Lifestyle Choices

Unlike sunscreen (which everyone absolutely needs), not everyone needs a moisturizer, especially on the face. If you have oily skin, you are often better off without. As a dermatologist, I see many problems stemming from excessive or inappropriate use of moisturizers on the face. If you have an oily complexion but feel you need a moisturizer for non-oily parts of your face, use an oil-free formulation. Everyone should beware of exotic oils, fragrances, protein extracts, or enzymes; rarely useful, they are often irritating. (more…)

4 Gravity and Wrinkles Causes

The whole universe is held together by gravity. The movements of the earth around the sun (determining the seasons) and of the moon around the earth (regulating the tides) are all according to the invisible force of gravity. Although gravity makes life possible (and helps people walk rather than float!), we are not often conscious of gravity’s effect on our appearance. (more…)

Six major causes of our facial wrinkles:

1 Natural or “intrinsic” aging

Natural, biologic aging is responsible for the inevitable thinning of our skin accompanied by the loss of structural collagen and elastic tissue. The good news is that this biologic aging is the least important of the causes of wrinkles on your face. (more…)

Has it ever occurred to you that you have too much fat on your body and too little fat on your face? However, today surgeons are actually taking fat from the stomach or thighs and moving it to the face. The transplantation of fat, or lipotransplantation, is an old and until recently neglected method of treating deep wrinkles, which was revived about ten years ago by the French plastic surgeon, Dr Pierre Fournier. (more…)

Dermabrasion is an extreme form of exfoliation. For this procedure, the doctor actually uses a rotating wire brush like a sanding instrument to remove the entire outer surface of the skin. The epidermis and the upper portion of the dermis (about one-quarter to one-third of the thickness of your skin) is usually abraded. (more…)

“Skin Bleaching” Medical Surgery Basic Procedure

Before a chemical peel, the doctor may recommend that the face be “pre-treated” with a special exfoliating cleanser, with retinoic acid, or with alpha-hydroxy acids so that the peel procedure can be performed on a more even skin surface. Just before the peel, the doctor may ask the patient to wash his or her face thoroughly. Then he or she will clean the patient’s face extensively with alcohol oracetone, rubbing the superficial oil from the skin. (more…)

The use of chemicals to “peel away” unwanted or dead skin is a practice with a past. Chemical face peeling can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where creams of alabaster particles suspended in milk and honey were applied to the face for “tightening”. The Egyptians also used animal oils mixed with salt and natural minerals, and plant substances to “exfoliate” their faces. Later, poultices containing mustard, sulfur and limestone were used. (more…)

Viruses

Viruses are even smaller than bacteria and fungi and they are not usually found on normal skin. Many viruses can cause a rash - e.g. measles and glandular fever - but these diseases are not dealt with here. This section describes some virus infections in which either the only signs or the commonest signs of the disease are on the skin.

Warts

It is now known that there are several strains of wart virus and each tends to produce its own type of wart. Some cause the ordinary wart on the hands, others painful warts on the feet; and still others warts on the face or genitals. Warts are caught from other people. This happens easily in children who have not had time to develop immunity to the virus but adults are more resistant. Even when the virus has gained access to the skin it may lie dormant for weeks or months before the wart itself appears. (more…)

Long-term effects of UV

These can be divided into photoaging, potentially malignant and frankly malignant tumors. The changes result from a cumulative dose of UVB over many years. At present the worst affected are fair-skinned Britons who have been brought up in tropical or subtropical climates, e.g. Northern Australia or the southern states of the USA. Other groups include men who spent years in the desert in World War Two. The victims of the future are today’s young men and women who roast themselves on sunny beaches every summer and who then try to maintain the tan by using sunbeds through the winter months. (more…)

Salon facials help turn good skin into great, but they can be very costly. Why not learn to give yourself one at home instead? The following facial is adapted from one offered at a famous New York City salon:

1. Cleanse skin with cleansing cream or lotion; remove with pure, facial-quality cotton. Don’t use synthetic cosmetic puffs; they’re too rough for the face.
2. Place loose camomile tea leaves in a pot of water and bring to a boil; remove pot from the heat. Transfer liquid to a large ceramic bowl.
3. Lean face a comfortable distance over the bowl; the steam should feel hot but should not burn. Drape a thick towel over your head to keep the steam from escaping. When the steam is gone, strain the liquid from the bowl and place it in the freezer until very cold.

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The oval (top left) is considered the ideal shape, but don’t despair: You can improve on nature by the proper application of shadow base (a shade darker than your foundation) and highlighter (a shade lighter than foundation). (Note: The white areas in the diagram represent the highlighter; shaded areas represent the shadow base). Begin by applying your foundation, then consult the descriptions below for providing your own corrective shaping.

• Rectangular or oblong face. Use shadow base to darken lower jaw and chin. Blend well in all directions. Then apply highlighter on each side of the face between the center of the cheek and the ear. Blend outward.

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Foundation is one of the secrets of fabulous, flawless-looking skin. No longer heavy and greasy, today’s foundations are specially formulated to give you longer-wearing, more natural coverage. Your first installment in the foundation story: zero in on your skin type, then pick the blend that’s made for you.

Application

Learn to apply foundation properly for a smooth, “no-seams” look.

1. Cleanse face with a product made for your skin type.
2. Exfoliate with a gentle scrub to remove dead cells.
3. Tone with a product made for your skin type to close pores.

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The Cause

Oily skin is the result of overactive sebaceous glands, which usually occurs due to a hormonal imbalance in the body. Occasionally a diet too high in fats and fried foods or refined sugar can contribute to the condition, as can too much stimulation of the sebaceous glands by heat, the sun, or skin-care products containing chemicals such as sulfur, which, although they are designed to dry out the condition, in the long run work in a counterproductive way by removing too much oil and thereby stimulating the glands to produce yet more. Studies show that people on diets slightly deficient in some of the B group of vitamins rapidly develop whiteheads, blackheads, and oily hair and skin. (more…)

Provided it is done skillfully, massage is a wonderful treatment for the face. But it must be done gently and carefully, for the muscles of the face and neck are made up of fine fibers which, unlike muscles in the rest of the body, are attached not only to bone but also to the skin itself. They are, therefore, delicate and must never be pulled hard, or massage can have a detrimental effect, rather than a helpful one. Always following the direction of the muscle fibers themselves, massage will stimulate blood circulation, which improves the tone of muscles and skin and promotes the use of nutrients in the cells and the elimination of wastes. Massage will also help the skin to absorb active ingredients in creams and essential oils. (more…)

BEGIN BY STAYING OUT OF THE SUN

To preserve your skin from premature aging, in addition to the constant use of a sunscreen on your face as part of your everyday skin care, you should understand the art of sunbathing—that is if you want to tan at all. Ideally, of course, you would be far better off pale.

As we’ve already said, the sun is your skin’s worst “ager.” It has been proved that exposure to ultraviolet light brings about permanent fundamental alterations in the genetic material of skin cells and encourages the process of cross-linking. These changes are cumulative and irreversible. Even when sun-exposed skin from an arm is grafted onto a protected area such as the abdomen and left there for years, it still remains older- looking and darker than the skin surrounding it. (more…)

Eyeliners

Finally put on your eyeliner. A good way of emphasizing eye shape without looking too obviously made up is to use a pencil in the same tone you are using for your eye shadow, dotting it all along the upper lashes and then just under the lower ones so the two lines meet at the outer corners and form a little triangle. This kind of liner looks good when it is gently smeared with a brush or fingertip to blend it into the surrounding area and keep it from looking too heavy. You can also use another color line drawn on the inside of the lower lid if you like. If you use a light color there, such as off-white, it will make your eyes look bigger. If you use a bright color such as electric blue or brilliant green, it can look great for evening. (more…)

Light Draws the Eye

Highlighter is a powerful tool when it is used wisely. When carelessly or wrongly applied, it can make a face look positively absurd. The best highlighters are not white. Bone white is too harsh. Instead choose a pale ivory foundation to use as a lightener on the areas of the face you wish

The Eyes Have it

For most women, one of their best features is the eyes. Perhaps this is because eyes reveal so much of what goes on inside one. Makeup for eyes should emphasize this and show off the eyes‘ beauty and color. It should never be applied gratuitously, as it often is. (more…)

Not only does older skin need extra protection from the sun in order to avoid the formation of brown age spots, it needs protection in other ways, too. From excessive stress, for instance, which takes a heavy toll of a woman’s face when she is over forty. It is important to get enough sleep.

Both sebum production and the water content of the skin decrease with age, which makes it doubly important to keep your skin guarded from excessive dehydration. Many creams for older skin contain a sebum-like substance to make up for the gradual decline in the natural ability to hold water. Hormone creams, particularly those containing estrogen and estrogen-like substances, can be useful in combating aging too. They plump up skin that is losing much of its padding and form, thanks to their ability to increase the skin’s water-holding tendencies. They also soften the surface texture. (more…)

One of the most useful things you can do yourself to prevent your face from aging and to correct sags and bags even after they have occurred is to practice face exercises every day.

The bones you were born with give yaw face its individual shape and structure. Short of plastic surgery or adjustments to your skull through cranial osteopathy, there is nothing you can do to change them. But your muscles are constantly changing either for better or for worse. They are made up of bundles of fibers, each of which works independently to shorten muscle and draw a part of the face into a particular expression. Just like the muscles in the rest of your body, each of these groups of fibers has an antagonistic group. This means that for each muscle that pulls an area of your face into one expression, there is an opposite muscle to pull it the other way. (more…)

There are three parts to any good external skin care regimen, regardless of your age or the type of skin you have:

1. Regular, thorough cleansing

2. Protection from moisture loss and external roughness

3. Protection from the ultraviolet rays of the sun

These are the basics. They are simple, and there need be no mumbo jumbo about them. One can include a fourth part to skin care too, and that is treatment. This extra can correct problems, help preserve youth, and revitalize the look of skin.

You can give your skin treatments either internally from vitamins, minerals, and diet, or externally in the form of hydrotherapy, or by applying special creams, oils, or herbs, or by using specific exercises to strengthen muscles before they have a chance to sag or to correct neglect. The treatment part of skin care is where the art comes into it, and here you need to consider your specific skin conditions and problems. The other three are all parts of the simple craft of skin care, and it is very simple indeed. (more…)