I hate drinking water. There. I said it.
But as someone who is both health-conscious and vain, I know that it is essential to my well-being. Water makes up 70% of our body's composition and this translates into the healthiness of our tissues.
From my experience as an esthetician, I know that dehydrated skin is the cause of almost all skin ailments. Without proper hydration, our skin weakens its barrier function and ability to repair, triggering eczema break outs, blemishes and wrinkles. Wrinkles are simply "skin wounds from being stretched and creased which have not had the ability to heal", according to former head chemist of Estee Lauder. And the inhibition of skin-regeneration due to dryness causes premature signs of aging. This also comes in the form of dreaded sun-damage as dried out skin is less resilient and cannot heal and fade pigmentation or scars as easily.
Glug-glug-glug should be our new beauty mantra - and, as I wrote in my beauty book "Beauty 2.0", soon to be re-launched from Mc Arthur and Company as "Beauty: Pure + Simple", we should be drinking between 1.5 and 3 litres per day. I will be the first to admit that often I am not following my own advice and have the forehead lines forming to show it. I have gotten lazy, and now that I have cleared up my terrible acne, I do not have such a visible monitor of when I am, and am not taking care of myself. This makes it so easy to slip into bad habits.
Well no more! I'm going to swallow my own words (pun totally intended) and make drinking 2 litres of water (or more) per day second nature. They say that if you repeat a behaviour 27 times it becomes custom. So I will do this for 30 days to ensure full efficacy. By the end of this, I should be a regularly guzzling down water with glee, full of hydration and donning more dewy, more glowing skin!
This little project will hopefully inspire others and offer helpful tips to making water both more palatable and convenient. I will not be including juice or sweet additives, but will be testing out tasty new teas, supplements full of vitality, and possibly a squeeze of lemon to take in more water.
On my mark...Get set...Sip!
Showing posts with label Acne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Acne. Show all posts
Friday, November 13, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tricks to Avoid Getting Caught with a Spot
For the first time in years I have broken out with two very red, very visible pimples...smack in the middle of my forehead.
Back when I had acne, this would be a daily occurrence - and people around me would give me tips on how to treat them. I know, I know they were trying to help, but often it was simply bad skin advice (and embarrasing!). I have heard so many bad blemish tips that I am surprised my face is not full of scars - like when my aunt told me to swim in chlorinated water to dry them out, or my former drama teacher's bauty wisdom: to take a bit of my mother's perfume and dab it on each spot. Not only would the high percentage of alcohol blast them of my face, but I would smell like the first floor of a department store.
Well, for those of us who get the occasional zit, here is what you should really do, from an esthetician who went through a decade of terrible break outs:
Germinating Break outs
Like with all things, pimples do not simply appear, but evolve. Sometimes you even have the pleasure of seeing a pimple mature -starting as something small, a little red bump with no visible white pus, slowly gets bigger and bigger, becoming more and more gross. This is commonly when people try to pick their faces, leaving them looking scabbed, and the blemish returning in the next day or so. The best thing to do is to moisturize them - and that is what I did.
Because they had not formed a head, I just slathered on a heavy cream with oil over top of the cream, for a layering of anti-pimple antidote. In two days my blemishes were gone - I avoided them getting to full-sized pimples, but more importantly, I avoided scarring. Now, if you are too late and the pimple is on its way to full blemishdom, this will still help it come out faster, and the faster it comes out, the faster you can get rid of it.
Mount Fuji on Your Face
When you have to deal a blistering pimple, (probably right before public speaking with your ex boyfriend in the audience), there are a couple of things you can do.
If you must get rid of the spot the day of - you need to pick it. So get down and dirty and steam your face for 5 minutes (after cleansing of course), tissue your fingers, and extract it. The pimple should feel flatter and you should have removed all of the pus. Quickly disinfect with an alcohol-free antiseptic like Organic Witch Hazel (using alcohol can lead to scarring), dab the spot with Green Clay and let it sit until the clay is dry to touch. This will not only close up the picked pimple, but also calm the irritated skin and draw out any impurities you didn't take out. After you remove the spot treatment, apply a soothing moisturizer and apply make up.
But this is only in beauty emergencies, if you have a couple of days, I suggest the gentler, less risky solution: dry it out. There is more than one way to do this, but the objective is to dry out the spot, but nor your skin. I recommend applying a Clay Mask just on the blemish and leaving it overnight. After two nights the pimple should be gone or at least significantly reduced. Don't use a very diluted clay or a kaolin clay - they will not be potent enough.
Another route is to use Himalayan Salt. A friend of mine told me that she mixes a pinch of salt with water and dabs it on before bed. Whatever you use, I suggest it be natural and only on the blemish itself - you don't want to dehydrate your healthy skin.
The Cystic Pimple: An underground killer
Sometimes you get those deep, underground boil-like blemishes that do not come to a head at all. We call this Cystic Acne, or Blind Pimples. In these cases, bacteria has gone into the dermis layer of your skin and this deep seated, infected fluid is what causes the painfulness of Cystic Pimples. If you have many Cysts, and break out with them often - you may need to disinfect internally. This is why anti-biotics are so effective for this type of break out - but I have prescribed Neem capsules with excellent results. Neem is a blood cleanser, anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial and also anti-inflammatory.
Topically, you must stimulate the area. Because this stagnant fluid is Kapha-like in its quality, it can stay on the skin for months at a time in some situations. Applying arnica cream of water heals the area and promotes circulation which will break up the cyst and encourage it to drain. I have personally extracted my own cystic pimples by puncturing it with a sterile needle and removing the fluid, but I would not recommend anyone doing this without a professional. The arnica route is much gentler, and again, evades the risk of scarring.
Below: Dalila at Pure + Simple Oakville, extracting her client professionally with steam.
Back when I had acne, this would be a daily occurrence - and people around me would give me tips on how to treat them. I know, I know they were trying to help, but often it was simply bad skin advice (and embarrasing!). I have heard so many bad blemish tips that I am surprised my face is not full of scars - like when my aunt told me to swim in chlorinated water to dry them out, or my former drama teacher's bauty wisdom: to take a bit of my mother's perfume and dab it on each spot. Not only would the high percentage of alcohol blast them of my face, but I would smell like the first floor of a department store.
Well, for those of us who get the occasional zit, here is what you should really do, from an esthetician who went through a decade of terrible break outs:
Germinating Break outs
Like with all things, pimples do not simply appear, but evolve. Sometimes you even have the pleasure of seeing a pimple mature -starting as something small, a little red bump with no visible white pus, slowly gets bigger and bigger, becoming more and more gross. This is commonly when people try to pick their faces, leaving them looking scabbed, and the blemish returning in the next day or so. The best thing to do is to moisturize them - and that is what I did.
Because they had not formed a head, I just slathered on a heavy cream with oil over top of the cream, for a layering of anti-pimple antidote. In two days my blemishes were gone - I avoided them getting to full-sized pimples, but more importantly, I avoided scarring. Now, if you are too late and the pimple is on its way to full blemishdom, this will still help it come out faster, and the faster it comes out, the faster you can get rid of it.
Mount Fuji on Your Face
When you have to deal a blistering pimple, (probably right before public speaking with your ex boyfriend in the audience), there are a couple of things you can do.
If you must get rid of the spot the day of - you need to pick it. So get down and dirty and steam your face for 5 minutes (after cleansing of course), tissue your fingers, and extract it. The pimple should feel flatter and you should have removed all of the pus. Quickly disinfect with an alcohol-free antiseptic like Organic Witch Hazel (using alcohol can lead to scarring), dab the spot with Green Clay and let it sit until the clay is dry to touch. This will not only close up the picked pimple, but also calm the irritated skin and draw out any impurities you didn't take out. After you remove the spot treatment, apply a soothing moisturizer and apply make up.
But this is only in beauty emergencies, if you have a couple of days, I suggest the gentler, less risky solution: dry it out. There is more than one way to do this, but the objective is to dry out the spot, but nor your skin. I recommend applying a Clay Mask just on the blemish and leaving it overnight. After two nights the pimple should be gone or at least significantly reduced. Don't use a very diluted clay or a kaolin clay - they will not be potent enough.
Another route is to use Himalayan Salt. A friend of mine told me that she mixes a pinch of salt with water and dabs it on before bed. Whatever you use, I suggest it be natural and only on the blemish itself - you don't want to dehydrate your healthy skin.
The Cystic Pimple: An underground killer
Sometimes you get those deep, underground boil-like blemishes that do not come to a head at all. We call this Cystic Acne, or Blind Pimples. In these cases, bacteria has gone into the dermis layer of your skin and this deep seated, infected fluid is what causes the painfulness of Cystic Pimples. If you have many Cysts, and break out with them often - you may need to disinfect internally. This is why anti-biotics are so effective for this type of break out - but I have prescribed Neem capsules with excellent results. Neem is a blood cleanser, anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial and also anti-inflammatory.
Topically, you must stimulate the area. Because this stagnant fluid is Kapha-like in its quality, it can stay on the skin for months at a time in some situations. Applying arnica cream of water heals the area and promotes circulation which will break up the cyst and encourage it to drain. I have personally extracted my own cystic pimples by puncturing it with a sterile needle and removing the fluid, but I would not recommend anyone doing this without a professional. The arnica route is much gentler, and again, evades the risk of scarring.
Below: Dalila at Pure + Simple Oakville, extracting her client professionally with steam.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Cyster soul, Cyster Soul: Hormone Series Part three
There have been many a day in which a regular client will lean close into me and whisper "..some of my skin issues my be due to the fact I have something called polycystic ovaries." And usually two things pop into my head - first: why didn't you tell me earlier? it would give me better insight to your skin and body, and second: Sista, join the club.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, to those of you who don't know, is when cysts occur on the ovaries because a females egg does not break through the ovarian tissue to travel to the fallopian tubes. The imbalance of hormones which occur with PCOS also inhibits egg growth.
These cysts are said to produce a small amount of male hormones causing some very unpretty side effects. This includes hair where you don't want it (excess body hair), a lack of hair where you want it (thinning on the scalp) and difficulty losing weight. When my gyno explained this to me he basically made it sounds like I was going to turn into a man. But I never did. While I did not show these traditional signs, I did experience the amenorrhea (loss of periods), insulin resistance (i am also helped by the diabetic grandmas i have on both sides), and of course my struggle with acne. You can't tell, but I am shaking my fist right now and typing with only one hand. And yes, most of my clients who have let me in on their club membership have done so because their skin has broken out badly. But don't be discouraged because we have helped a lot of these clients find relief, and like anything you need to know what is out of balance to help rebalance.
Now, little is known about the cause of PCOS or even which hormones must be examined. I think it is because there are probably a multitude of reasons. Upon my visit to Albuquerque to see Dr Lad speak (where I actually am now), he went on one of his delicious tangents and touched on the issue of PCOS. He said that doshically there are many causes, while cysts and accumulation are a Kapha symptom of excess, this can actually be caused by both vitiation of Pitta and Vata. sometimes it begins with Vata pushing Pitta pushing Kapha. That is to say, that an excess of Vata prompts an excess of another and another dosha. I think this is why PCOS (and other hormone and fertility issues) has been so much more common in the modern age. Women are stressed. We imbalance our Vata or pushing ourselves aggravating our Pitta and cause our Kapha to become dysfunctional. I also notice that in many cases of acne in a PCOS client, that their skin is terribly inflamed and dehydrated.
In these cases it is very important to prescribe a cooling, soothing regime - not a disinfecting, drying regimen. Remember, acne itself is inflammation. it is also important to keep the skin hydrated because you must try to prevent scarring, and scarring occurs mostly in weak, dried out skin types. If you must use an anti-bacterial because blemishes are looking like they have a lot of pus and infection, we must opt for a Lavender or Witch hazel hydrosol with is alcohol-free and also an anti-inflammatory. But if the pimples are most cystic acne pustules (break outs which do not come to a head but are a large, painful, fluid filled cyst - usually in the chin and jaw line) then it can really only be pacified internally. You can apply arnica to it to increase circulation and disperse the accumulation of fluid, but only if it is a cyst and you cannot see a white head on it. the other option is to sterilize a pin and prick it then extract it. I personally do not advise this unless you have professional assistance, or are willing to risk scarring.
Like everything in this world, my practice has been very circular. I teach my clients about their skin and bodies and they also teach me. So, many clients have actually given me advice on how I can managed my PCOS with treatments and lifestyle. While once client raved about her acupuncturist, another informed me about the wonders of Castor oil packs (Castor oil packs are when you apply Castor oil and heat to your lower abdomen to break up and eliminate cysts. Castor oil in Ayurveda is a laxative and Kapha reducing oil).
I also have heard about the necessity of what seems to me as a Kapha reducing diet and exercise regime. This includes, low glucose/ sugar, low carbs and lots of cardio work outs. I have tried all of these suggestions and found them beneficial. But I find stress reduction the most effective.
And while, its difficult to know how much progress choosing a more natural approach, I haven't still haven't turned into a man (fingers crossed).
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, to those of you who don't know, is when cysts occur on the ovaries because a females egg does not break through the ovarian tissue to travel to the fallopian tubes. The imbalance of hormones which occur with PCOS also inhibits egg growth.
These cysts are said to produce a small amount of male hormones causing some very unpretty side effects. This includes hair where you don't want it (excess body hair), a lack of hair where you want it (thinning on the scalp) and difficulty losing weight. When my gyno explained this to me he basically made it sounds like I was going to turn into a man. But I never did. While I did not show these traditional signs, I did experience the amenorrhea (loss of periods), insulin resistance (i am also helped by the diabetic grandmas i have on both sides), and of course my struggle with acne. You can't tell, but I am shaking my fist right now and typing with only one hand. And yes, most of my clients who have let me in on their club membership have done so because their skin has broken out badly. But don't be discouraged because we have helped a lot of these clients find relief, and like anything you need to know what is out of balance to help rebalance.
Now, little is known about the cause of PCOS or even which hormones must be examined. I think it is because there are probably a multitude of reasons. Upon my visit to Albuquerque to see Dr Lad speak (where I actually am now), he went on one of his delicious tangents and touched on the issue of PCOS. He said that doshically there are many causes, while cysts and accumulation are a Kapha symptom of excess, this can actually be caused by both vitiation of Pitta and Vata. sometimes it begins with Vata pushing Pitta pushing Kapha. That is to say, that an excess of Vata prompts an excess of another and another dosha. I think this is why PCOS (and other hormone and fertility issues) has been so much more common in the modern age. Women are stressed. We imbalance our Vata or pushing ourselves aggravating our Pitta and cause our Kapha to become dysfunctional. I also notice that in many cases of acne in a PCOS client, that their skin is terribly inflamed and dehydrated.
In these cases it is very important to prescribe a cooling, soothing regime - not a disinfecting, drying regimen. Remember, acne itself is inflammation. it is also important to keep the skin hydrated because you must try to prevent scarring, and scarring occurs mostly in weak, dried out skin types. If you must use an anti-bacterial because blemishes are looking like they have a lot of pus and infection, we must opt for a Lavender or Witch hazel hydrosol with is alcohol-free and also an anti-inflammatory. But if the pimples are most cystic acne pustules (break outs which do not come to a head but are a large, painful, fluid filled cyst - usually in the chin and jaw line) then it can really only be pacified internally. You can apply arnica to it to increase circulation and disperse the accumulation of fluid, but only if it is a cyst and you cannot see a white head on it. the other option is to sterilize a pin and prick it then extract it. I personally do not advise this unless you have professional assistance, or are willing to risk scarring.
Like everything in this world, my practice has been very circular. I teach my clients about their skin and bodies and they also teach me. So, many clients have actually given me advice on how I can managed my PCOS with treatments and lifestyle. While once client raved about her acupuncturist, another informed me about the wonders of Castor oil packs (Castor oil packs are when you apply Castor oil and heat to your lower abdomen to break up and eliminate cysts. Castor oil in Ayurveda is a laxative and Kapha reducing oil).
I also have heard about the necessity of what seems to me as a Kapha reducing diet and exercise regime. This includes, low glucose/ sugar, low carbs and lots of cardio work outs. I have tried all of these suggestions and found them beneficial. But I find stress reduction the most effective.
And while, its difficult to know how much progress choosing a more natural approach, I haven't still haven't turned into a man (fingers crossed).
Friday, May 8, 2009
Steamy Nights for the Cleanest Pores
When I had acne my mother used to joke that some of my pimples were so big they seemed to cry "pick me! pick me!" (she would raise her hand in the air and fluttered it frantically while doing this). But while her blemish comedy was not only embarrassing, it caused confusion.
You see, in my pre-esthetician days I was torn about whether to pick or not to pick my spotted skin, and when I did, I often bruised it. I would become so attached to digging it out my face that my technique lacked the gentle care it does now. This is a dilemma that many of my clients have - and I can see their struggle as they come in with scars and scabs.
Now if we have clogged pores or pimples, they need to removed - but how do we remove them if we have neither the time or the budget to come in for a full-length professional facial? Well, I will let you in on a little secret: warm steam (You'll thank me for scraping the line: "...a little secret that is more than just hot air: warm steam"...I have a tacky streak hence my love for costume jewellery).
Yes, steaming your skin is an excellent way to unclog your pores without picking at it. And even for those of us who don't have blemishes (I love being able to be put into this camp now!), it helps infuse moisture, mobilize circulation and blood flow, sweat out skin toxins and prevent a build up of blackheads. Even the colour and tone of our skin improves from this simple at-home treatment.
How to do this properly:
Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil
Take it off the hot plate
Hover your face at least six inches away from it with a towel over your head to entrap the steam
Relax here for 5-10 minutes
You can add loose herbs, tea bags (herbal tea) or essential oils to the water for a more therapeutic effect. Sage and rosemary are good for disinfecting the skin, chamomile and rose are best for a soothing effect, and lavender is an easy-to-source skin balancer. I find that these are good to include because our skin absorbs much more deeply as our pores are open.
Initially, I recommend doing this every night for one week to see results of a smoother, less angry complexion. After this, you can decrease down to twice per week until your skin re-balances - or for those with rosacea or broken capillaries, only start with twice per week and hover even further away from the hot pot (8 inches away or so).
Now, after steaming it is very important to follow up with a nourishing moisturizer or hydrating mask to prevent dehydration. If you would like to make it a full evening of skin pampering, exfoliate before the steam, and mask afterward for a mini-facial experience.
Unlike me, you will avoid ugly scars and learn that you don't need to teach your skin tough love, a little TLC will have your complexion clear, clean and positively glowing.
You see, in my pre-esthetician days I was torn about whether to pick or not to pick my spotted skin, and when I did, I often bruised it. I would become so attached to digging it out my face that my technique lacked the gentle care it does now. This is a dilemma that many of my clients have - and I can see their struggle as they come in with scars and scabs.
Now if we have clogged pores or pimples, they need to removed - but how do we remove them if we have neither the time or the budget to come in for a full-length professional facial? Well, I will let you in on a little secret: warm steam (You'll thank me for scraping the line: "...a little secret that is more than just hot air: warm steam"...I have a tacky streak hence my love for costume jewellery).
Yes, steaming your skin is an excellent way to unclog your pores without picking at it. And even for those of us who don't have blemishes (I love being able to be put into this camp now!), it helps infuse moisture, mobilize circulation and blood flow, sweat out skin toxins and prevent a build up of blackheads. Even the colour and tone of our skin improves from this simple at-home treatment.
How to do this properly:
Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil
Take it off the hot plate
Hover your face at least six inches away from it with a towel over your head to entrap the steam
Relax here for 5-10 minutes
You can add loose herbs, tea bags (herbal tea) or essential oils to the water for a more therapeutic effect. Sage and rosemary are good for disinfecting the skin, chamomile and rose are best for a soothing effect, and lavender is an easy-to-source skin balancer. I find that these are good to include because our skin absorbs much more deeply as our pores are open.
Initially, I recommend doing this every night for one week to see results of a smoother, less angry complexion. After this, you can decrease down to twice per week until your skin re-balances - or for those with rosacea or broken capillaries, only start with twice per week and hover even further away from the hot pot (8 inches away or so).
Now, after steaming it is very important to follow up with a nourishing moisturizer or hydrating mask to prevent dehydration. If you would like to make it a full evening of skin pampering, exfoliate before the steam, and mask afterward for a mini-facial experience.
Unlike me, you will avoid ugly scars and learn that you don't need to teach your skin tough love, a little TLC will have your complexion clear, clean and positively glowing.
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