Peel Yourself a New One

A new, younger and healthier face that is! After careful research and thorough instruction, Your Beauty Pro is now offering Lactic Acid Peels in the Skin Deep Suite. Unlike traditional chemical peels, Bioelements Lactic Acid Plus is formulated to give you maximum results without any down time. In the case of peels that means no redness! Using Bioelement’s protocol the peels are customized to the individual’s skin and sensitivity with the strengths being adjusted from mild to extra strength.

What Peels Do

• They diminish age spots, freckles and blotchiness.
• They reduce and in some cases eliminate wrinkling around the eyes, mouth and forehead.
• They effectively treat some forms of acne.
• They can correct mild scarring
• They refresh and rejuvenate the skin’s texture and color.

How Peels Work

It's simple, our bodies naturally produce collagen, elastin and amino acids. As we age, that production slows down leaving us with sagging skin and wrinkles. When we use these high speed exfoliants to remove the top layer of skin such as Lactic Acid, the skin's natural response is to produce new skin, which in turn produces more collagen and elastin. With collagen and elastin being responsible for our skin’s plumpness, elasticity, tone and texture, increasing the production of them will give our skin a more youthful appearance.

Due to the nature of any peel, natural or not, you must wear a sunscreen with an SPF of 20 or greater depending on your individual skin. Not only do you risk sunburn if your face goes out naked, you run the risk of further hyper-pigmentation. If you love to "lay out" in the sun over the summer months, Your Beauty Pro suggests waiting until the fall. Here’s the 411 on this very exciting anti-aging treatment.

How Many Peels Will it Take?

It depends on the results that you are looking for. The more serious the problem or issue, the more treatments will be required. With just one peel you will see a dramatic difference in your skin’s overall appearance when completed. If you’re looking for the reduction of hyper-pigmentation, wrinkles, acne or more translucent skin, you will want a series of them. The series can be anywhere from two to eight, and are performed on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Once the series is completed, a refresher peel is recommended every two to three months for maintenance. Rejuvenation creams such as Sleepwear are also recommended for continual benefits.

How Do I Start?

Whether your having one peel or a series, Your Beauty Pro recommends having a Bioelement's Skin Deep Facial to start with. This facial allows for your skin to be thoroughly cleansed and assessed for the course of action. This facial should be done within two weeks of your first scheduled peel. From there, as each peel is performed your skin is assessed before and after to see how effective they are and where we should go from there!

More information on this fabulous new service can be found at www.yourbeautypro.com

Feel free to post your questions here so that I may answer them!

Benefits of Exfoliating Your Skin

In some way or another we have all used an exfoliating skin product on our face. It gives a, smoother to the touch feeling and can also erase signs of aging. In it's most natural state, it would be oatmeal...in it's most serious state, it would be a Manual Microdermabrasion treatment with Bioelements. You've most likely used some type of scrub and that's pretty much what you are doing...exfoliating the old skin off.

The benefits to this are simple: as you remove those cells, you are also sending a message to make even more new cells. Thus helping to turn back time. Studies have shown that continual exfoliating of your body's skin can help prevent basal and other yuck cells from hanging around.

SO EXFOLIATE PEOPLE!

Last week we discussing not just how to prevent sun damage but also looking into the future for the sun worshipping we did earlier in life. Well you know the saying..."what's good for the skin is good for the skin." So, as we discussed the seriousness of staying on top of a future of potential skin cancers etc, we determined the solution is to start getting regular body scrub treatments.

Imagine a light massage technique that uses soft scrubs instead of oils, lightly massaged into your skin and then wiped away for a smooth and soft body! Not to mention you are turning over those cells while getting some much needed R&R.

SO EXFOLIATE PEOPLE!

Diverted Beauty Products

Looking for a bargain on your favorite beauty products? "Buyer Beware" is an important warning while shopping for those bargains. Let's start with what "salon only" means when it comes to beauty products: the product is meant to only be sold in a salon or spa. Why? So that you can have a professional recommend the right one for you as well as making sure you are getting a safe product. The latter will make sense as you read on.

WHAT ARE DIVERTED PRODUCTS?
They are products that are sold in “unauthorized” places. For example, all genuine Redken products are sold exclusively in salons. But you might see a few bottles in your local supermarket, drugstore, online or at a discounter. Salon professional products you find outside of a salon are considered to be “diverted.” They are obtained through illegal means, however the retailer is not held liable.

WHY DIVERSION IS BAD?
Diverted products could be a health hazard. They are often held in warehouses that are not climate controlled, thus causing the product to cook up bacteria; they are often counterfeit or diluted formulas; or old, expired formulas that may not be safe to use. Irritation or even infection can result from the use of diverted products. It’s also illegal to divert products.

AND they cost more...they are playing on the consumers mindset that if it's at this store or that discounter, it's cheaper. I have been checking prices and they are even more expensive.

I have had several clients who have recently been "taken" by products they found online, and what they thought was a bargain was not, and in these cases they're hair and skin suffered for it along with their wallet.

Dry Hair?

With the summer heat and humidity at full speed these days, your hair may be feeling it in either one of two ways. No worries though as both can be taken care of. First step is to determine just what is going on...for you the hair simply feels dry, and what has been prescribed, and in most cases over prescribed is to slather it with moisture based hair care products.

When your hair feels dry when it's wet, but normal when it's dry, has to be treated differently. Believe it or not there are instances where using moisture can make the hair feel worse...how? To much moisture in the hair can cause the hair to tangle easier and make it much harder to comb through because it gives the hair too much elasticity. Then combine that with the normal summer "wear and tear" and you have that feeling of dry hair. And by the way, for people with finer hair texture, too much moisture will cause the hair to be flat and dull...

I have to say that one of the biggest reasons I have used and recommended Redken all these years is because they are the science behind hair itself. For the above mentioned dry feeling your best product of choice is Redken's Deep Fuel. The deep conditioning benefits can eliminate the dry feeling and help to restructure the hair's surface....resulting in more manageable hair that will hold it's style and better block the humidity from attacking it.

Another way the hair feels and becomes dry stems from the use of blowdryers and irons. This type of dryness makes the hair feel dry to the touch after it's dry. This type of mechanical heat can dry out hair and this is when you need a moisture based product to get some relief.

Depending on the texture of your hair, and how it became "feeling dry" will determine the right prescription for your hair type, all while maintaining the fullness or volume that we all desire. There is a science behind it all, and that is where your educated professional hairdresser comes into the picture...

Putting the Jane Iredale Purepressed to work!

My beautiful sister Margaret is putting the Purepressed Powder Foundation to the test while training for her Bicycle Racing Team that is touring the country. She is accompanied by her handsome husband Dave, who is also on a Bicycle Racing team and they are doing quite well. Here is her blog: http://29ercrew.com/author/mkelnberger/

Margaret had commented on an earlier post regarding sun protection. At her last visit we had our consultation to determine if she was looking for strictly SPF out of the minerals, or if she wanted to balance her skin tone as well. So I suggested the Purepressed Powder as it has an SPF of 20 and can also balance out her complexion and skin tone.

She was instantly happy with the ease of putting it on with just the Handi brush and how it felt like nothing was there when we were done! You can always see an instant difference when you use the Jane Iredale Mineral Make Up and then once the minerals are "set" on the skin you see a flawless finish and the high water resistance goes into action.

Margaret reports that all the above was found true with her application prior to her almost daily 14 mile training run...or ride in the case! What she also noticed was when she started to perspire, nothing ran in her eyes to sting them...which is what has happened from using the lotion sunscreens. Thanks to Jane Iredale Mineral Cosmetics for providing us with a beautiful way to achieve sun protection that stays put!

Ladies if you are a sports enthusiast like Margaret call me to set up an appointment for a complimentary make up consultation! 301-870-3922

Summer and Oily Skin

For those of us who have oily skin, summer's heat and humidity can make our face feel as if it is melting off...we can't wait to wash our face and sometimes we need to wash it twice, just to feel clean and dry...how can we battle it? I say we in this post as I too have oily skin and fight this feeling as well.

Our first line of attack is to make sure that we cleanse and hydrate our skin twice a day. The oilier the skin the more we hydrate and the dryer the skin, the more we moisturize. Obviously we want to wash our face at night to rid our skin of the day's "dirt", and just as important we need repeat the process at night. That is when our skin does most if not all of it's repair work.

When dealing with oily skin it's all about the signals that are sent to the oil glands. If you use a cleanser that is to astringent or strong, you are telling the glands to over produce...and the same goes if you don't use any type of hydration or moisturizer to follow the cleanser.

My favorite cleanser for oily skin is the Bioelements Decongestant Cleanser, it's a gel and gives a wonderful clean feeling without drying your skin out. Depending on the level of oiliness, ( how soon does your face get shiny and where does it get shiny) there are several options for hydrating and moisturizing in your daily regimen.

Normal to oily skin - Absolute Moisture

Moderate oily skin- Hydration Gel

Over all oily skin - Pom Mist Spray

To combat oiliness through out the day I use and recommend one of several products designed just for oily skin in the Jane Iredale Mineral Make Up line. Your first line of attack is to use Absence 1 or Absence 2 before putting your foundation on, it controls over active oil glands and can even be used alone. Absence has an SPF of 15 so it's great poolside!

For a foundations, use the PurePressed Base versus a liquid one, it gives a nice matte finish and finish with PureMatte or Amazing Matte Powder and then throw the Brush-Me Matte into your purse for help through out the day to help cut oil and shine.

The best thing about using the finishing powders is that you can use them through out the day without worry that they will "cake" up on your face...there is NO talc powder in the Jane line, and it's talc powder that screws things up!

Stay cool and shine free!

Humidity...Friend or Foe?

Hello and Happy June! Wishing my Mom a huge Happy Birthday today!

Last week I had the good fortune to spend some time with my sister, for her birthday, in beautiful northern California, as well as a bit of heaven in Lake Tahoe NV! It was a wonderful trip!

What Your Beauty Pro discovered was that humidity is most definitely a much needed friend!!! Yes, you read that right! For as long as I can remember we complained of humidity because of the effects it had on women with fine to medium texture hair as well as those curly or wavy headed vixens.

Humidity gives us volume, structure and shape no matter the style...I would have to say that I struggled with my hair while in the mountains with zero humidity, I could have used a gel styling aide to give me some oomph...however when in San Francisco with my hair in it's naturally curly state, it behaved great...foggy humidity there...and I "styled" my hair by using my favorite leave in conditioner, Trauma Treatment and let it air dry in both places.

It didn't really add up for me until after being back home for a few days...to high humidity day one, and then no humidity day two, then back to it on day three...good grief this weather is crazy! Beautiful, but crazy!

It's my friend now and can be yours too, as along as we can control the "frizz" that comes along with it...Your Beauty Pro has what you need to enjoy the volume your new friend gives without the "frizz!" Eufora's Formation Foam gives you that, along with extra volume...and feels great when you put it on...use it as volumizer with your blowdryer or use it alone to envelope your curl in definition.

When we don't have humidity then we need a gel to gives us the hold factor...I like Redken's Blown Away for a stronger hold and Eufora's Sculpture for a lighter hold. Which one will depend on your texture and the silhouette of your style.

Is humidity your friend or foe? If you feel it's your foe then let's chat about it!