the skin) and provide long term hydration for the skin. Ingredients that can penetrate the dermis is where corrective, results-oriented skin care begins. 

So if you're looking for effective, results oriented skin care, but you still love coconut oil, try the Coconut Age Corrective Moisturizer from Eminence Organics for a better alternative and leave the cooking oils in the kitchen. :)